Jsinicropi Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 So I've got a 2014 Traditional which has the 59 Tribute humbuckers. I know they are alnico II. I've been told the are potted. I removed the pickups to see the labels and found bridge labeled lead and neck I think was rhythm I had to measure mine which are 7.5k bridge and like 7.4k neck. I know the slug side has more windings to balance the screw side. The Traditionals which have these pickups are hailed as great custom shop pickups only found in these guitars. What they don't tell you is the measured resistance like all them other model pickups. They don't say if they are potted and if so potted prior to the covers or w covers on. The screws and slugs are the same spacing so I'm guessing can go in either neck or bridge. If so why label them lead and Rhythm then. Usually the DC rating is slightly higher for the bridge to compensate for output. But not here. Even the 57's lusted in the store have a higher rates dc and that was before 59. I'd think they had higher output pickups as the years progressed. I'm very confused by the lake of info on this Ive contacted Gibson 4 times via emails and customer support. No one either has the answer nor will get back to me. We're we sold smoke and mirrors on these pickups or are the really something special. Can anyone out there who really knows about these fill us in. I do love the pickups but want to know more about them. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skilsaw Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 All I know about pickups is Ford or Chevy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 So I've got a 2013 Traditional which has the 59 Tribute humbuckers. ... The 2013 Traditional came with '57 & '57+ pickups: http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-USA/Les-Paul-Traditional.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 All I know about pickups is Ford or Chevy Which of these brands offered a 59 Tribute model? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsinicropi Posted November 1, 2015 Author Share Posted November 1, 2015 The 2013 Traditional came with '57 & '57+ pickups: http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-USA/Les-Paul-Traditional.aspx My mistake it's a 2014 it has the Anniversary inlay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 I have three sets, I don't believe they are all marked as "lead" in the bridge position, one for sure is. I don't know if they are potted or not. What I do know is that the coils are mis-matched like Burstbuckers. They are opposite of how they do the BB's in that one model has a hotter slug coil and the other has a hotter screw coil, I can't remember which is which. They are made to be more like real PAF's which were wound be hand with no counter on the machine. So, mismatched coils and low output is what makes them sound more vintage than the 57's. The 59's are definitely brighter but in a good way. FWIW, mine vary from 7.5 to 7.7. The 7.5's have more chime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golden Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 https://youtu.be/C1k1u50IcKU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsinicropi Posted November 1, 2015 Author Share Posted November 1, 2015 https://youtu.be/C1k1u50IcKU Yes I've seen this and much more. I'm also a former Guitar Center Platinum salesman and did extensive research and played dozens of Les Paul's prior to playing this one that I purchased. I played it for about 3 weeks and said this is the one. I immediately changed out the pots to Dimarzio audio tapered 500k which made a world of difference in opening up the tone, more airy as well as the dynamics of rolling off the volume to clean up the guitar. I have even spoken to Gibson and NO ONE has been able to get back to me regarding specifics as I mentioned above. I have also seen that Gibson uses wax coated wire in some pickups. I still don't know how these 59 Tributes are waxed, or not. The slug side is wound a little hotter than the screws to balance out the tone. Alnico 2 from what I have seen The spacing of the slugs and screws are identical for neck or bridge Single conductor Nickle covers Not sure of the bobbin colors That's all we know about these right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1all's Pub Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Don't get too caught up in the output numbers... the vaunted and much sought after original Gibson PAF pickups (e.g., from the 57-60 LP Standards) tended to be relatively low output as well (most times in the 7.Xk range)... higher output does not necessarily equal "better". One of the things that makes original PAFs so awesome sounding is that they are very articulate and have great string separation--and this clarity is at least somewhat due to their lower output. The 59 Tribs continue this tradition of lower output and articulate clarity. I love mine. (I'm pretty sure they're wax potted as well.