The gossiping men think we’re all extremely dumb just like them. Johan needs to take a break and up date his knowledge for a few years. The gossiping men disrespect everyone. It’s time to speak exactly what you want to say cause these blokes are massively uneducated it’s destroying the industry. We’re SO sick of guitarists talking so many lies we’ve retired from the whole business. We’ve STOPPED DOING BUSINESS. Salesman are always disrespectful and discriminating and they’ve regressed to being lower than bacteria.
The Burstbucker sounds more pick reactive to me with a stronger attack, less midrangey than the Wizz and brighter/more chime. I preferred the Burstbucker here, but the Wizz might work better in a different guitar. Gibson pickups are quite underrated IMO and hold up very well against the pricier boutique pickups.
Both sounded great. The Wizz is more "transparent", more defined, a lil bit less midrange. The Burstbucker was slightly warmer/middier. Great clip Johan! Cheers from Argentina/Buenos Aires!.
The Wizz are slightly creamier, have more detailed harmonics, and a bit more clarity. Definitely better, but it was actually pretty close. Some clips there wasn't much difference.
We the customer of Gibson, don’t need to think about this stuff anymore. They make you a set of unique sounds from each guitar you buy. If you choose to buy the studio guitar and the stage guitar, guess what? Gibson has built you unique Gibson sounds for those jobs you’re doing. Burstbucker pickups are supposed to have unique Gibson style sounds. The guitar they’re installed in has a unique job to do. Stage guitars are not designed for the studio job in 2019. The studio guitar is purpose built for that job and it’s pickups are sounding this way. Ask yourself what sort of image you want from your studio guitar? Sunburst image? Once you decide you don’t need the massive visuals of a sunburst image, you’ll realise you need to buy the blacked out studio guitar and then you’ll get the Gibson sound designed for recording music in a studio setting. You the buyer only thinks about your visual image for the job and Gibson does the rest for you. Gibson has solved all your worries and problems, but you keep inventing problems which don’t exist or don’t need to exist. You’re in the studio, you play the studio Gibson. Jobs over! You go go playing the stage guitar in the studio. You’re just asking for trouble. But all of these sounds from Gibson and aftermarket products in Gibson style can only make pre-1980’s style music. Don’t you want to get rid of the neck heal? Extra jumbo frets? Tremolo? Scollop fingerboard? Metallica sound style? You’re not even in the style of 1990’s Gibson yet!
I haven't tried the wizz, but I've tried many other options comparing to all the current Gibson offerings and I assure the difference is quite substantial in person
@@crazyfreshcarl you must realise burstbucker in SG is going to be different to burstbucker in les Paul. We can’t afford to have most guitarists be so stupid anymore. It costs us thousands of dollars and 20 years of our lives just listening you dumb idiots talk crap about guitars. You’re disrespectful and always discriminating against people.
The WIZZ has more midrange push. The BB2 has more chime. It's a toss up for me. I would use the WIZZ in a brighter sounding guitar and the BB2 in a darker sounding guitar.
Wizz had a wonderfully tight bass response, with less "congestion" in the lows, and more interesting upper harmonic contemt. Wizz was less "smooth," warm and refined than BB2, but in a great way! Both were terrific. I think the choice between the two comes down to the specific guitar they will be mounted in, personal tonal preference, and budget.
I honestly expected to hear more difference than I did, and I absolutely came hear rooting for the Wizz. That being said, I have Burstbuckers in my R8 and I've never been unhappy with the bridge -- it's the neck that has me shopping for an alternative.
Somehow in this guitar and with this settings I like Gibson better. Though Wizz is a touch louder, Gibson is a bit less harsh and more balanced. Comparison aside, you're killer player, Johan, and I love your tone!
The Wizz pickup has more sparkle and presents. You can hear the warm airy flow, which reminds me of CreamTone pickups. I would definitely keep the Wizz pickups.
alex makes a nice open bright sounding pickup for sure, ive had a few sets and they all sounded great,, a good worthwhile upgrade over the stock gibson pickups..
You have pointed out the problem with this vid. These non Gibson products don’t need to exist. Gibson offers the Gibson buyer 36 sounds from a set of guitars. Not just 1 bridge pickup sound. A stage sound and a studio sound are all included in the set of sounds. They sell collections of guitars, not 1 guitar. Sets of unique sounds all with the Gibson style sound but purpose built to do different jobs. GROW UP KIDS! Gibson knows who you are inside and out. You’re not fooling anyone. Humans are famous.
@@itrollu2 I have the Heaven 67 set, so a little different from his 57 set. Less highs/treble than my burstbuckers, and a little more output, but great note clarity when driven, and overtones clean. Johan has some videos on the Lundgren's
Pickups are secondary here man, your charms are full blast. Relaxed, no tension, move over Jimi, Johan is taking over. What a performance - you went to school for that?...
I´ve got that set from Mark.. it is A4s, same as this Wizz, and they both share that annoying steely squishy sound on e string above 5th position.. which makes me to avoid playing them (just recently I read a review from another guy hearing the same - so it is not just me I guess - you gotta have ears).. but Mark´s A3 Beano set is something completely different, it is just perfect. No A4s for me, A2 and A3 all the way, in any pickup.. the Nocaster A3 sets are amazing, one I have is an off the shelf CS set, the other one is in my Masterbuild, degaussed. Both are the best Fender pickups.. For Gibsons, A2 - unpotted without saying...
Wizz are probably the most mojohyped humbs out there for these kind of sounds along with Sheptone, Stephen design, Throbak, Holmes (retired), ox4, flametone and few pthera. Definitely nice vid Johan
Yes, Wizz is pretty good and those BB's are totally not my cup of coffee. Zhangbuckers are pretty good as well, and the older Duncan Seth Lovers have a nice complex midrange similar to a lot of boutique PAF's. Still , i find most PAF replicas a bit expensive. I bought a couple of Paf's back in the 80's and 90's when people were practically giving them away. I enjoy this channel. A LOT! Keep rockin Johan!
The Wizz takes the cake for the cleaner, chimey stuff. Especially those arpeggios through the Vibrolux, the Wizz just had that little bit of extra top end chime that just sounds amazing. But there were other moments where I preferred the Gibsons. Both great sets in their own ways!
Seems to me that the Wizz are a bit stronger in the mid-range and have more punch. Bb2s have more chime and sound more airy (which I personally prefer). However, that's due to the fact that bb2s use alnico 2 and the Wizz seem to have alnico 4. Anyway, as always, this is a cool video, Johan. Thanks for sharing.
