Amazing job with the consistent playing and editing. This is easily the most systematic and thorough pickup comparison video I've seen. I've had an R8 with Burstbuckers for about 9 years now, and I've known for a while I wanted to swap pickups, and this confirmed it as they were the clear 4th place in this comparison. Muddiest by far. Credit to Gibson, it sounds like the Custombuckers are a meaningful improvement and if I had those, I'd probably leave them alone. There were number 2 for me. I found them fairly rich and full of harmonics while still being clearer than the BBs. The OX4 was my favourite and the most articulate of the bunch. They might have a touch less mids than the others, but nearly every drive pedal on the planet (KOT included) have some midhump that will sort that right out, whereas you can't add the clarity where it doesn't exist to begin with. The Creamery set were fine, but to my ear the EQ wasn't quite what I was expecting, particularly clean. Maybe more low-mid than upper-mid? Not sure, but I found them not quite to my liking for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. Thank you for a great video.
Thanks for the kind words. I also think you are spot on with your analysis. I ended up taking the creamery 59 pickups out and buying unpotted custombuckers from a 60th anniversary I found on Reverb. They sound the best of the bunch but never got round to doing a video. Maybe I will do that next 😃 I didn't like the OX4 myself too much as I often play clean and the linear frequency response left me a bit cold. I like the unpotted custombuckers. They are fat but zingy on the top end and don't have an ugly mid character. Thanks for the comment!
They have! In fact, after this test I purchased unpotted 60th anniversary custombuckers and fitted them. That's what I have in now and they are staying!
Thank you for the meticulous efforts and playing! The BB's win overall for me. My least favorite by far were the customerbuckers. Each pickup shined at one moment or another depending on amp setting, playing style, and toggle position. Many times my fave was Ox4 or Creamery, but The BB's seemed to work well under the most circumstances. Bravo on the wonderful professionaly consistant playing and production.
This was actually very helpful for me since I’m looking for the right set of pickups to go in a custom build from a fantastic local builder. The OX4:s sounded phenomenal. They might just be what I’m after.
The low wind ones I had were super clear. Almost single coil like. They didn't have the midrange of the others and that might be what you are after. Nothing beats trying them for yourself though. Glad you got something from the video. That's what I had hoped!
@@gringopig Excellent video and demo. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 That’s exactly what I’m after; clear and ”single coilesque” sounding paf type pickups. Do you have the ”50:s wiring” in that LP? Do you know the value of your pots? I checked and bookmarked OX4:s website by the way. ☺️👍🏻
@@emptypromises2962 Yes. The wiring was 50's and the pots were 500k ohms. The pots and capacitor were stock Gibson custom shop at the time of the test. 1957 style. I fitted CTS soft taper pots later but what you hear is the stock parts.
What a great experiment on display for us. Great job. I was able to notice some subtle differences between each set. I felt like the creamery was the one for me.
it is subtle for sure but these things make a difference as I'm sure you understand! I was hoping any small difference would make it through the recording and RUclips processing intact, so a success then maybe lol
Thank you for the outstanding demo, it’s very helpful. I greatly appreciate that you did multiple clean & dirty examples & didn’t go directly to high gain/metal tones. Looking at replacements for a new Les Paul Standard. It’s the 60’s spec so it has Burstbucker 61t & 61r’s. Not to my taste, I generally prefer Alnico II’s but I’m willing to try anything. Really impressed by the OX4’s, they are substantially more clear & articulate, which is what I want. Thinking either the OX4’s or Duncan Antiquities at this point.
If you want clear and articulate go for the OX4s. That's a great way to describe them. I've not tried the antiquities myself. Thanks for the nice comment. 🤘🤘🤘
Thanks for taking the time to do such an in-depth comparison. I still play a 1968 LP Custom that I bought in 1974 so I have a sort of Gibson sound in mind purely from habit. I was really impressed with the Custombuckers . . . they seemed to 'have it' for me. The OBX also nice. I am looking at modding a couple of new Epiphone LPs for fun - will be trying Monty's Underspun PAFs and also their Bethnal Greens - from a year's research I think these will give me the new sounds I'm after (Harrison & Peter Green respectively FWIW). Wish me luck! 😀
Great comparison! Thanks for your efforts! OX4 sound closest to real PAF's and the most balanced to me in this comparison. Creamery are also nice, more on the brighter side. Custom Buckers have kind of an unpleasant upper mid spike to me an Burstbuckers are quite muddy
Thanks. That's pretty much what I heard too. I thought the OX4 were the brightest though. I have unpotted custombuckers in now taken from a 60th anniversary and they don't have that upper mid hump.
A PAF at 9k with an A2 or a PAF at 7.5k with an A5 Or a 9k with an A5 or a 7.5k with an A2. or one inbetween somewhere cause thats how different original PAF's were. So to sum up there is NO original "PAF" tone.
I never trust my ears, my stereo, etc., let alone all the processing that happens between your fingers and my ears when the differences are somewhat subtle. That being said, I know what I like, and I am very definitely a huge fan of the Burstbucker 1&2 combo, but not of the 2&3 combo. I'm also a big fan of SD Seth Lovers in both positions. SD Jazz are pretty sweet in the neck too. Have them in three different guitars - same fundamentals, but that's about it. Very different in each guitar. If they weren't so gosh darn expensive, I would just go with BB 1&2s in every HB guitar of mine. In my case my amps are all so different from each other that it's always adjusting on the fly when swapping guitars. It can drive a person quite mad once you start down these rabbit holes we get ourselves into! Lol I picked up an Epi '58 korina V a few years ago with the sole intention of using it as wall art (I even put a Gibson emblem on the headstock). But now that I've developed a pretty bad back problem, weight is a consideration, and that V is so light and comfortable (I prefer to play standing up) that I'm thinking of making a player out of it. This vid's got me thinking...
Subjectivity loses over actually trying stuff. I agree. It's hard to really tell but I started to do demos because they were either awfully recorded and usually through a tubescreamer or processed beyond what was honest. Nothing beats actually trying out for yourself though. That V sounds like you need to bring it into action. It wants to rock! ❤️
The OX4’s sound the clearest to my ears and that’s what I’m looking for… I have a Les Paul standard 50’s coming in the mail that has a set in it. I have found most of Gibson’s pickups to be to muddy so the low winds are my first choice to try and after that the custom buckers 👍👍👍
@@gringopig I own a bunch of boutique guitars but they are all tmg, fender,suhr and gretsch guitars… this will be my first serious Les Paul so I’m really not attached to the traditional Les Paul sounds that are being discussed in this thread. I want to be able to plug in after one of my other guitars and not have to change all my amp settings in between songs.
Hey buddy! Thanks for making the video. You mentioned in one of the comments that you picked up some unpotted Custombuckers. Did you end up keeping them? In other words, are they still your favorite? Also, do you know if the unpotted Custombuckers squeal at all when playing with high gain? Thanks again!
@@jasonswitzer1748 Hi! Yes I bought 2019 unspotted Alnico III custombuckers from eBay and fitted them. They are still in and I still have the guitar. They were my favourite by quite a way. They suit the guitar and balance the thickness of the natural sound with a glassy airy high end. I've not had them squeal but I don't really use very high gain but they will squeal for sure. The originals weren't potted either so a PAF isn't authentic if you don't have the squeal lol. Gibson didn't pot them back then either. I have a few sets of the Alnico III custombuckers now and they are my favourite humbuckers! Thanks for the comment! ❤️
@casparclothier3768 They have vintage style braided cables. The inner is soldered to the pot lug and the braid to the body of the pot which is ground. If they are the same as I bought anyway. The PAF style pickups generally have vintage braided cables
For the small difference here I prefer BB's. Smoother with some mids. Problem is because of different mags it makes some louder than others. Volume makes something sound better, it's a trick they use with audio gear a lot. If you equalize the volume then you hear the actual tone difference.
