Vintage guitar news by www.gregsguitars.net - Articles - Zimbio

November edition of Vintage Guitar News and Views.

Fri, 1 Nov 2008 15:21:08 GMT

posted by greg1

Give thanks to groovy guitar finds
This article explores Vintage Ibanez guitars,Well one in particular anyway and what she boasts as far as appointments and playability ,plus a little interesting vintage guitar history. Ibanez got her humble starts by a company going by the name of " Hoshino" ,in the early 40's producing a spanish styled acoustic guitar that was named Ibanez. By the 1970's Ibanez ( which Hoshino had purchased the rights to)was known (good or bad) as the lawsuit guitars, for their blatant copies of more renowned guitars being produced ,Although most were cheaper imitations and copies ,the fact does remain that many Ibanez "lawsuit" era guitars were of comparable if not superior quality to the guitars the were produced to mimic. I will let you be the judge of that point. Now what we have here is a wonderful example of what Ibanez was creating in the early to mid 1960's. I have found an older picture of this very guitar on a German Ibanez website , and also a picture of the one and only Jimi Hendrix playing a very similar model ( upside down of course) in a sunburst color scheme as opposed to the white beauty we see pictured here.Knowing that every guitarist must start somewhere on the guitar food chain , and by no way implying that this guitar was ever owned or played by Jimi, the body shape and era that it was built is reasonable enough to inject that this was the type or at least close enough to the type that Sir Jimi cranked many a tune to the amazement of both audience and fellow band members alike. After playing her for quite a while now and coming to the conclusion that even though she is never going to be worth what the same era ,Fender or Martin, or Gibson guitar is worth ,I have decided that she is unique enough,plays good enough and has many nicely though out features that she is a keeper, and I can fully understand why Jimi played one similar to this mode. She just has such wonderful dynamic harmonic explosions tucked away in her, the neck is to die for and well since she is a little on the small body size , she is light enough to play for days. Her is the run down on some of her features..1 piece ash body with the pickups mounted directly on top of the body ( directly coupling for superior resonance) , the pickups themselves are unique in the fact that under the metal covers are 5,yes 5 huge round alnico I magnets that are so large as to only 1/3 of each magnet couples between each individual adjustable pole screw,that alone accounts for ( in my book anyway) for her tremendous tonal qualities. She is routed for the pots and wiring only beneath her 1 piece plastic pick guard located below the pickups. Another interesting and in my opinion superior design is the way her controls are laid out, no 3 or 5 way selector switch to bump and fiddle with while playing ,no sir ,this girl boasts one master volume control for both the front (neck) and rear (bridge ) pickup, this enables the player to dial in an indefinite array of tonal possibilities. As for a tone /treble control she has just the one master control for this ,which I like as it certainly adds to ease in playability and control of my sound.I do not see as to why the electric guitar manufacturers today don't do this as a standard feature.,The neck as I have stated is to die for, 1 solid piece of Mahogany ,perfectly sculpted for a fir like a glove to your fretting hand, and smooth as oriental silk, non bound (thank goodness) with a zero fret ( lord does she stay in tune) and a beautiful 3/8 of an inch thick slab of Brazilian Rosewood for a fretboard with a 10 radius, I love it and am seriously considering making an exact copy to place on a Tele.The only weakness and the only thing I have ever considered changing ( i wrestle with ) is the bridge setup. Now I am no fan of the cheap thumbscrew rosewood adjustable bridge on ANY guitar . let alone an electric, but, this one does stay where it is supposed to and does have compensation for proper intonation, but I would like to try a bigsy or Gibson style bridge and tailpiece but shudder at changing her from her original state, ah decisions decisions...She is one of the most in tune guitars I have and many friends alike agree all the way up and down the fretboard ,which makes my even happier that I acquired her.The headstock has an arrowhead shape with a single all encompassing string tree bar, metal Ibanez logo and ,(ugh) open back tuners, another point I have considered replacing, but hey like they say,"if it ain't broke ,don't fix it" Dynamically harmonic,sweetly sustaining,and extremely light in weight,yes this old girl ia as unique as it gets in the world of guitars. Who knows ,maybe the exact features that Jimi liked about his own 60 era Ibanez, before his change to an easier accessible American guitar? I hope you enjoy looking and remember to take the time to enjoy the obscure guitar for what they are and you as I may be delightfully surprised in what we find. As always this is just my News and Views. So may all your days be memorable, all your friends stay true and all your riffs be killer. Greg's Guitars

Guitar heroes identify a niche and strike the right chord

Thu, 19 Sep 2008 20:09:52 GMT

posted by michro01

Forget air guitar, one tech start-up is aiming straight for the classic vintage guitar market online.

All around the world this weekend, grown men with beer guts will be leaping across their living rooms, bashing out neat riffs as they relive rock and roll dreams from teenage heydays. It doesn’t matter that many of them can’t play guitar … in the 21^st century playing air guitar has evolved to playing Guitar Hero on video games consoles.

But for a more discerning and moneyed class of rock and roll aficionado, plastic guitars and plasma screens aren’t enough. They want the real thing, be it a classic Gibson Les Paul or a Fender Stratocaster.

Realising this trend, a group of savvy Irish executives have got together to create a social networking site called Dbtwang.com that will facilitate investors’ appetites for classic vintage guitars.