Whizz do you give you option's for Alnico magnet - I have (4) in my R9. I have Alnico ii in my Firebird, I know not true Humbucker .. Like to try Alnico ii in the R9.
Wizz pickups are throatier in the upper midrange, fuller or deeper, softer top end - these are the characteristics of a good, old PAF. Gibson BBs are terrific pickups, but Wizz has somehow captured the PAF character that is so elusive. Buzz uses them in his Les Paul clones exclusively with the best electronic components, old wood & VOS construction. My Tom Paul (no relation to Les) clone is like Buzz's. They're noticeably louder plugged or unplugged than every solid body guitar I have ever played (except my '08 chambered LP is acoustically louder & more resonant) like a real '59. Hold them in the air by at say the 12th fret and knock on the body and whoa! It resonates through your arm. Set the button strap on a carpeted wood floor and strike a note and you're in for another treat th-cam.com/video/d5sB4RMK-Co/w-d-xo.html
I gotta say that pickups and guitars are all a matter of personal taste. I acknowledge the differences in construction and tone, but ultimately the guitar is an extension of the player. Tone chasing can take the player away from making music. If the guitar inspires you to play as-is, don't change it! Some thoughts on old Les Pauls: There's a reason why Page had Seymour Duncan custom wire pickups for his LP. Original 'bursts tend to be hard to handle due to their tendency to feed back. This is in part due to the body construction and also the pickups not being "wax potted" or otherwise dampened. They were an improvement over hollow & semi-hollow bodies of the time for the increasingly louder & more aggressive Rock 'n Roll. It's really interesting to see how we romanticize, even fable-ize certain pieces of equipment and dismiss others. That's why I love these comparisons that Johann provides us! What a great resource he has given us to be able to judge these things as objectively as we can achieve. One last thought: KISS is manytimes used as a tone reference. Here's a live clip of Black Diamond from 1975. Check out the guitar that Ace is playing! th-cam.com/video/LeUosbClag8/w-d-xo.html
The high notes on the Wizz’s just ring out forever. To me the burstbuckers sound like my songs when I mix/master them myself. The Wizz’s sound like a true seasoned professional did the work. The Wizz’s make sure every string is sitting perfectly in the mix while the burst buckers let the low frequencies squash the upper mids / highs in a gnarly/muddy mess. The Wizz’s had an inspirational quality to the tone. Sounded special to me and authentic. The Gibsons had a very off the rack - non-dynamic response.
Johan, I think you’d flip your lid with those Wizz pups using vintage pio .022 bees (they’ll probably measure .033 from aging) and centralab pots. It’s an incredible difference, at every knob position, esp with that vintage abr1 you demo’d a while back; all these components total more than their sum. Either way tho, thanks for another great vid 👏👏
Great Job again! To me on semi crunch settings the wizz excel, one can definately hear the A & B strings more clearly than the BB... But when using more overdrive the BB’s sound more balanced... The Wizz have more PAF Chirp than the BB. I’ll take the Wizz and over the BB as I play more in the “Just on the verge of breakup” more than the “Balls out” area
These two both sound really good. The WIZZes have a little more “nose” in the midrange, which I like. Not much in it otherwise. IMO the neck position is where genuine PAFs really shine (clarity clarity clarity for days, but with mid oomph and bass warmth), so looking forward to a neck pickup comparison along this same line!
Through the magic of the internet and a pair of small studio monitors and a DAC they both sound very good, sometimes preferring one over the other but just. Splitting hairs
I watched the other reference video with the 58 paf and the dimarzio and the BB2. You need to measure the magnet strength of the pickup magnets and document that. I tend to like the Alnico 4's but as a weak magnet.....not charged up strong. I add on to the pickups to soften them for response as I am using BB1 in my neck and a BB3 in my bridge......but I also made changes as to which bobbin sees the hot lead & which is grounded per the position. I get a nice clarity with the neck where I have it balanced nicely with the bridge as far as the tone dynamic......the neck is not overly bassy and the bridge is not overly lacking bass response. Then too I use something like a .006uf tone cap for the roll off.....which just rolls back the high end out of the signal without it going mushy bassy dark and muffled. Rolling the tone control back off from wide open trims away the high end sparkle to get some meaty tonality and mid-range juice for the real WOMAN tone. BUT as with the BurstBuckers, changing the magnet out to a alnico 4 and putting in screw poles to replace the factory ones is the key to tuning the BB pickups. They make vintage style 1010 alloy pole screws and 1018 alloy pole screws. The 1010 variety yields the vintage tone which is great for the bridge pickup, and the 1018 yields more high end sparkle which is great for the neck pickup to reduce the bassy thing of a neck pickup. BUT the end of the tuning is the magnet strength...a weaker magnet gives up the right tonality.......my pickups are not close to the strings. My bridge is just inside the ring with the screw poles arched radius to the curve of the fretboard with both E's about flush with the bobbins and the other rising just slightly higher with the D & G the highest in the arch. Same with the neck, but the neck is deeper in the ring. I start with them both deep in the rings and raise up 1/4 turn at a time till I hit the spot. I use a phillips screw driver with a 4 sided handle and thus I turn it 1/4 turn based on the handle side. The tricky part is the bridge pickup to get the volume balance with the neck.....then the tonality.....as its within about 1 1/2 full turns to find the magic spot. I use 52 or 54 low E strings and I thing its an 11 on the high E...light top heavy bottom set or medium gauge set......nickel wound. BUT too the rings have to be M-69's or M-69 butyrate repro's.....there actually is some tonality to them in the whole formula. AND also the vintage taper volume pots along with the Gavitt braided wiring. I also use the steel tail piece studs with the steel bushing with the light weight aluminum tail piece.....and my bridge is different. I use brass posts essentially along with brass adjusters and my saddles are also brass.....I retrofitted the brass saddles in to my nashville bridge as I need the wider adjustment for intonation than the classic ABR and thats what came on my 70's LP. BUT these are not the basic replacement brass saddles, I retrofitted out of another modern vintage replacement bridge and these brass saddles are radius compensated in the bridge.....so the 2 E's are the lowest and the D & G are the highest with the A & B in between those heights. BUT I cut my strings in to the saddles so the groove has the top of the string fluch with the top of the saddle surface.....I don't notch the saddles and have them ride the string just on top of the saddle. The deeper cut in situation gives more surface area contact for the coupling and transmission of the string energy to the bridge and body of the guitar...more tone. BUT these saddles are the correct mass/weight as the REAL 1950's ABR plated brass saddles they used from the factory then......thats the whole mystery of the tonality of a real burst. The correct hardware as well as the response from the pickups. My converted NORLIN era LP now has the tonality of the Marsden BEAST burst.......AND I have used this conversion process on my 2 other humbucker guitars...a Hamer and a Dean EVO.....though I work with the pickups that were in those guitars as opposed to changing out to BB's......but changing their magnets to the alnico 4's. Its the difference between night and day once done and complete and adjusted.