True enough but I thought that pickup output would also be a good thing to appreciate between the sets. I measured the DC resistance on the article on my website but nothing clarifies the difference in output more than hearing it. I know what you mean though. The ear prefers the louder.
@@gringopig I get what you going for. Funny tho, so many of the tone or volume differences in some of these pickups can be compensated for with amp settings. And too much importance these day's on DC resis. I think mag makes more output diff than resistance, but it is a combo of the two plus other factors as well. Have to be honest I do enjoy watching some of these vids.
Thanks a lot for this comparision. Great job. I always gravitate to low winds. Also here the OX4's have my vote. I just hear most of the guitar. I can imagine that some find them lacking character. For me i dislike the pickups to compress and color the sound too much.... .
Great vid, thanks for sharing! Depending on particular guitar/set CBs could be killer. Stock CBs will never leave my R8. Tried OX4 low winds A4 - more strident biting, less haze and air, reminds T-top pickups. My CBs has strat-like quality, plus slow spongy feel to them. Tons of dynamics, harmonics and clarity. I think its more of try before buy with Gibson Historics and CBs, as few post-2014 guitars I played werent as good at all. They tend to vary a lot.
I think either you accept the guitar as it is without investigating how it sounds with other pickups, which is totally valid or go through pickups until you buy one combination you like. That's quite tough as the time it takes to do that and expense makes it hard to remember what the original set was like. Once your happy leave as is! I put unpotted CBs in after this video. 2019 ones. They stay. I'm happy now lol
Those OX4s sound authentic. Love the Burstbuckers. The Custombuckers are a little overkill. The Creamery pickups sound good, slightly more muddy and subdued. These are all GREAT pickups.
A very painstaking and revealing A/B thanks gringopig. Gibson have sure done well with the Custombuckers........I've had them in 3 gibbys so far and they are good.
Definitely! That's what I would like too. The unpotted alnico 3 custombuckers I bought that came out of a 2019 60th anniversary that are in the guitar now sound like that might sound.
Wow that was great. I could easily hear the differences through that amp. I thought the Custombuckers were better than the Burstbuckers everytime and the OX4 pickups were almost always better than the Custombuckers but a few times I did favor the Custombuckers. I'd go for the OX4 because I like the clarity and presence/ chirp and not too powerful. Close 2nd were the Custombuckers because they have a cool character and a certain midrange that I think comes from the alnico3 magnets. The creamery had that midrange too but didn't have as much character or texture as the Custombuckers. Burstbuckers and the Creamery weren't bad but the other two were better to my ears. I could be happy with any of them ....was surprised by the Custombuckers to be honest. They sound cool. Mids plus bite...I like it.
I liked the unpotted pickups the most so I found custombuckers from a 60th anniversary Les Paul on reverb and put them in. They are still in! The custombuckers in this video came from a 2017 custom shop Les Paul and were potted. Strong sound though! The OX4s seemed to be finding a lot of favour actually. Thanks for your comment. Much appreciated!
That's such a nice guitar and that was a lot of work in sure changing out those pickups 4 or 5 times over😜👍 but I would be hard pressed to tell this difference here but if I had to choose I would do 59 in the neck and custom bucker in the bridge or ox4 in the bridge .
Burstbuckers and Creamery 59 def come alive when overdriven, a bit too woolly when clean. OX4 neck pup is great, but bridge and middle position a little too jangly and brittle. Custombuckers are the best “all-rounders” for me.
I bought Chinese Donlis PAF Alnico 2, neck model and put it ona bridge position. The result is that this 25$ pickup sounds the same like PRS 250$ low turn 7,2k pickup. Try, you wil not regret. Donlis is as good as any big name pickup company, but buch cheaper.
Thanks for the tip. I personally choose not to buy anything Chinese if I can because I don't want to support the CCP. Other opinions are available though lol
If you like mids check out Rewind Pickups 58's. I want a set of those but they are pricey. Alnico 2 but very vintage sounding and not a low wind. They have a cool mid. Rewind pickups are great but you have to get the right set for whatever you are going for. I have some Wizz and love them but always searching. Different flavors and colors I guess. You might think you got it all figured out then you hear some pickups and go hmmm.
Yes and it depends on the guitar too! An expensive exercise indeed. One set sounds great in a guitar but not so in another. I like a certain character in humbuckers. A low wind and unpotted but I have a set of Hauser pickups that are potted and sound fantastic! It's a deep rabbit hole lol
Hey thanks for video. I am considering ordering a Creamery PAF set. They have a Classic Humbucker set for a very decent price. Did you order yours with both neck and bridge with Alnico 3? I want the same sound as on your video. Thanks!
Creamery 59 Alnico III in neck and bridge. They come with metric height adjustment screws and hex heads as detailed in the write up on my website. The screws didn't fit through the standard pickup rings. Not a problem if you want them. I bought the Creamery 59. Cheers!
I actually like the Custombuckers and Creamery pickups both clean and overdriven, I also liked the Ox4 with overdrive, cuts through with clarity. The Ox4 seemed a bit thin to me clean. The Burstbuckers are just not as pleasant to my ears, either clean or overdriven.
After this video I did buy unpotted 60th anniversary custombuckers and I'm keeping them in. They have all the positives of the OX4 but not the thin clean sound. I still have the creamery and will fit them to a guitar on the future!
I watched this whole video beginning to end and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you! Having a set of a3 unpotted custombuckers installed in my Les Paul right now. The real hard-hitting question here is: what cable is that and where do I purchase it??? Looks perfect!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it and found it useful. I hope you like your new pickups. The cable is top secret! It's an old Fender white curly cable lol 🤘🐷🤘 I bought it from guitarguitar in the UK ages ago. Don't think they make them anymore but they do thicker ones now that are good.
@@gringopig *Interesting!* I'm not one for curly cables, but maybe if I find one I can steal the plug and put it on something else. Thanks again and take care!
My choice was the creamery 59. I liked the colour in the higher register especially on the bridge pickup. I came to them after the OX4 which were very neutral sounding and clear, so was very taken with the character of the creamery. They are quite microphonic and that adds a touch of nasally colour. The creamery stayed in and I then did a test of covers on and off then another with different covers on. My pal wants them now and I have in a set out of a 60th anniversary Les Paul which I will demo on the goldtop soon. My choice of the ones on test: creamery 59 and I thought they sounded even better without covers!
@@gringopig Thanks! I might have to try them! Is the bridge pickup a bit darker than the others? I have the OX4s in a 335 and I changed the magnet to an Alnico 2 I pulled from my Dr. Vintage neck pickup in a LP. It made it a little less stiff and "direct". And less neutral maybe. So I get your point about the OX4s. The neck pickup sounds brillant with the A4 though 🙂
@@WatchesnguitarsDK Yes The creamery is a bit more 'barky' as it were. It's got more microphonic character. Less neutral than all the others and that would be good or bad depending on what you like!
Well Gibson pickups have wrong hookup wire. Plus guitar in stock form has it to. Changing it would make it way cleaner and more details and even more signal with same settings. BB potted but vintage like designed bit muddy due to the potting. SB bit more clear. OX well Alnico 4 and good hookup wire hence brighter. Creamy is nice and creamy, bright enough to so good compromise.
