| By :
Todd Witzken
I quite often hear guitarists talking about the fact that having invested in a set of endorsed humbucker guitar pickups, they can't for the life of them work out why their tone is not more like Billy Gibbons. Oh and by the way, if you have no clue who Billy Gibbons is, he's the guitar player and singer of the Texas blues band ZZ Top - the guy with a beard more than a foot long! Well one way to look at it is like this, does a pair of David Beckham football boots help you to play just like his majesty? In other words, there's an awful lot of advertising and marketing going on and also a number of variables. Not only where skill is concerned but also in the materials department. Let's definitely not forget that so much of that Billy Gibbons blues sound is derived from the electric guitar itself, and this particular axe is almost certainly one of the sweetest sounding '59 Les Pauls ever. The wood, the age of the wood, the guitar's construction and the type of hardware all play a vital part - and that's before the guitar pickups play a part. Throw into the mix the sort of amplifier that Mr Gibbons uses compared to you, and lastly his playing style. This all effects his famous tone. Having said all of this, the endorsed models are gorgeous guitar pickups that emulate the performance specification of the original tremendously well. Great care has been taken with every component, from the coil windings to the magnetic strength. Let's face it, these are wonderful sounding guitar pickups, but this reproduction doesn't mean that it will give your specific electric guitar and amp combination the best impersonation of the Billy Gibbons sound. A completely different pickup maker could produce a 'bluesy' model that just creates the sound you are chasing more effectively for your guitar and amp combination. Taking this a stage further, look at all those signature product guitars out there. Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton all now have models based on one of their best guitars. They cost a load of money, look fantastic, are collectible but won't make you sound just like the players themselves. So getting back to the replacement pickups. It's okay to read what's on the tin but I'm afraid to say you're simply gonna have to taste it. Read the specification but never trust that alone - utilise your ears and go from there. There are some fabulous pickup makers to choose from so there is plenty of choice. Visit their web pages, listen to many sound samples and remember to go with your ears. Some of the smaller organisations create fabulous sounding, hand made pickups and offer replacements should you fail to be completely delighted with your buy. This little backup is a good bit of security. Best of luck!
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