Best mini-humbucker for rock

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kevindruhan

New member
Hi everybody, I have a 2016 Gibson Firebird T and I just love the way it plays and looks, but the stock pickups are super harsh and tinny. I play hard rock and stoner rock (muff-style fuzz pedals), and some downtuned D standard stuff, but I also like nice warm cleans - not spanky fender cleans or trebly Firebird tones but think more Orange amp cleans. No metal, no palm-muting.

I'm wondering what would be the best set of Seymour Duncan mini-humbuckers for my 'bird...

- a SM-3N in the neck and SM-3B in the bridge?
- Or maybe a SM-3N in the neck and SM-2B in the bridge?

From what I have read, the SM-1 is closest to vintage Firebird pickup tone, which is not the type of tone I am looking for, so I think those are out. I have read conflicting accounts that SM-2 are hotter than SM-3 and vice-versa though so I'm a bit confused. Here are some opinions I found from trolling the interwebz:

'SM-1 is a pretty faithful reproduction of a Firebird pickup'
'SM-2 is a great mini humbucker for more driven tones. The clarity is pretty good on this pickup and it does clean tones well.'
'SM-3 is the most aggressive of the three, this pickup offers a high output with strong mids and great clarity.'
'The SM2 specs say ceramic magnet and highest DCR, but the output chart says it is lower than the SM1 and SM3. However, when you filter the pickups by output the SM1 and SM3 come under "Medium" and the SM2 comes under "High"'
'The bridge SM-2 is a firebreather'
'Hottest SM-2, then SM-3, then SM-1. Well, actually SM-3 is quite on par with SM-1. It just has more mid (thicker).'
'SM-3 should soundwise be what I'm looking for: fatter, vintage/hot output and Alnico5'
'I think the SM-3 comes as close as any pickup to falling in between, or melding, the tone of a Fender single coil and a PAF. It has a warm, full tone with a touch of HB compression, but also a touch of single coil articulation and texture'
'The SM-3's supposed to be a little higher output, with more mid bark and more bass, but nowhere near what Gibson is putting in the firebird reissues.'
'The SM-2 is supposed to be high output, a little brighter w/ more crunch'
' I have the SM-2. I think it is a great pickup that can easily do rock and metal. The Sm-3 is more vintagy with an alnico 5 instead of a ceramic like the SM-2.'

To give you an idea of the type of tones that I am looking for, after trying out many humbuckers, I settled on a SD 59N in the neck and SD Custom Custom in the bridge of my LP Standard, and I just love them! And in my SG Standard, I have a Classic 57 in the neck and Classic 57+ in the bridge which are a little different, but similarly vintage PAF with Alnico2 mags.

Basically, I want the type of tones I can get from my LP and SG from my rocking vintage-looking Firebird :)

Thanks everybody so much for your help and input!
 
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Re: Best mini-humbucker for rock

the sm2 is more aggressive than the sm3. the form factor means the firebird wont be as beefy as the lp but the sm2b is a fine option
 
Re: Best mini-humbucker for rock

I really liked the Lollars in my Kauer Banshee and picked up a Rio Grande Texas mini to try a hotter model.
 
Re: Best mini-humbucker for rock

I just went through the same thing with my 2018 firebird. I’m still trying it out as I just swapped the stock 495’s out.

The problem with mini’s and firebird’s is they will never sound quite like full sized Humbucker‘s and will always be much brighter.

I just put a set of sm-2’s in mine and I have an sm-3 neck as well. I kinda liked the stock Gibson neck, bright but very thick and bassy. It cut through pretty well too, the only reason I changed it was I wanted more definition and clarity, especially cleans, and it was way too powerful compared to the bridge.

The Gibson bridge mini even at 24k was underpowered and like all Gibson pickups sort of muddy sounding, even while being bright and thin. The sm-2 bridge is a huge improvement for me.

The neck sm-2 is good but has a presence in the upper mids I’m not sure I like. I’m tempted to try something else in the neck.

You might be happier with the sm3 neck tones. I’m gonna give mine a couple more days then try it.

