Can i have both bluesy/ballsy AND when clean, sweet & w/definition in one puppy?
Certainly: with a coil splitting control or with a series / parallel option, as discussed in another thread. But doesn't your guitar already host a push pull tone pot + a kind of superswitch doing that?
At least, the 16k neck PU of a Nighthawk should do what you want: my archives state 15.5k and an inductance of 4.9H for the neck mini HB of a Gibson Nighthawk... I've never worked on any Epi Nighthawk, sorry, but I've already played this model and in my memories, it had the same wirring than a Gibson Nighthawk with twice 5 positions (?). With the same inductance than a full sized P.A.F. clone, It should already offer a
reasonably ballsy humbucking neck tone AND a good Fender emulation in split mode, if memory serves me...
So... what do you dislike in your existing pickup? It should do the job, except maybe if it has a "bad" chrome cover, not transparent enough sonically (as often with Epiphone)...
Anyway: a narrow mini HB can't sound quite as "ballsy" as a full size humbucker, unless it's a bit overwound.
And if the BRIDGE versions of SM2 and SM3 are overwound, their neck equivalent are apparently not: a neck SM2 measures 6.6k. It's the same than a normal Firebird PU or vintage Epi mini HB. Even if boosted by the ceramic mag mentioned above, it's probably not ballsy enough for the split option theoretically present in your guitar. The Duncan page about this product shows an output located @ 1/3 between "low" and "high" in full HB mode so it should sound weak once in single coil (or parallel)...
A SM3 neck measures 8.5k: it's more and this time, the Duncan page shows an output level @ half way between low and high. But I'm still not sure that it's beefy enough for split mode or parallel wiring. IME, such options require at least 5000 turns of AWG44 per bobbin (= around 10.5k for a whole mini-HB). YMMV.
So, exactly what are the SM2 & SM3 Duncans? My guitar (above) def. has 4 wires & splits... So is what I need a mini h'bucker? If so, what's hot & what's not?
A Firebird pickup has two bar magnets standing vertically in the bobbins. it's a low DCR PU, with a low inductance and a bright tone. It's not "hot".
Unless my memory betrays me, SM2 and SM3 are built like mini-humbuckers: a single magnet is laid horizontally below their coils, hosting themselves metallic bars. This construction boosts the inductance and gives hotter pickups, along with the overwound coils - overwound at least for the
bridge SM2 and SM3.
HTH.
As a footnote, I share a link showing the wiring of a Nighthawk (in answer 10). So, if my too long statements above are all BS, at least this answer won't be totally useless. LOL.
https://www.mylespaul.com/threads/ni...306882&slide=0
... oy,,,