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Mine read 7,7 and 7,8. And I swapped covers for nickel plated ones and yes they are potted. And if they are something special? Well to me, I would say definatelly yes. They are plain and simple perfect to me. Beatifull clean sound, very nice with crunch. Even on high gain settings they stay articulated. And that with the pots is true, on the product page they say 500k audio taper. Don't know, but not in my guitar, mine had 300k vol and 500k tone pots. Fixed that with a 50's wiring with 500k CTS pots. And the Orange Drops had to go too, swapped them for Luxe Bumblebee replicas. Now I have what I like to call a True Traditional! Love that thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsinicropi Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 Ok great info here. Yes I really dig the pickups and the clarity is killer. When you removed the covers did you find a block wax in the pu up cover or nice and hollow. Did they pot them w covers on or off and how well do they look saturated. knickel covers would be killer. Where'd you find yours. How does changing the orange drops to bumble bees work for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Ok great info here. Yes I really dig the pickups and the clarity is killer. When you removed the covers did you find a block wax in the pu up cover or nice and hollow. Did they pot them w covers on or off and how well do they look saturated. knickel covers would be killer. Where'd you find yours. How does changing the orange drops to bumble bees work for you. Well, I wouldn't call it a block, you really don't need that much wax to pot the covers only enough so that no air get's between pickup and cover. If I had to guess I would say maybe two tea spoons of wax. At least that's what I used to waxe the new nickel covers. I guess more wax would be pretty messy. If you wan't original parts go with these: http://store.gibson.com/neck-humbucker-cover/ 59 Tributes have both the same spacing so you would need two neck covers. I ordered the covers and all the other stuff needed for rewiring from here: http://www.crazyparts.de/ And to the capacitors, I made this topic: http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/124689-scientific-meaningless-comparison-update-now-with-working-link/page__p__1698473#entry1698473 Judge for yourself, sorry for the bad sound samples in advance. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 What are the 59 Tribute humbuckers? There not listed amongst Gibsons pickups on their web page, and it looks like they only used them for 2014. On YouTube clips they sound a lot brighter than the 57's. I think I like them. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 What are the 59 Tribute humbuckers? There not listed amongst Gibsons pickups on their web page, and it looks like they only used them for 2014. On YouTube clips they sound a lot brighter than the 57's. I think I like them. Ian Hello Ian. Sadly they can't be bought as aftermarket option. Saw some one ebay but they are long gone. I really like the versatility they give me. It's awesome, and no matter what settings on amp and guitar control knobs they stay very articulated. They are bright but in a nice kind of way. 57's were my favorites until I tried the 59's. It's unlikely that I ever would sell my Traditional, but if I do I'll keep the pickups. If you see some used ones on the web, buy them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 Hello Ian. Sadly they can't be bought as aftermarket option. Saw some one ebay but they are long gone. I really like the versatility they give me. It's awesome, and no matter what settings on amp and guitar control knobs they stay very articulated. They are bright but in a nice kind of way. 57's were my favorites until I tried the 59's. It's unlikely that I ever would sell my Traditional, but if I do I'll keep the pickups. If you see some used ones on the web, buy them. I've seen a couple of guitars for sale recently, a new old stock 2014 Traditional and a 2015 Sprint Run Traditional. I'm a little interested in try them. All my electrics have 57's or P90's. It would be nice to try something different. I wonder why Gibson seem to have dropped them? