# Gibson Custombuckers Now Available From Long and McQuade



## Mike_Blaszk (Sep 16, 2021)

Not sure how many will be interested in these because of the pricepoint, but Gibson Custombuckers are now available for order through Long and McQuade. Just picked one up (Double Black - uncovered) to try in the neck position of my Gibson Les Paul Standard. There should also be zebra and covered variants of this pickup available.









Gibson - Custombucker Neck/Bridge Pickup - True Historic Double Black


Gibson - Custombucker Neck/Bridge Pickup - True Historic Double Black




www.long-mcquade.com


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

I have two guitars with Custombuckers and they sound pretty good, but for $300+ each, they’d better! I look forward to hearing your impressions once you’ve got it installed in your LP. 

The backstory on current Custombuckers is interesting in that they apparently were made to sound like Jimmy Page’s #1, rather than to be exact PAF clones. Gibson is also reportedly looking to make more accurate PAF replicas in the near future.

Source:
Post in thread 'Hey it's Mat from Gibson Product Development - AMA'
Hey it's Mat from Gibson Product Development - AMA


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

These will sell. I’ve liked the custombuckers I’ve experienced.


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## FatStrat2 (Apr 7, 2021)

Those are great pickups.

But that's one thing I definitely think isn't something to buy from any local retailer and that's pickups. It's like they're platinum or something. They either have to order them in or they are crazy expensive. Even with the exchange rate, it's much more inexpensive on eBay or even Amazon for the exact same pickup. I never understood that specifically for pickups, it's been like that for decades with retailers (and off topic: car tires too).


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

FatStrat2 said:


> Those are great pickups.
> 
> But that's one thing I definitely think isn't something to buy from any local retailer and that's pickups. It's like they're platinum or something. They either have to order them in or they are crazy expensive. Even with the exchange rate, it's much more inexpensive on eBay or even Amazon for the exact same pickup. I never understood that specifically for pickups, it's been like that for decades with retailers (and off topic: car tires too).


In the case of Gibson products, I think Long & McQuade might have an advantage since Yorkville is the Canadian distributor. But yeah, we’ll see what pricing looks like as more of these hit the market. Of course, that’s for new pricing. Guys do pull them from their guitars and sell them used.


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## Mike_Blaszk (Sep 16, 2021)

I fully know that I'm paying a premium here, but even the used/secondhand ones that are available aren't much cheaper. Maybe this eventually brings the price down. I've heard great things about these pickups and the SD SH-1 (59) that I currently have in the neck of my Les Paul is a little dark/undefined for my taste. So, I'm willing to give it a shot. Plus, I'd be lying if I said Adam Jones having a Custombucker in the neck of his Les Paul Custom didn't peak my interest. Ill definitely post a little blurb about my experience when I receive and get this installed.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Price is not too crazy either if you compare it to Throback pickups... that's expensive but it seems to be in the range of good boutique PU.
I don't see the option for the other version though, with cover.


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## Mike_Blaszk (Sep 16, 2021)

Derek_T said:


> Price is not too crazy either if you compare it to Throback pickups... that's expensive but it seems to be in the range of good boutique PU.
> I don't see the option for the other version though, with cover.


You may have to reach out to their web team. I did this morning and they added the specific one I posted 20 mins later. Sweetwater and Gibson both have Double Black, Zebra and Nickel/Gold Covered versions posted.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Mike_Blaszk said:


> Not sure how many will be interested in these because of the pricepoint, but Gibson Custombuckers are now available for order through Long and McQuade. Just picked one up (Double Black - uncovered) to try in the neck position of my Gibson Les Paul Standard. There should also be zebra and covered variants of this pickup available.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Let me know how they sound in your standard. Before I bought my R8 last night I was considering the custombuckers to put in my Standard. One big reason I decided against it is that the standard neck gave me some issues where as the R8 neck is perfect. 
I love the tone of the custombuckers.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

I'd prefer to buy new. Buying used you could be getting anything. I think the cost is reasonable.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

My understanding is Burstbuckers were initially available only in CS guitars, then in the 2000s were put into standard production guitars and available to buy separately. By the late 2000s I think they were even put into some Studios.

Custombuckers have only been available in CS Gibsons for about 10 years, and used prices are up there. Having them available as parts I wonder if we'll see them eventually put into Standards etc ?