I do also do some other adjustments as to tune the guitar to my amplifiers...since they are a voltage source to drive the front end of the amplifier......looking at it from the paper aspect and engineering. The transducer is generating a voltage based on the striking of the strings and introducing it to the first stage of an amplifier to be processed within its circuitry. SO I adjust the signal strength as humbuckers are putting out more than single coils.....so I try to get a more reasonable variation than a drastic variation. My amplifiers I build are adjustable more than the average amplifier in the pre-amp.....so I have total control and versatility. Its beyond plugging in a single coil into the #1 input and plugging a humbucker guitar into the compensated #2 input jack on a regular amplifier as they were designed in the 50's when the humbuckers came on the scene and the amps changed to take that on. The design concept of the humbuckers was to eliminate the noise of a single coil.....not to be a situation to overdrive the amplifiers......thats the happy accident of humbuckers.
I do really favor the WIZZ pickups......they are as close to a real PAF in response right out of the box. My neck BB is set up for the Peter Green thing......and I have done that with my Hamer and the Dean EVO. I should mention that changing out the magnets for alnico 4's in the Hamer and the Dean.....those pickups are made with bobbins that use a different wire.....probably thinner than a 42 thats in a traditional PAF.....the resistance readings are up around 12K to 15K.....on the respective pickups.....which gives them a distinction in tonality when converted to the AL 4's and adjusted......and the hardware is converted.
I gotta say the arppegiated chords on the wizz really sell it for me. They sound so much more like what you'd find a recording of not just a pre norlins Gibson but a real vintage guitar.
You really make good demos . By my self I notice big diference in a treble register where WIZZ sound open and bright and Gibson darker and rude . Chears !
Hi Johann. Thanks for making these videos and I watch a lot of your comparisons! Great resource. Question: Are either or both of these pickups not wax-potted?
From my experience the absolute best PAF repros made are Wizz and Throbak. If you can afford them Stephen’s Design are also spectacular. They are all three far more accurate not just in tone but also the method of production than anything else on the market, which is critical to getting the right response and character. Everything else does not sound right.
I concur with elgen034's and Sir Vic's comments/observations. If I had to distill the WIZZ down to one word, that word would be "detailed". Or maybe we could say the WIZZ just seemed to "like" your R9 better Johan! ;)
Well since PAF's had all kinds of different winds, different magnets, and were all over the place tonally, any reasonably close humbucker will sound like some PAF. I left the BB 1&2 in my 2007 R8 and they sound great. They are about 7.5k & 7.9k.
The treble content of the Wizz is what makes PAF pickups sound great. Like a tele on steroids!! The Gibson pickups are dark sounding… not bad… just dark. The Wizz have that top end chime that pushes air around the notes… bloom and makes your hands play more articulate because you can hear notes and separation better on the Wizz.
Dagger 323 well I’m not going to look for and then dish out the money for original PAF pickups. They do sound enough like them for my taste. They are also very similar construction and output. Original PAFs are not easy to find. PAF stands for Patent Applied For so it’s not like pickups from the 50’s are just laying around everywhere.
I am currently replacing the ceramic humbuckers in my 1995 Les Paul Classic 1960 with Gibson 57 Classic / 57 Classic +. It was a hard decision to buy these or some Burstbucker 1/2. In the videos I watched I liked the 57 more, but will see tomorrow how it feels in real life.
I had them in my 92 as well. changed them for super distortions. oh man they brought the guitar to a whole nother level of life! Had a burstbucker3, changed it for a 57 classic +, now the SD. you may try it out. :)
cool, I took the ceramic pickups out of my 1991 LP 60s Classic and replaced them with Dimarzio PAF 36th Anniversary pickups, the pickup change brought that guitar to life! Curious to know your results.
@@kimhansen6384you're right. l, let me clarify, the Pickups drive the amp making the amp and speakers break up quicker. The facts are in the tone. Thanks!
Excellent sounding although a little rich for my blood. For PAF tones I love the price and tone of the Dimarzio 36th PAF. Plus its potted for high gain. Soon I wanna try their 1959 PAF and see how good it is. Its supposed to be the most vintage style pickup Dimarzio has ever made.
Great demo as always, I think the Burstbucker sounds more true vintage, the Wizz sounds great too, definitely a bit more output and midrange response, I also noticed that the pick attack was more prevalent in the Wizz.
I agree also. The pick attack is just a touch “crunchy-er” as the pick came off the string. An extremely small split second, but I like that sound. However, I like the Burstbucker better in general. Never heard two pickups sound so close!
From my experience with the Burstbuckers I think they work fine in the bridge position, but I found the neck position to be muddy compared to boutique pickup winders. If you ever get your hands on ReWind Electric pickups I think you would be quite pleased. I own 4 sets of ReWind's and they are all incredible.
Johan love your videos! Do this same A/B through one of your sweet Marshalls. To my ears, including my guitars and amps, solid body guitars with humbuckers just sound better through Marshalls!
The best PAF clones I found recently are MERLIN PICKUPS (based in Poland) - and not crazy prices either. Website is in Polish but the builder was very helpful with email support.
Wizz sound more airy and open on the top end, which works well with the clean tone. Gibson pickups ,especially modern ones, to my ear have an interesting character when clean that makes the strings sound a little dead.
Hey Johan, could you compare the dimarzio 36th anniv. and the seymour duncan Pearly Gates one day? these seem to be the easiest to find and popular choices for us mortals :D
I have yet to try the WIZZ pickups, but I highly recommend checking out both wolfetone Dr vintage and throbak SLE-101's, those two came the closest, of all the options I've tried, to an original 1960 I played recently
I'd say a bit more harmonics on the WIZZ but less precise on the base side. I have tried a 59 RI with WIZZ pickups and I was impressed mostly by the neck pickup but so much by the bridge pickup. Your test confirms what I thought.