If you’re after something less bright there’s always the lace mini nitro Hemi set which are more mini-buckers than firebird, or even the mini drop and gain set. If I could have found a used set of mini nitro Hemi’s I would have went that way.

The rio Grande baby Texas and baby bbq seemed like good options too for more lp deluxe tones rather than firebird bright. Maybe even the mojotone minis.

the best deals I found on the Duncan’s were here:
https://darrenriley.com/store/seymour-duncan-sm-3-seymourized-mini-humbucker-set/
 
Re: Best mini-humbucker for rock

Thanks so much for the insights everybody, I tried to find Lace Mini Nitro Hemis online but they're out of stock for 1-3 months, so instead I bought a Seymour Duncan SM-3N, SM-3B, and SM-2B. I like the SM-3 combo, the SM-2B has a ceramic magnet and sounds kind of harsh like the stock pickups. The SM-3B rocks, love it!

I A/B'd the Firebird with the new pickups installed against my Les Paul into an Orange Rocker 15 and PPC212, and yes, the Firebird is a little brighter and doesn't have quite as much low end as the Les Paul, but it still has that vintage PAF humbucker rock 'n roll tone, and is a ton of fun to play!

I love my Firebird again!!

allstarrme said:
I just went through the same thing with my 2018 firebird. I’m still trying it out as I just swapped the stock 495’s out.

The problem with mini’s and firebird’s is they will never sound quite like full sized Humbucker‘s and will always be much brighter.

I just put a set of sm-2’s in mine and I have an sm-3 neck as well. I kinda liked the stock Gibson neck, bright but very thick and bassy. It cut through pretty well too, the only reason I changed it was I wanted more definition and clarity, especially cleans, and it was way too powerful compared to the bridge.

The Gibson bridge mini even at 24k was underpowered and like all Gibson pickups sort of muddy sounding, even while being bright and thin. The sm-2 bridge is a huge improvement for me.

The neck sm-2 is good but has a presence in the upper mids I’m not sure I like. I’m tempted to try something else in the neck.

You might be happier with the sm3 neck tones. I’m gonna give mine a couple more days then try it.

If you’re after something less bright there’s always the lace mini nitro Hemi set which are more mini-buckers than firebird, or even the mini drop and gain set. If I could have found a used set of mini nitro Hemi’s I would have went that way.

The rio Grande baby Texas and baby bbq seemed like good options too for more lp deluxe tones rather than firebird bright. Maybe even the mojotone minis.

the best deals I found on the Duncan’s were here:
https://darrenriley.com/store/seymour-duncan-sm-3-seymourized-mini-humbucker-set/
Click to expand...
 
Re: Best mini-humbucker for rock

I just threw a set of Dimarzio PG-13 mini hums in a strat, you may want to check them out nice and warm yet great clarity.
 
Re: Best mini-humbucker for rock

Hi, my recommendation is to talk to zhangbucker.com first. David has a lot of different models including shaved down standard bobbins to fit into a mini humbucker space. Look also into his 'sweet heat' option, which uses a double row of pole screws - more iron in a pickup makes it rounder sounding.
 
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Re: Best mini-humbucker for rock

htwheelz67 said:
I just threw a set of Dimarzio PG-13 mini hums in a strat, you may want to check them out nice and warm yet great clarity.
Click to expand...
I did the same, but with a set of Duncan SM-1's. Firebird mini-hums sound fantastic in Strats. The highs of singles, but more mids and bass.

Sent from my KFGIWI using Tapatalk
 
Re: Best mini-humbucker for rock

Hello folks, just joined today,
Was hoping for verification by the SD cognoscenti out there of the pups in the attached pic. I have an option to purchase these, sellers assures me these are SD Antiquity II, Mini HBs. Stickers, S/Nos. and signature format appear OK. Can anyone verify an ID? If genuine, I am considering installing in a 2018 SG Special.

Would these be a tuneful upgrade to the stock mini HB's?

Thanks in advance, here's hoping for a reply.
Pickups Mini Humbuckers .jpg
 
Re: Best mini-humbucker for rock

Look like antiquity 2 to me.

I know it's old now...but SM2 bridge and SM3 neck is just PERFECT in a mahogany guitar.
 
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