Operating out of Kilkenny, this niche new social networking start-up is headed by internet veteran, Keith Bohanna, and the team includes guitar collector, Fintan Blake Kelly, O2 Ireland former commercial director, Gerry McQuaid, and the ex-business development manager of Fender Europe, Jamie Crompton.

While Bohanna admits he can barely play a guitar chord, the other members of the team are united by their love and respect for vintage guitars, which has driven them to identify an emerging business niche that could propel the start-up into global play.

The market for vintage guitars is a thriving one, says Bohanna. According to guide prices, a ’54 Fender Stratocaster would set you back between $55,000 and $100,000, while a ’58 single-cutaway Gibson Les Paul Junior would have a range of between $7,000 and $13,000.

“Out of the team of four, I’m the only one who doesn’t know one end of a guitar from another, but the other three are passionate guitar collectors, they understand their niche. My job will be to keep it focused and commercialised,” says Bohanna.

The company has already raised €140,000 from angel investors and is looking to raise additional funding from venture capitalists. According to Bohanna, venture capitalists such as Anchorage Capital in London have established a €100m fund to invest in the classic guitar market.

“We are setting up a trusted marketplace for people who buy and sell guitars. At the moment the only place you can do that is eBay, which unfortunately is full of forgeries. Discerning investors would be very reluctant to buy a guitar on eBay. Our business model is to establish a marketplace where paying subscribers will know they are part of a community of serious collectors.

“We won’t have straightforward advertising on the site, but will have sponsorship and premium subscriptions for access to the trusted marketplace with a lot deeper content aimed at collectors.”

And it is a serious business. According to the respected ‘42 Guitar Index’ prized by collectors, the market for classic vintage guitars has been growing at a rate of 30pc a year. A Fender guitar sold in 1991 for $150,000 could sell for $1m today.

“This is a global play,” says Bohanna. “We’ll be looking initially at the US marketplace where they sell three million guitars a year. This is followed by Japan. Gibson and Fender sell 75pc of their guitars to the US and 25pc to Japan. European dealers tend to have to go in through the back door.

“I love niche markets and have never been in a niche market this valuable. Fender can’t manufacture enough guitars so supply is limited.”

Bohanna says there are particular nuances to collecting and valuing guitars. “Guitars improve with use, so the more you play it, the better the guitar sounds. If you put a good guitar in the hands of someone famous, the value goes up.

“The market we are looking at is growing steadily because a lot of new people are starting to collect guitars. Interestingly, a lot of people are coming into the guitar collection business because they’ve played games like Guitar Hero.”

Bohanna says he’s taking a long-term view on the development of Dbtwang.com. “It’s going to take us at least four to five years to see the value of the start-up. We’ve raised €140,000 so far and we have outsourced our web development to a company in Poland called Luner Logic, which has done great work for other Irish technology companies like Nooked.”

Essential to the success of Dbtwang will be winning the trust and respect of bona fide collectors, as well as novices who are finding their feet. “One of the things we have been very clear about from day one is that when you come to Dbtwang, collectors aren’t trying to do what rock musicians do, they’re not trying to emulate their lifestyle, but they want to go to a place where they can share their love for the instrument.

“The core team bonded on that very basic and fundamental level. Our very first business meeting involved Fintan, Gerry and Jamie spending an hour and a half bonding over guitars before we started discussing the commercial opportunity.

“A serious website aimed at serious collectors. That’s the level we are aiming at,” Bohanna says.

By John Kennedy

Vintage Guitars Info’s Gibson PAF (Patent Applied For) Humbucker Pickup Info

Sun, 7 Jul 2008 14:21:15 GMT

posted by michro01

Because of the amount of “bogus” PAF (Patent Applied For) Gibson humbucker pickups out there, I was asked to create this web page (thanks to GW Dean and BurstMeUp for information and pictures). This web page includes information on the pickups themselves *and* their plastic mounting rings. The originality of the pickups and their mounting rings are both important factors in the integrity of a vintage Gibson guitar. All of these parts can be found on the Vintage Guitar Zone website.

There are some basic facts that should be known about these first-generation humbucking pickups. First PAF pickups came about in 1956 on Gibson steel guitar models, and on 1957 on many Gibson spanish guitar models, and lasted to about 1962 to 1965. Nickel plated part models transitioned away from PAF pickups first around 1962, since these guitars were sold in greater numbers. Gold plated part guitars can often be found with PAFs (or one PAF and one Patent# pickup) as late as 1965. PAF pickups of course have two internal coil bobbins under a 1.5″ x 2.75″ metal cover with one bobbin having a row of six adjustable slot-head poles, and the other bobbin being non-adjustable.

PAF History.
I guess we should start with a little history of the Gibson PAF pickup. By the mid-1950s, Gibson wanted to counter the latest electric guitars introduced by Fender. Leo Fender had built a company that was a sizable competitor in the solid-body guitar market place. Gibson believed they could beat Fender with their high quality Les Paul, and by developing a low-noise pickup.

The problem with Gibson’s P-90 and Fender’s single-coil pickups was inherent in their designs, allowing 60-cycle hum (noise) to interfer with the sound. Seth Lover was the Gibson engineer assigned to solve the problem. Seth connected two single coil pickups in series (opposed to parallel) and connected the coils out-of-phase electrically and magnetically. Thus the signal noise of each separate coil canceled out the noise of the other coil. That is how the pickup came to be known as a “humbucker”.