The Wizz is creamier, breathy, and more dynamic. Are either potted or not? I play a ReWind JPPost-72, unpotted, and ABSOLUTELY love it. I switched to umpotted pups years ago and will never look back. The Wizz sounds unpotted, whereas the Gibby sounds potted.
I prefer the Burstbucker because you can always roll off high end, but you can't add it if it isn't there. The Wizz was slightly hotter and darker. They both sound great and probably closer than any two original PAFs were to each other. But the BB is a little more versatile.
You could rule the world with either of those.. Might have enough money left to buy strings and an amp and put gas in the van if you get burstbuckers tho. :)
Nice comparison, as usual they’re both great. BB are hard to beat for the money though. If you tried to compare all the PAF clones out there...how long would it take? A few years maybe? Keep it up!
The Wizz sounded more trebly and hotter to me, although I had a hard time telling if it excited you into whacking the strings harder and causing that difference. :)
Another great video! Which magnets do the Wizz set have? For lack of a better word...the Wizz set sounded more musical compared to the BB's. They seemed to be sonically wider and more dynamic. The BB's seemed more mid-focused.
Not a bad comparison. Have you played Timbuckers? That’s what I’m using in my Les Paul and they are awesome. They are going for $900 a pair on eBay. The guy is no longer making new ones.
Burstbucker 2 = AlNiCo 2 Wizz that you have = AlNiCo 4 More clarity and punch in wizz. Same result if we compare burstbucker 2 and burstbucker pro (ANiCo 5) even more clarity and punch in those, less mellow.
I replaced the Alnico 2 magnets against alnico 4 in my burstbucker 2 and 3 in my les Paul. I could barely recognize a difference and certainly not more punch, rather the opposite.
@@Schlumpf.Meister I belive that BB pro and Wizz also have bit more output becouse of more rounds of wire therefore more punch. Difference may be less pronounced if changing magnet in same pickup...?
Wizz by a mile...worth every penny. I installed them in every `59 replica I built and sold. I wish I had bought a set of the limited edition NOS vintage 42.5 gauge purple enamel wire. In the meantime, it's great to have him custom wind alnico magnet sets too: Alnico II, III, V...I'm looking forward to getting more of Alex's PAFs...When I think of sweet PAF tone, I think of Knophler, Beck's Blow By Blow, and Jimmy....For the money, and workmanship and attention to detail....Wizz delivers on all accounts of a great PAF
48 minutes to go... crap, I’m up in Montana visiting (with my wife) her sister. About to head out for the day.. what was it Tom Petty said.. “The waiting is the hardest part.”
Listened to it in the car! I like the Wizz as they’re clearer & have more harmonics! I own two sets of Wizz and some real PAF’s, early Pat.#’s & early T-Tops.. so I’m spoiled by by the real deals😳. I bet if Johan put an A-4 magnetic in that Burstbucker it would sound pretty damn good! 😁😁
![7 PAF Humbucker Comparison Followup - My Opinions 🤔 [Throbak | Wizz | Holmes | Lollar | ReWind]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qUv8HoJKlsI/mqdefault.jpg)
The Patent Office is taking its damn time with that patent application, huh?
lollllllll foreverrrrrrrr
The gossiping men think we’re all extremely dumb just like them. Johan needs to take a break and up date his knowledge for a few years.
The gossiping men disrespect everyone. It’s time to speak exactly what you want to say cause these blokes are massively uneducated it’s destroying the industry.
We’re SO sick of guitarists talking so many lies we’ve retired from the whole business.
We’ve STOPPED DOING BUSINESS. Salesman are always disrespectful and discriminating and they’ve regressed to being lower than bacteria.
The Wizz was definitely more white or cream coloured, whereas the Gibson was substantially blacker. 🤔
I'm gonna have to agree with your perception.
I mean obviously it's all subjective.
Omgosh!.. thats hilarious!!!
Lol
and I thought just the opposite. To each their own I guess.
@@wilsondunlap This is my favourite comment!
Couldn’t decide really. Sometimes I liked the BB2 more and other times the Wizz. 🤷🏼♂️
Same
The Burstbucker sounds more pick reactive to me with a stronger attack, less midrangey than the Wizz and brighter/more chime. I preferred the Burstbucker here, but the Wizz might work better in a different guitar. Gibson pickups are quite underrated IMO and hold up very well against the pricier boutique pickups.
Both sounded great. The Wizz is more "transparent", more defined, a lil bit less midrange. The Burstbucker was slightly warmer/middier. Great clip Johan! Cheers from Argentina/Buenos Aires!.
The Wizz are slightly creamier, have more detailed harmonics, and a bit more clarity. Definitely better, but it was actually pretty close. Some clips there wasn't much difference.
Thanks, yeah the BBs hold up relatively well for some riffs
We the customer of Gibson, don’t need to think about this stuff anymore.
They make you a set of unique sounds from each guitar you buy.
If you choose to buy the studio guitar and the stage guitar, guess what? Gibson has built you unique Gibson sounds for those jobs you’re doing. Burstbucker pickups are supposed to have unique Gibson style sounds. The guitar they’re installed in has a unique job to do. Stage guitars are not designed for the studio job in 2019. The studio guitar is purpose built for that job and it’s pickups are sounding this way. Ask yourself what sort of image you want from your studio guitar?
Sunburst image? Once you decide you don’t need the massive visuals of a sunburst image, you’ll realise you need to buy the blacked out studio guitar and then you’ll get the Gibson sound designed for recording music in a studio setting.
You the buyer only thinks about your visual image for the job and Gibson does the rest for you.
Gibson has solved all your worries and problems, but you keep inventing problems which don’t exist or don’t need to exist.
You’re in the studio, you play the studio Gibson. Jobs over! You go go playing the stage guitar in the studio. You’re just asking for trouble.
But all of these sounds from Gibson and aftermarket products in Gibson style can only make pre-1980’s style music.
Don’t you want to get rid of the neck heal? Extra jumbo frets? Tremolo? Scollop fingerboard? Metallica sound style?
You’re not even in the style of 1990’s Gibson yet!
I haven't tried the wizz, but I've tried many other options comparing to all the current Gibson offerings and I assure the difference is quite substantial in person
@@dreyn7780 boooooooo
@@crazyfreshcarl you must realise burstbucker in SG is going to be different to burstbucker in les Paul.