Throbak did a comparison video of the same PU potted and un-potted and even he admitted when he listened back could hear no difference. Way too much expectation bias or "placebo effect" in all this guitar stuff. The fact is if you heard any of these playing along in a band you could never tell which was which. Oh and Gibson uses the 2 strand hook up wire thats the closest to original PAF wire.
@@bradt.3555it ain’t about strand number it is about isolation layers. Gibson uses single layer now and use to use two layers in the original runs. Difference in the capacitance is huge and difference in the tone is huge to. I have done side by side and before and after manny times. Difference is huge. With trash they use now, even in the Murphy Lab guitars, you lose signal to the ground and you lose details. Guitar even sends more signal out and measures higher resistance values to. So to put it mildly you have no idea. In Les Paul you have like 2 meters cable. Wrong cable sucks up the tone. Simple and easy to prove. Feels like you have tone pot at 6 and after it on 10. BTW I’ve started thinking like 35 years ago. I am amp builder and designer as well as guitar tech. I take any stock Les Paul do my thing and people can’t believe it is a same guitar. No need for placebo, just real life knowledge and skill.
@@NINEWALKING , I'm assuming you have measured the capacitance of the two different wires, I'd really like to know the measurements, and the math you used to figure the freq. diff. Typically it calcs out to inaudible. That's where people say well just listen but thats where placebo comes into play. But I'd really like to know the measurements cause I've done a lot of wire swapping and in those lengths never heard a difference. Many guitar builders say wire in guitar lengths is nonsense. I also repair guitars, amps, am a retired union electrician, been doing electronics since H.S. so yea I do know. Where do you stuff 2 meters of wire? That's over 6 feet. From switch to controls is about 3x1 foot and thats the longest run. but that's not the biggest issue. I'm tired of all the magic this and that, and special hearing that somehow does what science and facts say can't be heard. Wait guitar measures higher resistance with your replacement wire? All other components the same? That would produce less output. Simple ohm's law.
@@bradt.3555 what wire have you used? I am talking about coaxial braided wire. Try Gavitt and if you hear no difference please just stop playing music. You need hearing aid. Change all wires in Custom Shop Les Paul with Gavitt wire including the pickups hookup wire and if you do not hear huge difference you are officially hard hearing and need help. Difference is day and night. Gavitt was originally used by Gobson in the 50's and main difference is in use of primary isolation layer made of white rayon, followed by the black cotton layer and finally braided shielding. Now days Gibson uses cheap shit cotton only one layer isolation wire. Use any good instrument like Bryman, Fluke or such and you will measure huge difference in the capacitance. Especially on Les Paul because of the location of the toggle switch. If you use analog meter you will not see DC resistance change on pickup reading but if you use digital Ohm meter even on the length of the pickup hookup wire you will gain approximately 200 Ohm on DC reading. No you have not gain it from bad soldering but less off the signal used to measure (pulses) is conducted to ground. Les Paul can never sound as it should without Gavitt wire and proper 50's wiring. Do nit believe it? Try it. Or come visit me in Amsterdam The Netherlands. Bring your Les Paul and I will do it free of charge if third party hears no difference. If they do You pay 500 bucks for my work and materials. Simple. Otherwise if you do not want to try it or do not know how to do it Just STFU and keep your Internet watching but never working on stuff so called knowledge to your self. Want the theory behind it? Parallel connected capacitance to a resistor is a high frequency filter that leads high frequencies to a ground. If you have it in series it will cut the bass part of the signal. Capacitance in the guitar wires is taking part of the signal and leads it to the ground same as tone pot when in use. Only way you can not hear the difference of the bad capacitance wire is with buffered circuits like in active pickups or pedals that have buffered inputs. I am talking about passive low turn PAF or PAF clone humbuckers in Gibson Les Paul guitars. Although same is true for all similar products. It is common knowledge in the industry and every boutique PAF pickup winder uses Gavitt only. PRS uses it to on 594. So please go and FO if you do not want to try it. On the other hand if you try it you are welcome enjoy it. Now you know what they mean that vintage Les Paul sounds like big Telecaster. Best wishes.
@@NINEWALKING Why when backed in a corner do so many have to start name calling and swearing? Just asking what the difference in capacitance between say vintage braided, modern braided and the braided you use. I know how R/C networks work. Without some numbers to plug into the formulas it's all talk. Are you claiming it has too little, or too much? The wiring in a 59 LP is going to be higher than when it was new. So what is the goal sound like a 59 did new or like it does now with 60 yr old wire? The wire in my R8 has the white rayon then blk cotten and then the shield. All the retailers and even Gavin say's it's what Gibby uses. If by "proper" 50's wiring you mean the minor difference of where the cap hooks up, they were done both way's in the 50's, yes I HAVE SEEN BOTH. QC back then was shit. Please give some specs. I just can't believe that so many people deny the placebo effect and think they have magic hearing, cause if the numbers can't support (science ) then it's imagined. That's just fact. No person on earth can hear the difference in 1 foot of wire. The wire runs in a guitar are just too short. even if a guitar has 6 ft of wire it's not all in the circuit at the same time, either series or parallel. I have a friend with a 59 LP and and a reissue and guess what, no night and day, he say's so I say so and do many others. You guy's with magic ears, I don't know what to say to superhuman people. Why do BB's and CB's sound better than many, many of the botique PU's? maybe it's the bad wire? And given your attitude I wouldn't have you near my guitars.
Hey, just installed Creamery59:s in my Bloomfield sign LP. Great pickups. Did you try Throbak s mxv sle1 anytime. They sounded a little " too much" for my taste. Still good pickups, but Creamery has a different flavor....
Jon will wind custom sets too. I own a set of Throbaks and they are 100% the real deal on par with vintage PAFs. Part of the sound though is playing it through much higher power cranked amps. PAFs open up as the amps and speakers open up and smaller 15 watt combos just dont move the air you expect for "that" tone, but 50-100w half and full stacks sure as heck do.
I ordered the '59 set unpotted with covers although you can specify either option. The bridge pickup was quite microphonic but that can be a good thing as long as you aren't in a Pantera covers band lol
@@alanhall3097 We are living in a golden age of choice to be honest. So many enthusiasts making great pickups for a living now. The only way to know is to buy and try. A pickup can really sound different depending on the guitar but I thought by using the same guitar, the differences would be easier to discern. I thought the bridge Creamery has a nice honk to it and I think that was probably down to the microphonic nature. It sounded even better without a cover too!
Been arguing with someone about guitar wiring, can anybody out there give the capacitance per foot of different brands of braided push back wire and does anybody know these specs from 60 yr old Gibson wire when it was new?
I don't know. Given that the frequency range of the guitar is so low, the capacitance will be in the Pico Farad range and the probability that Gibson never measured it and probably only used it to stop noise being injected into the signal path sure to it being capable of earthing, I'm not sure it matters. The proximity of the string to the pole piece would outweigh any stray capacitive loading on the pickups and amplifier. The amp would have a significant effect too in terms of input impedance and reflection sure to mismatch but the frequency is almost DC as far as impedance is concerned. The pots would overrule it all anyway. Interesting thought though!
@@gringopig , I tend to follow your line of thought. And the lengths of wire in a guitar are so short. Someone from your viewers was saying the braided wire that gibby is using (doesn't have the white celanese inbetween the wire and the cotton wrap). is HUGELY diff in capacitance from the braided that does and makes a huge difference in tone. I disagreed but have not measured them and he couldn't give any specs. Just the old " well I can hear the diff." Differences in pico farads in 1 meter then reduced to guitar lengths, effects are minimal AT BEST if not inaudible.
