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In praise of Mini Humbuckers


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About a year ago I replace the stock P-90s in my Archtop GT with Gibson reissue mini humbuckers. Since then this guitar has slowly moved to the top of my playing rotation.

This guitar was my first Hamer but I've never liked the looks of a gold top so the fact that this guitar keeps ending up in my hands tells me something!

I've always had a love/hate relationship with humbuckers. I love the full, fat midrange and the way they break up with an overdriven amp. But they usually sound dull to my ears when played cleaner and seem to get lost in a mix more easily than single coils.

Five years ago I discovered P-90s, and really love them, but found I like the lower output versions (Phat Cats and Haussel) better than the hot Duncans. And the Duncans howled when I got near any RF source. So when I saw photos on this board of a GT with minibuckers I decided to give 'em a try.

Minibuckers seem to fit my style perfectly. Enough grunt to feel like I'm not being overpowered, but enough clarity to cut through the mix. I get that full, chimey sound and can use the volume control to move between clean and broken up.

I'm starting to think that a maple topped Newport with minibuckers could be a very cool custom order. I mean, hypothetically, of course. For someone else...

-Jonathan

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What minis are you using?  I like the hot Duncans from the Eclipse but everyone suggests that there are much better alternatives out there.

The best minis I've ever heard are a set of old 70's Gibson LP Deluxe pickups that were modded by BCR Greg. Dead quiet, full frequency response, balanced and a tone that's more vintage voiced than the Duncans or DiMarzios I've tried. Find a dead set and send 'em to Greg to work his magic.

These look interesting, too:

Lollar mini humbuckers

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