We can’t afford to have most guitarists be so stupid anymore.
It costs us thousands of dollars and 20 years of our lives just listening you dumb idiots talk crap about guitars.
You’re disrespectful and always discriminating against people.
The WIZZ has more midrange push. The BB2 has more chime. It's a toss up for me. I would use the WIZZ in a brighter sounding guitar and the BB2 in a darker sounding guitar.
I was thinking the same thing. To me, the Wizz has more bite.
Like a les Paul custom?
Wizz had a wonderfully tight bass response, with less "congestion" in the lows, and more interesting upper harmonic contemt. Wizz was less "smooth," warm and refined than BB2, but in a great way! Both were terrific. I think the choice between the two comes down to the specific guitar they will be mounted in, personal tonal preference, and budget.
I honestly expected to hear more difference than I did, and I absolutely came hear rooting for the Wizz. That being said, I have Burstbuckers in my R8 and I've never been unhappy with the bridge -- it's the neck that has me shopping for an alternative.
Somehow in this guitar and with this settings I like Gibson better.
Though Wizz is a touch louder, Gibson is a bit less harsh and more balanced.
Comparison aside, you're killer player, Johan, and I love your tone!
i just came here to say that i bought a set of BB2s on ebay for 50 euro. that is all friends
Probably Chinese knockoffs… that’s all friend 😛
I always hear at least a smidgen of Ace Frehley in your cool playing brother! Such a great demonstration here.
The Wizz pickup has more sparkle and presents. You can hear the warm airy flow, which reminds me of CreamTone pickups. I would definitely keep the Wizz pickups.
WIZZ is more "open" sounding to me and seems it has more harmonic overtones.WIZZ for the win.
Oh yeah!! Please more of those Johan :) the PAF rabbit hole is here.
Wizz sound a lot richer, I mean a lot richer.
That’s my impression too
@@JohanSegeborn Can't wait to hear you try the neck. That's where Wizz really shines in my opinion. btw pots and cap stock?
A little less resistance in the Wizz and a little more output because of that. Both sound almost identical. Good job as always Johan!!!!!!!
Thanks!
I like both sets. Great playing.
alex makes a nice open bright sounding pickup for sure, ive had a few sets and they all sounded great,, a good worthwhile upgrade over the stock gibson pickups..
Wizz is more crispy I like it, but for $400 per set I think I'll stick with my Custom buckers. Great playing Johan!
Thanks!
You have pointed out the problem with this vid. These non Gibson products don’t need to exist. Gibson offers the Gibson buyer 36 sounds from a set of guitars. Not just 1 bridge pickup sound. A stage sound and a studio sound are all included in the set of sounds.
They sell collections of guitars, not 1 guitar. Sets of unique sounds all with the Gibson style sound but purpose built to do different jobs.
GROW UP KIDS! Gibson knows who you are inside and out. You’re not fooling anyone. Humans are famous.
@@dreyn7780 what 36 sounds?
Volume and tone controls have numbers printed on them, so, it’s time you counted the numbers and find out how many you have.
Thanks Johan, great comparison!
Thanks Paul!
These sound pretty awesome, but they don't unseat my Lundgren's :) Thank you Johan!
Which one? I mean, which Lundgren.
@@itrollu2 I have the Heaven 67 set, so a little different from his 57 set. Less highs/treble than my burstbuckers, and a little more output, but great note clarity when driven, and overtones clean. Johan has some videos on the Lundgren's
The Wizz was more what i like in a P.A.F but considering the price point the BB was actually pretty good!
Pickups are secondary here man, your charms are full blast. Relaxed, no tension, move over Jimi, Johan is taking over. What a performance - you went to school for that?...
I think the biggest difference I could spot was that the Wizz has more dynamics, I mean it's less compressed than the BB.
Try the OX4 low winds. Those are the pickups that sound like old PAFs.
Wizz is nice. But Mark Stow's low wind OX4 is the closest I've heard to vintage pafs.
I´ve got that set from Mark.. it is A4s, same as this Wizz, and they both share that annoying steely squishy sound on e string above 5th position.. which makes me to avoid playing them (just recently I read a review from another guy hearing the same - so it is not just me I guess - you gotta have ears).. but Mark´s A3 Beano set is something completely different, it is just perfect. No A4s for me, A2 and A3 all the way, in any pickup.. the Nocaster A3 sets are amazing, one I have is an off the shelf CS set, the other one is in my Masterbuild, degaussed. Both are the best Fender pickups.. For Gibsons, A2 - unpotted without saying...
Wizz are probably the most mojohyped humbs out there for these kind of sounds along with Sheptone, Stephen design, Throbak, Holmes (retired), ox4, flametone and few pthera. Definitely nice vid Johan
Yes, Wizz is pretty good and those BB's are totally not my cup of coffee. Zhangbuckers are pretty good as well, and the older Duncan Seth Lovers have a nice complex midrange similar to a lot of boutique PAF's. Still , i find most PAF replicas a bit expensive. I bought a couple of Paf's back in the 80's and 90's when people were practically giving them away. I enjoy this channel. A LOT! Keep rockin Johan!
The Wizz takes the cake for the cleaner, chimey stuff. Especially those arpeggios through the Vibrolux, the Wizz just had that little bit of extra top end chime that just sounds amazing. But there were other moments where I preferred the Gibsons. Both great sets in their own ways!
I was thinking about buying a set of Wizz...now not anymore. Thank you Johan 👍
Do a Wizz vs OX4 next time :)
Seems to me that the Wizz are a bit stronger in the mid-range and have more punch. Bb2s have more chime and sound more airy (which I personally prefer). However, that's due to the fact that bb2s use alnico 2 and the Wizz seem to have alnico 4.
Anyway, as always, this is a cool video, Johan. Thanks for sharing.
Whizz do you give you option's for Alnico magnet - I have (4) in my R9. I have Alnico ii in my Firebird, I know not true Humbucker .. Like to try Alnico ii in the R9.
The Wizz sounds like a BB that's blown its nose- uncongested and clear. Well done.
Wizz pickups are throatier in the upper midrange, fuller or deeper, softer top end - these are the characteristics of a good, old PAF.
Gibson BBs are terrific pickups, but Wizz has somehow captured the PAF character that is so elusive.
