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Gibson Les Paul 60th Anniversary R0 with unpotted Alnico III pickups

herb

Active member
Joined
Jan 13, 2002
Messages
981
I was just listening to an online demo of these new guitars and those pickups sounded very alive. Unpotted Alnico IIIs. Can't wait to try one of these guitars. Maybe next Fall when this old man feels safe to leave the house? :spabout

Let's hear about yours, especially those pickups, and what version of the R0 that you got.

Oh, does anyone make Alnico III unpotted pickups and sell the as sets?
 

El Gringo

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 8, 2015
Messages
5,655
I was just listening to an online demo of these new guitars and those pickups sounded very alive. Unpotted Alnico IIIs. Can't wait to try one of these guitars. Maybe next Fall when this old man feels safe to leave the house? :spabout

Let's hear about yours, especially those pickups, and what version of the R0 that you got.

Oh, does anyone make Alnico III unpotted pickups and sell the as sets?
I just checked out a few places and I found that ThroBak ( my favorites ) carry A3 magnets and can make you a set . My favorite pickups are the MXV-SLE-101 Plus pickups ,which you can have wax potted or not it's up to you . To me they are like a hotter wind PAF vintage style flavor , but they have a nice selection to choose from . Check them out www.throbak.com P.S. for what it's worth I would use A5 magnets , but that is up to you .
 
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herb

Active member
Joined
Jan 13, 2002
Messages
981
I just checked out a few places and I found that ThroBak ( my favorites ) carry A3 magnets and can make you a set . My favorite pickups are the MXV-SLE-101 Plus pickups ,which you can have wax potted or not it's up to you . To me they are like a hotter wind PAF vintage style flavor , but they have a nice selection to choose from . Check them out www.throbak.com P.S. for what it's worth I would use A5 magnets , but that is up to you .

Thanks for your input. ThroBak makes awesome pickups. Never owned a set but have friends that use them.

My favorite humbuckers have the Alnico 2s, that's why I was asking about the 3s. Never heard them in a guitar, especially unpotted. Just wondering what the consensus is with those that have used them. I've hear that the Alnico 3s have a darker sound? I'm wondering if using an unpotted version might brighten them up a bit?
 

djcmusician

Active member
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
263
I had a 2019 R7 Goldtop with the unpotted AIIIs. I liked the neck but to me the bridge was just too thin and bright. I have a buddy with a 2019 R9 with the same pickups and his bridge sounded fuller.

I went back to SD Antiquities AII mags. Like them much better. But that’s just one person’s opinion.
 

herb

Active member
Joined
Jan 13, 2002
Messages
981
I had a 2019 R7 Goldtop with the unpotted AIIIs. I liked the neck but to me the bridge was just too thin and bright. I have a buddy with a 2019 R9 with the same pickups and his bridge sounded fuller.

I went back to SD Antiquities AII mags. Like them much better. But that’s just one person’s opinion.

Thats what I like. SD Antiquities and Seth Lovers.
 

pqs

Active member
Joined
May 31, 2019
Messages
109
That’s what came with my 60th Anniversary R9. Alive is right. It’s the luck of the draw really, as there is a lot of variation in these pickups. Mine, the neck is marginally hotter than the bridge, 8.07 and 8.05 respectively. The bridge pickup sounds amazing, a lot of note definition and clarity without it being harsh. Beautiful sounding no matter what you do to it. You almost have to dare it to get a bad sound. It’s one of the few pickups that sounds good even clean on the bridge position.

The neck was the opposite. It is also alive, but in a very different way. It’s a wild animal and it took me some time to learn how to tame it. Once I did learn how to use the pickup, it became a phenomenal pickup. Lots of note definition and cuts well through a full band mix beautifully. Before learning how to tame it, it easily became muddy, especially with gain. A combination of amp eq setup, height adjustment and using the controls did the trick. I have set the pickup really low, but I could just drop it too low, otherwise it become too warm and the bottom end would just transform everything to mush. Maybe because it’s on the hotter side, for P.A.F. inspired neck pickup, it’s a bit more unforgiving with its setup. Also, this pickup likes amps to be turned up, that’s when it shines. It really doesn’t care if it’s a Marshall, a Fender, a Vox, or whatever you throw at it, as long as you turn it up to let it breath a little.

In summary two very different pickups between and and pickup, dispute almost identical output. Interestingly, I love both of these pickups. I’ve seen videos of 60th Anniversary R9s vs vintage 1959 LP, and, I don’t know if it’s the video compression, but I can’t help but think that my R9 would have done better than the R9s featured in those videos.
 

herb

Active member
Joined
Jan 13, 2002
Messages
981
In summary two very different pickups between and and pickup, dispute almost identical output. Interestingly, I love both of these pickups. I’ve seen videos of 60th Anniversary R9s vs vintage 1959 LP, and, I don’t know if it’s the video compression, but I can’t help but think that my R9 would have done better than the R9s featured in those videos.

Thanks for your review. Glad you worked with it rather than swapping out. Sounds like something I would be interested in and would like to check out myself. There's a local store that carries guitars with these pups but are closed right now because of the Covid. Maybe next fall?
 

pqs

Active member
Joined
May 31, 2019
Messages
109
Thanks for your review. Glad you worked with it rather than swapping out. Sounds like something I would be interested in and would like to check out myself. There's a local store that carries guitars with these pups but are closed right now because of the Covid. Maybe next fall?

Absolutely. So often amazing pickups get sacrificed too soon. Keeping the eagerness under control and trying to find the sweet spot of pickups can sometimes reveal certain hidden gems. This was one of them. I confess I came close to almost caving in and putting something in that I was already familiar with, but I'm glad I stuck with it to try to find its optimal setup.

I hope yo get to try one of these amazing guitar in a not too distant future.
 

Victory Pete

Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2009
Messages
254
I have 2 2018 ROs with potted Custombuckers, dont know what Alnico magnets are in them but these guitars scream. Very open, punchy and articulate detail no matter what pickup combination you choose. I was originally interested in the 60th Anniversary RO but didn't like the tomato soap burst offered in the V2 and wanted potted pickups. So I was glad to find some leftover 2018's to choose from. Both guitars have around 8Kohms pickups measured in the guitar.

GmDH8FD.jpg
 

danzego

New member
Joined
Aug 21, 2018
Messages
17
I have one of the new 1960 V1's and I love the pickups. The best clean sound I've ever gotten in a Les Paul, to be sure. Fantastic when driving an amp or through an overdrive pedal, too.
 

Victory Pete

Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2009
Messages
254
I have one of the new 1960 V1's and I love the pickups. The best clean sound I've ever gotten in a Les Paul, to be sure. Fantastic when driving an amp or through an overdrive pedal, too.
Yes the tones coming out of these guitars are absolutely fantastic. In 35 years of playing I have never heard and felt such amazing sounds. It makes me play differently.
 
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