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

BlueRocker said:


> I'd prefer to buy new. Buying used you could be getting anything. I think the cost is reasonable.


You say that because there are no markings to really ID these? It seems any Burstbucker with the paper "made by" sticker removed look superficially like a Custombucker.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

tomee2 said:


> You say that because there are no markings to really ID these? It seems any Burstbucker with the paper "made by" sticker removed look superficially like a Custombucker.


Exactly.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

tomee2 said:


> My understanding is Burstbuckers were initially available only in CS guitars, then in the 2000s were put into standard production guitars and available to buy separately. By the late 2000s I think they were even put into some Studios.
> 
> Custombuckers have only been available in CS Gibsons for about 10 years, and used prices are up there. Having them available as parts I wonder if we'll see them eventually put into Standards etc ?


The most recent iteration of Custombuckers had some design tweaks in 2017. Apparently the main change was to no longer use wax potting.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Wonder how long it will take for used prices to drop as a result.


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## GeorgeMich (Jun 6, 2013)

@guitarman2 after all your talk about a new R9/R8 are we gonna get a new guitar day? Did you buy that one in Branford?


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

GeorgeMich said:


> @guitarman2 after all your talk about a new R9/R8 are we gonna get a new guitar day? Did you buy that one in Branford?











NGD-Les Paul content


I finally pulled the trigger. I tried a lot of guitars over the past couple of months. I played about 30 different R9's and R8's. I thought I was destined for an R9 but the more I played the more the fuller neck on the R8 felt right. And because of that I realized that a flame top wasn't that...




www.guitarscanada.com


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Just buy yourself an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Outfit and a pair of these, instant R9 - save yourself $6620. And it will be better than a Gibson (think I read that somewhere)


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

BlueRocker said:


> Just buy yourself an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Outfit and a pair of these, instant R9 - save yourself $6620. And it will be better than a Gibson (think I read that somewhere)


Do go on, I think I would like to hear more


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Budda said:


> Wonder how long it will take for used prices to drop as a result.


As I think happened to BBs. I bought a pair of BB1 2 for $200, a pair of 61s for $125! (Some argue they are not BB but Gibson called them "BB Zebra 61s" so...)


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

BlueRocker said:


> Just buy yourself an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Outfit and a pair of these, instant R9 - save yourself $6620. And it will be better than a Gibson (think I read that somewhere)


/s


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Mark Brown said:


> Do go on, I think I would like to hear more


A certain member with an “Agile” mind could tell you all about it


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

$300/pickup seems a little steep given what custom wound pickups go for.


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## Mike_Blaszk (Sep 16, 2021)

Okay Player said:


> $300/pickup seems a little steep given what custom wound pickups go for.


Generally, yes it is. But, I imagine that Gibson wants to preserve some level of exclusivity for the pickups that, generally, go into their custom shop guitars. Also, while many will debate their relative level of quality (it is a Gibson product afterall), there are other competitors that are priced similarly.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

I don't see how the price of custom wound pickups has anything to do with this. If you want Custombuckers, you can now get them. Don't like them, buy something else.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

BlueRocker said:


> I don't see how the price of custom wound pickups has anything to do with this. If you want Custombuckers, you can now get them. Don't like them, buy something else.


When I've bought pickups I've purchased based on the description matching what I'm looking for, rather than what name brand they hold. I didn't think I was unique in that regard. It isn't really a question of "Not liking them.' 

That being said, I'm sure it'll be about 15 minutes before it's decided that these aren't the "Real" Gibson Custombuckers like you often here with Fender Custom Shop pickups.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Okay Player said:


> like you often here with Fender Custom Shop pickups.


This is a thing??

There is so much guitar nonsense I am glad I do not know.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

Mark Brown said:


> This is a thing??
> 
> There is so much guitar nonsense I am glad I do not know.


My man, if half of guitar lore was true, no car would ever run, lol.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

Mike_Blaszk said:


> Generally, yes it is. But, I imagine that Gibson wants to preserve some level of exclusivity for the pickups that, generally, go into their custom shop guitars. Also, while many will debate their relative level of quality (it is a Gibson product afterall), there are other competitors that are priced similarly.


Trying to keep some exclusivity makes sense.


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## Vally (Aug 18, 2016)

You’ll see used ones for $300 each, save the tax.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Okay Player said:


> My man, if half of guitar lore was true, no car would ever run, lol.