Seth/Gibson filed their patent for the pickup design on June 22, 1955. Gibson added the new pickups to steel guitars in 1956, and in 1957 on electric solid-body and arch-top guitars including the Les Paul Model. During late 1957, a small black decal with gold lettering was added to the underside of the pickup that read, “PATENT APPLIED FOR” (hence the PAF abbreviation).

Seth Lover received his pickup patent #2,896,491 on July 28, 1959. By mid to late 1962, Gibson changed the pickup decal to read, “PATENT NO 2,737,842″. Interestingly the patent number listed on the decal was not for Seth’s pickup design but was for Les Paul’s trapeze tailpiece! Perhaps this was a research roadblock for the competition, or maybe just a mistake?

PAF Magnets.
From 1956 until 1961 Gibson used different Alnico magnets in their PAF pickups. Alnico magnets (alloys ALuminum, NIckel, and CObalt) come in a different grades based on their magnetic strength. Gibson generally used the same magnets (size/grade) which was available for their P-90 pickups. But Gibson randomly used Alnico 2,3,4,5 grade magnets in PAFs until 1961 (remember the higher the magnet’s number, the higher the magnetic strength). This can often account for how two PAF pickups can sound quite different. In July 1961 Gibson began consistently using a smaller Alnico 5 magnet (smaller as in the flat top side of the magnets were smaller length-wise). Since inconsistency was king at Gibson during this time, Alnico 2 short magnets are sometimes seen too. By 1965 though Alnico 5 was the standard for all Gibson humbuckers.

The original PAF magnet length was 2.5″ long, which was decreased by 1/8″ to 1/4″ to around 2.25″ in July 1961. But the “short magnet” PAF can be seen as early as 1959 and is still original. Gold plated guitars (ES-345, LP Custom, etc) seem to use the short magnet PAFs before nickel plated guitars (like the ES-335, LP Standard, etc). Just from a consistency point of view, July 1961 is the date considered by most as when short magnets were the norm for PAFs. Generally speaking decreasing the length decreases the power of the pickups, but this was somewhat counteracted by the Alnico 5’s added strength. When new, the shorter A5 magnet is more powerful than the longer A2 magnet. So do short magnet PAFs sound worst than 1957-1960 long magnet PAFs? NO. In fact, they may sound better in many cases. But there are lots of things that effect sound, with the magnet only being one piece of the equation.

Dimensions of PAF magnets follow (measured using a micrometer, and obviously this will vary a bit from magnet to magnet): 2.509″ long (”long magnet” version), .506″ wide, .131″ thick. The “short magnet” PAF length was the a bit different: 2.371″ long, .491″ wide, and .121″ thick.

Pickup Wire and Winding Methods.
The pickup were wound with #42 plain enamel wire. On original PAFs the bobbin wire appears purple, versus later PAF and patent# pickups that appear reddish. Gibson eventually switched to polyurethane coated wire around 1963. When wire coatings change, the sound of the pickup does change, contributing to the PAF following. The amount of wire (and coating) wound on each bobbin determines the pickup’s resistance. When the bobbins are wound with more than a nominal amount of wire (either on purpose or by accident), they are more powerful with fatter midrange but less treble. Due to the human factor and the wide tolerance of the manually-run pickup winding machines used by Gibson from 1956-1961, PAF pickups usually measure between 7.5 and 9.0 thousand ohms (K ohms). By 1962 (the end of the PAF era), Gibson was making pickups very consistently with 7.5k ohms of wire (give or take .25k ohms).

The separate bobbins of a PAF can measure very differently due to Gibson’s manufacturing techniques. For example one bobbin could measure 3.5k, and the other 4.5k ohms (for a total of 8k ohms). This mis-matched ohms is actually a good thing, as certain frequencies will stand out if both bobbins have different resistance. This contributes to why two PAF pickups can sound quite different. The coil winder was a Leesona 102, and did have auto stop counters to keep pickups windings consistent. But these winders ran using a fiber gear and were prone breakage. The work around to fixing the counters is to time the winding process. That is one reason for the randomness of PAF pickup resistance.

Around 1965 to 1968 (exact date unknown), Gibson changed from a manually-run pickup winding system to a fully automated system. Because of this their humbucking pickups all became a consistent 7.5k ohms from 1965 and later. The manual-run system had a machine operator that decided when a pickup bobbin reach about 5000 turns of wire. So there was plenty of room for under and over-winding. When the fully automated system came into place, the pickups were very consistent in their windings (and hence total ohms).

Gibson Models which Used PAF Pickups.
The 1957 to 1962 Les Paul Standard model is probably the most famous of the models to have PAFs pickups, though other models had them too. Like the ES-175, ES-295, Byrdland, ES-350, ES-5 switchmaster, L-5CE, the Super 400 and the ES-335/ES-345/ES-355 (when introduced in 1958/1959).

