Firebird/humbucker combo

R

RockinProf

New member
Hi all! School me on a firebird neck mid output bridge humbucker combo. After a year and a half of sourcing wood, parts and etc, the building and finally paint my one off all mahogany super strat with a 59 Les Paul profile beck is done. I tried a few bridge humbuckers and Jason Becker with a nickel chrome cover is just right. The cover pulled back the jagged treble and it just sounds right. I’ve tried a Jazz, a 59 and a Humbucker from Hell on the neck. The Humbucker from Hell is close but not…. right. I likely should have done a single coil neck route for an H/S configuration but- hindsight is 20/20.

What are the thoughts out there of a 63 Firebird in a humbucker size to go with a mid output bridge humbucker? I want tons of snap, definition and clarity. I don’t want lots of mids, a 5/10 on mids would be ideal.

Has anyone tried this?
 
Part of the magic of the firebird pickup is the form factor. Using a full humbucker form factor is going to change the tone. Full Shred neck is in the same ballpark, swapping to a double thick magnet would add some output if you need more.
 
chadd said:
Part of the magic of the firebird pickup is the form factor. Using a full humbucker form factor is going to change the tone. Full Shred neck is in the same ballpark, swapping to a double thick magnet would add some output if you need more.
Click to expand...

Chadd is correct.. one of the reasons that miny sized buckers are more articulate and less muddy is they see significantly less string than a regular humbucker.

On the other hand, a firebird uses a magnet within coil design which also contributes to it's unique tone. A magnet within coil design might give you enough of what you're looking for but it would be a bit of an experiment.

Very interested in where this goes because I'm a mini and firebird fanatic.
 
I think that sounds like it could be a great combo, though I have no personal experience with humbucker-sized Firebird pickups.

Are your pickups mounted to a pickguard? If so, you could get one made with a smaller cutout to fit a minihum/Firebird neck.
If they're direct mount I guess you pretty much have to go with a full sized version.

Some of the humbuckers that use rod magnets rather than a bar underneath are quite snappy and well-defined.
They have the further advantage of splitting remarkably well.

It's also worth considering a bright hum wired in parallel - maybe a Jazz bridge?
If you still have your Jazz neck, you could try that out in parallel.
Might not be quite strong enough to balance with the Perpetual Burn, but you never know until you try.

PS: The SD Custom Shop could make you a regular sized Firebird pickup under a humbucker cover...
It occurs to me, that might be exactly what you meant in the first post. Just in case it wasn't, it is a possible option.
 
Trying your Jazz wired parallel is a great suggestion. But it sounds like you'd prefer the Jazz neck in parallel rather than the Jazz bridge model. (Possibly with an A9 mag).

Also, lowering the pup and raising the poles will help with clarity. Replacing the screw poles with a higher carbon steel (1022 or higher) and cutting them shorter will also increase treble/bite/clarity.
 
A Full Shred might also work...it would be very bright in parallel, probably more than the Jazz. It might even work better in series.
 
My thought would be a TV Jones SuperTron universal mount. (Or a real Gretsch one if you can find it.)

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I have a TV Jones hum-sized PowerTron that sounds great - nice and Gretschy, maybe with a little extra beef to it.
Part of that is probably just that wider sensing area, thanks to the the larger form factor.
I bet the Super Tron is a great pickup.

Not specifically Firebird-ish in character, but for snappy & well-defined, how about a Wilde L500?
Bill said the lower-inductance versions are suitable for neck position.
Fast attack & super accurate, and it's a lot of pickup for $80.
 
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