You could do the calculations but impedance effects at these frequencies are not important. They certainly would be negated by the other very real factors like proximity to the strings and potentiometer values and tolerances. They use uF for tone control circuits in guitars. 0.022uF say. That's 22000pF and in shunt. A few pF per meter between conductor and shield is nothing on that scale surely.
@@gringopig Yup. 22 thousand pico farad for a tone control and they are claiming they can hear what amounts to at the extreme 100? pf. maybe? Really, it's far beyond human hearing. I know a lot changed when I understood more about "placebo effect" and was willing to believe and accept that it was happening to me too. None of us are immune to it.
that's the conclusion isn't it - types of p/ups sound much the same (HBs, SCs) and a few tweaks on the EQ of a decent amp makes more difference than installing a new 'upgrade' set
Well. Humbuckers sound different to single coils. The differences between like types can be quite marked too. Compare Burstbuckers to OX4 and you can hear the difference. You can apply EQ it's true but it's better to have the change in the guitar. Changing pickups is fun though!! I've made a guitar I didn't like one of my favourites by changing pickups.
@@gringopig I've never heard someone say 'I changed my p/ups but they sound worse' we hear what we want to hear -we did some really interesting comparisons - my friend's actual '62 335 is indistinguishable from a harley benton SG in a blind test - none of us could tell which was which (I've been playing for 45 years) and I had 4 teles in my house 2 years ago - a squier I bought for 150 quid, 2 mexicans and a yank - all sounded pretty much exactly the sameand the easiest to play was the squier - almost everything we ever thought we knew about guitars is BS.
@frankcarter6427 ha yes. I did find the same thing. In fact, there is a test on my website under 'Features' to that effect. Have a go and see if you can tell 🐯🥇🐯🥇🐯🥇
@@gringopigthanks - I'll have a go, but if I can't tell a 62 335 from a HB SG, I'm not going to am I!! at higher gain, it's also difficult to be sure if it's a SC or a HB which is really weird
CREAMERY, GREAT NAME, SUITS THE SOUND! NO HARSHNESS AT ALL! ITS THE LEAST PEIRCING OF ALL OF THEM! THEN OX/4 FOR WHAT YOUR PLAYING...THE GIBSONS ARE A BIT BRASH! CREAMERY TO ME SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS EQ'D
Yep. The Creamery have a distinct sound. I think it's that the bridge pickup is very microphonic. It gives a certain character and would no doubt howl like a werewolf on Halloween if used with high gain at volume!
J'espère que Google traduit bien. Je n'ai jamais essayé les humbuckers classiques 57 mais j'aime beaucoup les custombuckers du 60e anniversaire que j'ai mis dans la guitare après cette vidéo. Meilleurs vœux!
@@gringopig Gibson à fait des alnico 2/3/4/5 et même 6 , . Oui Google traduit bien. , on c'est plus ou tournée la tête oui le 2 / 3 son cool , la on tape dans le(custom Shop). à plus.🤔😀🎸
@@alainmalo3791 I have Classic 57s in a couple of guitars. I'm going to try to pick up a set of boutique type pickups second hand to compare. Probably OX4 judging by various tests I have heard. I tried Seymour Duncan Seths and 59s which came in two guitars that I bought. The Classics are better than the Duncans in my opinion. So I'll go up a notch in cost and see if I like. I have several guitars to test with. If the OX4s are not better, then that's it for me. No point in using anything other than Classic 57s which you can pick up fairly easily second hand. I think the 57s are excellent and underated. I have tried newer Gibson guitars with some of their newer pickups and I was not impressed.
@@gringopig do you know who also loves Burst buckers is Warren Haynes. Gibson in the old days didn’t really measure how much wire and they use various different magnets, kind of whatever was available so it’s really hard to say what a real PAF is. I’m sure you know this, every time I try some new version of a PAF that claims to be the original I’m always disappointed, they are either too bright, a lot of companies add too much space and try to get fancy with the mid range. When a lot of the old PAF’s had kind of a hollow scooped out mid range, but a real woody top end with a lot of even order harmonics surrounding the note, giving it kind of a 3-D sound. I sold a pair of Tom Holmes PAF and got a lot of money for him because people are crazy about those input my burst-buckers back in, it was like welcoming an old friend home
@michaeltrust5121 yes, there's a lot of marketing involved in pickups to be honest. Especially when one set can sound different in different guitars too. I've never tried real PAFs so I have no idea if pickups sound like PAFs. I have to be honest lol
@@gringopig I appreciated you doing the video and sorry for all the typos. That’s just voice texting. I should have proofread that before I sent it, but hopefully you were able to defrag my last comment. I have heard some real PAs and they very greatly. I worked at the vintage shop for guitar Center in Hollywood and I worked around the guys that called themselves. The burst Brothers. They even have a book they put out called the beauty of the burst. anyways I learned a lot about what a PAF should sound like to be honest about 90% of the pick ups out there just don’t have that open woody sound. Good luck on your hunt and again thanks for the video.
@michaeltrust5121 beauty of the burst is THE book for reference. Very cool indeed! I would love to play a real burst one day. All the best and thanks for watching! I appreciate it ❤️
Amazing job with the consistent playing and editing. This is easily the most systematic and thorough pickup comparison video I've seen. I've had an R8 with Burstbuckers for about 9 years now, and I've known for a while I wanted to swap pickups, and this confirmed it as they were the clear 4th place in this comparison. Muddiest by far. Credit to Gibson, it sounds like the Custombuckers are a meaningful improvement and if I had those, I'd probably leave them alone. There were number 2 for me. I found them fairly rich and full of harmonics while still being clearer than the BBs. The OX4 was my favourite and the most articulate of the bunch. They might have a touch less mids than the others, but nearly every drive pedal on the planet (KOT included) have some midhump that will sort that right out, whereas you can't add the clarity where it doesn't exist to begin with. The Creamery set were fine, but to my ear the EQ wasn't quite what I was expecting, particularly clean. Maybe more low-mid than upper-mid? Not sure, but I found them not quite to my liking for reasons I can't quite put my finger on. Thank you for a great video.
Thanks for the kind words. I also think you are spot on with your analysis. I ended up taking the creamery 59 pickups out and buying unpotted custombuckers from a 60th anniversary I found on Reverb. They sound the best of the bunch but never got round to doing a video. Maybe I will do that next 😃
I didn't like the OX4 myself too much as I often play clean and the linear frequency response left me a bit cold. I like the unpotted custombuckers. They are fat but zingy on the top end and don't have an ugly mid character. Thanks for the comment!
The newer unpotted Burstbuckers are unbelievable actually.. in the R9's anyway.. almost exactly like a real 59
I really love the burstbuckers…
That is far and away the best pickup comparison vid I have watched. And I have watched many.
OX4s for me.
Great playing too
Thanks! I had hoped it was informative and useful, so it's great to hear it succeeded. 🤘❤️🤘
Thanks. Great comparison. Gibson has done a great job with the custombuckers
They have! In fact, after this test I purchased unpotted 60th anniversary custombuckers and fitted them. That's what I have in now and they are staying!
@@gringopig i am looking to purchase the potted ones actually. Is there a great deal of difference between the potted and the unpotted ?
@@plexilespaul1956 I think there is but beware if you are playing high gain stuff as they may squeal!
Great demo! Thanks for the editing nightmare sacrifice brother. 🎸❤️
Thanks! I learned to use Vegas Pro doing this lol. I enjoyed making it. Glad you enjoyed it too!
Thank you for the meticulous efforts and playing! The BB's win overall for me. My least favorite by far were the customerbuckers.
Each pickup shined at one moment or another depending on amp setting, playing style, and toggle position. Many times my fave was Ox4 or Creamery, but The BB's seemed to work well under the most circumstances.
