Mini Humbucker mounting question

[jwhitcomb3]

Can Gibson Les Paul Deluxe style mini-humbuckers be mounted in firebird style pickup rings?

Thanks,

Jonathan

[JohnnyB]

Can Gibson Les Paul Deluxe style mini-humbuckers be mounted in firebird style pickup rings?

Thanks,

Jonathan

I've always wondered that myself. I suspect somebody at Seymour Duncan could tell you because they make both types of mini-bucker. The LP Deluxe type (with a row of exposed adjustable pole pieces) are sometimes called New York minibuckers because they were originally from Epiphone.

I suspect if it were an easy fit we would have seen some New York 'buckers on Firebirds through the years.

[atquinn]

Physically, the 2 types of pickups are the same size, so, yes.

-Austin

[jwhitcomb3]

Physically, the 2 types of pickups are the same size, so, yes.

-Austin

Cool! I'll give this a try and post back with results!

Thanks,

Jonathan

[jwhitcomb3]

Here's a shot of the mini-humbucker:

Here's a shot with an overlaid Firebird ring:

I'll need to find a couple pickup springs and figure out how to solder nuts onto the pickup bracket, but this should work.

-Jonathan

[BadgerDave]

Or, drill out the holes on th mounting tabs slightly and mount directly to the body using small wood screws with the spring between the body and the tab. You can adjust pickup height with a small screwdriver through the hole in the mounting ring.

Easy, arguably improves suistain and gives you some EVH vibe. It does permanently modify the pickups, however.

[JohnnyB]

If I'd known you could do that (drop in New York minibuckers) I might still have my Eclipses.

[jwhitcomb3]

Or, drill out the holes on th mounting tabs slightly and mount directly to the body using small wood screws with the spring between the body and the tab. You can adjust pickup height with a small screwdriver through the hole in the mounting ring.

Easy, arguably improves suistain and gives you some EVH vibe. It does permanently modify the pickups, however.

Great tip! Thanks!

And yes, JohnnyB, this is going into an Eclipse.

-Jonathan

[JohnnyB]

And yes, JohnnyB, this is going into an Eclipse.

I have a Gibson Johnny Smith mini-bucker I put on a Gretsch Synchromatic. It's pretty much the same New York minibucker as the ones you bought, but with a mounting bracket to float it above the top. It's probably the sweetest, cleanest, and most musical pickup I've ever had. Meanwhile, those hot raggy minibuckers that came standard in the Eclipse ... Well, I think they're the reason those guitars are so endearing to play but irritating to listen to. Eclipses die on the used market and few people seem to keep them around very long.

[shan564]

I have a Gibson Johnny Smith mini-bucker I put on a Gretsch Synchromatic. It's pretty much the same New York minibucker as the ones you bought, but with a mounting bracket to float it above the top. It's probably the sweetest, cleanest, and most musical pickup I've ever had. Meanwhile, those hot raggy minibuckers that came standard in the Eclipse ... Well, I think they're the reason those guitars are so endearing to play but irritating to listen to. Eclipses die on the used market and few people seem to keep them around very long.

Hmm, now I'm tempted to pick one of those up for my Eclipse. I was looking around for p90's, but I'm not sure if a p90 can drop in directly to the Firebird-style slot... any suggestions? I've seen threads about people sticking p90's into LP Deluxes, but apparently Firebirds need a bit of routing. I'm looking for something a bit mellower than what I have in the Eclipse now.

[atquinn]

And yes, JohnnyB, this is going into an Eclipse.

I have a Gibson Johnny Smith mini-bucker I put on a Gretsch Synchromatic. It's pretty much the same New York minibucker as the ones you bought, but with a mounting bracket to float it above the top. It's probably the sweetest, cleanest, and most musical pickup I've ever had. Meanwhile, those hot raggy minibuckers that came standard in the Eclipse ... Well, I think they're the reason those guitars are so endearing to play but irritating to listen to. Eclipses die on the used market and few people seem to keep them around very long.

People don't like Eclipses because they're funny-looking and minhumbuckers are a niche market (and because of the routing, you can't swap out the minihumbuckers in an Eclipse for another pickup type). I solved the problem by throwing the minihumbuckers I had in my Eclipse (a Dimarzio set) into a Studio Custom P90

-Austin

[JohnnyB]

Hmm, now I'm tempted to pick one of those up for my Eclipse. I was looking around for p90's, but I'm not sure if a p90 can drop in directly to the Firebird-style slot... any suggestions? I've seen threads about people sticking p90's into LP Deluxes, but apparently Firebirds need a bit of routing. I'm looking for something a bit mellower than what I have in the Eclipse now.

If you want to keep it simple, Seymour Duncan makes a drop-in Firebird pickup here in their Antiquities line. Duncan also offers an Antiquities New York Style mini here.

[jwhitcomb3]

Hmm, now I'm tempted to pick one of those up for my Eclipse. I was looking around for p90's, but I'm not sure if a p90 can drop in directly to the Firebird-style slot... any suggestions? I've seen threads about people sticking p90's into LP Deluxes, but apparently Firebirds need a bit of routing. I'm looking for something a bit mellower than what I have in the Eclipse now.

If you want to keep it simple, Seymour Duncan makes a drop-in Firebird pickup here in their Antiquities line. Duncan also offers an Antiquities New York Style mini here.

I may have a set of the Duncan Firebird antiquity pickups for sale in the near future. They are a vast improvement over the stock Eclipse pickups!

-Jonathan

[BadgerDave]

If I'd known you could do that (drop in New York minibuckers) I might still have my Eclipses.

A magical combination. These are Lollar minis. The innner surfaces of the stock mounting rings had to be enlarged slightly to fit - I used a Dremel with a metal burr, but it could be done with a file in a pinch.

[specialk]

Meanwhile, those hot raggy minibuckers that came standard in the Eclipse ... Well, I think they're the reason those guitars are so endearing to play but irritating to listen to.

+1 to this, at least in my case. I never thought to swap pickups.

[shan564]

Hmm, now I'm tempted to pick one of those up for my Eclipse. I was looking around for p90's, but I'm not sure if a p90 can drop in directly to the Firebird-style slot... any suggestions? I've seen threads about people sticking p90's into LP Deluxes, but apparently Firebirds need a bit of routing. I'm looking for something a bit mellower than what I have in the Eclipse now.

If you want to keep it simple, Seymour Duncan makes a drop-in Firebird pickup here in their Antiquities line. Duncan also offers an Antiquities New York Style mini here.

I may have a set of the Duncan Firebird antiquity pickups for sale in the near future. They are a vast improvement over the stock Eclipse pickups!

-Jonathan

Cool, thanks for the feedback. I was hoping for something more p90-ish, but I guess an Antiquity might be a better choice. Or maybe I'll keep an eye out for a Johnny Smith pickup, or maybe a Filtertron... so many choices...