Orville Pickups

[jon1]

After months of researching and reading i have decided that my next guitar purchase will most likely be an Orville Les Paul. I have noticed that one of the differences between the standard "Orville" line and the "Orville by Gibson" line is that the "Orville by Gibson" has Gibson USA '57 Classic pickups whereas the standard Orvilles have Japanese pickups. How are these Japanese pickups. Will they still gibe the classic Gibson humbucker tone?

 

[Frails]

The set that came in my OBG can be yours if you want them. They are very much Gibson tone. I just prefer WB Habs.

 

[lp_junkie]

The originals in my Orvilles were Gotohs, they were a little hotter than the Gibson pickups and to my ears sounded better, they stayed in that guitar for 12 years until I replaced them with some Stew Mac Golden Age humbuckers a year ago (which have been fantastic pickups).

 

[Kate033]

I havn't tried the Orville pickups, so I really can't comment on them...When you are shopping, check the serial number....some of the Orville by Gibson's in addition to the regular Orville line do have the Jap pups instead of the Gibson. The ones made in the Terada factory have either a "G" or "J" at the start of the serial number signifying the type of pickups. The one's without the letter made in Fugi Gen are usually all Gibson pups on the ObG's.

 

[SGmanElitist]

The pickups in these guitars probably sounded great when the guitars were new. But now that we live in this world of choices from boutique winders and the like you should just get the guitar that you like and put the pickups you favor in.

This is gonna sound stupid but from my experience with Orville, ObG, and Epiphone Japan, all the pickups made the guitars sound like it should. The LP's sound like LP's and the SG's sound like SG's. The Japanese did a pretty good job at replicating the pickups from Gibson so its usually within the ballpark.

Back then these pickups would've been fine but now I know how I like things to sound so some Seth Lovers might go in one and some SD's in another.

Find the guitar you want and buy it, you may be surprised by the pickups. If you're not in love with the sound then change pots and caps. Still not floating your boat, time to look into pickups.

There are a lot better reasons to be looking at the higher end line (ObG) like nitro and nibs (sometimes, if you like that sorta thing) But I will admit that the pickups in my ObG absolutely kill and I probably won't be changing them, although I'm not sure if they are oem

Oh yeah, I've never seen an Orville, ObG, or Epi start with a J. Typically the serial starts with an F or T and sometimes K.

F or all numbers = Fujigen
G = Terada
K = up for debate but most say its Terada with less bells and whistles. Some say Kuramae or something.

My dos pesos

 

[Kate033]

^^^

Actually, I've held an Orville by Gibson with the "J" serial number. It had Jap pickups, but was otherwise identical to my "G" serial ObG. I think they are rare though. It seems there is often a lot of "grey area" when it comes to MIJ guitars....there's always a few odd ball exceptions to the rule!

Also, I agree with you 100% on the pups....don't buy a guitar just based on the pickups. In fact generally the first thing I do when I get a guitar is swap the pups. We're spoiled rotten to have such selection in boutique and top quality pups these days. There's no reason to have a basic do it all stock pup when you can fine something that nails your tone....that is when you're spending such a large amount of money on an instrument to begin with.

 

[SGmanElitist]

What kind of ObG had the J? Was it an LP or a semi-hollow? That would be a cool find

 

[Kate033]

What kind of ObG had the J? Was it an LP or a semi-hollow? That would be a cool find

It was just a standard LP. Not one of the reissues series.Faded burst -somewhere between lemon and honey I'd say. It was nice, but didn't blow me away. I remember it being extremely heavy. 3pc. back, nitro, etc.

I didn't get a chance to plug in, so I really can't comment on the quality of the pups, but it had a nice resonant unplugged tone


----On a side note, did you ever sell that Tiny Terror? I think it was you that was selling one a while back...I might be wrong!
I've been thinking of selling my ObG to upgrade my amp

 

[SGmanElitist]

Well actually after months of it on the block someone picked it up 2 weeks ago and i subsequently got 2 small tweed amps.

Now all I have left is the 2x12 Orange Cab that will be up for sale soon. Got a baby on the way now and don't foresee any crazy cranked 30 watt 2x12 moments in the next couple of years

I wouldn't sell the ObG for an amp upgrade, if you love it you'll most certainly regret it. You can get most amps on most days, they're over produced now like everything else, but the ObG's take effort to find and once they enter the right home may never reappear on the market.

If you do sell it then make sure it goes to one of the members who frequently buy, sell, and trade MIJ's to eachother so it stays within your reach.

There's a few of them around like Hank and Gasp100. Those guys are the best.

 

[Kate033]

Well actually after months of it on the block someone picked it up 2 weeks ago and i subsequently got 2 small tweed amps.

Now all I have left is the 2x12 Orange Cab that will be up for sale soon. Got a baby on the way now and don't foresee any crazy cranked 30 watt 2x12 moments in the next couple of years

I wouldn't sell the ObG for an amp upgrade, if you love it you'll most certainly regret it. You can get most amps on most days, they're over produced now like everything else, but the ObG's take effort to find and once they enter the right home may never reappear on the market.

If you do sell it then make sure it goes to one of the members who frequently buy, sell, and trade MIJ's to eachother so it stays within your reach.

There's a few of them around like Hank and Gasp100. Those guys are the best.

Oh, I know you're right! I say I'd like to sell it, but when it comes down to it, I don't think I'd ever have the heart to part with it!

I have a MIJ Epi that's getting a nitro refin, and I keep thinking when that's done one LP will be enough...and maybe I'll sell off all the bits and pieces for a beat up historic

It took me awhile to really connect with the ObG. It's a heavy beast. Probably not a prime specimen of ObG's -lots of play wear and dings in the nitro. 3pc. back, no long tenon but I got it cheap for the wear and it sounds total killer. Has the feel of a Gibson Historic over the Epi.

I guess I'm just sick of the Peavey Classic 30 lately...I sold off my Blackface Fender Champ, so I'm really missing having a nice little vintage tube combo!

 

[melt]

Japanguitars.co.uk:
Orville's have Japanese electrics and Orville P.A.F type pickups, (which are very nice)

 

[melt]

Guitarsjapan.com:

If you want a Gibson guitar, and want it made right, then an Orville will do. The standards to which these were held to were so conforming that I found most of
these instruments to be carbon copies of Gibsons and also of themselves. Few stood out as stellar, unique instruments. This was not the case for Greco, Tokai
and Aria Pro II... made to high standards as well, these brands often hand-carved their necks to feel different and finish options were not pinned down to only
a few standard options, so to ensure each guitar had a different feel, vibe and even tone, since they all used so many different types of pickups. The Orvilles
either had the Japanese low-quality humbuckers or the Gibson USA humbuckers, so the tone was not as varied.