Gibson pickups.

[christianm77]

Look, are these things actually any good?
Gretsch 1952 Synchromatic 100/6014 1952 Sunburst | Reverb

They sure look spiffy.

[neatomic]

just for info..the original guild hb1 is larger than a standard gibson humbucker...you couldn't just easily switch them out....

jimmy d'aquisto used hb1's and thats why jim hall had them on his guitars...back then, guitar parts were very difficult to come by, so im sure just the availability of the guild pickups to jimmy was a major factor...guild factory was local to him

cheers

[citizenk74]

Look, are these things actually any good?
Gretsch 1952 Synchromatic 100/6014 1952 Sunburst | Reverb

They sure look spiffy.

That is a beauty. My money would be on its sounding terrific. Spiffy indeed! That instrument has been played and loved.

[christianm77]

apparently django liked the gretsch...with his friend harry volpe, who was killer player and guitar educator & had long affiliation with gretsch

Attachment 43433

cheers

Fake news.

[neatomic]

Fake news.

yeah it's a django impersonator!! haha...(and does his left hand hurt!!)

cheers

[Hep To The Jive]

Speaking of Gretsch, if there is one guitar I miss most of all, it's my Duo Jet with filtertrones. Granted, I wasn't really playing jazz when I used to have it, but all the recordings I done, that was the best sounding one, always just perfectly sitting in the mix. Now I wonder how would it sound in jazz, specifically the variety I play...

Also, so what if certain guitars weren't used in jazz before? That what's called breaking the mold, and it's a noble thing! One day, I swear I get a Flying V to a jazz gig, you wait and see!

[LtKojak]

All decisions made about p'ups in the early days were all taken based on production and manufacturing costs and materials' availability. Tone has never ever even been brought to the discussion table, specially for Gibson, for they were considered a "necessary evil", or simply a means to the end of selling guitars. And believe it or not, it still is to this day.

[GNAPPI]

All decisions made about p'ups in the early days were all taken based on production and manufacturing costs and materials' availability. Tone has never ever even been brought to the discussion table, specially for Gibson, for they were considered a "necessary evil", or simply a means to the end of selling guitars. And believe it or not, it still is to this day.

Well, yes, and no. From a purely manufacturing standpoint you are correct and the resultant sound may have been an accident. Manufacturing engineers (ME's) have always been tasked to lower price as much as possible, EVERY penny (or fraction of) is considered in mass production, but design engineers (DE's) don't usually consider cost nearly as much, their design point is generally from a user perspective. Once design points are reached, the manufacturing folks get involved. Back in the day, it's possible that the DE and ME were the same person but if a git sounded like crappenzola everyone knew it would not sell. After my spending over 22 years in the modern electronics industry I think little has changed.

As far as sound goes, Gibson certainly did advertise their sound even though as I said it may have been accidental. From a late 50's print ad:

"the new humbucking pickup generates more power, and creates greater clarity and sustaining tone while reducing hum from outside interference."

[Greentone]

I saw it mentioned earlier, but it wasn't picked up on--he, he.

People are quick to switch out pickups, but if you want to get a sweet jazz tone with your guitar you should really try lowering your humbucker neck pickup to a position flush with the body of the guitar (if the screws will permit this) and then raise the pole piece screws). This makes a dramatic difference in the tone of the guitar.

Most guitars are set up with the pickups WAY to close to the strings--holdover strategies from rock where high output equals a high signal that pulverizes the input tubes in the amplifier. More buzz for the buck-er.

[sgosnell]

If cost were the only factor, the humbucker would never have been used. Two coils obviously cost more than one, roughly twice as much, not counting the other pickup parts.

[mad dog]

All the facts in the world don't change taste. Though "informed taste" seems a worthy goal.

Hard to generalize about Gibson pickups, or anything else they put out. I regularly lose patience with them as a company, then pick up some guitar or other and realize they are still very much capable of greatness. To my taste, not so much lately with pickups. The patent sticker or early Ttops in my '66 ES-335 are my standard for good humbucker sound. I'm just as fond of a set of Gibson made P13s in an old Silvertone 1427 archtop, and several sets of P-90s in 50s and 60s guitars.

Not so much the Classic 57s. I suspect they're perfect in certain guitars ... just haven't found those guitars yet. Most of the other Gibson branded p/us I come across lately (burstbuckers, JB et al.) don't work well for my tastes. Where Seth Lovers do. And a few other sets: a pair of Fralin pure PAFs in my teachers L5, a pair of Ian Anderson handwounds in my H575.

Truth is, single coils are where it's at for me for jazz. P-90s especially. And Dearmond 2k pickups which look like dynas but are not. I've been practicing more and more lately on a Dearmond T400 archtop with those p/us. Modest guitar, modest price, but it's got this sound I really love. Sorta P90, not quite.
MD