Tim Shaw pickups/What is the BFD?

Once again we travel down the rabbit hole to see what the deal is with Tim Shaw pickups. Are they over priced hyped gear or the real deal?

[@MrGuitars8]

Tim Shaw Humbuckers are FANTASTIC !!!! I have an 81 Custom.

[@markbarnes6806]

I have Tim Shaws in my 1981 LP Std. Didn't know it until I pulled & examined them 40 years after buying (and playing) the guitar. They're dark & swampy...like a hot, humid summer night.

[@destinyreturns4885]

This was very informative. Thanks for the education...

[@BITESIZEJONES]

Good video and makes a lot of sense. So many brands out there and you can drive yourself nuts on the tone search not to mention the $ factor. I think it's important to distinguish whether your looking for a low output or hot 1st and foremost. That is definitely step one. Spend the extra money on a good quality guitar 1st and then take it from there. If your stock guitar sounds good that's a BIG +

[@USTTRM]

These days stock pickups are generally good. Much better than several years ago! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@BITESIZEJONES]

You could hand Clapton or Page a half decent Epiphone and they still sound like them. A good set of pickups is all one should be concerned with. Not how close we can get to EC Page or Gibbons. In my experience guys that get too wrapped up in this crap are guys that don't gig and really have nothing better to do but mod away.

[@fiddlemastrjay4274]

I have a 1980 335-S Professional Deluxe with Tim Shaw Dirty Fingers and a factory installed coil splitter. People always ask me if it's altered. I must have gotten a good one because it has withstood the test of time and heavy use. I just got it back from the shop for a fret dress and re-crown. It is beautiful.

[@mosthighguitarguy]

Hey man thnx for the input b well in Singapore and keep on strumming friend :)

[@stevevallance6326]

I just bought a 1986 Les Paul custom, and they said (covid,) it has Tim Shaw pickups. I have seen the pictures, and they look undisturbed. So, great information for me. I can’t wait for it to be delivered.

[@waynepayne864]

great explanation

[@USTTRM]

Glad you think so!

[@USTTRM]

Let's hear what you think! And don't forget to hit the like button!

[@homegrownson]

I still have patent number & Tim Shaw Pickups stashed for special build or to replace a failing pickup on someone's Classic, I build guitars for charities that serve kids, seniors & veterans and find using best parts creates magical instruments, most of you could adjust your pickup height for better balanced sound if honest without changing your pickups

[@Comprezzed]

Amazing Tim Shaw dirty fingers PAF re-issue was used in the 1980-1984? Sonex-180 Standard, Custom, and Artist models. These particular PUPS are also coil split.

[@peehandshihtzu]

Wound them till they're full, LOL That's hilarious! There are so many variables with the components that even if you wound them precisely each time there would be a drift in tone among them. I've heard that from several folk who wind them. I think you'd really have to examine and measure the ones like in Jimmy's for example to find another that was matched to get close if you were after a particular artists pick up. Other wise, it seems like it would be a real crap shoot.I also wonder how much difference 10 or twenty winding's really make in the big picture considering variables the guitar, amp, cabling, location, player, etc. Seems like those are bigger influencing factors than a bit of wire and a tiny bit of unfocused magnetism, LOL. Great topic, the folks chasing things like that rob themselves (and others arguably) of the joy and mystery of the process of creating. Glad your almost done with the captivity, been coupe'd up myself as the was a really close fire and the smoke from California has engulfed my region and is horrible, worst is I'm hearing many of the fire here are being purposely set by political motivated riot/terrorists. Crazy world!!! Hey great to hear from you Mike, Hope it all goes well from here on, :)

[@USTTRM]

Excellent points! I freely admit I was caught up in the GAS thing until I came to my senses. Marketing is strong brainwashing. Keep safe my friend.

[@peehandshihtzu]

@@USTTRM It really is and it's so ingrained in us it's easy to get caught up in. We've all chased the carrot at one point or another, I know I have, LOL You take care to man, :)

[@Happy-Me.]

I have a 1983 Les Paul Standard which I bought around 1987 which is stock. How do I know if it has Tim Shaw pick ups?

[@djdrummerboy4406]

Some tim shaw were in eppiphone spirits usa I had 1

[@johnnywomack548]

The vintage Gibson Dirty Fingers pickups are legendary. God bless Tim Shaw!

[@andy57167]

yes ,, and the dimarzio super distortions also legends of the same period

[@waynegram8907]

Tim Shaw pickups use a special T Top Bobbin because I'm not sure what is so different about the T Top Bobbin shape and length?

