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**Sweetfinger** · 03-28-2011, 05:02 PM

The baseplate with the six extra holes would have been for a "Dirty Fingers" pickup, which had two screw coils. This pickup may have been rebuilt or "frankensteined". What makes me say that is those holes and the way that the mounting feet are mangled. The tinnerman nuts are also a sign that this pickup has seen some abuse. The coil mounting screws don't look quite right either. If I had to guess, I'd say someone had a pickup with cut or unusably mangled feet, and transplanted the coils onto the plate from a Dirty Fingers. 7.8K is right where a standard T-top pickup would measure.
The second pickup has what appears to be a series connection tap. Gibson did make pickups that had taps, but all the factory tap wires I have seen were the same standard braided-shield single conductor wire used for the main pickup lead. Pink just ain't lookin' right. It was a not uncommon mod to open up an old Gibson bucker and add a tap when such things were all the rage in the late 70s/early 80s. Distant memory says the true "Shaw" buckers did not have a stamped number baseplate, but had a plain plate with an ink date stamp. Anyone know for sure?

**freefrog** · 03-28-2011, 07:18 PM

Wow... THAT'S knowledge!

Thx a million: you put serious words and ideas on my "intuitive thoughts" of hobbyist.

I'll be grateful for any other documented answer. :-)

**David Schwab** · 04-01-2011, 02:50 AM

Here's the baseplate to an '81 Tim Shaw humbucker from a LP Standard:

**freefrog** · 04-01-2011, 06:59 AM

Thx David. Does it mean that the cream PU in my picture is something else? What is it, so?

**Sweetfinger** · 04-01-2011, 03:27 PM

I've done some more looking around. The "common knowledge" on the web seems to say that freefrog's cream humbucker could be a "Shaw". In looking around I did see some Gibson pickups that used the "Dirty Fingers" baseplate, but have only one screw coil. Freefrog, the way to tell if your baseplate came from a DF is to look carefully at the unused six holes on the plate and see if they have been threaded or look like they have had screws run through them. If they have, your plate is likely a transplant. If not, your pickup is an "original Humbucker" or P480. Now EVERY pickup you see from the 80s is advertised as "Shaw". Maddening.
More info: The pickup baseplates with 12 holes came in 2 versions. The first was the Dirty Fingers with both sets of holes having the same spacing. The second had one set of holes with slightly wider(bridge) spacing so that the same plate could be used for a bridge or neck spaced coil. The original Shaw designed humbucker, being a PAF "reissue", did NOT have the extra set of holes and would not have come in a wider spacing. It is unclear whether Gibson later began installing the Shaw coils/magnets on a different plate. There's also a bunch more minutia about identifying an original Shaw like the magnet type, finish, size, baseplate cutouts, spacers, orientation of the lead wires, coils, and wire. Shaw says that his pickups received no special or particular markings and were only used in "reissues or semi-reissues", so for instance, they would have been in a 335 "Dot", but not a standard 335.

**freefrog** · 04-02-2011, 07:47 AM

Thx Sweetfinger. Your answer is "more than interesting". I really appreciate your help! :-)

**David Schwab** · 04-03-2011, 07:22 PM

Originally posted by Sweetfinger View Post

Freefrog, the way to tell if your baseplate came from a DF is to look carefully at the unused six holes on the plate and see if they have been threaded or look like they have had screws run through them. If they have, your plate is likely a transplant. If not, your pickup is an "original Humbucker" or P480. Now EVERY pickup you see from the 80s is advertised as "Shaw". Maddening.

Well the Shaw pickups are from the early 80s. Now the pickup baseplate I posted above, is from a Shaw, and is dated 1981. The way to know it's a Shaw are from the other parts that I didn't include in the photo. These include different bobbins from the T-tops, and the sand cast magnet.

This pickup was from one of my buddy's LP collection, and had to be rewound. Most of the collection of 15 or so guitars is from the 80s. They all appear to have the Shaw pickups, and every one I've seen the bottom of had the double row of holes. I also had an 81 Standard with the same pickups.

My guess is that Gibson, who was starting up again, was using what ever parts they had on hand. These baseplates only have the one side threaded.

I can post more pictures of the Shaw humbucker if anyway wants to see them.

**freefrog** · 04-05-2011, 07:23 AM

Originally posted by David Schwab View Post

Well the Shaw pickups are from the early 80s. Now the pickup baseplate I posted above, is from a Shaw, and is dated 1981. The way to know it's a Shaw are from the other parts that I didn't include in the photo. These include different bobbins from the T-tops, and the sand cast magnet.

This pickup was from one of my buddy's LP collection, and had to be rewound. Most of the collection of 15 or so guitars is from the 80s. They all appear to have the Shaw pickups, and every one I've seen the bottom of had the double row of holes. I also had an 81 Standard with the same pickups.

My guess is that Gibson, who was starting up again, was using what ever parts they had on hand. These baseplates only have the one side threaded.

I can post more pictures of the Shaw humbucker if anyway wants to see them.

Thx for this new answer. Yes, I would be glad to see more pictures of the Shaw HB! :-)

**David Schwab** · 04-16-2011, 05:16 AM

I was trying to use Apple's iWeb to stick a quick photo album up, but it's not working, so here's the photos I took of my friend's Shaw pickup that I rewound for him. One coil was dead.