kevindruhan
New member
I've owned a 2016 Firebird V for about a year now, but after the initial excitement of GASing for, and finally owning such a cool guitar (!), I found that I didn't pick it up that much, mostly because the tone from the stock Gibson mini-humbuckers is just awful....very thin, tinny, harsh, with no sustain. It sounds ok with a fuzz pedal but on it's own...terrible. Once I did some research, I quickly learned that the general consensus in the Firebird community is that the new 'high gain' mini humbuckers that Gibson has been including as stock pickups on their 'Birds since sometime in the late 80's are among the worst pickups Gibson has ever created. I have to agree. 
I finally decided to try some Seymour Duncan mini-humbuckers. It says the following on the website for the SM-3N neck mini-humbucker: 'Pair with the Seymourized Mini Humbucker bridge model (SM-3B) for an evenly matched set, or try it with the Custom Mini (SM-2B) bridge model for a more aggressive setup.'. So I got the latter setup (a SM-2B for the bridge and a SM-3N for the neck) and WOW what a difference....now my 'Bird has humbucker sustain and ballz, but with a high-end sparkle that is a little different than a standard humbucker. I just love it!
Does this mean that the SM-2B with ceramic magnets and wound to 16.7kohm is hotter than a SM-3B which is Alnico 5 and wound to 11.9kohm (ie. a 'more aggressive setup'?). I'm just wondering if I should have matched up the pickups (either the SM-2B with a SM-2N in the neck, or the SM-3N with a SM-3B in the bridge). Has anyone done any of these combinations and can comment on the tone and feel? I'm looking for a vintage humbucker tone for doing 70s rock and stoner rock, not the traditional stratty vintage Firebird tone (ie. Johnny Winter tone).
I'm also wondering if anyone has attempted magnet swaps on SD mini humbuckers...are they constructed like Firebird minis where the pickup is basically held together by the pickup cover and magnet swaps are inadvisable? Or are they just miniaturized humbuckers with standard construction where mag swaps are easy? Do they use the same size mags as regular humbuckers?
Thanks for any insight you can offer!
Here are the specs on these 4 SD mini-humbuckers from the website:
SM-2n Custom Mini Humbucker 8.5 Ceramic The Custom Mini Humbucker is a modern take on the classic Firebird sound. Its ceramic magnet and overwound coils give it a rich sounding midrange that really cuts through in the neck position.
SM-2b Custom Mini Humbucker 16.7 Ceramic The Custom Mini Humbucker bridge pickup delivers that classic Firebird tone that is a special blend of bright, single coil high end, and more focused humbucker low end. The result is a pickup with a cool snarly grittiness, and enough bite to cut through any mix.
SM-3n Seymourized Mini Humbucker - 6.6 Alnico 5 Alnico 5 magnets deliver classic tonal character with increased output for a great vintage-hot Firebird sound.
SM-3b Seymourized Mini Humbucker - 11.9 Alnico 5 Alnico 5 magnets deliver a classic tone with beefed up output for a big rocking Firebird bridge tone.
I finally decided to try some Seymour Duncan mini-humbuckers. It says the following on the website for the SM-3N neck mini-humbucker: 'Pair with the Seymourized Mini Humbucker bridge model (SM-3B) for an evenly matched set, or try it with the Custom Mini (SM-2B) bridge model for a more aggressive setup.'. So I got the latter setup (a SM-2B for the bridge and a SM-3N for the neck) and WOW what a difference....now my 'Bird has humbucker sustain and ballz, but with a high-end sparkle that is a little different than a standard humbucker. I just love it!
Does this mean that the SM-2B with ceramic magnets and wound to 16.7kohm is hotter than a SM-3B which is Alnico 5 and wound to 11.9kohm (ie. a 'more aggressive setup'?). I'm just wondering if I should have matched up the pickups (either the SM-2B with a SM-2N in the neck, or the SM-3N with a SM-3B in the bridge). Has anyone done any of these combinations and can comment on the tone and feel? I'm looking for a vintage humbucker tone for doing 70s rock and stoner rock, not the traditional stratty vintage Firebird tone (ie. Johnny Winter tone).
I'm also wondering if anyone has attempted magnet swaps on SD mini humbuckers...are they constructed like Firebird minis where the pickup is basically held together by the pickup cover and magnet swaps are inadvisable? Or are they just miniaturized humbuckers with standard construction where mag swaps are easy? Do they use the same size mags as regular humbuckers?
Thanks for any insight you can offer!
Here are the specs on these 4 SD mini-humbuckers from the website:
SM-2n Custom Mini Humbucker 8.5 Ceramic The Custom Mini Humbucker is a modern take on the classic Firebird sound. Its ceramic magnet and overwound coils give it a rich sounding midrange that really cuts through in the neck position.
SM-2b Custom Mini Humbucker 16.7 Ceramic The Custom Mini Humbucker bridge pickup delivers that classic Firebird tone that is a special blend of bright, single coil high end, and more focused humbucker low end. The result is a pickup with a cool snarly grittiness, and enough bite to cut through any mix.
SM-3n Seymourized Mini Humbucker - 6.6 Alnico 5 Alnico 5 magnets deliver classic tonal character with increased output for a great vintage-hot Firebird sound.
SM-3b Seymourized Mini Humbucker - 11.9 Alnico 5 Alnico 5 magnets deliver a classic tone with beefed up output for a big rocking Firebird bridge tone.
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