[@USTTRM]

Yeah I’ve not heard that. My impression was that they were responding to the market to produce a higher output pickups. The wind on the Tom Shaw’s were done to do just that. I find the bobbin shape interesting so I will look deeper into that. Thanks for sharing!

[@waynegram8907]

@@USTTRM yes the Bobbin shape, wide, height are different specs compared to normal stock PAF bobbins, plus Tim Shaw uses very small size magnets A2 or A5 to get a lower output which he uses for the shawbuster PAF pickups with fender.

[@andy57167]

only the early tim shaws used the t-top bobbins,,they probably were using up leftover t-tops before using the more common bobbin

[@joet_swbo101]

I have an 81 Les Paul custom with Tim Shaw's and love them. I also have a 81 Les Paul standard w/out them. However, they really don't sound like the original PAFs. I've played a '58 Les Paul & the Tim's are definitely hotter & more output than the originals. Very close to the same tonal qualities but not exactly. Also, Gibson rarely placed them in the Standards. Mostly in customs and other higher end models. I got that from a couple of professional collectors, who were doing this for a living for decades. Occasionally they've seen them in Standards, but they both felt that the ones that made it in those were by mistake. Take that for what it's worth.

[@USTTRM]

Hey that bit of information is really great .They are out there on the 2nd hand market so that’s great that they can be appreciated. Take care!

[@vncstudio]

It sounds pretty huge in my 87 Custom. Not as bright as Custombuckers probaly because of the pots used back then. However, I left them as it is since I have a Historic Select R9 for a brighter sound.

[@andy57167]

I have an 85 standard with tim shaws ,,I have not found that to be uncommon ,,I have seen and played several standards with tim shaws onboard...it was the standard installed pickup for 3 or 4 years maybe more

[@user-xw9uh7xu6k]

I have a 81 Flying V with Tim Shaws😀

[@avivpinto4013]

The shaw pickups are amazing and its the Best paf replica out there period .

[@USTTRM]

Agreed

[@qua7771]

What's the closets sounding production pup available today?

[@avivpinto4013]

@@qua7771 I had many.....but all came close but aren't as good as the shaw. Grab one of the early 80's ones .

[@BITESIZEJONES]

@@avivpinto4013 it's still a gamble. There is no guarantee it will marriage well with your guitar until you install and compare. Tim Shaw also collaborated with fender with the 4th generation pickups and those absolutely sucked imo. You either get real lucky and you love it or you make the change and realize you were fine with what you had. Height adjustment, instrument cable, amplifier, etc... is a Big factor as well. If your chasing the Clapton or Jimmy thing you may get close and close is all you'll get. The point this gentleman was trying to make is to find your own color and make the best of it.

[@avivpinto4013]

@@BITESIZEJONES no more a gamble then putting real pafs on any guitar 🎸. Those early Shaws are the real deal.

[@alterego2421]

Awwww the music but the vid is great

[@wuldntuliktonoptb6861]

1970s gibsons are definitely not junk but they aren’t exactly the kinda guitar ya wanna buy online unless ya want to pay to ship 6 guitars back. Go to a store and bring a scale with ya and you’ll find a good one.

[@Morte_Deus]

True story i used to think tele's were country and never even picked one up....now i own multiple, incredible dynamic range for a guitar you can play metallic roll of the volume and play wes mongomery or clint black etc..

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

Me too, in the 80s a pal gave me a 52 tele to play on the road and I hated it. I ended up with a les paul standard for years...then a strat ....and back to the Tele and then I went mad and started using an Esquire (1 pick-up) and it has a Tim Shaw pickup and it sounds glorious.

[@killingmasheen]

They're just an underwound version of a PAF. I don't get what the hype is about, they were machine wound in even layers with exactly the same number of turns on each bobbin, pretty much the same recipe as countless cheap import humbuckers. The winding machines Gibson had in the 50s worked on a timer, not a counter. The 'secret' to the PAF was that the coils were mismatched practically at random. That's why it's so hard to define the PAF sound, the tolerances varied so widely you have to treat each like it's own example.

[@andy57167]

all true ,,however the tim shaws Ive owned all sounded great and very distinctive ,,,so regardles they are great sounding pickups especially in a quality les paul

[@andy57167]

i have to dissagree a bit here ,,,vintage paf's have a distintive range of tone ,,ofcourse thay all have variation but they are not night and day differences like this guy implies and claiming there is no "paf sound" ,,, pafs do have a certain distinctive quality and there is a distintive sound print to vintage paf pickups...tim shaw pafs also have a distinctive tone characteristic and its very much in the vintage paf realm.

[@MrBluzhound]

Yikes.