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Duncan 59's vs. Gibson 57 Classics in a H-170


PunkKitty

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Posted

Which do you like better and why? I'm considering replacing the set of Duncan 59's in my Heritage H-170 with Gibson 57 Classics. The 59's are alnico 5. The 57 Classics are alnico 3. I have a new set of 57 Classics in the parts drawer. So I'm not buying new pickups. Are they similar enough that I shouldn't bother?

 

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Posted

Only experience I`ve had with the 57`s was in a Gibson Historic R8,I thought they sounded on the bright side,not in a bad way,but bright!

My 170 has a 59 in the neck and a PRS pickup in the bridge (10k) and sounds good.I was surprised when I measured the bridge pickup,it doesn`t sound ott imho !

HTH.

Posted

You never know how it sounds until you try them. Some pickups sound better in one guitar versus another. I'm thinking of putting 57 Classics or Burstbuckers in my 140 and moving the Seymour Duncan Jazz and JB set to the Epiphone DOT. I need to get pickup mounting rings and move the pickup covers (if possible) no matter what I do.

Guest HRB853370
Posted

I have 57 classics in my H 535 and also in my Gibson Les Paul traditional. I like them very much. I think I like them better than the 59's but it is difficult for me to quantify why. Maybe a bit cleaner and more high end?

 

Why dont you take your 170 into a store and play it side by side with a guitar that has 57 classics in it. As DB pointed out, there may be some variation between makes and models of guitars, but it should give you at least a baseline with which to make that decision.

Posted

Do they make 57 Classic pickups with AlNiCo 3 magnets? I thought they were AlNiCo 2, same as the 57 Classic Plus.

 

I have worked with both, and honestly I think the 59's are better pickups. The 57 classics are a bit too heavy on the top end for me. I much prefer Seth Lovers to 57 classics. They get what I think is a much better "classic" sound.

 

But, can't really hurt to try them out.

Posted

For now I put the 57s in my Ibanez semi hollow. It will allow me to do a side by side comparison for a few weeks. No need to rush into a pickup swap.

 

Classic 57s/57+ can have either Alnico 2 or 3. Gibson made versions with both types of magnets.

Posted

After playing the 57's in my Artcore and the 59's in my Heritage, I decided that things are staying where they are for the moment. The 57's have a rounder sound that works well in the Artcore. The 59's are different, but still sound fantastic in the Heritage. No need to mess with a good thing. It's nice to have different guitars with the two pickup options installed. Now I have to figure out what to do with my other set of 57's. I also have a set of Dimarzio 36th Anniversary PAFs in my other Artcore. It gives me a lot of flexibility.

Posted

The grass may not always be greener on the other side... but it sure can be fun to jump over a fence every now and then to find out :)

 

I too like to tinker - I have a real bad habit of swapping pups, then swapping again, and again, and so on... mostly just out of curiosity.

 

That is of course with the exception of my 157 custom, I wouldn't change a thing with those pups.

Posted

Is your 170 wired normal or custom? Mine is out of phase on middle position and coil tappable via a push/pull tone pot.Lots of different sounds in it !!!!!

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