Gib 'Johnny Smith' Pickup Parts

[ken]

Hello all,

I have a 1960s? Gibson Johnny Smith guitar here that needs a new pickup. The original pickup is too fragile to repair.

Does anyone sell parts for this pickup?

Thank you,
Ken

[David Schwab]

They look like regular mini humbuckers, though I don't know how they are mounted. Are they shallower than normal? The notes I have say the DC resistance is 7K.

[Peter Naglitsch]

IIRC they have a Firebird style magnet within one bobbin, magnetically connected with a row of deluxe style adjustable screws via a ferrous shim beneath the bobbins. So if you get
Got Guitar Parts? : Guitar Jones USA
Got Guitar Parts? : Guitar Jones USA
Got Guitar Parts? : Guitar Jones USA
Got Guitar Parts? : Guitar Jones USA
and
Got Guitar Parts? : Guitar Jones USA
or
Mojotone Vintage Mini Humbucker Pickup Kit
and ditch the magnet for this
Mojotone Magnetized Alnico 5 Firebird Magnet (2.050'' long x 0.315'' wide x 0.125'' thick)
instead you just need to fabricate the ferrous shim to fit beneath the coils.

[ken]

I'm sorry I'm so late with this post... winemaking season.

My pickup looks nothing like the description - there is no adjustable poles, bar magnet, or ferrous shim. Notice the pickup bobbins are modified 'T-top' parts.

Here is a couple of photos of the pickup I have.

Thank you,
Ken

[David Schwab]

That's not a Johnny Smith pickup. It looks home made from a T-Top.

More info:

In late 1960 two sample guitars were built according to johnny smiths' specs , he wanted a fully acoustic archtop with a suspended floating pickup . Gibson decided to use the mini humbucker (PU-120) .

Vintage Gibson Guitars: Gibson Johnny Smith

This is a Johnny Smith pickup.

[ken]

Strange...

the owner swears up and down that this is his guitar's original pickup.

I'm going to use Peter's information to make a 'new' pickup, the owner was always saying this pickup is too muddy anyway.

If you look closely at the pickup in my photos, you can see that the bobbins are full of not wire but either brass rods or the wooden middle piece. This pickup measured about 5.5k DCR, so I'm thinking this pickup has to be wound with 44 gauge wire.

Thank you,
ken

[Possum]

Can you post a bigger photo? Yes it probably IS the original pickup and Gibson made. You said "modified" bobbins, what is modified? Are these both slug bobbins? I can't see any details. Regular humbucker magnet? It may be a one-off or prototype, or a Gibson employee made it for himself. Very Cool.

Oooops, Safari won't expand to big pix but Firefox does. So WHERE is the magnet????

[David Schwab]

Yes it probably IS the original pickup and Gibson made.

Not on a Johnny Smith it isn't. From the beginning they used mini humbuckers.

[Peter Naglitsch]

I'm going to use Peter's information to make a 'new' pickup, the owner was always saying this pickup is too muddy anyway.

If you do, please let us know how it sounds as I stil have not attemped to make one myself and I'm pretty interested to hear what the difference is between a "standard" (or deluxe) type of mini HB and a Johnny Smith version. I can guess hoe it will sound but nothing beats the real thing.

[Possum]

If it belonged to a Gibson employee they could put anything they wanted on it. I've researched alot of Gibson vintage pickups, and the only "rules" are that there AREN'T any rules. Could be homemade could be employee made. Can't prove it either way.

[David Schwab]

Can't prove it either way.

Either way it's not a Johnny Smith pickup . Just find another example of that pickup. When did Gibson ever use a plastic cover in that shape, and with wood on the inside?

The article I posted to says that the very first two prototype guitars made for Smith had mini humbuckers, and that was what all the rest came with. So this can't be an "early" version or something.

I can't find a single photo of any Gibson arch-top with that pickup on it.

[ken]

Here is a very large photo of the inside of the pickup.

Ken

[Rick Turner]

And the reason for simply not rewinding this one is...?

Weird with the bobbins not touching, isn't it?

And yes, there's no way to know definitively what Gibson never made! Having worked for them, I know how it was and how it is. Just when your most senior Gibson expert (who never worked at any of the "there" locations) thinks he or she knows it all, up comes something completely unexpected and undocumented, and this can happen from any era of Gibson history. There has always been a Gibson custom shop making weird shit. There are always left over batches of parts that seem to suddenly find themselves integrated into "new models" that have a limited lifetime. There are features you wouldn't even notice because of dark stain and paint, for instance the maple and walnut necks on 1943 J-45s. And there have been thousands of employees, some of whom made their own guitars or who bought and modified factory 2nds over the years. Been there, seen that.

[David Schwab]

Now the question is.... where is the magnet? Are those poles rod magnets?

[ken]

I have finally got some new information.

This pickup is not from a Gibson Johnny Smith, it's from a Heritage Johnny Smith.
Big difference, of course.

One of the bobbins seems to have very weak Alnico !!? rod magnets in it, and the other pole seems to have plain steel rods. I asked the owner if any of the parts were missing, and he swears that this is the way it was in his guitar. I think there should be a steel plate in the bottom myself.

The customer wants a black fullsize humbucker the same thickness, with adjusting screws.

Ken