QUICK CONNECT!
PCB versus hand-wired control circuits divide opinion, but the solderless Quick Connect system hasn’t been abandoned by Gibson. Many tone tinkerers, especially of the vintage-only variety, will happily denounce PCBs and no-solder push-in connectors (for the outlying toggle switch, output jack and pickups) as the work of dark forces. That’s probably a debate for another day, but our experience in gigging and recording has been nothing but positive and, of course, it means you can change pickups pretty quickly without heating up your soldering iron – so long as you have other Quick Connect types. But although Gibson has made virtually all of its pickups readily available via the recent Pickup Shop aimed at us aftermarket modders, none currently use the Quick Connect system. Hmm.
“We still manufacture the Quick Connect stuff for Gibson USA,” Gibson USA’s Jason Davidson told us recently.“Gibson was actually using the Quick Connect stuff back as far as the late 70s on different models, but we started formalising it into Gibson USA production, on regular production models, around 2007. It was around 2012/’13 when we did start to sell a few models aftermarket with the Quick Connect like ’57 Classics, the Angus Young models, the Dirty Fingers. We offered those with the Quick Connect system, but they didn’t actually sell very well. I’ve been here 25 years, but I was involved with the Pickup Shop at that point and they were discontinued shortly after.
“As I said, we still use Quick Connects at the factory and since [pickup designer] Jared Brandon and myself have come onboard with the Pickup Shop, we’ve received a lot of requests for the Quick Connect pickups,”Jason added.“So I can say that while we don’t currently offer Quick Connect versions aftermarket, just keep an eye out: we haven’t forgotten those customers because there are tens of thousands of guitars out there with the Quick Connect system.”
In the meantime, eBay and the like might be your friend. We bagged a set of unpotted Quick Connect Burstbuckers for our reference Les Paul Classic (with the same PCB circuit as our reviewed Modern Figured) as an option to the factory fitted, uncovered and potted Burstbucker 61 zebras, while Gibson’s Jim DeCola graciously sent us a set of Quick Connect T-Types. It’s certainly fun to mix and match that trio while the soldering iron stays in the toolbox.
“While we don’t currently offer Quick Connect versions aftermarket, just keep an eye out” Jason Davidson, Pickup Shop