Gibson Burstbucker 2

Alnico 2 magnet with mismatched coils and a nickel cover.

You can hear this pickup at www.myspace.com/guyspacemusic

It was installed in a 1980's MIJ Strat with a Schaller Floyd Rose - into a Marshall 2205 head into a Greenback-loaded 1960A. For distortion I mostly used the amp, and a Roger Mayer "Spitfire" on tracks 2 and 4. I also used a DOD FX20 Phasor from the 80's and an Ibanez DE-7 Delay/Echo.

It basically has that PAF sound, but has a "tinky" treble spike as if you can hear the metal cover, and a pronounced bass that sounds "contrived". I started off with a single 300k volume pot but it was too bright so I installed a 250k tone pot with a very mild cap just to cut off that edge. It sounded best when I backed it down away from the strings; That "purring" AlNiCo 2 midrange comes out and sounded much better. Less treble and bass. It's not woody, or harmonically rich, and it's very temperamental to what amp or guitar you're using it with. Maybe it sounds good in certain Les Pauls. I wouldn't know, I put it in a Strat. BUT that's only the beginning! I bought it new and came with a 2-lead instead of a 4-lead like it's supposed to. After a day or so, it started making this "buzzing hum". Then, when I took it on rehearsals/gigs it would squeal like a live pig being roasted with a blow-torch - and I don't use THAT much gain. I was going for a ZZ Top sound. I pulled it out and sent it back to Gibson. I'm hoping they might hook me up and replace it with a 490T or '57 Classic Plus instead, but that???s unlikely.

Not great. Only good for a "Lynyrd Skynyrd" tone. They can sometimes be "lemons".

Pickup features: Passive Humbucker
Impedence or other specs: Don't know

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson SG Special (1991)
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Gibson 490R
Other pickups on guitar: Gibson 490T/Burstbucker 3
Artists using this pickup: Don't know, don't care
You musical style(s): Rock
Reason for pickup change: The original stock 490R was old and needed replaced.

Perceived output level: Slightly less than the Gibson 490R, a lot less than the Gibson 496R
Tone: Muddy with a nasty middle range spike
Sonic evaluation: Gibson 91 SG special with a Mesa F-30. It may be that the pickup tone and the Mesa tone didn't get on. It may be that the SG, having less wood than a Les Paul can't produce the sound it's meant to. Either way it wasn't at all pleasant. It sounded okay through a Marshall MG100 so maybe it's the tone of the amp.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Some clean stuff, some rock stuff, a bit of metal.

Comments: I've already got rid of this and the Burstbucker 3 that went in the the bridge position at the same time. The Burstbuckers give a very distinct tone, especially in the mid frequencies, which just didn't sound good through my setup or to my ears. I was actually quite disappointed. I replaced them with Bareknuckle Mules which are excellent.

Pickup features: humbucking passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Epiphone Elite Broadway archtop
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock Epiphone humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Burstbucker pro neck position humbucker
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Fingerstyle jazz, pop, classic rock
Reason for pickup change: I wanted more clarity and high end than the stock humbuckers had to offer. Since these pickups are asymetrically wound, they offer more single coil character than most humbuckers.

Perceived output level: moderate output.
Tone: treble in a good way. Clarity over mud. At high volume, a lot of shimmer that seems to negate that need for reverb
Sonic evaluation: Fender Tube amp reissues. Mostly a DeLuxe Reverb and a Super Reverb.
These pickups went in a large archtop with a solid spruce top. (Epiphone Elite Broadway)My theory is that this pickup gives more high end because the unbalanced coils create more sigle coil character. They might hum cancel a bit less as a result but still better than single coils.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Jazz, pop rock. This pickup is probably good in any guitar but you have to tweak it to get a good sound

Comments: I bought this pickup on a mission to get more high end and trebel into an archtop guitar. Fingerpicking on a large humbucking equipped hollowbody can be a recipe for muddy tone, but these pickups brought me enough clarity, with a bit of shimmer at higher volumes. At really high volumes the sound is such that reverb isn't needed. The pickups give a lot of depth all by themselves.I want to emphasize that these pickups are very sensitive to tweaking, probably due to the asymetric windings and you really should adjust the pole pieces to get the best tone with your guitar. My evaluation of the pickups changed from "above average" to "excellent" after tweaking the pickup a bit.

Pickup features: Passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Special
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Gibson 498T Alnico Magnet Pickup
Other pickups on guitar: Burstbucker
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Classic rock, blues, garage
Reason for pickup change: Wanted a better sound.

Perceived output level: Quieter than the Burstbucker 1
Tone: some bass, no mid, all treble baby.
Sonic evaluation: Les Paul Special with some boss pedals, morley wah, and some mxr pedals all into a Marshall AVT275. At home I use my crate gfx-15 amp. As long as I'm not using the crate, this stuff wails.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Great match for classic rock, blues, and garage. Stay away if you want to play funk, rap, r&b, or psychadelic stuff. I can't imagine that this pickup would work well in the neck spot, but people do it none the less.