Wait... I am confused. Are Agile better than Gibson then because I only have like 27 days left 

Also some internet sleuthing led me to a lot of posts of people decrying the 490R and 498T pickups, saying they are anemic and muddy. Well they are so muddy, I had to rip out the Vinehams in my Strat and put the Lace Gold back in just to keep up with their clarity. 

Internet be damned, just likes what you likes and everyone else can wank it.

None of that being about this, I do find 300 dollars per seems like a decent price for what is on offer here. Especially, as it has been said, they are exclusive to "this and that and some other things" might as well elevate the price and make a penny and not dilute availability at the same time. It is commerce after all.


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## Okay Player (May 24, 2020)

Mark Brown said:


> Wait... I am confused. Are Agile better than Gibson then because I only have like 27 days left


I honestly have no idea what you're talking about.


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## tdotrob (Feb 24, 2019)

Shoot I got two sets of custombuckers sitting here doing nothing I was gonna ask $250 a pair for and didn’t cause it felt like I’d be ripping someone off for shitty pickups lol


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

tdotrob said:


> Shoot I got two sets of custombuckers sitting here doing nothing I was gonna ask $250 a pair for and didn’t cause it felt like I’d be ripping someone off for shitty pickups lol


You know man, if that is the case, I'll take a set off your hands for 200. I don't want to make you feel bad or anything.


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## Mike_Blaszk (Sep 16, 2021)

Mark Brown said:


> You know man, if that is the case, I'll take a set off your hands for 200. I don't want to make you feel bad or anything.


I was thinking the same thing hahaha


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

Mike_Blaszk said:


> I was thinking the same thing hahaha


He has two sets


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Mark Brown said:


> Wait... I am confused. Are Agile better than Gibson then because I only have like 27 days left
> 
> Also some internet sleuthing led me to a lot of posts of people decrying the 490R and 498T pickups, saying they are anemic and muddy. Well they are so muddy, I had to rip out the Vinehams in my Strat and put the Lace Gold back in just to keep up with their clarity.
> 
> ...


 I have the same 490/498 in my white Studio and they're fine. And Burstbuckers are fine. I'm sure these Custombuckers are fine too. New BB are nearly $400 pair so the marginal upcharge is reasonable ish. But a new pair of Classic 57s is about $300, and weren't they at one time supposed to be Gibsons best shot at the classic early PAF?


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

tomee2 said:


> I have the same 490/498 in my white Studio and they're fine. And Burstbuckers are fine. I'm sure these Custombuckers are fine too. New BB are nearly $400 pair so the marginal upcharge is reasonable ish. But a new pair of Classic 57s is about $300, and weren't they at one time supposed to be Gibsons best shot at the classic early PAF?


Here’s my understanding:

57 Classics are built to PAF specs as per the original design, but without the quirks (eg. unbalanced coils, different number of winds) that made some old PAFs so great. So yes, they represent Seth Lover’s design, although they did add wax potting to them to help reduce feedback. 57 Classics are exactly to spec, but that’s not always what made PAFs great. It was the variations from spec that added to the sound. Then the 57 Classic+ brought a hotter wind for the bridge position.

Burstbuckers were a further attempt to replicate old PAFs with offset coils and no wax potting. They ended up with 3 variations that went from lowest to highest output, once again attempting to replicate the variation among the old PAFs.

Custombuckers are not an attempt to painstakingly replicate PAFs, but rather an attempt to go for a specific tone or sound: that of Jimmy Page’s Number One Les Paul.

Apparently, Gibson has also now undertaken the project of reproducing old PAFs even more accurately with period-correct materials and techniques, just like the boutique people do. It will be interesting to see what comes of this.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

jdto said:


> Gibson has also *now* undertaken the project of reproducing old PAFs even more accurately with period-correct materials and techniques


Good, after warming up for two decades it's about time they take the matter seriously


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

Derek_T said:


> Good, after warming up for two decades it's about time they take the matter seriously


Under new ownership as of ~2018, so not really 20 years lol

It looks like the new team is really trying to match the meticulousness of the hardcore guitar lovers who geek out over all the little details. Good for them, I say. I don’t necessarily care what wire was used to wind my pickups or the plastic composition of the bobbins, but apparently enough do that the company is motivated to go after that segment.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

jdto said:


> Under new ownership as of ~2018, so not really 20 years lol


What I meant is they've been building replica of 50s model for almost 20 years now (R8, R9...).
I agree with you, for me as long as the pick up sound good that's all that matter.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

jdto said:


> Under new ownership as of ~2018, so not really 20 years lol
> 
> It looks like the new team is really trying to match the meticulousness of the hardcore guitar lovers who geek out over all the little details. Good for them, I say. I don’t necessarily care what wire was used to wind my pickups or the plastic composition of the bobbins, but apparently enough do that the company is motivated to go after that segment.