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1all's Pub Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 What are the 59 Tribute humbuckers? There not listed amongst Gibsons pickups on their web page, and it looks like they only used them for 2014. On YouTube clips they sound a lot brighter than the 57's. I think I like them. Ian They are newer Gibson pickups introduced in 2014 on the Trad model. They were also used in 2015 on the Trad and Trad SR. And then they vanished from the Gibson USA lineup for the 2016 model year. I have heard rumors that they have moved them over to the Custom Shop for use in the Historics. This would make sense, since they are very true indeed to the PAFs of old they are meant to pay tribute to. Yes, that are a bit brighter than 57 Classics. The 57/57+ combo used to be my favorite Gibson pickups. And still when I grab & play an LP (like my 2016 Trad, but I have owned others) with 57/57+ I still love them and think to myself, "Man these are great pickups." But then I grab my 2014 Trad with the 59s and I say, "Oh, yeah, but these are even better." :) It's a pretty subtle difference and if you have your gain on 10 you may have a harder time picking out the clarity & articulation (the extra bit of brightness will still come through though). But back the gain down to between 4 & 6 (where I usually play) and that clarity & articulation of the 59s will really come through (or play clean of course). They are awesome. My only real regret with the new 2016s (which I love) is the lack of the 59 Tribs. It's nice to have the variety as I do love 57/57+ as well...but if I could change one thing about the 2016 Trads it would be to give them 59 Tribs...there is just something extra special about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsinicropi Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 Mine read 7,7 and 7,8. And I swapped covers for nickel plated ones and yes they are potted. And if they are something special? Well to me, I would say definatelly yes. They are plain and simple perfect to me. Beatifull clean sound, very nice with crunch. Even on high gain settings they stay articulated. And that with the pots is true, on the product page they say 500k audio taper. Don't know, but not in my guitar, mine had 300k vol and 500k tone pots. Fixed that with a 50's wiring with 500k CTS pots. And the Orange Drops had to go too, swapped them for Luxe Bumblebee replicas. Now I have what I like to call a True Traditional! Love that thing! I too immediately changed out the pots to 500k. So the wiring is modern in these from the factory? Tell me about the 50's wiring you did and how it improves the tone. I do notice muddiness when I roll the volume back. Where'd you get the nickel covers. Were they potted with the covers off then? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsinicropi Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 Well, I wouldn't call it a block, you really don't need that much wax to pot the covers only enough so that no air get's between pickup and cover. If I had to guess I would say maybe two tea spoons of wax. At least that's what I used to waxe the new nickel covers. I guess more wax would be pretty messy. If you wan't original parts go with these: http://store.gibson.com/neck-humbucker-cover/ 59 Tributes have both the same spacing so you would need two neck covers. I ordered the covers and all the other stuff needed for rewiring from here: http://www.crazyparts.de/ And to the capacitors, I made this topic: http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/124689-scientific-meaningless-comparison-update-now-with-working-link/page__p__1698473#entry1698473 Judge for yourself, sorry for the bad sound samples in advance. Hope this helps. Forget the new post I just saw this. So the spacing it neck neck not bridge bridge? Where did you get yours specifically, the spacing various from model to model. Is it different to pot with covers on than off, if so, how does it affect the tone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted November 15, 2015 Share Posted November 15, 2015 Forget the new post I just saw this. So the spacing it neck neck not bridge bridge? Where did you get yours specifically, the spacing various from model to model. Is it different to pot with covers on than off, if so, how does it affect the tone... Like the 50's and 60's original PAF pickups, the '57s, '57 Pluses, and the various BurstBuckers including '59 Tributes are neck spaced. Neck spacing is about 50mm between 1st and 6th string pole screw center and also called "R" spacing when about the "newer" 490R and 496R pickups. Then there is the "T" spacing of about 52.5mm, applying to 490T, 498T, 500T, and Dirty Fingers humbuckers. Third-party vendors often call the latter "F" spacing which can be seen as Fender or Floyd Rose spacing. Metal covers, in particular ferromagnetic ones, will always attenuate the resonance peak a bit, most with all controls of the guitar fully opened and a correct hi-Z amp or pedal input. However, in case of typical capacitances around 100pF/m or 30pF/ft, the use of a guitar cable of greater length than about 3 metres or 10 feet is sufficient to make it inaudible. Next to all metal pickup covers contain nickel, regardless of plating surface. Brass doesn't allow for adding chrome or gold platings, so they put these metals on top of the existing nickel layer. Nickel is ferromagnetic, but the effect on tone is practically negligible, too. Measurements of pickups only will reveal differences, but along with guitar circuit, cable, amp input and speaker it won't translate. Even using a full-range acoustic amp hardly allows for detecting pickup covers in a blind test. