Cream T Pickups 'El Capitan' Humbucker Set with Aged Nickel Covers

The Cream T 'El Capitan' humbucker set is all about power and, more importantly, balance. They're based on a custom pickup pairing that Cream T made for Captain Anderton's beloved Gibson Custom Shop '58 Les Paul Reissue, which were specifically designed to cure the imbalance that Lee experienced between the guitar's two stock humbuckers. In fact, they're essentially a slightly hotter version of the acclaimed 'Whiskerbucker' pickups that Cream T make for Billy Gibbons!

Lee Anderton on the 'El Capitan' Humbucker Set:

I've owned a Gibson 1958 Les Paul Custom Shop Reissue since 2014, and I've always loved how it sounded — even Robben Ford commented on how good the neck pickup was! But I always struggled with the balance of tone between the neck & bridge pickups, with the neck always sounding like it overpowered the bridge. I'm not a big fan of messing with pickups in my guitars, as I always worry that things won’t be as good and that even by changing things back — you might never quite recapture the magic!

When the guys from Cream T heard me talking about my Les Paul, they offered to make me a set that they thought would retain what I loved about the guitar, but address the imbalance. I agreed, mainly out of politeness, and when the set arrived I just left them on my desk because, in all honesty, I really didn't want to mess the guitar up! Then one day, I was playing on Pete's Les Paul and I conceded that it just sounded "better" than mine — and there and then, I decided I'd fit the Cream T set and hear what they sounded like.

Man, am I pleased that I did! Instant better balance between the two, and also just a "sweetness" that it didn't have before. Even people on YouTube and Instagram were commenting on how the guitar sounded "better". I'm really pleased to say that Cream T had kept all the details of what they’d wound for me, and it turns out that they're a slightly hotter version of the scatter wound, part-potted "Whiskerbucker" pickups that they make for Billy Gibbons! It kind of surprised me, as I wouldn't have naturally gravitated to a hotter PAF vibe — but I love them!

And now, Cream T have agreed to make these sets in small batches of 10 at a time. They're hand wound in the North of England and only available through Andertons — fortunately though, we'll ship them anywhere in the world! There's only one option, which is just the standard 2 conductor set (you can't coil-split them), with cream bobbins underneath the aged nickel covers. We’ve decided to call them the 'El Capitan' set. If you see me playing my lemon burst '58 Les Paul anytime after early summer 2022, you’ll be hearing it with the El Captain set from Cream T. If you do decide to buy a set, please tag me on Instagram or Facebook and let me know what you think of the sound! Cheers, Lee.

Specifications

• Covers: Aged Nickel
• Bobbins: Cream
• Wiring: Standard (2 Conductor)