Minibuckers - Your picks

[LucSulla]

As I am embracing this new renaissance of screwing with components rather than buying entirely new things, I feel that my Firebird needs addressed next.  Much has been made of the factory buckers Gibby puts in, so I won't retread that ground.  But, I do know there are quite a few Firebird lovers here.  Any recs on what to replace the stock pups with?

[LordsoftheJungle]

I know it's pretty much the standard answer, but Lollars really did the minis right, no squeal and a great bite. I put them in my 56 LP just for fun over a year ago and haven't taken them out,,, and I loved the P90s that were in it before.

Ever since then I've had a fascination with Gibson Firebirds,,, I may need to get one just to see how they compare.

[LucSulla]

Do you mean the Lollars with or without pole pieces? 

[LordsoftheJungle]

these are the standard Lollar minis with exposed screw top pole pieces, not the Firebird pickups.

[hamerhead]

So you want Firebird pickups? Or minibuckers?

For minis, GFS makes some that are surpisingly good (and cheap!). For Firebirds, some guy named Josh may have something brewing. I haven't seen them, but have heard rumors. Given his reputation, they should be very good.

[G Man]

The set of mini's in my Eclipse are nothing short of awesome, chime and clean or mean and lean, they get the job done.  http://www.re-wind.net/risa/index.php?/category/75

 

I have also heard great things about the newer Mojotone Johnny Winter sig. Firebird pickups, http://www.mojotone.com/Pickups_x/HumbuckerPickups_x/Johnny-Winter-Firebird-Pickup-SET

And lastly, I have had a set of the SD Ant.II Firebirds pickups and they were a definite upgrade to the stockers that came in the eclipse.  

[G Man]

And I just came across this on MLP, might help with the decision making process.  http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/member-classifieds/360374-fs-mint-seymour-duncan-antiquity-ii-firebird-pickup-set.html

 

 

[gtone]

I got this tone in my Firebird V from JS Moore custom A5 winds by request:

 

 

Best part was that it was less than $200 for the pair, so they were a lot less than Lollars, Tom Shorts, etc.

 

 

[LucSulla]

4 hours ago, hamerhead said:

So you want Firebird pickups? Or minibuckers?

For minis, GFS makes some that are surpisingly good (and cheap!). For Firebirds, some guy named Josh may have something brewing. I haven't seen them, but have heard rumors. Given his reputation, they should be very good.

Both, I just said minis to be lazy. 

I'm still on the fence about doing the sorta hopped up single that FB pups are or a literal mini humbucker. Both have appeal. I've thrown around the idea of doing a mini in the bridge and a FB pup in the neck. 
 

[atomicwash]

Lollars.  I love the mini bridge and FB neck combo as suggested by BadgerDave.  They are loaded in my '07 Goldtop LP Deluxe.

[harry65]

I have some zhangbuckers I'm about to sell , they're amazing, very bright, no squeal , have on in the neck of my LP and it's never coming out , the ones I have are a5 magnets and 6.7 and 6.5 dc , btw these are firebird pickups , they are different than minis

[Bobby Marshall]

I have to do it.  Some cool minis in this here video.  Sorry I don't have an answer. - Watch "Thin Lizzy - Jailbreak,Emerald,Boys Are Back,Rosalie/Cowboy Song - A Night On The Town - Live - 1976" on YouTube

https://youtu.be/QreSqOBDPWI

[L Nutter]

Another vote for the Seymour Duncan Antiquity II Firebirds here!

[hanspanzer]

Klein wound some pickups spec`ed by Doug Kauer to his Andy Holliday-builds. 

I have a set of these in my Kauer Banshee and they`re great. Not quite shure what the difference is between these and the regular Klein Firebird pickups though..

Not as hot and shrill as the modern Gibsons, more mellow and less harsh. PAF`y with an added bite. 

[cynic]

I've had Duncan and Lollar firebird style, and Duncan, Lollar, Gibson, and Grosh mini's.  Lollars were clear winners over Duncan in the firebird platform.  I'm as happy with Grosh as I was with Lollar in the mini platform, but you should buy used if possible rather than pay new prices for those brands.

[polara]

Had Lollar Firebirds in an Eclipse I should not have sold. Sounded fantastic.

[analogsystem]

Lollar FB pickups are known to be slightly more modern than, say, the Duncan Antiquities. That said, they have his signature "3D" tone which is really wonderful and articulate. I have one in the neck position of my Gibson Firebird and it really does have the best of both single coil and hum bucker qualities, as good FB pickup should. They are a little too "tele on steroids" in the bridge for me so I routed my 'bird for a full sized HB but if you like that tele on steroids sound, go for the Lollars in both positions!

 

[Armitage]

On 2/15/2016 at 11:46 AM, gtone said:

I got this tone in my Firebird V from JS Moore custom A5 winds by request:

 

 

Best part was that it was less than $200 for the pair, so they were a lot less than Lollars, Tom Shorts, etc.

 

 

 

And that's in Canadian dollars!

[gtone]

In the realm of FB/mini-hums, I've had '70's alnico Gibson minis, '60's Epiphone minis, modern ceramic Gibson FB's,  Seymour Duncan S2 and S3's and JS Moore minis and FB's. The Moores FB's and mini's were in a realm of their own in the two instruments they went into ('08 Firebird V, '74 SG Special).  

Come to think of it, my pickup search always ends when I install a Moore custom wind.  Must've tried 6 pu's in the bridge position of my old Hamer Special FM until I found a great tone - you guessed it, a Moore custom wound HB.  They're ridiculously good and as inexpensive as a standard line Duncan or DiMarzio.

[BadgerDave]

I've been very pleasantly surprised by a set of Seymour Duncan Vintage minis that I put in the zebra eclipse.  I've never liked the sound of the ceramic Duncan Custom minis, which, to me, sound very harsh and spikey in the mids.   The vintage alnico versions are completely different - full and clear, warm, but not dull and a really nice chime in the high end.

I used a vintage neck and bridge in the neck and middle positions, respectively.  I tried a Seymourized higher output mini in the bridge position and didn't care for it at all.  I couldn't get enough volume out of it to balance with the other two pickups unless I lowered the neck and middle pickups to the point that they lost clarity and punch.  The Seymourized pickup sounds thin and fizzy as well.

I now have a Rio Texas BabyBucker in the bridge and it sounds much better. I'll be trying a Rio BBQ BabyBucker to see if I can achieve perfection!