Manlius Pickups T-Top Replica Humbucker
First off, Mick is a great guy. Super friendly and super helpful. I can say that about several builders, and Mick is no exception. I always enjoy dealing with boutique shops that are ran by good people.
Going with a T-Top Replica neck model was a decision based on the quest for neck pickups that suit my preference. I think I’ve been able to do pretty good at finding bridge models, but there has been something about the neck… voicings of several production models from some big name companies that just don’t work as well for me as I’d like. As I told Mick, neck pickups are like my Kryptonite.
If you have listened to most any form of rock music from the 70s and into the 80s, the chances are that you’ve heard a T-Top. Even more so from the harder rock styles of the 80s. A taste of a vintage tone, but a little edgier and with more bite.
I tried this in a few guitars. In a heavier or thicker sounding singlecut guitar, it delivered a nice presence in the mids and I found that it served up highs that had a little more cut than the more rounded sounds from some neck position pickups. There was a “super strat” that came to mind, so I put it in there next and the same qualities that stood out were now blowing me away. A previous neck pickup in this guitar was on the verge of being a little thin, but the T-Top Replica really filled things out while retaining a nice definition in the lows.
Series – 7.66k
Split N – 3.83k
Split S – 3.82k
Parallel – 1.91k
Mick offers a really nice variety of humbucker options, including the Vinyl model, which is a hot-rodded version of the T-Top Replica. He also has f-spaced options for many of his bridge position humbuckers, which is a very welcome surprise for those of us with double-locking trems.
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