Firebird neck pickup in a strat sounds amazing!

[Karn Evil 9]

I scored an antiquity firebird neck p/u off eBay a while back and only got around to putting it through its paces; it's currently in the neck position of my custom superstrat with a '59 in the bridge.
one of the clearest sounding neck pickups I've heard; you can actually play crunchy rhythms on it without the usual mud you get from a neck 'bucker and it absolutely sings for leads

definitely an under-rated pickup and something I'd recommend for someone looking for something slightly different; apparently they sound great in the neck position of a tele as well

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Firebird neck pickup in a strat sounds amazing!

I love the SM-1 in the neck position of my Nashville Tele.

One the coolest guitars I ever saw, belonged to the guitarist from The Waitresses. I saw them back in the 80's, and he was playing a baby-blue Strat with three Firebird pickups. Through a Roland Dimension D and a silverface Twin, it sounded great.

P.S. I dig that Strat of yours, too.

 

[dr. ad]

Re: Firebird neck pickup in a strat sounds amazing!

loving that strat. any clips..?

 

[YellowDog]

Re: Firebird neck pickup in a strat sounds amazing!

Interesting...I have a Lil'59 in the neck of my main Strat, & I don't like it at all - it somehow manages to be muddy, indistinct AND harsh all at the same time - it's impossible to get an articulate crunch out of it.
When I saw Was Not Was, the guitarist had a Firebird pickup in the neck position of his Strat, and a full-size covered humbucker in the bridge. Going through a Fender Twin, I think. He had a killer sound.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Firebird neck pickup in a strat sounds amazing!

Interesting...I have a Lil'59 in the neck of my main Strat, & I don't like it at all - it somehow manages to be muddy, indistinct AND harsh all at the same time - it's impossible to get an articulate crunch out of it.
When I saw Was Not Was, the guitarist had a Firebird pickup in the neck position of his Strat, and a full-size covered humbucker in the bridge. Going through a Fender Twin, I think. He had a killer sound.

The Firebird pickup is en entirely different construction than your Strat-sized humbucker. The Firebird minis have magnets in the coils, that chances everything.

Just in case, one warning: the current Gibson Firebird pickups like in a Firebird V are very hot. They aren't comparable to a 8 Kohm mini.

 

[metlking]

Re: Firebird neck pickup in a strat sounds amazing!

Just in case, one warning: the current Gibson Firebird pickups like in a Firebird V are very hot. They aren't comparable to a 8 Kohm mini.

Like how hot? I've stayed away from the Firebird (which I love the look of) for fear the mini's will never be as satisfying to me as the Duncan Distortion I use alot. I've never gotten my 76' Les Paul Deluxe to sound quite the way I want it to........

Great looking axe Karn Evil 9!! The stock mini neck in my Les Paul is the absolute best sounding neck pickup I've ever heard. I don't know if they're the same tho.............

 

[uOpt]

Re: Firebird neck pickup in a strat sounds amazing!

Like how hot? I've stayed away from the Firebird (which I love the look of) for fear the mini's will never be as satisfying to me as the Duncan Distortion I use alot. I've never gotten my 76' Les Paul Deluxe to sound quite the way I want it to........

Great looking axe Karn Evil 9!! The stock mini neck in my Les Paul is the absolute best sounding neck pickup I've ever heard. I don't know if they're the same tho.............

I think it was 12 K neck and 21 bridge? For some reason my main notes file doesn't have it. I probably mentioned it in my forsale thread.

Anyway, these things are definitely distortion class hot.

The mini humbuckers in a LP deluxe are entirely different just again, even different from same D/C resistance Firebird minis. The Firebird minis get their sound from not using any passively magnetic polepieces. They have the magnet in the coils. That changes everything compared to a LP Deluxe style mini which has a magnet on the bottom and passively magnetic polepieces.

 

[YellowDog]

Re: Firebird neck pickup in a strat sounds amazing!

The Firebird pickup is en entirely different construction than your Strat-sized humbucker. The Firebird minis have magnets in the coils, that chances everything.

uOpt...thanks for the info. So are these Firebird pups humbuckers, with a Stag Mag-type construction (i.e. rod magnets), or are they a single-coil design?

I wasn't seeking to directly compare the Lil'59 to the Firebird mini...but I've always been interested in good alternative to a Strat neck s/coil. The Strat neck is always a little too bluesy (if that makes sense) - I've always wanted more depth and aggression from it. I actually prefer my LP neck pup in split mode to a Strat for some things, and that's an A2Pro...about 4k when split? Go figure...I guess it's the tone of the LP body making the difference here.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Firebird neck pickup in a strat sounds amazing!

No, they are bar magnets inside the coils. Two magnets in two coils, real humbuckers.

Neck pickups all suck, pretty much.

I get more depth in Les Pauls from unpotted boutique humbuckers like the Antiquities. Aggressive and bally, try a Demon in the neck.

I didn't like the SM-1, it's too dead, a fully potted machine made pickup. I might try a Firebird Antiquity with vintage wind in my quest.

Firebird style pickups look great in Strats, I have some pictures of them in my Blazer.

I also get a hunch you might like P-90ties in the neck (although I don't).