Mini-HBs vs P90

[lazyfinger]

Can you please highlight some of the differences between both? Since they both fall between the fender SC and regular HBs. I know there are different varieties of mini, like the Firebird and normal gibby ones. But generally, how do they compare to p90s?

I have/had gits HBs and p90 and what not... so are the minis that different between the two?

Thanks.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

To me a MINI is what came in a LP Deluxe...Firebird pickups and all that other stuff are just different.

Mini's are super cool pickups but they have a rather low output and that turns a lot of guys off.

A bridge P-90 in fact has more push than a typical bridge Mini.

As for the tone think bright, clear and articulate...fatter than most single coils but a far cry from a PAF.

 

[lazyfinger]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

To me a MINI is what came in a LP Deluxe...

Like this?



Hendrix-y...

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

Yes, those are Mini's...I know that Firebird pickups are the same size and are humbucking but they are just a completely different pickup.

I wouldn't call it Hendrix-y but if that's the way you hear it then that's what matters.

All that said, in that clip Phil pretty much show's you what is IMHO a great example vintage Mini humbuckers.

 

[lazyfinger]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

no, it wasn't a hendrix tone at all, but he was playing those licks, that's what I mean. What are the firebird pickups like then?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

Firebird pickups are hotter and even brighter than Mini's...

Don't pay attention to where Phil calls these MINI HUMBUCKERS...yes they are mini and yes they are humbucking but they just sound different...you'll hear it...

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

If there has ever been a Gibson with humbucking pickups that sounds like a Fender...even a little bit it's a Firebird.

 

[lazyfinger]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

Thanks, I think I like both. They seem to have less mid range push than p90, less full...

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

You could say (very generally) that a P-90 fits somewhere between a single coil and a humbucker. You could also say that the mini sounds somewhat like a cross between a single and a hummer. But they don't necessarily sound the same. Of course the mini will be hum cancelling. But there is a lot of variation in each of their tones. I've heard some minis that sound like their full sized brothers but with more brightness and bite, and I've heard some that sound like a single but with a bit more body. I've heard some P-90s that sound like a single "on steroids" with lots of body and output, and I've heard some P-90s that sound almost like a hummer but with bite and clarity.

Bottom line....there can be a lot of difference in the tone and response of various minis, but they all sound essentially like a bucker with bite. Also, a lot of variation amongst the P-90s, but they all essentially sound like a single with lots of guts.

Just like you can't really say that all hummers sound alike, the same is true about minis and P-90s.

 

[jtougas]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

Firebird pickups are hotter and even brighter than Mini's...

Don't pay attention to where Phil calls these MINI HUMBUCKERS...yes they are mini and yes they are humbucking but they just sound different...you'll hear it...

Sorry, but I don't see why you shouldn't call them minihumbuckers when that's what they are.

Same size, maybe wound a little hotter, maybe a different magnet, but if the dimensions are the same and the function is the same...

If it flies like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

Just sayin'

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

Sorry, but I don't see why you shouldn't call them minihumbuckers when that's what they are.

Same size, maybe wound a little hotter, maybe a different magnet, but if the dimensions are the same and the function is the same...

If it flies like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

Just sayin'

It's confusing...I differentiate between "mini humbuckers" and "Firebird pickups" so folks don't get confused...

Filtertrons are also humbuckers and they are also smaller than a PAF, does that make them mini humbuckers?

While we're at it a PAF is smaller than a Fender widerange humbucker so why not call those mini humbuckers???

See what I mean??

Just trying to keep things simple...if I call a Deluxe style bucker a MINI and a Firebird pickup a Firebird pickup then no one is confused...

 

[lazyfinger]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

Great thread! I never knew there was significant difference between mini and firebird pickups. I just thought the firebird pups were just a variation of a mini.

Are they designed differently? So the firebirds have different mag set up than HBs and minis?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

Great thread! I never knew there was significant difference between mini and firebird pickups. I just thought the firebird pups were just a variation of a mini.

Are they designed differently? So the firebirds have different mag set up than HBs and minis?

Deluxe style mini humbuckers are for the most part made just like a PAF...the biggest difference besides the size is that mini's are actually held together by the cover...if you take the cover off the coils, magnet, load, etc will just fall out off the base plate. Besides that they are pretty much the same in terms of construction and design as a PAF.

Firebird pickups are more or less 2 Melody Maker pickups under a smooth cover.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

I'd like to get in on this discussion. Lets also remember theres many different varieties available now that do many different things than just the standard vintage ones. For instance, Seymour Duncan and others wind Minis pickups that adress what some feel are the shortcomings of the vintage Minis/ Firebirds, and also make some fantastic hot/fat sounding Minis that scream without being too shrill. I like the Hot Ceramics in the neck.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

Here is a mini pulled apart:

Notice that for the most part it looks like a PAF just smaller

Here is a Firebird pickup:

Notice that each coil has it's own magnet structure, that's because each coil is really a stand alone pickup...Gibson took those coils and put them under plain covers and those were Melody Maker pickups.

 

[jtougas]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

Okay, I see what you're saying.

Don't necessarily agree, but I see where you're coming from.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

Okay, I see what you're saying.

Don't necessarily agree, but I see where you're coming from.

A lot of my view point on the mini vs Firebird thing has to do with being on forums for years no and having to explain over and over and still having people get confused...

I even see folks refer to things like the Lil 59 or JB Jr as "mini humbuckers" in the same discussion as a Firebird pickup or a Deluxe Mini...anything you can do to make things simple and direct seems to be best on forums.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

I'd like to get in on this discussion. Lets also remember theres many different varieties available now that do many different things than just the standard vintage ones. For instance, Seymour Duncan and others wind Minis pickups that adress what some feel are the shortcomings of the vintage Minis/ Firebirds, and also make some fantastic hot/fat sounding Minis that scream without being too shrill. I like the Hot Ceramics in the neck.

That was my point.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

That was my point.

oops.

 

[lazyfinger]

Re: Mini-HBs vs P90

Here is a mini pulled apart:

Notice that for the most part it looks like a PAF just smaller

Here is a Firebird pickup:

Notice that each coil has it's own magnet structure, that's because each coil is really a stand alone pickup...Gibson took those coils and put them under plain covers and those were Melody Maker pickups.

Pictures are worth a thousand words! This just proves it again! Thanks!

Btw, the right coil on the mini-HB, is that a rail magnet under there?
And the Duncan SM-1 Vintage is constructed just like the firebird pup?