mini-humbucker help needed

[night_caper]

Hi guys,

Here's the deal, I have a Les Paul deluxe that I have installed SM-3's in, and I love the tone. I run single channel amps with a clean boost, and I love the sounds I get. The issue is, the gain/sustain I need for solos is too much for rhythmn ... if I dial back my volume on my bridge pickup, it doesn't clean up enough. So ... I thought, I gotta turn down the boost, now I don't have enough sustain for solos. The mini-humbucker is mounted in a plastic mount, so I think the slot is actually big enough for a P-90.

Anyways, I don't want to route the guitar, and really don't want to use a pedal (have to switch to neck pickup already, don't want to tap a pedal as well). I'd rather not use an active pickup, any ideas out there?

thanx!

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: mini-humbucker help needed

I would try a set of SM-1's before I went for P90's. You will likely find that the P90's have higher output than your minibuckers (they are very loud pickups). The SM-1 is a terrific pickup, and will probably help you keep the rhythm gain under control.

Good luck!

 

[Kelsey]

Re: mini-humbucker help needed

I don't see how a pickup swap is going to solve this problem, as long as you really like the tone of the SM-3's. I think you will probably have to cut back the gain and add a pedal to get it back (just a good clean boost pedal will probably do the trick if your amp is already overdriven and you like the base tone). Switching to single coil pickups will help in terms of cleaning up when you roll back the volume, but they may be too noisy if you use a lot of gain. I assume your SM-3's are 4-conductor, in which case you could probably figure out a way to split the coils for a weaker single coil tone that would clean up better. I'm not sure how it will sound.

 

[night_caper]

Re: mini-humbucker help needed

thanks for the idea! ... instead of putting a hotter p/u in the neck, put a lower output in the bridge ... hmmm, they're all listed as medium output though, is there one spec in the tone chart that one can reference to determine the perceived output? I noticed the dc resistance is significantly lower on the SM-1 ...

 

[night_caper]

Re: mini-humbucker help needed

I don't see how a pickup swap is going to solve this problem, as long as you really like the tone of the SM-3's. I think you will probably have to cut back the gain and add a pedal to get it back (just a good clean boost pedal will probably do the trick if your amp is already overdriven and you like the base tone). Switching to single coil pickups will help in terms of cleaning up when you roll back the volume, but they may be too noisy if you use a lot of gain. I assume your SM-3's are 4-conductor, in which case you could probably figure out a way to split the coils for a weaker single coil tone that would clean up better. I'm not sure how it will sound.

yeah, 4 conductor ... since I rarely use the neck p/u, except for the solos, I was entertaining a hot p-90 there ... but you're right, I like the sound of the SM-3 ... so splitting it would be a good idea, I only need the "cleaner" tone on a few tunes ... thanx

 

[night_caper]

Re: mini-humbucker help needed

I tried the coil-split last night (temporary wiring with a cable to ground) and it will work well, thanx for the suggestion! There mids & lows drop out nicely, so the clarity and string definition is quite noticeable now for "cleanish" work ...

 

[Butch Snyder]

Re: mini-humbucker help needed

To answer the question, "Will a P-90 fit?" yes...

 

[Kelsey]

Re: mini-humbucker help needed

Glad to hear that splitting the coils worked for you. Enjoy it!

 

[BlueGuitar]

Re: mini-humbucker help needed

I tried the coil-split last night (temporary wiring with a cable to ground) and it will work well, thanx for the suggestion! There mids & lows drop out nicely, so the clarity and string definition is quite noticeable now for "cleanish" work ...

With the split coil you do lose the humcancelling effects... someone else here suggested the SM-1n and I agree wholeheartedly- it is absolutely my favorite neck pickup! :dance:

(I haven't tried the Antiquity Mini-HB yet so that might be even better.)

 

[ES350]

Re: mini-humbucker help needed

A P90 will fit- no problem- in a Gibson LP Deluxe with minis; exactly the same rout. Done the swap numerous times...