Bravo on the wonderful professionaly consistant playing and production.
Thank you. I'm glad it was helpful!
This was actually very helpful for me since I’m looking for the right set of pickups to go in a custom build from a fantastic local builder.
The OX4:s sounded phenomenal. They might just be what I’m after.
The low wind ones I had were super clear. Almost single coil like. They didn't have the midrange of the others and that might be what you are after. Nothing beats trying them for yourself though. Glad you got something from the video. That's what I had hoped!
@@gringopig
Excellent video and demo. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
That’s exactly what I’m after; clear and ”single coilesque” sounding paf type pickups. Do you have the ”50:s wiring” in that LP? Do you know the value of your pots?
I checked and bookmarked OX4:s website by the way. ☺️👍🏻
@@emptypromises2962 Yes. The wiring was 50's and the pots were 500k ohms. The pots and capacitor were stock Gibson custom shop at the time of the test. 1957 style. I fitted CTS soft taper pots later but what you hear is the stock parts.
@@gringopig
Thx! I’ll try to get something similar.
🙂👍🏻
A truly great comparison video. I don't underestimate the amount of work that went into it! I'm heading to the OX4 website..thanks.
And I just read the 'show more'. You've gone all out! Excellence.
Thanks! It's great to hear you enjoyed it and that it was useful 🤘🐷🤘
What a great experiment on display for us. Great job.
I was able to notice some subtle differences between each set.
I felt like the creamery was the one for me.
it is subtle for sure but these things make a difference as I'm sure you understand! I was hoping any small difference would make it through the recording and RUclips processing intact, so a success then maybe lol
Thank you for the outstanding demo, it’s very helpful. I greatly appreciate that you did multiple clean & dirty examples & didn’t go directly to high gain/metal tones.
Looking at replacements for a new Les Paul Standard. It’s the 60’s spec so it has Burstbucker 61t & 61r’s. Not to my taste, I generally prefer Alnico II’s but I’m willing to try anything. Really impressed by the OX4’s, they are substantially more clear & articulate, which is what I want. Thinking either the OX4’s or Duncan Antiquities at this point.
If you want clear and articulate go for the OX4s. That's a great way to describe them. I've not tried the antiquities myself.
Thanks for the nice comment. 🤘🤘🤘
Really good demo! Thank you for your work :)
Thanks very much!
Thanks for taking the time to do such an in-depth comparison. I still play a 1968 LP Custom that I bought in 1974 so I have a sort of Gibson sound in mind purely from habit. I was really impressed with the Custombuckers . . . they seemed to 'have it' for me. The OBX also nice. I am looking at modding a couple of new Epiphone LPs for fun - will be trying Monty's Underspun PAFs and also their Bethnal Greens - from a year's research I think these will give me the new sounds I'm after (Harrison & Peter Green respectively FWIW). Wish me luck! 😀
Thank you for watching! Good luck with your adventures. It really is fun to do!
Great comparison! Thanks for your efforts! OX4 sound closest to real PAF's and the most balanced to me in this comparison. Creamery are also nice, more on the brighter side. Custom Buckers have kind of an unpleasant upper mid spike to me an Burstbuckers are quite muddy
Thanks. That's pretty much what I heard too. I thought the OX4 were the brightest though. I have unpotted custombuckers in now taken from a 60th anniversary and they don't have that upper mid hump.
A PAF at 9k with an A2 or a PAF at 7.5k with an A5 Or a 9k with an A5 or a 7.5k with an A2. or one inbetween somewhere cause thats how different original PAF's were. So to sum up there is NO original "PAF" tone.
I never trust my ears, my stereo, etc., let alone all the processing that happens between your fingers and my ears when the differences are somewhat subtle. That being said, I know what I like, and I am very definitely a huge fan of the Burstbucker 1&2 combo, but not of the 2&3 combo. I'm also a big fan of SD Seth Lovers in both positions. SD Jazz are pretty sweet in the neck too. Have them in three different guitars - same fundamentals, but that's about it. Very different in each guitar.
If they weren't so gosh darn expensive, I would just go with BB 1&2s in every HB guitar of mine.
In my case my amps are all so different from each other that it's always adjusting on the fly when swapping guitars. It can drive a person quite mad once you start down these rabbit holes we get ourselves into! Lol
I picked up an Epi '58 korina V a few years ago with the sole intention of using it as wall art (I even put a Gibson emblem on the headstock). But now that I've developed a pretty bad back problem, weight is a consideration, and that V is so light and comfortable (I prefer to play standing up) that I'm thinking of making a player out of it. This vid's got me thinking...
Subjectivity loses over actually trying stuff. I agree. It's hard to really tell but I started to do demos because they were either awfully recorded and usually through a tubescreamer or processed beyond what was honest. Nothing beats actually trying out for yourself though.
That V sounds like you need to bring it into action. It wants to rock! ❤️
The OX4’s sound the clearest to my ears and that’s what I’m looking for…
I have a Les Paul standard 50’s coming in the mail that has a set in it. I have found most of Gibson’s pickups to be to muddy so the low winds are my first choice to try and after that the custom buckers 👍👍👍
The OX4s are definitely not muddy. If you want clarity then you made the right choice. Hope you love them! 🤘🐷🤘
@@gringopig I own a bunch of boutique guitars but they are all tmg, fender,suhr and gretsch guitars… this will be my first serious Les Paul so I’m really not attached to the traditional Les Paul sounds that are being discussed in this thread. I want to be able to plug in after one of my other guitars and not have to change all my amp settings in between songs.
The low wind OX4 will probably be a good bet!
Hey buddy! Thanks for making the video. You mentioned in one of the comments that you picked up some unpotted Custombuckers. Did you end up keeping them? In other words, are they still your favorite? Also, do you know if the unpotted Custombuckers squeal at all when playing with high gain? Thanks again!
@@jasonswitzer1748 Hi! Yes I bought 2019 unspotted Alnico III custombuckers from eBay and fitted them. They are still in and I still have the guitar. They were my favourite by quite a way. They suit the guitar and balance the thickness of the natural sound with a glassy airy high end. I've not had them squeal but I don't really use very high gain but they will squeal for sure. The originals weren't potted either so a PAF isn't authentic if you don't have the squeal lol. Gibson didn't pot them back then either. I have a few sets of the Alnico III custombuckers now and they are my favourite humbuckers! Thanks for the comment! ❤️
Great video! I’ve just ordered some OX4s- do they have the same wiring colour code as gibson?
@casparclothier3768 They have vintage style braided cables. The inner is soldered to the pot lug and the braid to the body of the pot which is ground. If they are the same as I bought anyway. The PAF style pickups generally have vintage braided cables
For the small difference here I prefer BB's. Smoother with some mids. Problem is because of different mags it makes some louder than others. Volume makes something sound better, it's a trick they use with audio gear a lot. If you equalize the volume then you hear the actual tone difference.
True enough but I thought that pickup output would also be a good thing to appreciate between the sets. I measured the DC resistance on the article on my website but nothing clarifies the difference in output more than hearing it. I know what you mean though. The ear prefers the louder.
@@gringopig I get what you going for. Funny tho, so many of the tone or volume differences in some of these pickups can be compensated for with amp settings. And too much importance these day's on DC resis. I think mag makes more output diff than resistance, but it is a combo of the two plus other factors as well. Have to be honest I do enjoy watching some of these vids.
Great point.
Thanks a lot for this comparision. Great job. I always gravitate to low winds. Also here the OX4's have my vote. I just hear most of the guitar. I can imagine that some find them lacking character. For me i dislike the pickups to compress and color the sound too much.... .