Jazz Guitar PAF Versions.
The hollowbody jazz guitars often used a slightly different PAF in the neck position which had different (narrower) string spacing, where the bridge position jazz PAF was identical to the neck & bridge PAF in say a Les Paul Standard. The models that used this narrow spacing neck PAF was the Byrdland, ES-350T, L-5CE, S-400CE and some Barney Kessel models. The distance on a narrow PAF from center to center of the two “E” adjustable poles is 1 13/16″, compared to 1 15/16″ on the “normal” spaced PAF pickup. Also since most of these models had gold plated parts, the narrow spaced PAFs would be gold plated (except on some Barney Kessels). If the pickup cover is removed from a narrow spaced PAF pickup, the “normal” pole position tooling marks can be seen on the narrow spaced PAF pickup.

A narrow spaced neck position PAF on a 1959 L-5CES.

A “normal” spaced bridge position PAF on a 1959 L-5CES.

The internals of a narrow spaced neck position PAF pickup.
Notice the tooling marks (circled in red) where the “normal” spaced poles would be.
Pic by D.Paetow

PAF Guts (Covers, Decals, Bobbins, Tooling Marks, etc).
First and foremost, never ever remove the cover from an original PAF pickup, unless you have a darn good reason. There is just no need for this, and it really makes the pickup “unoriginal” if you remove the metal cover. If you are dying to see the color of the pickup bobbins, just remove one of the underside bottom mounting screws and look in the hole, instead of removing the pickup cover.

Early P.A.F. pickups as used on the 1956 lapsteels and 1957 Les Paul Standard had brushed stainless steel pickup covers (brushed to make them look nickel plated). This quickly changed to brass covers with a nickel plating. If the cover was gold, the brass was first nickel plated and then gold plated. Early PAFs also have four brass bobbin attachment screws, instead of steel screws. Also the early PAFs with stainless covers often did *not* have a PAF decal on the bottom (so some 1957 Gibson guitars will have unlabeled PAF pickups with brushed stainless covers).

With that in mind, the first picture shows the bottom side of the PAF pickup, and the decal that declares the humbucker is “Patent Applied For” (PAF). Note the lettering and style of the decals. The lettering is gold, and sometimes the gold does turn green just a bit. The clear edge decal border around the black PAF decal has a slight green tint to it. Again remember very early stainless steel covered PAF pickups will not have any decal on the bottom. Also note the untouched solder joints holding the pickup cover to the pickup base plate. And the single stranded black cloth-covered lead wire, which is shielded with a braided metal wrap.

The “L” shaped tooling marks can be clearly seen on the feet of these PAFs.

Here is a pre-PAF sticker 1957 Les Paul goldtop pickup. Notice the lack of a PAF sticker, which is common for many 1957 PAF guitars. Picture by XO.

Double black bobbin PAF. Note the “circle around the square” tooling hole at the top of both bobbins. Notice the hole on the adjustable pole piece side has a smaller circle around it. The non-adjustable side always has a slightly larger circle. Reissue pickups copy this somewhat but don’t copy it just right. Also on newer pickups the circle and square is very clean and crisp. On original PAFs they are less perfect. Also look inside the bobbin holes for the bobbin wire color. It should be a copper wire with a purplish hue. The color of the wire is very important, and it shouldn’t look too clean (the pickup is 40+ years old!)

One bobbin removed on an late PAF pickup, showing the magnet.
The length of this magnet changed in summer 1961 from 2.5″ to around 2.25″
(decreased in length 1/8 to 1/4″).

Gibson also had PAF mini-humbuckers, used on Epiphone guitars in 1960 to 1962.

Zebras PAF Pickups.
Zebra PAF pickups. Starting in early 1959, PAF pickup bobbins started to be (randomly) white. On all zebra (half black, half white) PAF pickups, the white bobbin is almost always the non-adjustable bobbin (though there are rare exceptions).

“Normal” zebra PAFs with the black bobbins with adjustable poles.

“Rare” zebra PAFs with the white bobbins with adjustable poles. Picture by 58burst (or johnnyjellybean?)

This picture shows the tape that is used to wrap the bobbins. It is *not* a PVC plastic tape, but instead is a black paper-ish adhesive tape. It should not look like it was ever removed, unless the pickup was rewound (rewinds are a bad thing).

Double White PAF Pickups.
A double-white PAF pickup. Again in 1959 white bobbins were fairly common, and some pickups were Zebras (as seen above) and some were “double whites” (as seen below). For example, on Les Paul Standards around serial number “9 0600″, the plastic humbucker pickup bobbins can often be white. By mid-1960 the use of white PAF bobbins ceased, and PAF pickups again because all black (”double black”). Again notice the “circle around the square” tooling holes at the top of both white bobbins.

Thanks as many pictures by GW Dean, BurstMeUp.

PAF Pickup Detail Summary.
Here’s a summary of Humbucking pickups. Just be aware that changes occur over time. When I say “1965″ that does not mean January 1, 1965. All changes transition in as parts are used up and replaced by new parts.

