Скачать или смотреть "T" Tops From Northern Pickups...What Do We Think? (& Comparison With PAFs)

Check out these pickups here: https://www.northernpickups.co.uk/t-t...

We all know about PAF pickups, right? And then Gibson got their patent, and they morphed into Patent No. pickups? But...what came next?

Well, c.1967 Gibson re-tooled their classic humbuckers and changed a few things about them - and as part of the new bobbin tooling, "T" shapes were embossed into the top. So, you can see where their unofficial nickname came from...

They're definitely a succession of lineage, so they're sonically similar, but do differ from PAFs in a few fundamental ways. The gauge of wire is the same (42awg) but instead of being coated in Plain Enamel, the T's used Poly coated wire instead. The bobbins were also wound very symmetrically (PAFs tended to have an ofset between their two coils, leading to increased clarity & quack). And the start wire was underneath the coils on PAFs; whereas the T's have it coming straight out of the bottom. PAFs (as a very general rule) used AlNiCo 2 magnets in 1957-58, and AlNiCo 5 magnets 1959-61. Whereas the T's began with AlNiCo 3 magnets in 1967, and by the time they were discontinued they were using AlNiCo 5s.....fun to keep up with, eh?

Every man and his dog makes a PAF replica; but very few people clone "T" Tops. But Northern Pickups here in the UK have done exactly that - and I've put a set of their early AlNiCo 3 replicas into my Bailey Curve Special. They're most closely associated with classic rock crunch - so today, I'll be focussing on gainy tones...putting them through their paces to see how they keep up.

Also, as a bonus, I'll also very briefly compare the T's to some PAF replicas. It's not a perfect test by any stretch - as the guitars and pickup specs are so different....but it'll give something of a ballpark to see how Gibson's humbuckers evolved over the years, if nothing else.

What do you think? Great classic rock crunch? Or not for you? Comment below!

Guitar is a Bailey Curve Special w/ Northern Pickups AlNiCo 3 "T" Top Replicas.

Amps:
Morris Perplex'd (Modified To 50W JMP Specs)
Dr Z Z-Wreck
Dr Z EZG 50
Dr Z Mazerati V2
Orange Retro 50 Custom Shop
Vajra JTM45

Amps running into a Zilla Studio Pro 2x12 cabinet loaded with Celestion AlNiCo Gold & G12M Heritage Greenback speakers. Recorded with Aston Spirit Condenser, '70s Sennheiser MD441 and sE RNR1 ribbon mics, with a Schoeps CMC6 room mic. Spring reverb is a Dr Z Z-Verb unit.

[email protected]

0:00 Intro Playing
0:52 Intro
4:25 Playing
12:20 How Are They Different To PAFs?
13:34 PAF & "T" Top Comparison
14:46 Outro

Vector images by freepik.com