I found them clear and without an 'accent' so to speak. I know that's what a lot of people like! I'm pleased the demo was useful!
Great vid, thanks for sharing! Depending on particular guitar/set CBs could be killer. Stock CBs will never leave my R8. Tried OX4 low winds A4 - more strident biting, less haze and air, reminds T-top pickups. My CBs has strat-like quality, plus slow spongy feel to them. Tons of dynamics, harmonics and clarity. I think its more of try before buy with Gibson Historics and CBs, as few post-2014 guitars I played werent as good at all. They tend to vary a lot.
I think either you accept the guitar as it is without investigating how it sounds with other pickups, which is totally valid or go through pickups until you buy one combination you like. That's quite tough as the time it takes to do that and expense makes it hard to remember what the original set was like. Once your happy leave as is! I put unpotted CBs in after this video. 2019 ones. They stay. I'm happy now lol
Is it weird that I actually prefer the Burstbuckers? I would have never guessed!
That's why I'm doing the reviews, so people can hear the pickups clearly and note the differences. It's not weird, it's just a preference 👍👍👍
Same here. I'm surprised.
Yep, burstbuckers!
The moment I saw Skylark, you got my subscription!
Great amp! It's a beautiful thing 👍
Those OX4s sound authentic. Love the Burstbuckers. The Custombuckers are a little overkill. The Creamery pickups sound good, slightly more muddy and subdued. These are all GREAT pickups.
Yes indeed. That's the hard bit. They all sound good. They also sound different in different guitars. Really tough choices
A very painstaking and revealing A/B thanks gringopig. Gibson have sure done well with the Custombuckers........I've had them in 3 gibbys so far and they are good.
My pleasure!
My ideal would be a cross between the Custombuckers and the OX4. Just a bit more push than the OX4.
Definitely! That's what I would like too. The unpotted alnico 3 custombuckers I bought that came out of a 2019 60th anniversary that are in the guitar now sound like that might sound.
great job. im liking the ox4
Very clear sounding pickup!
@@gringopig definitely. I think it might be what I’m looking for
@@GilCrocker I had the alnico 4 low wind for both
@@gringopig niiiice
@@GilCrocker There's only one way to find out if they are for you! 😀
Great video! Now i know custom buckers are for me!
Thanks! Great stuff. Good to know it helped.
Wow that was great. I could easily hear the differences through that amp. I thought the Custombuckers were better than the Burstbuckers everytime and the OX4 pickups were almost always better than the Custombuckers but a few times I did favor the Custombuckers. I'd go for the OX4 because I like the clarity and presence/ chirp and not too powerful. Close 2nd were the Custombuckers because they have a cool character and a certain midrange that I think comes from the alnico3 magnets. The creamery had that midrange too but didn't have as much character or texture as the Custombuckers. Burstbuckers and the Creamery weren't bad but the other two were better to my ears. I could be happy with any of them ....was surprised by the Custombuckers to be honest. They sound cool. Mids plus bite...I like it.
I liked the unpotted pickups the most so I found custombuckers from a 60th anniversary Les Paul on reverb and put them in. They are still in!
The custombuckers in this video came from a 2017 custom shop Les Paul and were potted. Strong sound though! The OX4s seemed to be finding a lot of favour actually. Thanks for your comment. Much appreciated!
That's such a nice guitar and that was a lot of work in sure changing out those pickups 4 or 5 times over😜👍 but I would be hard pressed to tell this difference here but if I had to choose I would do 59 in the neck and custom bucker in the bridge or ox4 in the bridge .
You could go mad if you start mixing individual pickups outwith sets lol. 🤪
A lot of work here, it’s very helpful
Great! I had hoped it would be useful 🤘
Burstbuckers and Creamery 59 def come alive when overdriven, a bit too woolly when clean. OX4 neck pup is great, but bridge and middle position a little too jangly and brittle. Custombuckers are the best “all-rounders” for me.
I did buy 60th anniversary custombuckers after this test and they are still in!
😎cool definitely the 59s. These alnico 3s sound good the other creamery demo are a 2 and they sound good too. Decisions, decisions
Yes it's a tough choice. The only way is to try them in your guitar and live with them for a few weeks.
I bought Chinese Donlis PAF Alnico 2, neck model and put it ona bridge position. The result is that this 25$ pickup sounds the same like PRS 250$ low turn 7,2k pickup. Try, you wil not regret. Donlis is as good as any big name pickup company, but buch cheaper.
Thanks for the tip. I personally choose not to buy anything Chinese if I can because I don't want to support the CCP. Other opinions are available though lol
If you like mids check out Rewind Pickups 58's. I want a set of those but they are pricey. Alnico 2 but very vintage sounding and not a low wind. They have a cool mid. Rewind pickups are great but you have to get the right set for whatever you are going for. I have some Wizz and love them but always searching. Different flavors and colors I guess. You might think you got it all figured out then you hear some pickups and go hmmm.
Yes and it depends on the guitar too! An expensive exercise indeed. One set sounds great in a guitar but not so in another. I like a certain character in humbuckers. A low wind and unpotted but I have a set of Hauser pickups that are potted and sound fantastic! It's a deep rabbit hole lol
Brilliant demo
Thanks. Great to hear 🤘🐷🤘
Hey thanks for video. I am considering ordering a Creamery PAF set. They have a Classic Humbucker set for a very decent price. Did you order yours with both neck and bridge with Alnico 3?
I want the same sound as on your video.
Thanks!
Creamery 59 Alnico III in neck and bridge. They come with metric height adjustment screws and hex heads as detailed in the write up on my website. The screws didn't fit through the standard pickup rings. Not a problem if you want them. I bought the Creamery 59.
Cheers!
Thanks! Ill check your website also!
Customerbuckers in neck sound best to me. Burstbucker3 in bridge best. Ox if you play only country
Custom buckers for the take. Most articulate
Gibson make really really good pickups!
I actually like the Custombuckers and Creamery pickups both clean and overdriven, I also liked the Ox4 with overdrive, cuts through with clarity. The Ox4 seemed a bit thin to me clean. The Burstbuckers are just not as pleasant to my ears, either clean or overdriven.
After this video I did buy unpotted 60th anniversary custombuckers and I'm keeping them in. They have all the positives of the OX4 but not the thin clean sound. I still have the creamery and will fit them to a guitar on the future!
The Creamery pickups have a very rich, complex tone.
I watched this whole video beginning to end and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you! Having a set of a3 unpotted custombuckers installed in my Les Paul right now.
The real hard-hitting question here is: what cable is that and where do I purchase it??? Looks perfect!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it and found it useful. I hope you like your new pickups.
The cable is top secret!
It's an old Fender white curly cable lol
🤘🐷🤘
I bought it from guitarguitar in the UK ages ago. Don't think they make them anymore but they do thicker ones now that are good.
@@gringopig *Interesting!* I'm not one for curly cables, but maybe if I find one I can steal the plug and put it on something else.
Thanks again and take care!
@@robotsongs reverb.com/item/5235445-fender-koilkord-30-white-coiled-guitar-cable
That's the type
@@gringopig ah ha! TYVM!
@@robotsongs it will add vintage mojo instantly guaranteed!
Appreciate your efforts! Great video. Which do you prefer and why?
My choice was the creamery 59. I liked the colour in the higher register especially on the bridge pickup. I came to them after the OX4 which were very neutral sounding and clear, so was very taken with the character of the creamery. They are quite microphonic and that adds a touch of nasally colour.
The creamery stayed in and I then did a test of covers on and off then another with different covers on.