I wonder how much business they are loosing to the boutique builders claiming to make the perfect PAF reproduction? 
I can't blame them for trying to stake a claim in that market, Custombucker or whatever comes next. I mean, it is a Gibson pickup design the aftermarket are copying.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

tomee2 said:


> I wonder how much business they are loosing to the boutique builders claiming to make the perfect PAF reproduction?
> I can't blame them for trying to stake a claim in that market, Custombucker or whatever comes next. I mean, it is a Gibson pickup design the aftermarket are copying.


Agreed


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## isoneedacoffee (Oct 31, 2014)

Well, after all these years of hard work, they've finally arrived at a faithful rendition of the PAF pickup. (I guess the previous ones weren't that great?). I imagine that they can now happily put the PAF design to rest and move on. . . Right?

As for all the Jimmy Page references, I find it odd. In Gibson's own clip where the Burstbuckers are compared to the Custombuckers, the BB's had far more bite. The Customs perhaps (?) were more harmonically rich, but were also kind of anemic. I associate Page with bite. So if I'm aiming for that, I'd take the BBs any day based on Gibson's own published clip.


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

isoneedacoffee said:


> Well, after all these years of hard work, they've finally arrived at a faithful rendition of the PAF pickup. (I guess the previous ones weren't that great?). I imagine that they can now happily put the PAF design to rest and move on. . . Right?
> 
> As for all the Jimmy Page references, I find it odd. In Gibson's own clip where the Burstbuckers are compared to the Custombuckers, the BB's had far more bite. The Customs perhaps (?) were more harmonically rich, but were also kind of anemic. I associate Page with bite. So if I'm aiming for that, I'd take the BBs any day based on Gibson's own published clip.


I guess it could vary from guitar to guitar but on my journey to find a reissue I always took my Standard 50 with Burstbuckers 1 and 2 to compare. I compared to about 30+ R8's\R9's. I always found more bite on the custom buckers. My own R8 has much more bite and is fuller and richer than the Burstbuckers in the standard. I did like the Burstbuckers but I found them more mellow and warm than the custom buckers in my experience. I can understand that tele on steroids' everyone talks about with the custom buckers.


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## isoneedacoffee (Oct 31, 2014)

guitarman2 said:


> I guess it could vary from guitar to guitar but on my journey to find a reissue I always took my Standard 50 with Burstbuckers 1 and 2 to compare. I compared to about 30+ R8's\R9's. I always found more bite on the custom buckers. My own R8 has much more bite and is fuller and richer than the Burstbuckers in the standard. I did like the Burstbuckers but I found them more mellow and warm than the custom buckers in my experience. I can understand that tele on steroids' everyone talks about with the custom buckers.


I'm not sure what variables you could or wanted to control. But it seems that Gibson swapped pickups in the same guitar. Definitely not something you could do! Lol. I imagine that they made sure that 1) the pickup heights were maintained or, conversely, 2) they setup the pickup height optimally for the characteristics of each pickup. I'd have to watch the clip again to see if they ever discuss their methodology. But, they're not amateurs obviously, so whatever they did I imagine it was well thought out. I also imagine, as a business pushing a new product, they would try to show that product in the best light possible. So, I find it very weird that people are equating the Custombuckers with Jimmy Page tones when the first clip by Gibson itself so clearly shows otherwise.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

isoneedacoffee said:


> Well, after all these years of hard work, they've finally arrived at a faithful rendition of the PAF pickup. (I guess the previous ones weren't that great?). I imagine that they can now happily put the PAF design to rest and move on. . . Right?
> 
> As for all the Jimmy Page references, I find it odd. In Gibson's own clip where the Burstbuckers are compared to the Custombuckers, the BB's had far more bite. The Customs perhaps (?) were more harmonically rich, but were also kind of anemic. I associate Page with bite. So if I'm aiming for that, I'd take the BBs any day based on Gibson's own published clip.





isoneedacoffee said:


> *I find it very weird that people are equating the Custombuckers with Jimmy Page tones when the first clip by Gibson itself so clearly shows otherwise.*


The Jimmy Page references are directly from Gibson's product development guy, Mat Koehler, even though in the video when talking about Custombuckers, Dinesh says they "cracked the code on these real PAF pickups" lol. I imagine lots of things could affect what our perception is of the sound of pickups on a YouTube video 

Mat's got a massive thread going at the Les Paul Forum, so you could ask him about the Page thing if you like.