Buzz uses them in his Les Paul clones exclusively with the best electronic components, old wood & VOS construction. My Tom Paul (no relation to Les) clone is like Buzz's. They're noticeably louder plugged or unplugged than every solid body guitar I have ever played (except my '08 chambered LP is acoustically louder & more resonant) like a real '59. Hold them in the air by at say the 12th fret and knock on the body and whoa! It resonates through your arm. Set the button strap on a carpeted wood floor and strike a note and you're in for another treat
th-cam.com/video/d5sB4RMK-Co/w-d-xo.html
i love your understanding of it all
I gotta say that pickups and guitars are all a matter of personal taste. I acknowledge the differences in construction and tone, but ultimately the guitar is an extension of the player. Tone chasing can take the player away from making music. If the guitar inspires you to play as-is, don't change it!
Some thoughts on old Les Pauls: There's a reason why Page had Seymour Duncan custom wire pickups for his LP. Original 'bursts tend to be hard to handle due to their tendency to feed back. This is in part due to the body construction and also the pickups not being "wax potted" or otherwise dampened. They were an improvement over hollow & semi-hollow bodies of the time for the increasingly louder & more aggressive Rock 'n Roll. It's really interesting to see how we romanticize, even fable-ize certain pieces of equipment and dismiss others. That's why I love these comparisons that Johann provides us! What a great resource he has given us to be able to judge these things as objectively as we can achieve.
One last thought: KISS is manytimes used as a tone reference. Here's a live clip of Black Diamond from 1975. Check out the guitar that Ace is playing!
th-cam.com/video/LeUosbClag8/w-d-xo.html
Characteristics are near identical to my ear except the Wizz seems to be slightly higher output
The high notes on the Wizz’s just ring out forever.
To me the burstbuckers sound like my songs when I mix/master them myself. The Wizz’s sound like a true seasoned professional did the work.
The Wizz’s make sure every string is sitting perfectly in the mix while the burst buckers let the low frequencies squash the upper mids / highs in a gnarly/muddy mess.
The Wizz’s had an inspirational quality to the tone. Sounded special to me and authentic. The Gibsons had a very off the rack - non-dynamic response.
They both sound like great pickups, Thanks bro!
Johan, I think you’d flip your lid with those Wizz pups using vintage pio .022 bees (they’ll probably measure .033 from aging) and centralab pots. It’s an incredible difference, at every knob position, esp with that vintage abr1 you demo’d a while back; all these components total more than their sum. Either way tho, thanks for another great vid 👏👏
Great Job again!
To me on semi crunch settings the wizz excel, one can definately hear the A & B strings more clearly than the BB...
But when using more overdrive the BB’s sound more balanced...
The Wizz have more PAF Chirp than the BB.
I’ll take the Wizz and over the BB as I play more in the “Just on the verge of breakup” more than the “Balls out” area
Sound is very similar. Great comparison video as usual my friend. You'll have to see how the stack up against the Lundgrens. God bless and rock on!
Thanks brother!
These two both sound really good. The WIZZes have a little more “nose” in the midrange, which I like. Not much in it otherwise.
IMO the neck position is where genuine PAFs really shine (clarity clarity clarity for days, but with mid oomph and bass warmth), so looking forward to a neck pickup comparison along this same line!
Through the magic of the internet and a pair of small studio monitors and a DAC they both sound very good, sometimes preferring one over the other but just. Splitting hairs
My ears can barely tell the difference, without watching.. What I really wanna know is: WHO THE HELL GIVES ANY JOHAN VIDEOS 'THUMBS DOWN' ?!!? 🖕🖕
Hahaha! Love you Byron! :-)
I watched the other reference video with the 58 paf and the dimarzio and the BB2. You need to measure the magnet strength of the pickup magnets and document that. I tend to like the Alnico 4's but as a weak magnet.....not charged up strong. I add on to the pickups to soften them for response as I am using BB1 in my neck and a BB3 in my bridge......but I also made changes as to which bobbin sees the hot lead & which is grounded per the position. I get a nice clarity with the neck where I have it balanced nicely with the bridge as far as the tone dynamic......the neck is not overly bassy and the bridge is not overly lacking bass response. Then too I use something like a .006uf tone cap for the roll off.....which just rolls back the high end out of the signal without it going mushy bassy dark and muffled. Rolling the tone control back off from wide open trims away the high end sparkle to get some meaty tonality and mid-range juice for the real WOMAN tone. BUT as with the BurstBuckers, changing the magnet out to a alnico 4 and putting in screw poles to replace the factory ones is the key to tuning the BB pickups. They make vintage style 1010 alloy pole screws and 1018 alloy pole screws. The 1010 variety yields the vintage tone which is great for the bridge pickup, and the 1018 yields more high end sparkle which is great for the neck pickup to reduce the bassy thing of a neck pickup. BUT the end of the tuning is the magnet strength...a weaker magnet gives up the right tonality.......my pickups are not close to the strings. My bridge is just inside the ring with the screw poles arched radius to the curve of the fretboard with both E's about flush with the bobbins and the other rising just slightly higher with the D & G the highest in the arch. Same with the neck, but the neck is deeper in the ring. I start with them both deep in the rings and raise up 1/4 turn at a time till I hit the spot. I use a phillips screw driver with a 4 sided handle and thus I turn it 1/4 turn based on the handle side. The tricky part is the bridge pickup to get the volume balance with the neck.....then the tonality.....as its within about 1 1/2 full turns to find the magic spot. I use 52 or 54 low E strings and I thing its an 11 on the high E...light top heavy bottom set or medium gauge set......nickel wound. BUT too the rings have to be M-69's or M-69 butyrate repro's.....there actually is some tonality to them in the whole formula. AND also the vintage taper volume pots along with the Gavitt braided wiring. I also use the steel tail piece studs with the steel bushing with the light weight aluminum tail piece.....and my bridge is different. I use brass posts essentially along with brass adjusters and my saddles are also brass.....I retrofitted the brass saddles in to my nashville bridge as I need the wider adjustment for intonation than the classic ABR and thats what came on my 70's LP. BUT these are not the basic replacement brass saddles, I retrofitted out of another modern vintage replacement bridge and these brass saddles are radius compensated in the bridge.....so the 2 E's are the lowest and the D & G are the highest with the A & B in between those heights. BUT I cut my strings in to the saddles so the groove has the top of the string fluch with the top of the saddle surface.....I don't notch the saddles and have them ride the string just on top of the saddle. The deeper cut in situation gives more surface area contact for the coupling and transmission of the string energy to the bridge and body of the guitar...more tone. BUT these saddles are the correct mass/weight as the REAL 1950's ABR plated brass saddles they used from the factory then......thats the whole mystery of the tonality of a real burst. The correct hardware as well as the response from the pickups. My converted NORLIN era LP now has the tonality of the Marsden BEAST burst.......AND I have used this conversion process on my 2 other humbucker guitars...a Hamer and a Dean EVO.....though I work with the pickups that were in those guitars as opposed to changing out to BB's......but changing their magnets to the alnico 4's. Its the difference between night and day once done and complete and adjusted.