Comments: I would definately buy another one of something happened to this guy. I have been playing for over two and a half years and this is by far one of my favorite pickups. Sounds spectacular through marshall. I love how I can soar above my band during solo time. Every note is clear and crisp, and with the presence cranked up, watch out. I can also finally get some feedback out of these suckers, not strat feedback, but some feedback. A couple big issues though, this pickup seems to be about half the volume of my burstbucker 1 which kind of bothers me, but if you play around with the different volumes, you can fix that in no time. You also need to be very confident when playing with this pickup, cause you can't half ass it. In the end, this is a great lead pickup. Addy Rif and the Straight A's rock.

Pickup features: Humbuckers, Passive
Impedence or other specs: ehhh.....don't know

Model of guitar or bass: Agile LP2800
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Stock
Other pickups on guitar: Stock
Artists using this pickup: Don't know and don't care
You musical style(s): Alternative emo/power pop hard rock.
Reason for pickup change: more output and more clarity and more umph!

Perceived output level: Hot but not over the top were your sound would start to sound frizzy
Tone: it's definitely a brighter tone not where it's shrilled sounding....it's bass and treble mainly.....a little less mids than the 57's and not as dark
Sonic evaluation: I have Laney VH100R, LH50R, and Engl Thunder 50 with Marshall cabs. My main guitar is an Agile LP2800 along with Fender American Deluxe Strat.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Alternative emo/heavy hard rock! The pickups sound great with that style and more I use either both pickups together or the bridge.

Comments: Defintely would buy them again if something were to happen to them. I've been playing for 8 years and had my share of experiencing crappy gear including pickups. These pickups are fantastic! They have an airy full tone that is balance and when distorted it sounds unbelievable! you can hear all the notes ring out! It's not as dark sounding as the 57's but has more clarity, more bite, more output and has more of an organic tone! That just sings! The thing I would wish it had a bit more is mids...but that's when the Burstbucker V's are coming out....more mids! I compared these to the 57 , 57+, Duncan 59, JB, Pearly Gates, Invader,....i have to say that i'm not impress with duncan pickups at all...there is something a bit dull sounding about them. I pick these pickups because i really wanted an authentic gibson tone with my Agile Les Paul copy and have no regrets....i'm very satistfied with these pickups! they are a bit pricey over other mass produce pickups but they are worth it. They rule!!

Pickup features: passive humbucker
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson ES-335
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Gibson Classic '57 Humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Gibson Classic '57 Humbucker in bridge
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Soft Rock... think Matthew Good like stuff....
Reason for pickup change: I needed a sound that was harder, creamier, with more output and some natural gain to it. After sitting down with various other guitars in Long & McQuade I decided on the Burstbucker 2. I also had a very distorted buzz coming from my bottom strings.

Perceived output level: Anything was better than the distorted sound coming from my standard neck pickup; but I was very amazed at the overall sound coming from this pickup, the buzz dissapeared, and I got a much cleaner and fuller sound out of the BB2.
Tone: Definatly a more bassy sound compared to if you placed it in a solidbody guitar (les paul for example). It has a very distinct tone that really makes it a worth while investment for any Es-335 owner.
Sonic evaluation: I'm using a Gibson Es-335 with a standard '57 Classic pickup in the bridge and the newly installed Burstbucker 2 in the neck, running through a Vox Cambridge 30 twin reverb amp with a custom cab holding 2 12' Vintage Celestions out of an old Fender Red Knob Twin. The clean channel produces a much warmer tone with this pickup than the standard pickups did, as well as a cleaner tone. It's now much more pleasing to play songs that require a brighter sound because of the balance between the pickups, guitar, and amp seem so perfect. Turn on the gain channel and you got yourself a very bluesy, hot sound that has no substitutes!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: For rock, this is the A+ pickup for a ES-335.

Comments: I have lots of different equipment from over 6 years of collecting and modifiying, and this pickup has deffinatly been my best investment since purchasing the Es-335 two years ago. so far I have no complaints about the pickups, nor do I think I ever will.
My next investment will be a 498T ceramic pickup for the bridge replacement. Hopefuly that will work out as well as the Burstbucker. If not i'll probably try a Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates.

Pickup features: Humbucking
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Gibson Les Paul Standard 1979
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Original Humbucker
Other pickups on guitar: Burstbucker 1
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Jazz-rock-folk-new age
Reason for pickup change: The old treble humbucker was very dull, and it does not compete with the treble output from a Strat (the other guitarplayer in my band has a Strat)

Perceived output level: More than medium
Tone: Trebly when you hit the strings hard, otherwise balanced
Sonic evaluation: Yamaha Dgstomp and Yamaha Dg60-112 amp. I'm using delay and reverb. The burstbucker 2 really shines here, it cut through, and you don't have to buy a Strat to play a solo. In fact, I think the burstbucker 2 are better sounding in solos than Singlecoil-pickups, so I have to say congratulations to Gibson for that. It is the best sounding pickup in the trebleposition on a Les Paul, that I've heard.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I think, you caqn use the burstbucker 2 for everything you want. There a no disaventages to it.

Comments: I have mentioned in an other review, that the burstbucker 1 are a little dark in the neckposition, but the burstbucker 2 in the trebleposition is a great choice. To my ear, it comes a little bit nearer a real PAF than the burstbucker 1. I've played a 1958 Les Paul, so I'm sure on that. But on the other hand, I have not tried to use the burstbucker 1 in the trebleposition, so I can be wrong. But overall, I don't think you can get any better sounding pickups than burstbuckers.