The Historic Collection

The Historic Collection

The Gibson Pickup Shop Historic Collection delivers vintage tone inspired by the Gibson Golden Era that gave birth to the Custombucker, one of the most prized and coveted Gibson pickups.

Shop Now
The Original Collection

The Original Collection

The Gibson Pickup Shop Original Collection pays tribute to an iconic past, housing the coveted ‘57 Classics, P-90s, Burstbuckers, and more that have shaped sound across all generations and genres of music.

Shop Now
The Modern Collection

The Modern Collection

The Gibson Pickup Shop Modern Collection builds on a legacy of innovation and sound evolution with modern components mixed with higher output, housing such pickups as the 490R, 498T and 500T.

Shop Now
Artist Collection

Artist Collection

We’re launching the Artist Pickup Collection with recreations of two of the most important and mythologized pickups of all time – the pickups found in the legendary “Greeny” Les Paul.

Shop Now
Kramer Collection

Kramer Collection

Inspired by the sound of 80s hard rock and metal, these high-output pickups have all of the Made to Rock Hard tone and attitude that only Kramer can deliver.

Shop Now

Since 1935
When it comes to musical instrument design, Gibson’s reputation for innovation is legendary. Nowhere is this more apparent than in electrification. One of the true pioneers of the electric guitar and guitar pickup design, Gibson’s many years of research and manufacturing have helped shape the sounds of generations of musicians and music lovers across genres for almost 90 years. While it hasn’t previously been well-known to the public, since 1935, Gibson has been the source of the world’s finest pickups. From the player-favorite P-90 to the humbucker™ perfected in 1955 by Gibson engineer Seth Lover, the Gibson Pickup Shop offers a variety of pickup styles and configurations for all types of players.

The History of Gibson Pickups

1935-1936

1935-1936

Gibson has been responsible for numerous innovative product introductions throughout the nearly 90 years that Gibson has been producing guitar pickups.As early as 1935, Gibson introduced its first electromagnetic pickup, referred to as the “bar.” The first model this appeared on was the Gibson “Hawaiian Electric,” but it was quickly adopted to the ES-150 by 1936. Made famous by electric guitar pioneer Charlie Christian, the bar pickup was extremely successful.

1940s

1940s

In the 1940s, Gibson introduced new and improved versions of the electric guitar pickups bearing several revolutionary improvements – many of which are still relevant today: The introduction of “Alnico” magnets (made with aluminum, nickel, and cobalt)Individually adjustable pole pieces to balance individual string outputThe addition of volume and tone controls

1946-1948

1946-1948

The P-90 single coil pickup was released in 1946 and ignited a new era of sound. It remains a highly popular model right up to the present day. By 1948, Gibson had introduced the first two-pickup configuration on the ES-150, giving guitarists greater flexibility and adding a palate of tones that we not previously available.

1952

1952

In 1952, Gibson’s first solidbody was introduced, equipped with twin P-90 single coil pickups, individual volume and tone controls, and a three-way pickup selector switch. In the early 50s, Gibson sought to eliminate the 60-cycle hum that was unavoidable in all single coil pickup designs. This endeavor to “buck the hum,” headed by Walter Fuller and Gibson engineer Seth Lover, would change the electric guitar world forever...

1955-1957

1955-1957

The results were incorporated into the model PU-490 pickup, in which Gibson filed a patent for the design in 1955. The new Humbucker™ was first used on a 1957 ES-175 and became the standard pickups on two Les Paul models in 1957, the Goldtop and the three-pickup Les Paul Custom. These original early humbucker pickups (1957-1960) remain the Holy Grail of pickups in today’s market.

1970s

1970s

In the late 1970s, Gibson released the Dirty Fingers humbucker. This appropriately named pickup is manufactured with three powerful ceramic magnets to produce maximum output without compromising the guitar’s original tone. This popular humbucker became a favorite of rock and metal guitarists due to its high output and blistering tone.

1980s

1980s

In the 1980s, Gibson sought to offer players a reissue of the famed “Patent Applied For” humbucker, and as it was eventually named (in 1990), the ’57 Classic is a faithful re-creation of the first Gibson humbuckers, with balanced coils and Alnico 2 magnets.

2002

2002

Gibson’s Burstbucker line of pickups was first introduced on dealer-exclusive models, primarily for the Japanese market. They were later released as aftermarket replacement pickups in 2002. These “Patent Applied For” inspired models feature Alnico 2 magnets and asymmetrically wound coils and replicate the subtle variations of the true, iconic humbucker tone that the vintage originals are famous for.

2013

2013

In 2013, Gibson introduced the Custombucker as standard equipment on Historic Reissue Les Paul models from the world-famous Gibson Custom Shop. These pickups use warm, sweet-sounding Alnico 3 magnets and unbalanced coils and, like the originals, they are left unpotted to accurately deliver the sonic characteristics of the highly cherished early “Patent Applied For” humbuckers. They have become player favorites and are now available separately for the first time.

Gibson Pickup Shop videos

Explore the Gibson Gazette