I do also do some other adjustments as to tune the guitar to my amplifiers...since they are a voltage source to drive the front end of the amplifier......looking at it from the paper aspect and engineering. The transducer is generating a voltage based on the striking of the strings and introducing it to the first stage of an amplifier to be processed within its circuitry. SO I adjust the signal strength as humbuckers are putting out more than single coils.....so I try to get a more reasonable variation than a drastic variation. My amplifiers I build are adjustable more than the average amplifier in the pre-amp.....so I have total control and versatility. Its beyond plugging in a single coil into the #1 input and plugging a humbucker guitar into the compensated #2 input jack on a regular amplifier as they were designed in the 50's when the humbuckers came on the scene and the amps changed to take that on. The design concept of the humbuckers was to eliminate the noise of a single coil.....not to be a situation to overdrive the amplifiers......thats the happy accident of humbuckers.
I do really favor the WIZZ pickups......they are as close to a real PAF in response right out of the box. My neck BB is set up for the Peter Green thing......and I have done that with my Hamer and the Dean EVO. I should mention that changing out the magnets for alnico 4's in the Hamer and the Dean.....those pickups are made with bobbins that use a different wire.....probably thinner than a 42 thats in a traditional PAF.....the resistance readings are up around 12K to 15K.....on the respective pickups.....which gives them a distinction in tonality when converted to the AL 4's and adjusted......and the hardware is converted.
I gotta say the arppegiated chords on the wizz really sell it for me. They sound so much more like what you'd find a recording of not just a pre norlins Gibson but a real vintage guitar.
Thanks Peter, yeah the lower mid is beautifully firm
Would of been nice to hear the Custombucker instead of the BB
You really make good demos . By my self I notice big diference in a treble register where WIZZ sound open and bright and Gibson darker and rude . Chears !
Hi Johann. Thanks for making these videos and I watch a lot of your comparisons! Great resource.
Question: Are either or both of these pickups not wax-potted?
The Wizz has tinny bit more gain and highs but they really sound identical here.
I would like to see more PAF COMPARISONS of maybe 58’s sound
From my experience the absolute best PAF repros made are Wizz and Throbak. If you can afford them Stephen’s Design are also spectacular. They are all three far more accurate not just in tone but also the method of production than anything else on the market, which is critical to getting the right response and character. Everything else does not sound right.
Yeah Stephens Design PAFs seems great too.
@@JohanSegeborn If you ordered a set back when you posted this, you would have a set now. Dave Stephens is very low production, and backlogged.
They both sound pretty good to me! If I bought a Les Paul with a Burstbucker 2 in it, I probably wouldn´t replace it.
I concur with elgen034's and Sir Vic's comments/observations. If I had to distill the WIZZ down to one word, that word would be "detailed". Or maybe we could say the WIZZ just seemed to "like" your R9 better Johan! ;)
Thanks, yeah it’s a high res version of the BB and more.
I have both and both are great. The Wizz really shine with dirt.
Well since PAF's had all kinds of different winds, different magnets, and were all over the place tonally, any reasonably close humbucker will sound like some PAF. I left the BB 1&2 in my 2007 R8 and they sound great. They are about 7.5k & 7.9k.
The both sound great to me. The cream bobbins look great in that Lester though
Thanks Matt, yeah Cream bobbins look really cool
Now I'd love to see the Wizz compared to the old DiMarzio PAF that you used in that fantastic video with a real PAF and that AMAZING LP Special.
The treble content of the Wizz is what makes PAF pickups sound great. Like a tele on steroids!! The Gibson pickups are dark sounding… not bad… just dark. The Wizz have that top end chime that pushes air around the notes… bloom and makes your hands play more articulate because you can hear notes and separation better on the Wizz.
Have you also tried ox4 pick ups those are amazing especially for the price
Btw love the vid keep up the good work and keep on rockin 🤘🏻
I’m sticking with my Burstbuckers.
Joseph Corcoran Up to you. But they sound and react nothing like a PAF.
But they are a PAF, made by Gibson too, originally made for the custom shop line of guitars only. How are they not a PAF?
Dagger 323 well I’m not going to look for and then dish out the money for original PAF pickups. They do sound enough like them for my taste. They are also very similar construction and output. Original PAFs are not easy to find. PAF stands for Patent Applied For so it’s not like pickups from the 50’s are just laying around everywhere.
Dagger 323 do you have actual Gibson PAFs?
Joseph Corcoran I have early ‘63 Patent Numbers, which are basically identical to PAFs minus the sticker. I know what these things sound like.
Wizz seemed to have more output and sizzle, both sound great though
Lower frequency resonant peak in the Wizz: Alnico IV vs Alnico II in the BB2
I am currently replacing the ceramic humbuckers in my 1995 Les Paul Classic 1960 with Gibson 57 Classic / 57 Classic +. It was a hard decision to buy these or some Burstbucker 1/2. In the videos I watched I liked the 57 more, but will see tomorrow how it feels in real life.
I had them in my 92 as well. changed them for super distortions. oh man they brought the guitar to a whole nother level of life! Had a burstbucker3, changed it for a 57 classic +, now the SD. you may try it out. :)
cool, I took the ceramic pickups out of my 1991 LP 60s Classic and replaced them with Dimarzio PAF 36th Anniversary pickups, the pickup change brought that guitar to life! Curious to know your results.
I have also changed to 50s wiring. First impressions are good, but I have to play and test more. As intended, it has a more vintage vibe now.
They definitely sound different. I like them both.
The Wiz, seems to break up a litter quicker.
I dont´t think PU´s break up. But without being sure, I think the Wizz´s had a slightly higher output.
@@kimhansen6384you're right.
l, let me clarify, the Pickups drive the amp making the amp and speakers break up quicker.
The facts are in the tone.
Thanks!
