Pickup gurus your assistance please.

D

Diynot

Well-known member
So, I know there are lots of you who do a lot of pickup rolling so I need some advice. Got a player II Strat in a trade and as much as I like single coils, I already have that territory covered so I decided to go with a pair of Firebird pickups. Found a set of Gibsons on reverb for a not terrible price and pulled the trigger. Shame on me for not doing my homework or at least asking for some ohm readings because unbeknownst to me, Gibson started making their Firebird pups with ceramic mags so when I read 25k 🤯 on the bridge and 16k on the neck, I thought I had been duped. Listening to comparisons between these modern ones vs vintage spec ones hurts my heart a little. The ceramics don’t sound bad, but they lose a little of the sparkle and openness of the vintage spec. So what to do. Don’t want to try and resell them. My consideration at the moment is using a 1meg pot a la the jazzmaster to try and maintain the high end. Has anybody tried using a parallel resistor on an extra hot pickup to calm it the f down? Does that change the tone? On a more basic ask, does anybody have a ceramic pup Firebird? If so what is your opinion of them, do they just sound like a standard humbucker ( I wouldn’t suspect so since even with the extra hot output, it is still a blade style pup). Any thought are appreciated.
 
mrfabulous.com.au

Firebird Mini Humbuckers - Mr Fabulous Guitars

HANDMADE FIREBIRD MINI HUMBUCKERS AVAILABLE SINGLY OR IN SETS. NICKEL OR GOLD COVERS HANDMADE IN OUR WORKSHOPS HERE IN MELBOURNE THEIR DESIGN IS BASED ON THE ORIGINAL 1963 FIREBIRD PICKUPS USING ALNICO V BLADES AND A SPECIALLY DESIGNED MAGNETIC CIRCUIT TO ACHIEVE THE CLASSIC FIREBIRD TONE. I...
mrfabulous.com.au mrfabulous.com.au
 
I am most assuredly NOT a pickup guru, but...

DIY!

Firebird Mini Humbucker Pickup Kit - StewMac

Assemble and wind your own mini-humbucking pickups with our vintage-style kits.
www.stewmac.com www.stewmac.com


A friend of mine has some Creamery pups (*though not Firebird), and has had a pretty good experience with dealing with the company.

Firebird & Mini Humbuckers

Replacement Mini Humbucker Firebird Style Pickups from The Creamery - Custom Handwound Replacement Mini Humbuckers Firebird Pickups - Made in Manchester
www.creamery-pickups.co.uk www.creamery-pickups.co.uk



Lindy-Fralin, Klein, and Q Pickups are others that do the mini-humbuckers.
 
Well, having gone through the whole pickup rolling thing the last year and trying lots of humbuckers and single coils, I think any mod to the existing pickup is not going to meet your expectations. IMO lower output pickups will always sound better. I would consider a rewind if you don't want to get rid of it. Tim at Sunday hand wound is fantastic and will wind you whatever your looking for and at a great price. Also if your guitar is routed for a traditional humbucker, pm me as I have some pickups I can send you that may give you what your Looking for.
 
Pickups are very personnal really, but given the massive used market for those just... try some out? If you keep an open mind and some patience, you can try dozens of pickups for basically the price of a stamp in and out.

Also medum-hot is where it's at. And Pickup height should be the go to before changing anything else.
 
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Mr Fabulous makes great firebirds. Not a bad price either. Can get them in multiple sizes and ohms I believe. Pretty true to the originals, and probably more stable. Sell what you got, if you truly aren't into them. I'd be careful with Gibson pickups. They made a bunch of versions through the years. "Sidewinders" were another less favorable versions out there (actual sideways coils). The reissues too.
 
gonzo said:
Mr Fabulous makes great firebirds. Not a bad price either. Can get them in multiple sizes and ohms I believe. Pretty true to the originals, and probably more stable. Sell what you got, if you truly aren't into them. I'd be careful with Gibson pickups. They made a bunch of versions through the years. "Sidewinders" were another less favorable versions out there (actual sideways coils). The reissues too.
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Yeah, the ones I got are Gibson circa 2018 so hot af and at least from YouTube comparisons, not what I was going for.
 
