they're fine, but nothing special
had them in a '81 les paul standard
they are very low output compared to some of the modern paf reproductions, specially the dimarzio 36th paf, which a freakin loud pickup
they're good and balanced pickups, but I wouldn't say they are better than common '57 classics
I still liked them better than burstbuckers, though
the prices are high for the historical value, just like t-tops, but not really for the tone
I liked them for mild overdriven lead tones, as they are smooth and low output
cleans are ok, far from great, in my opinion, and they don't hold high gain as well as some other low output pickups
I'd take any bkp, mcp or wcr paf-based set over those
I honestly wouldn't pay much more than a regular gibson pickup for a tim shaw and not even a t-top
more than $100 a piece seems nonsense to me unless you're restoring an old almost stock expensive guitar that you plan to get rid of
I'd get the discount on the guitar without them, since 80's guitars aren't THAT valuable (unless it's a heritage or something custom shop)
that's what I did when I bought my '73 custom and never regretted that
I traded the stock pickups for the international shipping cost, as I already had better pickups to put in
tried several pickup sets in it till I found its soulmates (bkp riff raff in the bridge, bkp mule in the neck)
I'll never sell this guitar, and that's something I never said about anything else
if you feel the guitar is a keeper, you don't need to worry about keeping it stock... I'm sure you'll find several better replacements in the same ballpark