My pal wants them now and I have in a set out of a 60th anniversary Les Paul which I will demo on the goldtop soon.
My choice of the ones on test: creamery 59 and I thought they sounded even better without covers!
@@gringopig Thanks!
I might have to try them!
Is the bridge pickup a bit darker than the others?
I have the OX4s in a 335 and I changed the magnet to an Alnico 2 I pulled from my Dr. Vintage neck pickup in a LP. It made it a little less stiff and "direct". And less neutral maybe. So I get your point about the OX4s. The neck pickup sounds brillant with the A4 though 🙂
@@WatchesnguitarsDK Yes The creamery is a bit more 'barky' as it were. It's got more microphonic character. Less neutral than all the others and that would be good or bad depending on what you like!
Great Job man ur a pro!!
Thanks!
Custombuckers clean. OX for driven
Well Gibson pickups have wrong hookup wire. Plus guitar in stock form has it to. Changing it would make it way cleaner and more details and even more signal with same settings. BB potted but vintage like designed bit muddy due to the potting. SB bit more clear. OX well Alnico 4 and good hookup wire hence brighter. Creamy is nice and creamy, bright enough to so good compromise.
Throbak did a comparison video of the same PU potted and un-potted and even he admitted when he listened back could hear no difference. Way too much expectation bias or "placebo effect" in all this guitar stuff. The fact is if you heard any of these playing along in a band you could never tell which was which. Oh and Gibson uses the 2 strand hook up wire thats the closest to original PAF wire.
@@bradt.3555it ain’t about strand number it is about isolation layers. Gibson uses single layer now and use to use two layers in the original runs. Difference in the capacitance is huge and difference in the tone is huge to. I have done side by side and before and after manny times. Difference is huge. With trash they use now, even in the Murphy Lab guitars, you lose signal to the ground and you lose details. Guitar even sends more signal out and measures higher resistance values to. So to put it mildly you have no idea. In Les Paul you have like 2 meters cable. Wrong cable sucks up the tone. Simple and easy to prove. Feels like you have tone pot at 6 and after it on 10. BTW I’ve started thinking like 35 years ago. I am amp builder and designer as well as guitar tech. I take any stock Les Paul do my thing and people can’t believe it is a same guitar. No need for placebo, just real life knowledge and skill.
@@NINEWALKING , I'm assuming you have measured the capacitance of the two different wires, I'd really like to know the measurements, and the math you used to figure the freq. diff. Typically it calcs out to inaudible. That's where people say well just listen but thats where placebo comes into play. But I'd really like to know the measurements cause I've done a lot of wire swapping and in those lengths never heard a difference. Many guitar builders say wire in guitar lengths is nonsense. I also repair guitars, amps, am a retired union electrician, been doing electronics since H.S. so yea I do know. Where do you stuff 2 meters of wire? That's over 6 feet. From switch to controls is about 3x1 foot and thats the longest run. but that's not the biggest issue. I'm tired of all the magic this and that, and special hearing that somehow does what science and facts say can't be heard. Wait guitar measures higher resistance with your replacement wire? All other components the same? That would produce less output. Simple ohm's law.
@@bradt.3555 what wire have you used? I am talking about coaxial braided wire. Try Gavitt and if you hear no difference please just stop playing music. You need hearing aid. Change all wires in Custom Shop Les Paul with Gavitt wire including the pickups hookup wire and if you do not hear huge difference you are officially hard hearing and need help. Difference is day and night. Gavitt was originally used by Gobson in the 50's and main difference is in use of primary isolation layer made of white rayon, followed by the black cotton layer and finally braided shielding. Now days Gibson uses cheap shit cotton only one layer isolation wire. Use any good instrument like Bryman, Fluke or such and you will measure huge difference in the capacitance. Especially on Les Paul because of the location of the toggle switch. If you use analog meter you will not see DC resistance change on pickup reading but if you use digital Ohm meter even on the length of the pickup hookup wire you will gain approximately 200 Ohm on DC reading. No you have not gain it from bad soldering but less off the signal used to measure (pulses) is conducted to ground. Les Paul can never sound as it should without Gavitt wire and proper 50's wiring. Do nit believe it? Try it. Or come visit me in Amsterdam The Netherlands. Bring your Les Paul and I will do it free of charge if third party hears no difference. If they do You pay 500 bucks for my work and materials. Simple. Otherwise if you do not want to try it or do not know how to do it Just STFU and keep your Internet watching but never working on stuff so called knowledge to your self. Want the theory behind it? Parallel connected capacitance to a resistor is a high frequency filter that leads high frequencies to a ground. If you have it in series it will cut the bass part of the signal. Capacitance in the guitar wires is taking part of the signal and leads it to the ground same as tone pot when in use. Only way you can not hear the difference of the bad capacitance wire is with buffered circuits like in active pickups or pedals that have buffered inputs. I am talking about passive low turn PAF or PAF clone humbuckers in Gibson Les Paul guitars. Although same is true for all similar products. It is common knowledge in the industry and every boutique PAF pickup winder uses Gavitt only. PRS uses it to on 594. So please go and FO if you do not want to try it. On the other hand if you try it you are welcome enjoy it. Now you know what they mean that vintage Les Paul sounds like big Telecaster. Best wishes.
@@NINEWALKING Why when backed in a corner do so many have to start name calling and swearing? Just asking what the difference in capacitance between say vintage braided, modern braided and the braided you use. I know how R/C networks work. Without some numbers to plug into the formulas it's all talk. Are you claiming it has too little, or too much? The wiring in a 59 LP is going to be higher than when it was new. So what is the goal sound like a 59 did new or like it does now with 60 yr old wire? The wire in my R8 has the white rayon then blk cotten and then the shield. All the retailers and even Gavin say's it's what Gibby uses. If by "proper" 50's wiring you mean the minor difference of where the cap hooks up, they were done both way's in the 50's, yes I HAVE SEEN BOTH. QC back then was shit. Please give some specs. I just can't believe that so many people deny the placebo effect and think they have magic hearing, cause if the numbers can't support (science ) then it's imagined. That's just fact. No person on earth can hear the difference in 1 foot of wire. The wire runs in a guitar are just too short. even if a guitar has 6 ft of wire it's not all in the circuit at the same time, either series or parallel. I have a friend with a 59 LP and and a reissue and guess what, no night and day, he say's so I say so and do many others. You guy's with magic ears, I don't know what to say to superhuman people. Why do BB's and CB's sound better than many, many of the botique PU's? maybe it's the bad wire? And given your attitude I wouldn't have you near my guitars.
Hey, just installed Creamery59:s in my Bloomfield sign LP. Great pickups. Did you try Throbak s mxv sle1 anytime. They sounded a little " too much" for my taste. Still good pickups, but Creamery has a different flavor....
Throbaks are interesting but I've not tried them. Quite expensive. The creamery 59s are great and cheaper. A superb sound!!
@@gringopig Throbaks does not Have that real hollow sound that a good paf should Have... Like your work very much!
Jon will wind custom sets too. I own a set of Throbaks and they are 100% the real deal on par with vintage PAFs. Part of the sound though is playing it through much higher power cranked amps. PAFs open up as the amps and speakers open up and smaller 15 watt combos just dont move the air you expect for "that" tone, but 50-100w half and full stacks sure as heck do.
Hi, was the Custombuckers potted? Nowdays the are unpotted and much more open……Rev Curt.
No I don't think they were. I have 2019 unpotted custombuckers in now from a 60th anniversary. They sound much better and in keeping them in!
Are the OX4 alnico 4 or 5?