1956 to Fall 1957: Original PAF. Long magnet, *no* PAF sticker, purple bobbin wire, black leads on both coils, brushed stainless steel covers, phillips screws on base, ohms can run from 7k to high 9k ohms, black bobbins PAF style bobbins (”circle in a square”), “L” shaped tool marks on feet. PAFs were first installed on lapsteels in 1956. The long magnet dimensions are 2.5″ long, .5″ wide, about .125″ thick.
Fall 1957-1960: Original PAF. Long magnet, “Patent Applied For” (PAF) sticker, purple bobbin wire, black leads on both coils, nickel covers, phillips screws on base, ohms can run from low 7k to high 9k ohms, black bobbins PAF style bobbins (”circle in a square”) until 1959 cream colored pickup bobbins are often seen, ‘L’ shaped toolmarks on feet.
1961-1962: last PAF pickups. Short magnet (starting July 1961), PAF sticker, purple wire, black leads on both coils, nickel covers, phillips screws on base, both bobbins are black again, PAF style bobbins (”circle in a square”), “L” toolmarks on feet. The short magnet dimensions are 2.37″ long, .5″ wide, about .125″ thick (decreased magnet length 1/8″).
1962-1965: Early “patent no.” sticker, nickel cover, short magnet, PAF style bobbins (”circle in a square”), redish/copper colored bobbin wire (probably happened in 1963), some point in here bobbin lead wires change to one black and one white, phillips screws on base. Plastic on bobbins more durable and bobbins are flat (PAF style pickups often have bowed pickup bobbins), “L” toolmarks on feet.Note the last version of the PAF (1961-1962) is basically identical to the nickle plated 1963 Patent# pickup (and on guitars with gold parts, probably as late as 1967 Patent# pickups are equivalent to 1961-1962 PAFs, since Gibson used less gold plated parts and inventories lasted longer). Because the wire color changed around 1963 from purple to a redish/copper color (and some other changes, listed above), technically the 1964-1965 Patent# pickups are different than the 1963 Patent# and late PAF pickups (though the tone is very similar). Also keep in mind gold plated PAFs used in archtop electric guitars (especially varitone guitars) can be seen as late as 1965 (yes PAFs as late as 1965!) The reason for this was simple - Varitone guitars had gold plated pickups with one pickup having a reversed magnet. This style of pickup was used far less than a nickel plated pickup. Hence these gold plated varitone equipped archtops are sometimes seen with one or two PAF pickups into 1965.
1965: Late “patent no.” sticker with no T-top, covers are now chrome, orange wire, one white bobbin lead, short magnet, phillips screws on base, “L” toolmarks start to disappear off feet (but can be seen as late as 1972), ohms run pretty consistent at 7.5k ohms.
1965-1975 (note overlap with prior bullet point): T-top, “patent no.” sticker, no longer has hole in bobbin showing wire, orange wire, short magnet, screws on bottom of base are usually slotted but could be phillips. “L” toolmark can be seen on early T-top pickups.

After PAF pickups were gone, the patent# pickups were next and used from 1962 to 1965. Then from 1965 to 1975 (note overlap) the next Gibson humbucker is known as the “T bucker” or “T top”. They are called this because of a “T” that is part of the molding on the front of the two pickup bobbins. These also had the decal with “Patent No 2,737,842″ (still the patent number of Les Paul’s trapeze tailpiece). The only way to see the “T” is to remove the pickup cover. A small change in late patent# pickups was white PVC bobbin wires instead of black (black was used on pre-1965 humbuckers). Also T buckers can use either slot or phillips head screws to hold the bobbins to the base plate. From 1976 to the 1980s they still used the “T bucker” but now they had the correct patent number stamped in the metal bottom plate (no decal).

When buying used Gibson pickups, many people will buy the “Patent No.” style with an unopened nickel-plated cover. This pretty much guarentees you’ll get a “good” pickup at a fair price (opposed to buying a PAF pickup with the “Patent Applied For” decal intact, which sell for more money). Sonically the nickel plated covered patent# pickups are excellent values, as they are very similar in sound to a real PAF pickup (but are much less expensive). Note if you buy a chrome covered Gibson pickup, it’s a crap shoot as to what’s inside - it could be either a T-bucker or not (but chances are good it will be a T-Top). For this reason I would generally avoid chrome covered Gibson humbuckers (unless they are really inexpensive), as the odds are against you in hopes of finding a non-Ttop.

Here’s the 1962 and to 1965 style “Patent Number” pickup, which followed the PAF.
Note the “L” toolmarks are still present.

The later “T bucker” T-top pickup used from 1976 to the 1980s.

PAF Forgeries.
PAF forgeries are fairly common. Aside from the physical characteristics of the pickups, through the years PAF decals have been re-created. These are usually easy to spot though. For example, below is a picture of real versus fake PAF decals. The original PAF decals will have clear yellowed borders (because the original decals have a coating of clear lacquer over the decal), and often the fakes have a gold border. Also the font and letter clarity are different. Pics by AtomEve.

Top: real Gibson PAF decal.
Bottom: fake PAF decal.

PAF Pickup Rings.
The rings used for PAF pickups are unique too. Often call M-69 (or MR490 or MR491 which identifies the neck or bridge ring), because of the mold markings underneath the pickup ring. All PAF pickups should have a black or cream M-69 pickup ring. Neck pickup rings (thinner) are MR491, as molded on the underside. Bridge pickup rings (thicker) are MR490. Note there is no physical difference between cream and black rings (other than the color) - they are exactly the same (though black is far more common as cream rings were only used on Les Pauls and ES-295 guitars and some lapsteels). Pictures and info thanks to BurstMeUp.

1959 neck pickup MR491 ring pictures by BurstMeUp.

1959 bridge pickup MR490 ring pictures by BurstMeUp.