Here's what he said:


> Really the Custombucker development was a sonic pursuit by Edwin Wilson based on the pickups in Jimmy Page's #1. It was not so much a historically-accurate PAF clone project as it was a tone quest, and in my opinion Edwin nailed it. In 2017 I initiated a project to improve the entire wiring assembly and for the pickups, we began experimenting with different magnets in the Custombuckers, no wax potting, different wire, etc. The specs we preferred in A/B tests were still the same one as the original Custombucker -- Alnico III -- with the exception of the wax potting. It's subtle but removing the wax added a little bit of wildness and feedback susceptibility we all preferred. We did some focus group tests that corroborated our internal testing as well. So we moved on to the rest of the wiring assembly and by 2019 we had vintage taper pots and real PIO bumblebee caps which added some additional character to the Custombuckers, especially when rolling off the volume.


Source: Hey it's Mat from Gibson Product Development - AMA


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

jdto said:


> Mat's got a massive thread going at the Les Paul Forum, so you could ask him about the Page thing if you like.
> 
> Here's what he said:
> 
> Source: Hey it's Mat from Gibson Product Development - AMA


I haven't had any questions to date for Mat but I follow that thread with interest.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

I was actually curious about the discrepancy (if there is one) between what Mat said last year and what the marketing guy is saying in that video, so I asked him myself.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Lol a 59 page thread! See you in week..


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## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

jdto said:


> I was actually curious about the discrepancy (if there is one) between what Mat said last year and what the marketing guy is saying in that video, so I asked him myself.


I don't know about Gibson or other guitar companies but I've worked in IT long enough that whenever I'm looking at a particular system upgrade, (backup, etc) I get told one thing from the sales\marketing team and a different thing from the tech\support team. The tech\support team is always the accurate perspectives.


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## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

guitarman2 said:


> I don't know about Gibson or other guitar companies but I've worked in IT long enough that whenever I'm looking at a particular system upgrade, (backup, etc) I get told one thing from the sales\marketing team and a different thing from the tech\support team. The tech\support team is always the accurate perspectives.


Same with my work (I've been on both sides of that paradigm).


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## Mike_Blaszk (Sep 16, 2021)

The pickup actually got here extremely fast. I got it a couple of days ago and, hopefully, I'll be able to get it installed in the next week or so.


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

Good to see they put a label on them.


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## Mike_Blaszk (Sep 16, 2021)

I finally got the opportunity to take my Les Paul in to Gear Music to get the Custombucker installed in the neck. They said it should be done in a day or two, so I should have a before/after comparison in the next week or two. The biggest problem is that, while I was there, I asked if I could quickly try out a Murphy Labs R9 that they had in stock. I'm in trouble lol. Theres zero chance I can afford $10k, but man what a nice guitar. The neck was WAY slimmer feeling than I expected. I would say that it felt closer to the 60s slim taper neck on my Les Paul (but more rounded) than it did to the 50s Standards that Ive tried in the past. Very nice feeling guitar.


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## Mike_Blaszk (Sep 16, 2021)

Finally got around to doing a comparison. As I was hoping, the Custombucker is brighter, more focused and slightly less "dirty" sounding than the '59. Again, not sure if the price is really justified, but I'm pleased overall.


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https://soundcloud.com/user-327634278%2F59-vs-custombucker-clean


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https://soundcloud.com/user-327634278%2F59-vs-custombucker-gain


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## Dorman (5 mo ago)

The price on these doesn’t seem crazy compared to many of the boutique PAFs out there - but I guess the real question is how do the custom buckers compare? People seem to rave about them, I’ve never had a chance to try them. I’d be really curious about how people like them in more “everyday” guitars rather than custom shop.


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## Dorman (5 mo ago)

Nice comparison Mike! Nice brightness and clarity.


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