A faithful replica of the Gibson lo-z bass humbucker

[Basvarken]

I checked with moderator Ped if posting this is okay.
Thank you Chris for the green light.

 

The Best sounding bass pickup of all time is the Gibson low impedance stacked humbucker that was used in the Les Paul Bass between 1968 and 1979.

At least in my opinion. 😉
I really think they're amazing.
Extremely silent. Magnificent dynamic response. Tight low end. Chrystal clear top end. And very versatile.

For years I roamed Ebay and Reverb to score them to put in various bass guitars. But last few years they've become as rare as hen's teeth. And when you finally do find one the prices are astronomically high.

Many times I tried to find a pickup maker who can replicate it. And many of them said they could. But in the end they all had to admit they couldn't.

Until recently!
I joined forces with Mike Rose from Gemini Pickups in Wales.
I sacrificed an original and carefully dissected it.
The pickup revealed its very unusual architecture. And step by step we reverse engineered it.
The Brooks Gemini was born!

 

 

I installed the Brooks Gemini into my Epiphone Jack Casady Signature bass. The bass previously sported an original Gibson lo-z humbucker.

 

 

 

Here's the video demo of the Brooks Gemini bass pickup: a faithful replica of the low-impedance stacked humbucker that Gibson used in their Les Paul Bass between 1968 - 1979.

 

Bass played by Dutch rock royalty Ivo Severijns.

Straight into the desk. No compressor, No amp, No speaker, No speaker simulator. Just an honest registration of the sound of the pickup.

What you see is what you get!

Enjoy!
 

 

[Owen]

3 hours ago, Basvarken said:

. Mike Rose from Gemini Pickups in Wales.

Welsh pickups bringing THE TOOOOOOOOOOONE!!!

[mxm]

He does make some great pick-ups !

 

Love your custom Gibson builds too!

[crazycloud]

The EE nerd in me wants to know, what does low impedance actually mean in this case?

 

Congrats on finding success with the cloning.

 

I have really enjoyed the builds you do that I've seen over the years.

[Basvarken]

1 hour ago, crazycloud said:

The EE nerd in me wants to know, what does low impedance actually mean in this case?

 

Congrats on finding success with the cloning.

 

I have really enjoyed the builds you do that I've seen over the years.

Just a couple of hundred ohms or less...

 

... compared to the thousands we are used to..

[Owen]

So, are these going to be available commercially?

[Basvarken]

2 minutes ago, Owen said:

So, are these going to be available commercially?

Yes, you can order them via me.
Send me a PM or email.
 

[Owen]

OK, thanks. I am not in the market right now. But I like to know these things. And I suspect I am not the only one. 

[LowB_FTW]

11 minutes ago, Basvarken said:

15 minutes ago, Owen said:

So, are these going to be available commercially?

Yes, you can order them via me.
Send me a PM or email.

Just 4-string versions? Or are there going to be 5-string versions too?

 

Mark

[Basvarken]

3 minutes ago, LowB_FTW said:

Just 4-string versions? Or are there going to be 5-string versions too?

 

Mark

The pickup is wide enough for even 6 strings. They have bar magnets that are 75 mm wide

[crazycloud]

6 hours ago, Basvarken said:

The pickup is wide enough for even 6 strings. They have bar magnets that are 75 mm wide

I was interested for a bit, even though they're an odd shape, but not at 300 Euro ea.

[Burns-bass]

5 hours ago, crazycloud said:

I was interested for a bit, even though they're an odd shape, but not at 300 Euro ea.

It’s a hand made artisan product. That’s probably a fair price. Well done got following through on something like this and doing what you. Best of luck with it!

[Hellzero]

Does the pickup come with an output transformer as circa 250 Ohms will be a challenge to use with traditional amps?

[Basvarken]

1 hour ago, Hellzero said:

Does the pickup come with an output transformer as circa 250 Ohms will be a challenge to use with traditional amps?

You could use a Shure A95U impedance transformer. That is exactly the same as the transformer plug that Gibson offered with the Les Paul Bass.
 

[neepheid]

I used one of these inline things when I was testing/repairing my Epiphone Jack Casady - I had to take the stock transformer out of the equation to prove that it was faulty.

 

[crazycloud]

12 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

It’s a hand made artisan product. That’s probably a fair price. 

I'm not knocking the price as I understand the costs involved having designed and built transformers before (priced G.O.S.S. steel lately, and minimum order quantities?), I'm just not able to spend that much on 2 of them.

Hope you sell enough on your basses and as free units to make it a worthwhile project for you.