Vintage Guitars Info’s Gibson PAF (Patent Applied For) Humbucker Pickup Info

Sun, 7 Jul 2008 14:21:15 GMT

posted by michro01

A narrow spaced neck position PAF on a 1959 L-5CES.

A “normal” spaced bridge position PAF on a 1959 L-5CES.

The internals of a narrow spaced neck position PAF pickup.
Notice the tooling marks (circled in red) where the “normal” spaced poles would be.
Pic by D.Paetow

The “L” shaped tooling marks can be clearly seen on the feet of these PAFs.

Here is a pre-PAF sticker 1957 Les Paul goldtop pickup. Notice the lack of a PAF sticker, which is common for many 1957 PAF guitars. Picture by XO.

One bobbin removed on an late PAF pickup, showing the magnet.
The length of this magnet changed in summer 1961 from 2.5″ to around 2.25″
(decreased in length 1/8 to 1/4″).

Gibson also had PAF mini-humbuckers, used on Epiphone guitars in 1960 to 1962.

“Normal” zebra PAFs with the black bobbins with adjustable poles.

“Rare” zebra PAFs with the white bobbins with adjustable poles. Picture by 58burst (or johnnyjellybean?)

Thanks as many pictures by GW Dean, BurstMeUp.

1956 to Fall 1957: Original PAF. Long magnet, *no* PAF sticker, purple bobbin wire, black leads on both coils, brushed stainless steel covers, phillips screws on base, ohms can run from 7k to high 9k ohms, black bobbins PAF style bobbins (”circle in a square”), “L” shaped tool marks on feet. PAFs were first installed on lapsteels in 1956. The long magnet dimensions are 2.5″ long, .5″ wide, about .125″ thick.
Fall 1957-1960: Original PAF. Long magnet, “Patent Applied For” (PAF) sticker, purple bobbin wire, black leads on both coils, nickel covers, phillips screws on base, ohms can run from low 7k to high 9k ohms, black bobbins PAF style bobbins (”circle in a square”) until 1959 cream colored pickup bobbins are often seen, ‘L’ shaped toolmarks on feet.
1961-1962: last PAF pickups. Short magnet (starting July 1961), PAF sticker, purple wire, black leads on both coils, nickel covers, phillips screws on base, both bobbins are black again, PAF style bobbins (”circle in a square”), “L” toolmarks on feet. The short magnet dimensions are 2.37″ long, .5″ wide, about .125″ thick (decreased magnet length 1/8″).
1962-1965: Early “patent no.” sticker, nickel cover, short magnet, PAF style bobbins (”circle in a square”), redish/copper colored bobbin wire (probably happened in 1963), some point in here bobbin lead wires change to one black and one white, phillips screws on base. Plastic on bobbins more durable and bobbins are flat (PAF style pickups often have bowed pickup bobbins), “L” toolmarks on feet.Note the last version of the PAF (1961-1962) is basically identical to the nickle plated 1963 Patent# pickup (and on guitars with gold parts, probably as late as 1967 Patent# pickups are equivalent to 1961-1962 PAFs, since Gibson used less gold plated parts and inventories lasted longer). Because the wire color changed around 1963 from purple to a redish/copper color (and some other changes, listed above), technically the 1964-1965 Patent# pickups are different than the 1963 Patent# and late PAF pickups (though the tone is very similar). Also keep in mind gold plated PAFs used in archtop electric guitars (especially varitone guitars) can be seen as late as 1965 (yes PAFs as late as 1965!) The reason for this was simple - Varitone guitars had gold plated pickups with one pickup having a reversed magnet. This style of pickup was used far less than a nickel plated pickup. Hence these gold plated varitone equipped archtops are sometimes seen with one or two PAF pickups into 1965.
1965: Late “patent no.” sticker with no T-top, covers are now chrome, orange wire, one white bobbin lead, short magnet, phillips screws on base, “L” toolmarks start to disappear off feet (but can be seen as late as 1972), ohms run pretty consistent at 7.5k ohms.
1965-1975 (note overlap with prior bullet point): T-top, “patent no.” sticker, no longer has hole in bobbin showing wire, orange wire, short magnet, screws on bottom of base are usually slotted but could be phillips. “L” toolmark can be seen on early T-top pickups.

Here’s the 1962 and to 1965 style “Patent Number” pickup, which followed the PAF.
Note the “L” toolmarks are still present.

The later “T bucker” T-top pickup used from 1976 to the 1980s.

Top: real Gibson PAF decal.
Bottom: fake PAF decal.

1959 neck pickup MR491 ring pictures by BurstMeUp.

1959 bridge pickup MR490 ring pictures by BurstMeUp.

Gibson Goldtops

Tue, 6 Aug 2008 02:28:04 GMT

posted by michro01

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Features

Classic Instruments

Gibson Goldtops
Molten Mojo, Head-To-Head Vintage Versus Reissue

By: Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate
Posted On: 8/4/2008



Gibson goldtops from 1956, ‘53, ‘98, and ‘03, along with a 1955 Fender Deluxe, a ‘56 Pro, and a ’50s Bassman. All photos: Kerry Beyer.

In the good ol’ days of 1952, jazzmeister Les Paul strutted to the center of the world’s stage and proudly whipped out his golden Gibson electric guitar. Simple-minded purists howled “Foul!,” locked up their daughters, and accused him of indecent mahogany-wood exposure. No matter, there’d be no turnin’ back.

