Tim Shaw (Gibson) Humbuckers

[charvel750]

Can anyone shed some light on Gibson's "Tim Shaw" designed humbuckers? I've heard they are PAF style reissues from the early to mid '80's. Are they really a sought after pickup? Do they increase the value of a Gibson over other kind of pickups? Thanks...

[DonP]

Tim Shaw humbuckers started in 1980 on the "Heritage" series of LP's (Heritage-80, Heritage Elite, etc).

They are a low DC resistance wind, like 7.5K. Come with white plastic bobbin spacers. Backplate has a PAT NO. number stamped in the back, along with an "inked" on number that usually is worn off. The inked on number starts with 137 for the neck, 138 for the bridge, and has 4 more numbers after which are MMYY. An example number would be 1370581 which would be a neck pickup from May 1981.

Sought after? Yeah, I guess so. Almost anything old is sought after.

Value of the instrument? I'd say yes. If the guitar was, say, a Heritage Elite, I'd say it's a plus having the original Shaw's in there over any other pickup.

[charvel750]

Thanks, Don. I'm looking at a Gibson LPC that has Shaws, and was curious.

[DonP]

What year of Custom?

I think Shaws "crept up" in DC Resistance over the years, making them possibly less desirable.

The closer the axe is to 1980 (not BEFORE! Shaw were definitely NOT in any LP's before 1980), the better chance of having real Shaws.

Ask for photo's of the Backside of the pickups looking for the "inked" number.

Also, Shaw's will not be T-Tops, (if the bobbins are showing, there should NOT be the letter T on the top of the bobbins).

If the guitar is from 1982 or earlier, there is a god chance that it's a 3 piece maple neck. I specifically looked for a 1977 - 1982 Custom because I wanted that rock solid neck. It won't sound like a traditional LP, but it sounds great non-the-less. My 1977 comes with T-Tops, and totally nails Thin Lizzy with my DSL100 1/2 stack, clean channel boost on, everything dimed.

[charvel750]

Yeah, it's an '83 Custom. I have an '81 Custom with Duncan 59's that nails many rock tones too, I love the neck on a Custom and the Duncans seem to do really well. Thanks again for the info.