Took my 2012 GB10 into the shop for a replacement pickup

[jzucker]

You may remember I was inquiring about replacement pickups for the GB10 because I hate the super bright and overly hot ceramic magnet pickups that are in there. I wanted to relay my adventure.

Supposedly the pickups are made by dimarzio. I opted to buy a reissie gibson les paul deluxe, mini humbucker instead of having it rewound. My goal is to have my repairman, unsolder the existing pickup from the cover, replace it with the gibson pickup and be done with it. It didn't matter to me if the bridge was hotter and brighter because I don't use the bridge much with this guitar and when I do, the ceramic/hot pickup may not be a bad thing on it since it's adjusted pretty far from the strings.

I took the guitar and pickup into the shop today. The first thing the repairman did was check the magnetic polarity and the gibson is wired 180° from the stock pickups. So my repairman said he can reverse the magnet *BUT* that's assuming the stock pickup is wired in the same direction as the original pickup. If it's not, it will be an expensive experiment...

He won't know until he opens it up. I'll keep you guys up to date about how it goes. He said it'll be about 2 weeks before he's done...

[rpjazzguitar]

I'd like to understand this better. Why does polarity matter in this case? I thought it was only when you're using more than one pickup at a time. Would you be kind enough to explain it? Thanks in advance.

[st.bede]

I thought polarity was only really useful with SC PUs. IDK

However, I do like the idea of putting in alnico magnet PUs in that guitar. I think it would be beneficial, unless the guitar is needs the extra crunch from ceramics.

[Hammertone]

I did not know you were on the lookout for GB-10 pickups. I have a few NOS GB pickups that I got in @1981 or so, if anyone has a need.

[jzucker]

I did not know you were on the lookout for GB-10 pickups. I have a few NOS GB pickups that I got in @1981 or so, if anyone has a need.

could you measure the dc resistence?

[jzucker]

I'd like to understand this better. Why does polarity matter in this case? I thought it was only when you're using more than one pickup at a time. Would you be kind enough to explain it? Thanks in advance.

It matters because the pickups selector has a middle position with both pickups in series when selected. In that case, I'd get an ugly polarity mid notch and corresponding loss of volume

I thought polarity was only really useful with SC PUs. IDK


However, I do like the idea of putting in alnico magnet PUs in that guitar. I think it would be beneficial, unless the guitar is needs the extra crunch from ceramics.

No, that's not the case. Polarity and winding direction always matters when you use more than 1 pickup. Unfortunately, there's no industry standard.

[rpjazzguitar]

It matters because the pickups selector has a middle position with both pickups in series when selected. In that case, I'd get an ugly polarity mid notch and corresponding loss of volume




No, that's not the case. Polarity and winding direction always matters when you use more than 1 pickup. Unfortunately, there's no industry standard.

Thank you for the explanation.

[John A.]

FWIW, a friend of mine has one of the Chinese GB variants (GB 40thII), and he swapped in a Lollar Johnny Smith neck pickup.
It sounds really good (really nice guitar overall, too). I’m not sure if he had to do any mods to get it to work on the GB.

[Moonray]

I have a GB10SE Indonesian made and haven't needed to change a thing. [Just a setup at the outset to make it be the way I like]
Bought it Dec 2020, I preferred the fuller rounded neck carve and the neck p/u sounded "bigger"
than than the Japanese model the store had.
The SE was around $2500 and the Japanese one C $4500 - the pricing has gone up stupidly since then...but I was pleased with the deal.

The stronger outputput may be due to having a ceramic p/u, doesn't bother me...have looked into the Lollars and thought
about a change, but really every time I plug it in to play, it just sounds great!

Good luck with your change Jack, look forward to your findings.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

I'd like to understand this better. Why does polarity matter in this case? I thought it was only when you're using more than one pickup at a time. Would you be kind enough to explain it? Thanks in advance.

Even the absolute polarity matters. If you pick a guitar or bang a bass drum and amplify that signal resp. record it and play it back the attack part of that signal should move the speaker membrane towards you. You can try that out by playing back a recorded guitar or a drum loop in your DAW and inverting the polarity of the channel back and forth. If the absolute polarity is not correct the signal will sound more indirect and distant assuming your whole setup is wired correctly.

[yebdox]

Look forward to your findings, Jack. Why the mini bucker vs a JS? Didn't know they were the same size, the mini bucker always looked slightly bigger to me, but I've never investigated.

On a separate note, (in response to another post of yours) a reminder to you that you are valued, both here and on FB for the work you do, as well as the standards you have set for yourself and others. I've read many of your posts over the years and appreciate that at times you have struggled with injury, surgery, your father's passing, change of careers, etc. I think you are doing just fine. You have multiple talents on so many levels. It always helps me to remember to be grateful for all that has come my way, including the challenges, when I'm in the midst of overwhelm. Cheers, Jack.

[jzucker]

Look forward to your findings, Jack. Why the mini bucker vs a JS? Didn't know they were the same size, the mini bucker always looked slightly bigger to me, but I've never investigated.

I'm not sure the johnny smith pickup mounts exactly in the same place and I didn't want to mess with new screw holes.

[edit] - I don't think my luthier has started the work. The first thing he'll do is check the size. If it's the wrong size, it's back to the drawing board...

On a separate note, (in response to another post of yours) a reminder to you that you are valued, both here and on FB for the work you do, as well as the standards you have set for yourself and others. I've read many of your posts over the years and appreciate that at times you have struggled with injury, surgery, your father's passing, change of careers, etc. I think you are doing just fine. You have multiple talents on so many levels. It always helps me to remember to be grateful for all that has come my way, including the challenges, when I'm in the midst of overwhelm. Cheers, Jack.

Wow! That means a lot to me. ?Actually brought tears to my eyes. I appreciate so much the kind words and support. For anyone who struggles with issues of depression, it's often difficult to understand why, or what happened to cause your inner pain. So hard to convey to people why you might be feeling down. But the one thing that is universally true is, the acceptance that it's "OK" to be blue, and the acknowledgement that you are valued and loved is what ultimately makes a big difference.