Gibson 57 Classic Vintage NC

Everything else about my Les Paul felt right, but I could not overcome the fact that something seemed to be missing sonically. It felt as if the guitar left something lacking; I needed more dynamics, clarity and punch. So I did as most of us do, I read a ton of stuff on the Internet; websites, forums, blogs, the whole nine yards. One model of pickup that seemed to pop up every now and so often was the Gibson '57 Classic.

Intrigued by the buzz around this pickup, I ordered a normal '57 Classic for the neck position and a '57 Classic Plus for the bridge position.

Wow! What a difference the pickups made. The original pickups were by no means bad, but the '57 Classic and '57 Classic Plus provided me with the sound I'd been looking for. The clarity, the dynamics, the punch - everything was there. Now I get creamy leads from my neck pickup for solos and that little extra bite from the bridge pickup for rabid rhythm work. Thanks a lot for a great product!

Bought this 57 Classic to upgrade my Epiphone ES175.
The result is simply wonderful. The sound on the clean channel of a Fender Pro Champion is simply superb: Rich, heart warming, the sound I was looking for for years.
Also, in my opinion for once, Gibson has positioned the price very reasonably making it very much affordable to anybody.
I simply recommend it as an upgrade to any electric guitar especially for playing the blues or some Jazz.
The upgrade itself is very and is very simple to perform and is at the reach of most normal person.
So do not hesitate to go for it. You will simply not believe the result....

I bought it, in pair with a classic ‘57 plus, to upgrade my Epiphone es-335. I am not a professional musician, but I have been playing for years to appreciate the difference when it comes to pick a new pair of pickups. The sound is exactly that kind of sweet fat round voice you wantet to find for your guitar, exactly that one! There’s no doubt that your playing is going to be affected by the new sound, regardless the genre you play. An endless sustain, rich of mid and bass tone, which make your tone at the neck something unique. It might be with the clean, the crunch or even the distorted sound: your new voice will strike you and your listeners.
If I had to choose only one pickup to replace in any of my guitars with humbuckers, the one at the neck (classic ‘57) is the one I would go through. It is really the one which makes the difference.
Yes, it’s true: it is (they are) a bit expensive and it has (they have) only two conductors, so, no way to split. But, trust me: it does really worth it!
As for Thomann ... forget about it (quote from Donnie Brasco): they are a perfect pair for your purchaising, always!

I wanted a more vintage sounding pickup instead of the 496r that was put in the neck position of my LP Traditional by the previous owner.

This is a very nice sounding, kinda low output humbucker. I like that it retains clarity even with higher gain and it reacts to very well changes in volume/pick attack. Compared to 486r it has much less output and bass frequency content, but that only makes it sound clear, not thin. The 486r could get a bit muddy with more gain on the amp.

Overall I am very satisfied with this pickup. I think this is the pickup to get if you want that old school LP blues/rock sound. I would probably not use this pickup for metal. The original pickup was more useful in that kind of scenario.

This is a truly excellent humbucker. It is well made, tidily packaged and relatively sensibly priced. It is advertised to be vintage-accurate in every aspect except the wax potting which should prevent the pickup from feeding back. It is a little brighter than most humbuckers and has less output but still manages to sound clearly with a relatively high amounts of distortion. Needless to say, it excels at styles that don't incorporate excessive amounts of gain, especially blues and jazz. I only wish it was available with a chrome cover because nickel covered humbuckers might look out of place in guitars with chrome hardware.