Korgscrew
Group: Super Admins
Posts: 3511
Joined: Dec. 1999 |
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Posted: Dec. 14 2004, 07:49 |
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It's true that coil tapping and similar things aren't things usually associated with Gibson. They do however periodically come out with things which are intended to push the boundaries of their designs (most of which don't meet with much success). The L6-S was one of those things, the guitar and its electronics being designed by pickup guru Bill Lawrence (or I should probably say, originating from his design - Gibson made many alterations, and he was unhappy with the final result). Like the later PRS designs, it had a rotary selector, which could combine the pickups in various different ways, including selecting between parallel and series wiring, in and out of phase (as far as I know, not coil tapping exactly, but capable of similarly thinner sounds - the aim was to create a guitar which could sound like a Fender as well as a Gibson).
Mike's most used was, however, an L6-S deluxe, with only a three way pickup selector. It still has a relatively cutting sound, thanks to the thin maple body, but no fancy wiring. I seem to remember he also had another though, which had the six-way switch.
I believe that the only Les Pauls from the 1950s which Mike had/has are juniors and specials, all of which have P90 single coil pickups, and so aren't capable of being coil-tapped.
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