58/15 “S” and Epiphone ProBucker 3 - same pickup? Spec and Resonance Curve comparison

[gpdb]

Hi All! while I was doing some tests with the PRS 58/15 "S" bridge pickup, I recalled that the specs were very similar to what I had recorded for the Epiphone ProBucker 3. I rechecked and confirmed that all the specs were basically identical, and the resonance curves overlapped each other. Both pickups also look identical, even down to a similar thick wire shield over the leads. I confirmed the magnet with my gauss meter, which is the only way you can really confirm without doing some kind of metallurgical analysis. The Epiphone pickup is stated to use A2, and the gauss for both was similar. Here's my post from my Instagram (@guitarpickupdatabase):

If the images ever go away, here's the data:

	ProBucker 3	58/15 "S" Bridge
DCR	8.7K	8.9K
Inductance (@ 100Hz)	5.78 H	5.75 H
Magnet	Alnico 2	Alnico 2
Resonant Peak	2.6 kHz	2.6 kHz

I've enjoyed both of these pickups, they're really great. Epiphone talks a lot about how they've done blind testing against other high end pickups and people can't tell, and I don't doubt it. They're both made with quality construction, nickel silver base plates, there's not much to dislike unless you're not a fan of Alnico 2. Like I mentioned in the post, if you remove the cover and switch the magnet to Alnico 5, you'd basically have something identical to a Seymour Duncan Whole Lotta Humbucker or a Suhr SSV. I'd be interested to know if anyone has info on whether G&B (the SE pickups manufacturer) also makes Epiphone pickups.

 

[Prs Mods too]

Interesting, I have an Epiphone Les Paul with the probuckers and just love how it sounds for nearly any rock/metal from the 50s to about 1990. I don't play anything post 1990 so that works for me.

Thanks for posting.

 

[HANGAR18]

Jaw on floor....

 

[sergiodeblanc]

 

[gpdb]

Interesting, I have an Epiphone Les Paul with the probuckers and just love how it sounds for nearly any rock/metal from the 50s to about 1990. I don't play anything post 1990 so that works for me.

Thanks for posting.

There’s been a few different ProBuckers so it may not be the exact one you have, but I agree I liked it. The ProBucker 3 is in the Epiphone Les Paul Standard 60s, LP Custom, and SG Standard. All of those have a ProBucker 2 in the neck. The LP Standard 50s has a ProBucker 2 in the bridge and a ProBucker 1 in the neck. The 2 and 1 are just lower DCR versions, similar to the Gibson BurstBucker Type 3, 2, and 1.

 

[bodia]

This is cool stuff!

 

[Sybo]

I am surprised Jak3af3r hasn’t showed up yet, that mind…………

 

[jak3af3r]

I am surprised Jak3af3r hasn’t showed up yet, that mind…………

I've been following this at a distance for quite a while. I don't have a driver coil to do a frequency sweep but I have checked the math from gpdb against my own and have some interesting static measurements confirmed.

I'll get around to posting that eventually...

 

[Sybo]

I've been following this at a distance for quite a while. I don't have a driver coil to do a frequency sweep but I have checked the math from gpdb against my own and have some interesting static measurements confirmed.

I'll get around to posting that eventually...

 

[The Steady]

Well the S pickups are by G&B and while I can't speak specifically to the ProBucker 3 I do know that past Epi's I've had the pickups were G&Bs.

Seems entirely plausible.

 

[László]

I don't know if the tiny differences in DC resistance and inductance are simply normal parts tolerance variations, or if they matter to the pickups' tone and output.

I wouldn't be very surprised with any answer. If I had an SE or an S2, I'd probably swap the pickups for US models and put a John Mann bridge on, because those things seem like excellent upgrades to the tone, and I love the US pickups. Mechanically, I'd probably replace the tuning machines.

There's a chance I'd also be too lazy to do any mods.

 

[Paul B]

Info you may never use: ProBucker 2 & 3 are also in Epi’s Sheraton Pro II with coil splits. They can be mellow or hot.