Thunderous Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 I'm waiting for a Gibson Blood Moon to arrive and I'm really interested in the new GEM PUPs. What are your guys thoughts about them for metal. I did see the YouTube demo and thought they sounded great. I know many people think Gibson is doing gimmicky things at times, but I have always wanted a Gibson Explorer with a flatter profile/lower bridge like the good old pre-Fender Jackson's. I applaud Gibson for trying new things and I don't understand why some people trash new ideas. They can always buy the standard equipment if they want, but please do not trash innovation. This is the Gibson I have been hoping for, but really would have been much better with an ebony fretboard!!!! I do love my Gibson LP Customs, Zakk Wylde signature Custom LP, Gibson LP VooDoo, and Flying Vee, but I'm really excited about this new design with the German Floyd trem. Thanks Gibson! I hope the new GEM PUPs are a success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderous Posted May 30, 2014 Author Share Posted May 30, 2014 Got the guitar and it is nice! However, the GEM PUPs are not really doing it for me with first impressions. I'm going to change to new strings and set her up before I can say I gave them a good chance. I really never got to turn it up yet either, so I'm hoping they wake up a bit more with my amp pushing harder. If not, I would love to find some red and black VooDoo PUPs, or else EMG's will go in there. I really like the guitar though. After I get her all setup, I'll let you guys know if they are decent or not, at least in my opinion. The guitar does have a spot of what looks like a lacquer drip in the finish on the back of the neck. Come on Gibson???? Really? The specs are spot-on though and she looks sweet. A keeper for sure, but Gibson really needs better quality control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Congrats on your buy! Looks darn special, and I guess the swamp ash body delivers a huge tone. I also found lacquer drips several times on new Gibsons, but this has been long, long ago during the Norlin years. Nitrocellulose drips should be easily removeable for an experienced luthier, but I am with you, they should do this at the factory. Never heard of these guitars and pickups. When did they make them? Switched to Schaller Floyd Rose bridges on two Fender FR Strats, too - a vast improvement in either adjustability and use. Like the Ibanez Edge systems, they allow for using the entire range of the fine tuners also for "long" strings, typically E6th and G3rd. I guess if I didn't like the active pickups, I would swap them with 496R/500T, put in a Graph Tech piezo Floyd Rose, and use the battery power for the suitable Acousti-Phonic circuit. Sadly, I would have to sacrifice the Schaller FR. Have two Fender FR Strats retrofitted this way, too, but prefer the Schaller FR modded ones when not needing piezo tones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunderous Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 I love everything about the guitar, but the Gibson GEM pickups fall a little short of my expectations. I gave them a great tryout today. They can't touch EMG's. They have no low end and palm mutes sound really muted. I'm bummed about the PUPs for sure. The neck PUP has a fantastic tone though. Harmonics don't ring out like they should on the bridge PUP. My swamp ash VooDoo sounds much better. I still love the guitar, but looks like i'm gonna be shopping for new PUPs. I wonder if the pots will work with EMG's? Haven't looked at them yet. It has the battery compartment at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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