Burstbucker 2 - comparison to Duncan 59?

[JeffB]

To JeffB,
my brothers name by the way. Can I find the SD quote in the seth lover pick up description in the humbucker section of the pickup page?
Steve B.

Hey Steve,

Good on your parents for picking such a fine name for your Bro

Here is the LINK. Check out the "guitars" subsection, last paragraph.

[GuitarDoc]

The '59 neck with an A8 and in the bridge position is my favorite.

[drpietrzak]

I have a 59 in the neck of one LP styled guitar and in the bridge of a 339 type guitar. I have the BB1 and BB2 in my 1960 Epi. I like the 59 in the bridge of the one guitar as it is able to do a plucky country vibe if I want it in that guitar. I a not as find of it in the neck of ine or other guitars I have played. I had BB Pros in my LP standard and the neck of the Pro and the 59 were similar in ways to me. Both are just a bit bright for me. The BB1/BB2 are clear and articulate and pretty responsive to to me. These tend to be more like the Seth Lovers I have/have had had in other guitars. There is also some DZ 36th vibe with the BB1/BB2 to me. So BB1/BB2 is more Seth lover with a bit of hte DX36th mixed into them (to me).

[GuitarDoc]

An A8 in a '59 will reduce the brightness and fill in some mids making it sound much thicker, yet retaining its articulation.

[LtKojak]

I have a 59 in the neck of one LP styled guitar and in the bridge of a 339 type guitar. I have the BB1 and BB2 in my 1960 Epi. I like the 59 in the bridge of the one guitar as it is able to do a plucky country vibe if I want it in that guitar. I a not as find of it in the neck of ine or other guitars I have played. I had BB Pros in my LP standard and the neck of the Pro and the 59 were similar in ways to me. Both are just a bit bright for me. The BB1/BB2 are clear and articulate and pretty responsive to to me. These tend to be more like the Seth Lovers I have/have had had in other guitars. There is also some DZ 36th vibe with the BB1/BB2 to me. So BB1/BB2 is more Seth lover with a bit of hte DX36th mixed into them (to me).

Both the '59s and the Seth Lovers take magnet swaps beautifully... you can dial'em-in in practically any guitar you want, and then some.

HTH,

[blueman335]

59s let your playing create the character beacuse they give back what you put in. BBs have unequal windings and A2 magnets, so they sound vintage, but wont give you the same frequency response of a 59.
A2s give you a midrange kind of response with a less defined treble and not much bass. A5s (59s) give you a much wider hi-fi kind of response.
Equal coils give you hum cancelling. Unequal coils give you a little extra noise (not much) and a little extra brightness. NOt potting the pickup will also allow a little extra brightness in the harmonic presence, but at the cost of being more susceptible to microphonic feedback.
So...given that bbs have unequal coils you will get a clearer, more vibrant (single coil like) sound than a regular gibson 57 type pup, but given that it has an a2 mag it will not give the treble (and nowhere near the bass) clarity of a 59.
To my ears, 59s are a superior pickup in all areas, but some people like a faux vintage sound. Personally, i like to be able to create character with my fingers rather than being limited to a particular tonal pallette.
If you are ill still after a vintage a2 sound with extra bite, id recommend the pearly gates set over the gibson BBs.

Excellent post.

[GuitarDoc]

Both the '59s and the Seth Lovers take magnet swaps beautifully... you can dial'em-in in practically any guitar you want, and then some.

HTH,

+1

[FluffChop]

Uhm..that was by design Ace. Just like Seths are unpotted

The Seth Lover pickups have wax between the top of the bobbins and under the covers. They also have zebra bobbins.

[JB6464]

I like the unpotted 59's the best.
And they sound even more vintage if you put A2's in them.

[JB6464]

An A8 in a '59 will reduce the brightness and fill in some mids making it sound much thicker, yet retaining its articulation.

I've done that with some 59's as well and to me it sounds close to a Super 70's pickup. Very beefy and strong mag pull.

[blueman335]

faux vintage? I think both pickups fall into that category- however the BB2 is actually the more realistic pickup because it actually models how the original pups turned out, and the 59 is how they were supposed to turn out, but pretty much never did. The 59 is actually a better representation of the PAT# pickups- though still not the same. They should have called it the "63" or whatever

I also find the dynamics of the BB2 superior to the 59- it allows alot more finger "touch" and feel to come through your amp. Not that the 59 isn't dynamic, but the 59 hides alot of mistakes that the BB2 will not allow. The 59 is a much more forgiving pickup.

+1.

[Ed Hunter]

IMHO the 59 is the better of those two overall. the BB#2 has a spike in the treble i hate

[guitarkid]

The '59 neck with an A8 and in the bridge position is my favorite.

Really...? I happen to have an extra 59n and an A8 setting on my shelf.... I might have to try that.

[RayBarbeeMusic]

The aftermarket BB 1/2/3 are the ones that get potted- for a long time the ones coming in the R series/VOS guitars were the unpotted versions. I do not know if that is still the case.

That is exactly BACKWARDS. The aftermarket versions are unpotted, all the VOS Historics come with potted pickups. You can get aftermarket potted versions now with 4 conductor wire, but they are a Guitar Center exclusive and only available from them.

BB2 is a lot warmer than a '59. In the bridge of my R0, it nails the vintage Allman Bros tone. Definitely not a hot pickup, but surprisingly un-harsh for a 8k ish PAF.

[LtKojak]

The BB#2 sounds very good with an UOA5 mag, so it does the BB#1 and the BBPros.

HTH,

[blueman335]

That is exactly BACKWARDS. The aftermarket versions are unpotted, all the VOS Historics come with potted pickups.

+1. That's what I thought.

[9unslin9er]

For the same price, I'd get a BB2 any day of the week. One of the best bridge pickups I've ever played.

You just have to get something lower output for the neck pickup. The BB2 is already pretty underpowered.

FWIW, a potted BB2 is not a BB2. Destroys the whole vintage flavor.

[blueman335]

For the same price, I'd get a BB2 any day of the week.

I would too.

[RayBarbeeMusic]

FWIW, a potted BB2 is not a BB2. Destroys the whole vintage flavor.

Totally disagree. Unless high pitched squeel is a component of 'vintage flavor'.

[Ed Hunter]

Totally disagree. Unless high pitched squeel is a component of 'vintage flavor'.

+1 LOL! its the truth!