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted November 16, 2015 Share Posted November 16, 2015 Forget the new post I just saw this. So the spacing it neck neck not bridge bridge? Where did you get yours specifically, the spacing various from model to model. Is it different to pot with covers on than off, if so, how does it affect the tone... Like Capmaster said both are R spaced, so yeah neck-neck. And I did order my covers from here: http://www.crazyparts.de Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsinicropi Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Like the 50's and 60's original PAF pickups, the '57s, '57 Pluses, and the various BurstBuckers including '59 Tributes are neck spaced. Neck spacing is about 50mm between 1st and 6th string pole screw center and also called "R" spacing when about the "newer" 490R and 496R pickups. Then there is the "T" spacing of about 52.5mm, applying to 490T, 498T, 500T, and Dirty Fingers humbuckers. Third-party vendors often call the latter "F" spacing which can be seen as Fender or Floyd Rose spacing. Metal covers, in particular ferromagnetic ones, will always attenuate the resonance peak a bit, most with all controls of the guitar fully opened and a correct hi-Z amp or pedal input. However, in case of typical capacitances around 100pF/m or 30pF/ft, the use of a guitar cable of greater length than about 3 metres or 10 feet is sufficient to make it inaudible. Next to all metal pickup covers contain nickel, regardless of plating surface. Brass doesn't allow for adding chrome or gold platings, so they put these metals on top of the existing nickel layer. Nickel is ferromagnetic, but the effect on tone is practically negligible, too. Measurements of pickups only will reveal differences, but along with guitar circuit, cable, amp input and speaker it won't translate. Even using a full-range acoustic amp hardly allows for detecting pickup covers in a blind test. Hope this helps. Sooooo.... it's R spacing at 50 mm? That was a lot of information. Do you have the exact link where you got yours. I prefer the look of nickel as well. Something like this? https://reverb.com/item/742065-doyle-coils-nickel-silver-aged-paf-humbucker-covers-relic-d-nickel-silver?_aid=pla¤cy=USD&pla=1&gclid=CL_cso23lskCFUlrfgod098O5A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jsinicropi Posted November 17, 2015 Author Share Posted November 17, 2015 Like Capmaster said both are R spaced, so yeah neck-neck. And I did order my covers from here: http://www.crazyparts.de Thanks man. Do you have the exact page link that you got them on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 DISCLAIMER: Vendors offering 49.2mm and 50mm spaced covers as well made me research. As I found out by reading measurements on lots of Gibson pickups, the "R" spacing is NOT 50mm. The correct value is 1 15/16" or 49.2mm. I beg your pardon for having posted this wrong for years. I live and learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 Thanks man. Do you have the exact page link that you got them on Here's the page: http://www.crazyparts.de/pickupcovers--acc/pickupcovers/humbucker/gibson-burstbucker-cover-nickel.php They fit like a glove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted November 17, 2015 Share Posted November 17, 2015 DISCLAIMER: Vendors offering 49.2mm and 50mm spaced covers as well made me research. As I found out by reading measurements on lots of Gibson pickups, the "R" spacing is NOT 50mm. The correct value is 1 15/16" or 49.2mm. I beg your pardon for having posted this wrong for years. I live and learn. No wonder you did believe that, here is the product description of the original Gibson replacement's PRPC-030: An original OEM replacement or restoration pickup cover that fits perfectly over any neck position Gibson humbucker, with a measurement of 50 mm between the centers of the outside poles. Available in either a Chrome, Gold, or Nickel finish. Sometimes being a bit paranoid paired with a tad OCD comes handy. I had almost ordered the covers from my authorized dealer, but then I decided to actually measure mine. And what a surprise 49,2mm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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