Gibson T-Top question.

[cluster]

Hello All, I'm a newbie here, so I'll apologize in advance for goofups. I'm not a pickup maker or anything like that but I would like to know if it would be possible to modify a later (76-79) T-Top to an earlier spec (say 69-73). I understand they used short A5 rough magnets (on both??) and that pre 75 T-Tops had pat stickers as opposed to stamps on the later one. Most people say that the pre 75 t-tops sound better and are brighter. I've also read that some t-tops sound flat. Can anyone comment on what would make the pre 75 t-tops sound better/different from the post 75 ones?? Also, was there any evidence that any pre 75 t-tops read 8 Kohms or more? All the ones I've seen read 7.5 Kohms. And lastly, would one hear a tonal difference between a rough A5 and smooth A5 in a T-top? That is if one were to swap the original rough A5 for a smooth modern A5. Thanks in advance.

[LtKojak]

Hello All, I'm a newbie here, so I'll apologize in advance for goofups. I'm not a pickup maker or anything like that but I would like to know if it would be possible to modify a later (76-79) T-Top to an earlier spec (say 69-73). I understand they used short A5 rough magnets (on both??) and that pre 75 T-Tops had pat stickers as opposed to stamps on the later one. Most people say that the pre 75 t-tops sound better and are brighter. I've also read that some t-tops sound flat. Can anyone comment on what would make the pre 75 t-tops sound better/different from the post 75 ones?? Also, was there any evidence that any pre 75 t-tops read 8 Kohms or more? All the ones I've seen read 7.5 Kohms. And lastly, would one hear a tonal difference between a rough A5 and smooth A5 in a T-top? That is if one were to swap the original rough A5 for a smooth modern A5. Thanks in advance.

T-Tops and Pat# are being hyped and pushed into the market as PAFs dried out. And because P.J. Barnum was right, they're even succeeding... many are asking about'em.

When I had'em in my '68 LPC I couldn't get'em out fast enough once I became acquainted with Seymour Duncan p'ups.

Thirty years later my opinion didn't change much: I thought they sucked then, so they suck today just as they sucked then. No surprises there.

I'll take a Seth Lover set over a T-Top set anytime of the day.

I could only stand a T-Top as a NECK p'up. Those nasty anemic shrill little beasts have no business whatsoever in the bridge position.

I should be compensated... thirteen years of my life I thought that's how a Gibson Les Paul Custom supposed to sound!

HTH,

[fieldwrangler]

T-Tops and Pat# are being hyped and pushed into the market as PAFs dried out. And because P.J. Barnum was right, they're even succeeding... many are asking about'em.

When I had'em in my '68 LPC I couldn't get'em out fast enough once I became acquainted with Seymour Duncan p'ups.

Thirty years later my opinion didn't change much: I thought they sucked then, so they suck today just as they sucked then. No surprises there.

I'll take a Seth Lover set over a T-Top set anytime of the day.

I could only stand a T-Top as a NECK p'up. Those nasty anemic shrill little beasts have no business whatsoever in the bridge position.

I should be compensated... thirteen years of my life I thought that's how a Gibson Les Paul Custom supposed to sound!

HTH,

Very good comments you have here, Pepe. Dunno if there are any easy improvements, seeing as how the metal parts, magnets & coils are all of a quite different stripe than their counterparts that continue to Ring Throughout the Ages, but if anyone has had success in this area it would be worth hearing.

Bob Palmieri

[Jim Darr]

Old thread...but I always liked the sound of early T-Tops. A lot more bite than their predecessors and very consistent from pickup to pickup. Don't get me wrong some P.A.F.s and early Patent stickers sound absolutely wonderful.