I believe they were Alnico 4
Out of interest are those Creamery pickups potted? Apologies if you've already answered that question in the comments.v
I ordered the '59 set unpotted with covers although you can specify either option. The bridge pickup was quite microphonic but that can be a good thing as long as you aren't in a Pantera covers band lol
@@gringopig :) thanks for that. Those Creamery pickups have a nice immediacy about them and more dynamic mids too when compared with OX4s. Decisions!
@@alanhall3097 We are living in a golden age of choice to be honest. So many enthusiasts making great pickups for a living now. The only way to know is to buy and try. A pickup can really sound different depending on the guitar but I thought by using the same guitar, the differences would be easier to discern. I thought the bridge Creamery has a nice honk to it and I think that was probably down to the microphonic nature. It sounded even better without a cover too!
Sept.30/2023✝️
Been arguing with someone about guitar wiring, can anybody out there give the capacitance per foot of different brands of braided push back wire and does anybody know these specs from 60 yr old Gibson wire when it was new?
I don't know. Given that the frequency range of the guitar is so low, the capacitance will be in the Pico Farad range and the probability that Gibson never measured it and probably only used it to stop noise being injected into the signal path sure to it being capable of earthing, I'm not sure it matters.
The proximity of the string to the pole piece would outweigh any stray capacitive loading on the pickups and amplifier. The amp would have a significant effect too in terms of input impedance and reflection sure to mismatch but the frequency is almost DC as far as impedance is concerned. The pots would overrule it all anyway. Interesting thought though!
@@gringopig , I tend to follow your line of thought. And the lengths of wire in a guitar are so short. Someone from your viewers was saying the braided wire that gibby is using (doesn't have the white celanese inbetween the wire and the cotton wrap). is HUGELY diff in capacitance from the braided that does and makes a huge difference in tone. I disagreed but have not measured them and he couldn't give any specs. Just the old " well I can hear the diff." Differences in pico farads in 1 meter then reduced to guitar lengths, effects are minimal AT BEST if not inaudible.
You could do the calculations but impedance effects at these frequencies are not important. They certainly would be negated by the other very real factors like proximity to the strings and potentiometer values and tolerances. They use uF for tone control circuits in guitars. 0.022uF say. That's 22000pF and in shunt. A few pF per meter between conductor and shield is nothing on that scale surely.
@@gringopig Yup. 22 thousand pico farad for a tone control and they are claiming they can hear what amounts to at the extreme 100? pf. maybe? Really, it's far beyond human hearing. I know a lot changed when I understood more about "placebo effect" and was willing to believe and accept that it was happening to me too. None of us are immune to it.
Geez man, way too scientific! Let's rock!
The differences are negligible. Save your money folks
that's the conclusion isn't it - types of p/ups sound much the same (HBs, SCs) and a few tweaks on the EQ of a decent amp makes more difference than installing a new 'upgrade' set
Well. Humbuckers sound different to single coils. The differences between like types can be quite marked too. Compare Burstbuckers to OX4 and you can hear the difference. You can apply EQ it's true but it's better to have the change in the guitar. Changing pickups is fun though!!
I've made a guitar I didn't like one of my favourites by changing pickups.
@@gringopig I've never heard someone say 'I changed my p/ups but they sound worse' we hear what we want to hear -we did some really interesting comparisons - my friend's actual '62 335 is indistinguishable from a harley benton SG in a blind test - none of us could tell which was which (I've been playing for 45 years) and I had 4 teles in my house 2 years ago - a squier I bought for 150 quid, 2 mexicans and a yank - all sounded pretty much exactly the sameand the easiest to play was the squier - almost everything we ever thought we knew about guitars is BS.
@frankcarter6427 ha yes. I did find the same thing. In fact, there is a test on my website under 'Features' to that effect. Have a go and see if you can tell 🐯🥇🐯🥇🐯🥇
@@gringopigthanks - I'll have a go, but if I can't tell a 62 335 from a HB SG, I'm not going to am I!! at higher gain, it's also difficult to be sure if it's a SC or a HB which is really weird
A couple other good winder's are WCR....Doyle Coils....Wizz...Onamac Windery
Un classic 57 feras l'affaire .
Vous ne pouvez pas vraiment mieux!
CREAMERY, GREAT NAME, SUITS THE SOUND! NO HARSHNESS AT ALL! ITS THE LEAST PEIRCING OF ALL OF THEM! THEN OX/4 FOR WHAT YOUR PLAYING...THE GIBSONS ARE A BIT BRASH! CREAMERY TO ME SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS EQ'D
Yep. The Creamery have a distinct sound. I think it's that the bridge pickup is very microphonic. It gives a certain character and would no doubt howl like a werewolf on Halloween if used with high gain at volume!
ABSOLUTELY!
great review!!!
Thank you!
Faite le avec des classic 57 Gibson je trouve qu'il sen rapproche le mieux apprès faut voir la guitare qui va avec . 🎸
J'espère que Google traduit bien. Je n'ai jamais essayé les humbuckers classiques 57 mais j'aime beaucoup les custombuckers du 60e anniversaire que j'ai mis dans la guitare après cette vidéo. Meilleurs vœux!
@@gringopig Gibson à fait des alnico 2/3/4/5 et même 6 , . Oui Google traduit bien. , on c'est plus ou tournée la tête oui le 2 / 3 son cool , la on tape dans le(custom Shop). à plus.🤔😀🎸
@@alainmalo3791 I have Classic 57s in a couple of guitars. I'm going to try to pick up a set of boutique type pickups second hand to compare. Probably OX4 judging by various tests I have heard. I tried Seymour Duncan Seths and 59s which came in two guitars that I bought. The Classics are better than the Duncans in my opinion. So I'll go up a notch in cost and see if I like. I have several guitars to test with. If the OX4s are not better, then that's it for me. No point in using anything other than Classic 57s which you can pick up fairly easily second hand. I think the 57s are excellent and underated. I have tried newer Gibson guitars with some of their newer pickups and I was not impressed.
Burstbuckers by a country mile
They do seem to be the choice for a lot of players!
@@gringopig do you know who also loves Burst buckers is Warren Haynes. Gibson in the old days didn’t really measure how much wire and they use various different magnets, kind of whatever was available so it’s really hard to say what a real PAF is. I’m sure you know this, every time I try some new version of a PAF that claims to be the original I’m always disappointed, they are either too bright, a lot of companies add too much space and try to get fancy with the mid range. When a lot of the old PAF’s had kind of a hollow scooped out mid range, but a real woody top end with a lot of even order harmonics surrounding the note, giving it kind of a 3-D sound. I sold a pair of Tom Holmes PAF and got a lot of money for him because people are crazy about those input my burst-buckers back in, it was like welcoming an old friend home
@michaeltrust5121 yes, there's a lot of marketing involved in pickups to be honest. Especially when one set can sound different in different guitars too. I've never tried real PAFs so I have no idea if pickups sound like PAFs. I have to be honest lol
@@gringopig I appreciated you doing the video and sorry for all the typos. That’s just voice texting. I should have proofread that before I sent it, but hopefully you were able to defrag my last comment. I have heard some real PAs and they very greatly. I worked at the vintage shop for guitar Center in Hollywood and I worked around the guys that called themselves. The burst Brothers. They even have a book they put out called the beauty of the burst. anyways I learned a lot about what a PAF should sound like to be honest about 90% of the pick ups out there just don’t have that open woody sound. Good luck on your hunt and again thanks for the video.
@michaeltrust5121 beauty of the burst is THE book for reference. Very cool indeed! I would love to play a real burst one day. All the best and thanks for watching! I appreciate it ❤️
Not enough difference there for me to care