Gibson’s first solidbody electric, the Les Paul model, was soon gracing the world. And thankfully so, because without it we may have indeed heard “Laaadies and gentlemennn, may I introduce, for your listening pleasure… Sir Eric Clapton and the Vibraphone Experience, with special guests James Page on the cowbell, the Reverend Billy F Gibbons on washboard, and Neil Sedaka on the…” stop right there, amigo. We don’t need any more of that vision!

Today, these vintage gold bars are priced so high the average six-string Joe finds them inaccessible. Current vintage prices range from a “paltry” 28 grand for a hardly original beater (”I swear everything on it is mint and original except for the tuners, the pickup routes, the neck, the body, and the case…”) to upward of $80,000 for sacred clean.

So, what’s a lonely guitar man do? Armored car heist? You’d probably find yourself playin’ 7th chords for the Folsom Prison Men’s Choir. Perhaps a more fiscally appropriate avenue would be to snag one of Gibson’s Historic reissue goldtops, with menu flavors ranging from the 1954 and ‘56 P-90-loaded ass-whippers to the humbucker-piloted ‘57 models.

Do these newer golden-hued beasts even make the grade? The only way to know is to run them full-bore against the good ol’ boys.

With the help of a few Houston lynchpins, we set about to whip these gold bars side-by-side to see whether older was better. Mark May has toured with Dickie Betts and made a name as a guitar man on his own; Albert King Award winner Jonn Richardson, fresh back from a European tour with Otis Taylor and Gary Moore (VG, September ‘07); Bart Wittrock, owner of Rockin’ Robin Guitars, and the fellow who showed relic genius Tom Murphy the ropes when he came through Texas decades ago.

Bona fide amp perverts will be pleased to know we loaded the stables with a couple of period-correct Fender tweeds - a 1955 Deluxe and a ‘56 Pro - as well a seriously special blackface ‘66 Super Reverb to aptly analyze the clean capacities. And yes, we dialed them in the same two ways for the initial whack, and then had our way with them at the tail end of redlining each goldy.

The mere concept of running reissues against actual vintage (and mind-bogglingly valuable) goldtops from the “Golden Era” had even the most staunchly open-minded Texan curious as to what would unfold. Inherent subjectivity allowed, this dogfight would be one for the books.

Riding The ‘53 “Wraparound”
“Holy s***, I feel like I just drove a semi-truck through the front door of my ex-wife’s mansion!” said Mark as he put the ‘53 through the Deluxe (on 10, by the way). As much as he’ll pretend he didn’t run that bulldozer, we know better. But yes, indeed, the beautiful, greasy tone coming from that amp was anything but subtle. Lawd have mercy, what a start!



1956 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop.

The ‘53 rang in at an amazing aged and bar-smoke-dried weight of 7.8 pounds - lightest in the bunch. The neck was almost V’d at the nut from decades of rippin’, the tailpiece basically embedded in the body, and the mojo hard to ignore. Jonn got a bit frothy on the neck pickup through the tweed Pro, since his deal is all old-school and vintage. The pickups were a bit backed off, and unfortunately the bridge was unappealingly microphonic.

The neck pickup, though, was one woody and monstrously “stratty” beast, all but curling our toes and rollin’ our eyes back in our heads, especially with the Super Reverb; dark and borderline muddy, which is perhaps why it loved pushing around the Super. For the record, the wraparound didn’t resonate quite as boisterously as they usually do, but all complaints aside, this weathered old soul was the real deal.

Gettin’ Kicks on (Gold) Route ‘56
The ‘56 rang in at a delicious 9 pounds on the nose. In much better shape, physically, than the ‘53, its neck was average-shouldered. The pickups came in a bit muddy in a nice way, and backed off a bit gain-wise, as well - yet another telling clue to some of what the early deal was.

With the Deluxe, the guitar had nice clarity on the bridge, but was still not pushing the amp very hard. The Super produced instant Freddie King tones, funkified spank to the Nth power. Anyone up for “Hideaway,” floored? Dear gawd this 51-year-old thang loved being mated with the Pro! They came from the same year, alright. It was a little grainier and high-end feisty, and yes, true vintage P-90s have that hum syndrome, but who’s to argue the beauty in imperfection? Count up the numerous odes to big-legged women and you have your answer.

The R4 Elephant’s Trunk
This 2003-sown bruiser was our heavyweight, at a satisfying 9.3 big ‘uns. The neck was massive and even unplugged, thanks to the wraparound, it let the boys know it was ready to sing loud and proud. For years, purists and geeks have tried to figure out a few truths and myths regarding body weights and neck sizes. And yes, huge necks with lighter bodies can indeed thunder, but be aware that the occasional magical boat anchor will crush all tiny pretenders when wood, quality parts, grain, and craftsmanship align.

This guitar simply reminds us that P-90s rule - damn straight. The jump and resonance of this beast was downright inspiring. There was a seriously deep tone coming in… - giant, and ass-whippin’. Through the tweeds it delivered mean grit and, once locked and loaded into the Super, the round warmth and chunky cleans turned to smoke and gunfire when given the green light on the volume dial. You want to get crazy with the cheese whiz all night long baby? Well, right here and right now, we gots ourselves a party!

