GIBSON

As rock music developed and grew in popularity, amplifiers became larger and featured higher wattage, and the music became louder and more powerful sounding as a result. This led to a call for a more versatile pickup that could split coils through a push/pull knob and prevent microphonic feedback from occurring when the volume was turned up to maximum levels. Gibson answered this call with the introduction of the revolutionary 490T and 490R pickups (”T” for treble and ”R” for rhythm), which have the traditional characteristics of the original Patent Applied For pickups, but with two key modifications. First, a four-conductor wiring scheme allows the 490s to be connected to any push/pull knob, which lets players split the coils and increase versatility. Gibson also introduced wax potting, which does away with any air space, minimizing microphonic feedback. The 490R is a humbucker with the tonal characteristics of an original Patent Applied For, with a slight increase in upper midrange response. The 490T bridge pickup is calibrated to match the 490R, with pole pieces aligned a little further apart to accommodate the spacing of the strings at the bridge, which is different than the spacing of the strings at the neck.

Fatter, meatier tone with more drive and attack. The Burstbucker™ Pro humbucker™ enhances the vintage ”edge” of Gibson’s popular Burstbucker pickups with the added feature of an Alnico 5 magnet. The Burstbucker Pro’s characteristic sweet harmonic complexity and crystalline clarity derive from its slightly unbalanced coil windings. Alnico 5 magnets are used in place of the traditional Alnico 2, yielding a fatter, meatier tone with more drive and attack, providing classic Gibson Patent Applied For tone with a hint of attitude. Wax potting keeps things quiet even with a high-gain rig.

On the shop floor of the original Gibson plant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, the earliest Gibson Patent Applied For humbuckers were wound using imprecise machines, resulting in pickups with varying degrees of output and tone. The Burstbucker™ line of pickups represents Gibson’s drive to recapture the magic of the original Patent Applied For humbucker™ pickups. First introduced in the early 1990s, the Gibson Burstbucker — Types 1, 2, and 3 — successfully captured the subtle variations of true, classic humbucker tone with historically unbalanced coil windings and Alnico 2 magnets. They produce an airy, full tone, and when overdriven, they achieve a magical distortion with the slightly enhanced highs that made the originals famous.

Burstbucker™ Type 1 features a lower output, excellent for the neck position. Burstbucker Type 2 features medium output and is perfect for any position. Burstbucker Type 3 is overwound and hot, which is typically ideal for the bridge position. None of the Burstbuckers are wax potted, and all feature vintage braided two-conductor wiring.