Asdrael said:
Pickups are very personnal really, but given the massive used market for those just... try some out? If you keep an open mind and some patience, you can try dozens of pickups for basically the price of a stamp in and out.

Also medum-hot is where it's at. And Pickup height should be the go to before changing anything else.
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Hell, these aren’t even medium hot, 25k in the bridge. And I’m cheap and lazy so I don’t really want to have to bother with dropping cash and reselling ones I don’t like.
 
Looking at the Mojotone Johnny Winters set. Seems to be the most popular sub for the Firebird crew. My lust for Firebird pups is fueled by the fact that I have several Strats and each is unique. An EJ that covers my single coil needs, a dual humbucker equipped one for girth, and my old standby Strat plus with Lace Sensors for…….🤷🏻‍♂️. Already have a P-90 Reverend so got that subset covered as well as a Tele. Also spurred on by this video
 
The Gibson ceramic based Firebird pickups can't really be called genuine "Firebird" pickups. Aside from the ceramic magnets, the construction of the pickup is very different. The Gibson ceramic pickups are really more along the lines of a "mini-hum". A true Firebird pickup has a metal plate under the B, G, and E strings that give it the "bite" that Firebird pickups are known for.

If you like the sound of the ceramics, then roll with it. If you're chasing a genuine vintage Firebird sound, it's more like a big single coil than a humbucker. This thread has already mentioned some options for aftermarket Firebird pickups. Unfortunately, none of them are inexpensive.

I have a set of both the MrFabulous and Onamac Windery vintage spec FB pickups. I think the MrFabulous ones sound better. But it was ordered from Australia in different times......
 
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MichaelW said:
If you like the sound of the ceramics, then roll with it. If you're chasing a genuine vintage Firebird sound, it's more like a big single coil than a humbucker. This thread has already mentioned some options for aftermarket Firebird pickups. Unfortunately, none of them are inexpensive.
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That’s the thing, I already have a SD humbucker (I believe a 59 16k in the bridge and Jazz 9k in the neck) loaded Strat so I don’t want to duplicate something I already have. If the ceramics DON’T sound like a standard humbucker (which given the ungodly resistance readings I can only imagine they do) I might be game to keep them. But I do really like the sound of the originals or at least the Lollars that Joe is playing in that video.
 
Guardians of the analog said:
Well, having gone through the whole pickup rolling thing the last year and trying lots of humbuckers and single coils, I think any mod to the existing pickup is not going to meet your expectations. IMO lower output pickups will always sound better. I would consider a rewind if you don't want to get rid of it. Tim at Sunday hand wound is fantastic and will wind you whatever your looking for and at a great price. Also if your guitar is routed for a traditional humbucker, pm me as I have some pickups I can send you that may give you what your Looking for.
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I second Tim, I’ve have several pickups wound by him. There was a set in the pickup passing box that disappeared, too.
 
SD has the Antiquity Firebird. Looks like they cost more than the Mr. Fabulous even with tarriffs included.
 
Have you tried them in your guitar? They won't sound like a Firebird in a Strat anyway and you might find that you like them. Can't hurt to try them.

I once built a Thinline Tele routed for P90s. I was certain that P90s would sound perfect in a Tele. Sadly that wasn't the case, but I had ordered a pickguard for Filter'trons just in case as I had some spare Filter'trons including a P90 sized Classic from TV Jones. Those Filter'trons sounded AMAZING in that Tele.

So one day I will build a Strat with Filter'trons. Every time I think I'll do it I remind myself that I already have a fantastic Duojet and 6120 with Filter'trons, so I doubt a Strat with them will be any better! But sometimes unusual combinations have some magic you don't expect.

I suspect that a Rickenbacker 330 could sound incredible with Filter'trons... And a friend of mine loves his Jazzmaster with P90s.
 
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