The R6 Lightning Rod
Gibson’s Custom Shop slammed the strongman’s bell at the county fair with this 1998 offering, weighin’ in at a respectful 8.9 poundcakes. The neck was very nice with the faintest of gentle tapers, and definitely in the middle of the road. Only I knew that it was loaded with Lollar P-90s, a secret ingredient. “What in the hell is going on with this?” yelled Mark. The rest of the crew stared with raised eyebrows. “Welcome to Lollarville, gentlemen,” I smirked.



Back of the ‘56 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop.

Through the Deluxe, the neck pickup was full and gorgeous. The Lollars simply are big, full, incredibly clear, and seriously musical. The bridge was the most usable of all, with a rounder and sweeter treble. The Lollars also proved markedly more responsive to height adjustments than any of our other test P-90s, and produced no mud whatsoever - just the widest glide imaginable.

As the battered old cases were latched and the last empty bottles tossed, Mark walked up to the Pro with the R6 and let loose with a raucous, jaw-dropping 40-second lick that peeled the paint off the walls and left witnesses without eyebrows. He then calmly waltzed out the front door with a grin wider than Texas.

P-90 Cage Match
Straddling the fine line of pickup camps has always been anything but cut and dried, and even political, as the age-old “single-coils versus humbuckers” riff has dug deep trenches and firmed lines in the sonic sands. P-90s ride the glorious middle territory, the seemingly forgotten backroads those in the know understand as one-of-a-kind tools that allow a discriminating player to cover everything from warm cleans to nail-spittin’ fury. Gibson is doing a fine job of covering the bases; its pickups are nice and creamy - definitely backed off and tucked in, in a vintage sort of way. Fine, fine, fine! And the Lollars deliver everything from rounder-than-round cleans to viciously nasty front-end-pushin’ swirls. And oh, the wicked growl!
Lowdown on the Throwdown
In the end, we learned a few things: vintage guitars have aged to become lighter, more resonant creatures, and their pickups are certainly darker, in cool but interesting ways. The ’50s-era pickups are also much less gained up, and the frets on the vintage goldtops are much smaller.

Through the tweeds, all of the goldtops sounded incredibly cool. Surprisingly, the Fender blackface amps let player and guitar dial in all sorts of huge tones, especially with the neck pickups. If you want grease, just raise the pickups a bit and pour the coals to it, or lay down chunky warm rhythms just before crossin’ the border. For dirtier work, just dime her.

Beyond the noted subtleties, we didn’t hear or discern anything in the vintage guitars that couldn’t be reproduced by the reissues. Anything more is simply splittin’ hairs. There is no substitute for mojo, and hell yes, it was a Golden Era. Without question, the best of the best and the vintage pieces blew our minds. But as long as Edwin Wilson and the Gibson Historic Art and Custom Shop are crafting these remarkable and mesmerizing reissues (see sidebar, “Digging Deep”), there will forever be serious gold in them there Nashville hills.

Thanks to Ronny Proler, Charlie Daughtry, Walter Carter, George Gruhn, David Wilson, Huey Pinkney, Bart Wittrock, Mark Tinsey, Mark May, and Jonn Richardson.

Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate has been held at gunpoint/machete three times, hit by two cars, and shot in the leg. He can often be found playing dirty slide guitar or sleeping alone on the cliffs of third-world countries while chasing waves to surf. He is currently on a solo assignment in New Zealand and Australia trying not to become fish food.

Historical Highlights of the Golden Pickaxe

Gibson’s first solidbody electric guitar, the Les Paul model, was introduced in 1952. It had a gold finish, mahogany body, P-90 pickups, trapeze-style bridge/tailpiece, and a maple top (per Les Paul’s request because it transferred clarity and brightness). Most were finished with gold only on the front of the body, but some were sprayed with gold paint on the back of the body, neck, and back of the headstock.

The guitar’s fingerboard was unbound and the pickup screws on the cover were diagonal in relation to each other. There was also no rhythm/treble ring around the pickup selector switch, and for the first several months of prouduction, no serial numbers. By mid ‘52, Gibson added binding to the fingerboard and the pickup setscrews were repositioned.

By the end of ‘53 the trapeze bridge was replaced by the wraparound “stud” tailpiece designed by Ted McCarty. The first of these guitars with the new bridge still had a shallow neck set/pitch, but by early ‘54 the neck pitch was accentuated to allow for easier bridge adjustments. In ‘55, the bridge became a tailpiece, and the Tune-O-Matic Bridge was installed.

In early ‘57, Gibson introduced the Seth Lover-designed humbucking pickup. By early ‘58, the last of the original goldtops came off the line.

At least two Les Pauls with Cherry Red finishes (serial #8 1689 and serial #8 1782) were carved out. Guitar authority and VG contributor Walter Carter believes these guitars indicate some experimentation on the part of Gibson.

“In my opinion, the Cherry guitars represent Ted McCarty trying to make up his mind on the new finish for the Standard,” he said. “Both pre-date any known sunbursts, and both are shaded red all around - front, back, and back of the neck - sort of like the old ’shaded mahogany’ on mandolins of the 1910s.”

In ‘58 Gibson added a touch of violin-like class to the Les Paul, with a flame-maple top and sunburst finish. The ‘Burst phenomena was born.