Burstbuckers 1-2-3 ??

[Blaze]

I had a short try on Gibson Burstbuckers PUs yesterday ,i find them so articulate ,warm and complexe but i don t know much about them.

Here s what i found on the net..

BurstBuckers™ are offered in Three different versions:
Burstbucker™ 1

(IM57A-NH) is slightly underwound, with medium "vintage" output, and works well in both bridge and neck positions.
Burstbucker™ 2

(IM57B-NH) is wound in the range of Gibson's '57 Classic, with slightly hotter "vintage" output than the BurstBuckerT #1, and works well in the bridge position with a BurstBuckerT #1 in the neck position.
Burstbucker™ 3

(IM57C-NH) is slightly overwound, with hotter output, and works well in the bridge position with a BurstBucker™ #2 in the neck position.

Burstbucker™ are available with German silver nickel-plated covers.

Some of you guys know much better about them than I , tell me your thoughts and experiences..

I m lookin for a Blues Rock Tone mostly..

Thanks

Blaze

 

[ZMAN]

Blaze when I was looking for Burstbuckers I used the following chart from Gibson. It gives the relative output of the pickups. Unfortunateley it doesn't give the DC reistance which is a good gauge of what the output will be like. I based my choice on the difference between the Ceramic pickups in the Classic the 500t being in the 15 range compared to a 57 at about 7.2.
I hope this is what you are looking for.
I have found over the years that a really nice set of pickups are the 490/498 combo that come in a lot of the older Standards and the Studios. They are really great for rock and blues. And can be reasonably cheap. Everyone seems to change them out but I have heard a lot of guys say they sounded better thant he replacements. They can be picked up really cheap.
PAFs are good but they are usually only 7 neck and maybe 7.5 bridge. I feel you need something in the 12 to 13 range for a bridge pickup. I think the BB3 are in that range. Here is the chart. PM me if you have any questions.
http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Divisions/Gibson Gear/Pickups/How They_re Made (1)/

 

[FrankenFretter]

These are unevenly wound pickups, which are supposed to add more "bite" according to Gibson. I've heard nothing but good things about these, although I've never had the chance to test them personally. I love my Gibson 57 Classic and 57 Classic Plus on my Tribute LP. I can highly recommend those from personal experience.

 

[Blaze]

These clips sound good , this guy can play ..

So here we have Burstbuckers clean and overdriven on 2 different guitar models..







Forgot Joe playin with BB 2 and BB3

 

[ZMAN]

Blaze you can get that exact tone with a set of BB1 and BB2s as well. You just need a 100 watt Marshall, or a Twinkleland amp. I have those in my Goldie, and I can duplicate his tone with the DD20 delay included with my DSL100.
Mine came out of a Historic Gold Top. I think I paid 140 for them and 70 to have them installed with a new set of pots and caps as well that I got from RS Guitar works. Total cost about 300 for everything but now my guitar sounds like Joe's.
The first two clips are through what looks like a 65 Deluxe Reverb. Another must buy amp.
The only thing I would say is that you have to think about your style of play.
Most of the BBs and 57s or any other PAF clone are fairly close in the Resistance. Probably between 7 neck to 7.5 Bridge. This does not give you much variance between the two. A lot of HBs that are the Plus, or Hot will go from 12 to 15. The 490/498 that are on most Standards are 7 neck and 13 bridge. So if you like a high output on the treble position you should look at at least a BB3 or greater.
Basicaly the BB1 and BB2 are exactly like the PAFs of the early guitars. The 57s are a little brighter.
Also open coils vs covered, the open coils will be brighter.
Al lot to consider.

BTW that DVD of Joe is probably my favrourite of all time.

 

[Blaze]

Thanks Z for your advices..

BB2 and BB3 sounds a good combination ..

 

[ZMAN]

One more thing Blaze. Check out the RS guitarworks Vintage kit. It has really good pots made specifically for tone and volume, and the 022. caps.
It is about 80 US but worth every nickel. I don't know what pots and caps are in the Japanese Orvilles. The upgrade is well worth it. You have to follow the wiring diargram though, and the pots are labeled for specific use.
It is really nice to have a volume pot that actually increases incrementally rather than acting like an on off switch.

 

[otaypanky]

I did the RS vintage kit wired 50's style in a '58 Historic reissue LP with Burstbuckers and I like it a lot. The tone pots act a little bit like volume controls as well as tone controls. The volume and tone pots become very interactive. I get the cleanest tones when the volume is rolled down and the tone is rolled down too. With the tone pot rolled up you get more gain, not just more brightness. As you roll the tone pot down you keep some of the highs but lose some gain and the tone gets more air and cleans up nicely. It doesn't get dark until you're way down on the tone pot. I got a .015 cap for the neck and a .022 for the bridge