The Archtop Neck Pickup 

 

Both Regular and Custom models always have a narrow-spaced pickup in the neck position. (In all the

BK’s I have purchased, I have only one time seen a regular-spaced pickup in the neck and that was a

1963 BK Regular. Was that a factory ‘mistake’?) An es-175 is one of the few archtops with regular size

pickups in both positions. Every other Super 400, L-5, Byrdland and Barney Kessel I have seen from

this era will have a narrow-spaced pickup in the neck position. The BK Regular is the only Gibson guitar

I know of that generates a nickel-covered narrow-spaced PAF….so if you find one, it could only have

come out of the Barney! The narrow-spaced pickup is mistakenly referred to as a “Byrdland” pickup….it

is more aptly named an “archtop neck pickup” since it is present in most of the higher-end archtop

electrics.  M-69 rings with arched bottoms are standard on these early 60’s models. A "Narrow-spaced"

pickup has pole spacing that is closer together by about 1/8th of an inch, as compared to a 'normal' sized

pickup.

 

Below is a very typical 1963 harness with Patent Number stickers and nickel covers. Note the large

dust covers on the pots; the ground wire should always come off the bridge pickup wire.

 

Many people judge a PAF by how it sounds when it "breaks up". This is so erroneous!  My interest is in

what it sounds like clean in the neck position! Genuine PAF's are some of the warmest, woodiest jazz

pickups I have heard. The best sounding pickups I have installed are those that have not been removed

from their originalharness….does this mean there is a special magnetic / energy field that is created

by the total sum of the parts?

  Below:  One of the few existing pictures of Orville Gibson, circa 1902. He is the first to

  apply violin-making principles in the building of an archtop guitar. (Photo:  The Gibson

  Story, Julius Bellson, 1973).

 

  

  Below:  Various famous poses of our champion, Barney Kessel. Barney might be considered

  the heir to the Charlie Christian bebop guitar throne, as he had performed with Charlie Parker

  and Lester Young in the 40’s and single-handedly made the guitar-bass-drums trio a household

  item. Who needs a piano anyway!? If Christian was the founding father of electric jazz guitar –

  moving the guitar out of the rhythm section and into the spotlight with the playing of horn-like

  lines – then Barney is the heir-apparent to the throne, moving the guitar-bass-drums trio to the

  next level of sophistication matched heretofore only by the piano trio.

 

   Note that two of the pics show Barney playing the es-350 with the Charlie Christian bar pickup.

    Other pics show Barney with BK Regular or BK Custom.

 

 

    "The sudden chord changes, distinctive tones, and the dramatically varied harmonics..."

 

 

Below:  Playing a BK Regular…someone changed the tuners to Grover Imperials!