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Re: Question re: PAFs in the late 50s

6/6/2006 8:51 PM
Steve A.	Re: Question re: PAFs in the late 50s Gtr_tech: I think it was around 1973 that I had my MM routed out for a Gibson humbucker at the bridge. So Gibson was already selling aftermarket humbuckers at that point. One post in your link said that someone would be stupid to buy a Les Paul and then take the pickup out to put in a strat. Here's a different scenario... fast forward to the early 60's when SG's were breaking necks and headstocks left and right. Someone with a broken SG might have pulled a humbucker off and mounted it on a different guitar, even a strat. Maybe I'm just warped but it seemed to me that NOBODY was playing loud rock with a strat until Jimi came along. Strats were so "Buddy Holly"... Back in 1968-9, I knew just one guitarist playing a strat and the bridge would go out of tune so he never let anyone else touch it. In the SF Acid Rock scene, I think that SG's were the most popular because Gibson was still making them (they stopped making "real" singlecut Les Pauls around 1960 I believe). Across the Pond, both Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page were playing Teles and Esquires, which I think are much better for hard rock than a strat. Oops! Rory Gallagher was ripping up a storm playing his blues-rock with a strat, but he released his first album in 1971. The next guitarist I noticed playing a strat was Nils Lofgren on "Cry Tough" from 1976... like I said I was very twisted and for me it was Gibsons or nothing. I did get a Mustang around 1976 and then got a tele in 1982 and eventually got a strat in 1987 (it was a Casio Midi Guitar with the body made my Ibanez- the devil made me do it!). Steve Ahola P.S. I believe that throughout the 60's a repair shop could order replacement humbuckers from Gibson, very possibly without having to send in the old one first. Unless one particular shop was ordering dozens of humbuckers, I don't think that Gibson minded at all. FWIW I worked in the parts department at Pacific Stereo from 1972-1976 and we did try to keep a handle on certain parts if we thought that we would need them all for customer repairs (the shops in each stores always wanted to have everything in stock). Then again some parts (like cartridges and needles) were really sales accessories, so customers could buy as many as they wanted. I believe that it was in the early 70's that Gibson humbuckers became a sales accessory instead of a repair part.

6/6/2006 8:51 PM

Steve A.

Re: Question re: PAFs in the late 50s

Gtr_tech:

    I think it was around 1973 that I had my MM routed out for a Gibson humbucker at the bridge. So Gibson was already selling aftermarket humbuckers at that point.

    One post in your link said that someone would be stupid to buy a Les Paul and then take the pickup out to put in a strat. Here's a different scenario... fast forward to the early 60's when SG's were breaking necks and headstocks left and right. Someone with a broken SG might have pulled a humbucker off and mounted it on a different guitar, even a strat.

    Maybe I'm just warped but it seemed to me that NOBODY was playing loud rock with a strat until Jimi came along. Strats were so "Buddy Holly"...

Back in 1968-9, I knew just one guitarist playing a strat and the bridge would go out of tune so he never let anyone else touch it.

In the SF Acid Rock scene, I think that SG's were the most popular because Gibson was still making them (they stopped making "real" singlecut Les Pauls around 1960 I believe). Across the Pond, both Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page were playing Teles and Esquires, which I think are much better for hard rock than a strat. Oops! Rory Gallagher was ripping up a storm playing his blues-rock with a strat, but he released his first album in 1971.

The next guitarist I noticed playing a strat was Nils Lofgren on "Cry Tough" from 1976... like I said I was very twisted and for me it was Gibsons or nothing.

I did get a Mustang around 1976 and then got a tele in 1982 and eventually got a strat in 1987 (it was a Casio Midi Guitar with the body made my Ibanez- the devil made me do it!).

Steve Ahola

P.S. I believe that throughout the 60's a repair shop could order replacement humbuckers from Gibson, very possibly without having to send in the old one first. Unless one particular shop was ordering dozens of humbuckers, I don't think that Gibson minded at all. FWIW I worked in the parts department at Pacific Stereo from 1972-1976 and we did try to keep a handle on certain parts if we thought that we would need them all for customer repairs (the shops in each stores always wanted to have everything in stock). Then again some parts (like cartridges and needles) were really sales accessories, so customers could buy as many as they wanted. I believe that it was in the early 70's that Gibson humbuckers became a sales accessory instead of a repair part.

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