snarf
making guitars wish they were still trees
Where's the TotallyMyOpinion and YMMV tags when you need them. 
I've said since I got it in 2020 that my Epi LP has become my main guitar, and I didn't feel the need to swap out the Probuckers in it. I stand by that statement, but I came across a screamin' deal on a pair of BurstBuckers a couple of weeks ago. Just so happens that the PBs are Epi's version of the BBs. My LP has a PB 1 & 2, and the BBs were also a 1 & 2 and not the usual 2 & 3. The Epi is the Standard 50s LP, and the pickups actually got pulled from a Gibson Standard 50s LP. I've always wanted to do a side by side of the PBs and the BBs, and all the circumstances just seemed to say to do it.
So I bit and bought the pair of BBs. Sorry, RR, I still want to try some of those BK pups, but the price of both of the BBs was less than the price of one of the BKs. I managed to catch the right guy on Reverb at the right time, and, like I said, it was a screamin' deal.
Did some simple chord and single note recordings of before and after the swap, and I've been comparing them. If I can figure out how to parse them together, I'll post them later on in this thread. I ran them through my Vox ToneLab that I use as an interface. I have a patch on there that is a Straight Line (direct to the board) option rather than an amp model and had all EQs on 10. In my tests, just to make everything fair, I had all the guitar knobs dimed. I even threw the Alnico Classic Pros into the mix as well (although they were still in my 335, so it's not exactly an apples to apples comparison with that pair - it sounds like a 335). Here's what I decided.
In the quiet of my music room, my opinion is that the BBs are definitely the nicer set of pickups. They're just a little bit brighter to my ear, and that may be because they seem to be a touch more articulate on the high end. I believe that they are also a little bit hotter than the PBs. I initially thought that might be due to pickup height. I tried to get them the same height when I dropped them in, but I may've gotten the BBs a little closer to the strings. I lowered them a couple of turns, and that helped, but I still had to drop the volume in my DAW to get the signal low enough to not clip.
I think the PB1 that was originally in the neck was a little smoother sounding than the BB1. I'm going to play with the height of the BB and see if I can get it to sound like that PB did. I still think that the BB is clearer, more articulate, but smooth is the only word I can think of to describe the PB, and I really like it. If I can't get the BB to sound the same, I may actually swap that one back out. I'm thinking that, if I drop the pickup a little bit more and roll off the volume a tad, that may get it there.
The BB2 in the bridge is everything I think a LP bridge pickup should sound like. That one will stay in the guitar.
All in all, I could've been totally happy with the guitar and its original PBs. Honestly, out of the quiet of my music room and the differences may not be as readily noticeable. Dropped the BBs in, and overall I think they're better, but the BB1 may end up getting replaced by the PB1. Something about that one and its smoothness. It's actually what sold me on that guitar to begin with.
I've said since I got it in 2020 that my Epi LP has become my main guitar, and I didn't feel the need to swap out the Probuckers in it. I stand by that statement, but I came across a screamin' deal on a pair of BurstBuckers a couple of weeks ago. Just so happens that the PBs are Epi's version of the BBs. My LP has a PB 1 & 2, and the BBs were also a 1 & 2 and not the usual 2 & 3. The Epi is the Standard 50s LP, and the pickups actually got pulled from a Gibson Standard 50s LP. I've always wanted to do a side by side of the PBs and the BBs, and all the circumstances just seemed to say to do it.
So I bit and bought the pair of BBs. Sorry, RR, I still want to try some of those BK pups, but the price of both of the BBs was less than the price of one of the BKs. I managed to catch the right guy on Reverb at the right time, and, like I said, it was a screamin' deal.
Did some simple chord and single note recordings of before and after the swap, and I've been comparing them. If I can figure out how to parse them together, I'll post them later on in this thread. I ran them through my Vox ToneLab that I use as an interface. I have a patch on there that is a Straight Line (direct to the board) option rather than an amp model and had all EQs on 10. In my tests, just to make everything fair, I had all the guitar knobs dimed. I even threw the Alnico Classic Pros into the mix as well (although they were still in my 335, so it's not exactly an apples to apples comparison with that pair - it sounds like a 335). Here's what I decided.
In the quiet of my music room, my opinion is that the BBs are definitely the nicer set of pickups. They're just a little bit brighter to my ear, and that may be because they seem to be a touch more articulate on the high end. I believe that they are also a little bit hotter than the PBs. I initially thought that might be due to pickup height. I tried to get them the same height when I dropped them in, but I may've gotten the BBs a little closer to the strings. I lowered them a couple of turns, and that helped, but I still had to drop the volume in my DAW to get the signal low enough to not clip.
I think the PB1 that was originally in the neck was a little smoother sounding than the BB1. I'm going to play with the height of the BB and see if I can get it to sound like that PB did. I still think that the BB is clearer, more articulate, but smooth is the only word I can think of to describe the PB, and I really like it. If I can't get the BB to sound the same, I may actually swap that one back out. I'm thinking that, if I drop the pickup a little bit more and roll off the volume a tad, that may get it there.
The BB2 in the bridge is everything I think a LP bridge pickup should sound like. That one will stay in the guitar.
All in all, I could've been totally happy with the guitar and its original PBs. Honestly, out of the quiet of my music room and the differences may not be as readily noticeable. Dropped the BBs in, and overall I think they're better, but the BB1 may end up getting replaced by the PB1. Something about that one and its smoothness. It's actually what sold me on that guitar to begin with.