Excellent sounding although a little rich for my blood. For PAF tones I love the price and tone of the Dimarzio 36th PAF. Plus its potted for high gain. Soon I wanna try their 1959 PAF and see how good it is. Its supposed to be the most vintage style pickup Dimarzio has ever made.
Great demo as always, I think the Burstbucker sounds more true vintage, the Wizz sounds great too, definitely a bit more output and midrange response, I also noticed that the pick attack was more prevalent in the Wizz.
Thanks Mark!
I agree also. The pick attack is just a touch “crunchy-er” as the pick came off the string. An extremely small split second, but I like that sound. However, I like the Burstbucker better in general. Never heard two pickups sound so close!
From my experience with the Burstbuckers I think they work fine in the bridge position, but I found the neck position to be muddy compared to boutique pickup winders. If you ever get your hands on ReWind Electric pickups I think you would be quite pleased. I own 4 sets of ReWind's and they are all incredible.
I remain happy with my classic 57s
Johan love your videos! Do this same A/B through one of your sweet Marshalls. To my ears, including my guitars and amps, solid body guitars with humbuckers just sound better through Marshalls!
Wow what a difference, Wizz sound much better then the Burstbucker!
I replaced a set of Gibson’s with the Wizz! The Gibson’s were a 1962 Pat.# & a 1965 T-Top (w/ a A-4 long magnet). The Wizz’s just sing like crazy!
The best PAF clones I found recently are MERLIN PICKUPS (based in Poland) - and not crazy prices either. Website is in Polish but the builder was very helpful with email support.
I'd keep the wizz. Sounds squishy and clear.
Wizz sound more airy and open on the top end, which works well with the clean tone. Gibson pickups ,especially modern ones, to my ear have an interesting character when clean that makes the strings sound a little dead.
Hey Johan, could you compare the dimarzio 36th anniv. and the seymour duncan Pearly Gates one day? these seem to be the easiest to find and popular choices for us mortals :D
Yeah definitely
I have yet to try the WIZZ pickups, but I highly recommend checking out both wolfetone Dr vintage and throbak SLE-101's, those two came the closest, of all the options I've tried, to an original 1960 I played recently
Please do a Sheptone Blue Sky comparison against Custom Buckers. Thanks!
Sound different... little, but different. Gibson has more middle-bass. Wizz has a sharper sound. Both is good. Good demo. Thanks!
Great job. Did the Wizz pickups have the A4 magnet? Thanks.
I'd say a bit more harmonics on the WIZZ but less precise on the base side. I have tried a 59 RI with WIZZ pickups and I was impressed mostly by the neck pickup but so much by the bridge pickup. Your test confirms what I thought.
The Wizz sounded very alive...but more importantly, it appears to have inspired you a little more as well.
Yeah it did :-)
The Wizz is creamier, breathy, and more dynamic. Are either potted or not? I play a ReWind JPPost-72, unpotted, and ABSOLUTELY love it. I switched to umpotted pups years ago and will never look back. The Wizz sounds unpotted, whereas the Gibby sounds potted.
Have you ever tried SDPickups?
Sounds pretty close Johan. But we all know the spec's of a PAF are as varied as tonewood!
Nice riffs!
Love my Wizz Set, I put them in my R8
Cheers Brett
I prefer the Burstbucker because you can always roll off high end, but you can't add it if it isn't there. The Wizz was slightly hotter and darker. They both sound great and probably closer than any two original PAFs were to each other. But the BB is a little more versatile.
There’s a touch more clarity, high end and output in the Wizz. Is that better? Depends on your preference. They both sound like P. A. F. pickups.
You could rule the world with either of those..
Might have enough money left to buy strings and an amp and put gas in the van if you get burstbuckers tho. :)
Cheers ;-)
Nice comparison, as usual they’re both great. BB are hard to beat for the money though.
If you tried to compare all the PAF clones out there...how long would it take? A few years maybe? Keep it up!
The Wizz sounded more trebly and hotter to me, although I had a hard time telling if it excited you into whacking the strings harder and causing that difference. :)
Another great video! Which magnets do the Wizz set have? For lack of a better word...the Wizz set sounded more musical compared to the BB's. They seemed to be sonically wider and more dynamic. The BB's seemed more mid-focused.
Are the wizz pickups just rebranded DiMarzio 59 paf? Because they sure sound like them.
Why a Vibrolux over a Marshall I'm wondering? Delayed gratification?
Not a bad comparison. Have you played Timbuckers? That’s what I’m using in my Les Paul and they are awesome. They are going for $900 a pair on eBay. The guy is no longer making new ones.
Thanks! I’ll check those out if I get the chance
Burstbucker 2 = AlNiCo 2
Wizz that you have = AlNiCo 4
More clarity and punch in wizz.
Same result if we compare burstbucker 2 and burstbucker pro (ANiCo 5) even more clarity and punch in those, less mellow.
Good idea for a video
I replaced the Alnico 2 magnets against alnico 4 in my burstbucker 2 and 3 in my les Paul. I could barely recognize a difference and certainly not more punch, rather the opposite.
@@Schlumpf.Meister
I belive that BB pro and Wizz also have bit more output becouse of more rounds of wire therefore more punch. Difference may be less pronounced if changing magnet in same pickup...?
Wizz by a mile...worth every penny. I installed them in every `59 replica I built and sold. I wish I had bought a set of the limited edition NOS vintage 42.5 gauge purple enamel wire. In the meantime, it's great to have him custom wind alnico magnet sets too: Alnico II, III, V...I'm looking forward to getting more of Alex's PAFs...When I think of sweet PAF tone, I think of Knophler, Beck's Blow By Blow, and Jimmy....For the money, and workmanship and attention to detail....Wizz delivers on all accounts of a great PAF
48 minutes to go... crap, I’m up in Montana visiting (with my wife) her sister. About to head out for the day.. what was it Tom Petty said.. “The waiting is the hardest part.”
That's rock n roll baby! \m/
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart!
Listened to it in the car!
I like the Wizz as they’re clearer & have more harmonics! I own two sets of Wizz and some real PAF’s, early Pat.#’s & early T-Tops.. so I’m spoiled by by the real deals😳. I bet if Johan put an A-4 magnetic in that Burstbucker it would sound pretty damn good! 😁😁
@@NeoGodHand The bating is the hardest part!
They are slightly different in the midrange, but I like them both. I always liked the look of double cream.
Johan, Do you raise your pole pieces or leave them level with the cover?