« Hottest of the Burstbuckers »

The Burstbucker is one of Gibsons more recent pickups. Like just about all of their pickups it is a PAF copy. I guess it is more of a PAF copy than the other pickups they have made in the past 30 years. It was first sold in Japan to old Gibson collectors. There are 3 versions of the pickup to represent how bad the build quality and inconsistant the old Gibson factory was. The Burstbucker 1 is underwound and has a low output. The Burstbucker 2 is a lot like a Classic 57 and has a medium wind. I guess the 2nd one is the most accurate of the 3. And the Burstbucker 3 which I am reviewing is the hottest of the 3 and is pretty much a bridge only pickup. The pickup has Alnico2 magnets for a more vintage style tone. With gain the pickup has that thinner vintage pickup sound. It is not super full sounding under gain like a modern high end pickup. These pickups like just about all Gibson pickups have a more classic rock voicing to it. With medium gain it has good spank to it. You can get a real stinging blues tone from the pickup. The clean tones are of the more twangy kind. Since this is a bridge pickup you get more of a trebely sound from it when playing cleans. If you like twangy cleans you will like this pickup. If you are into smoother cleans you would be better off using your neck pickup whatever it may be. If you are looking to make your guitar sound like a good old Les Paul you might as well use what Gibson is using. This is that pickup. To have the new Gibson sound this is your best bet in the bridge position, the Burstbucker 3.