Members MacFangus Posted January 20, 2017 Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 I purchased a 2002 Gibson Firebird, and would like to get a P90 type sound out of the bridge pickup, without routing the body. Any suggestions? A mini humbucker may work as well, but those don't sound anything like a P90. I want something with some "balls" to it, ya know what I mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted January 20, 2017 Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 Ok, you didn't specify if you had a full sized humbucker, or a P90/mini hum there. For me, if looking for a P90ish tone from a pickup, I go with series/parallel wiring on the pickup, IF it's a humbucker with 4 conductor wiring.http://guitarelectronics.com/humbucker-series-parallel/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted January 20, 2017 Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 https://www.andersonguitarworks.com/ph-series Here's a clip of the same pickups, but P90 size instead of HB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted January 20, 2017 Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 http://www.emgpickups.com/guitar/p-90.htmlP90 size, active or passive http://www.mightymite.com/single-coil-c-13_14_20/?zenid=97d3cb898818a0d07049a9b7f2624c4aP90 size passives Dream 90s (scroll down) passive, HB sizedhttp://www.guitarfetish.com/Humbucker-Sized-Guitar-Pickups_c_26.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted January 20, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 Mine has the standard size Firebird pickups, not P90 or HB. I'm hoping to find a set that will fit into the existing routes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted January 20, 2017 Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 Firebirds have three standards, They have Mini humbuckers, P90's and Full sized Humbuckers. I believe you have Full sized Humbuckers like this. There are a couple of options. You can get dream 90's and see ho it sounds. If you keep the neck humbucker it may or may not balance with a single coil because the outputs can be very different and in the middle switch position you can have some oddball tones, especially if the phasing is different. Next option can be to use a mini to full sized HB ring. You could place it under the pickguard and mount the mini humbucker to it. You wont need to use the 4 mounting holes on the 4 corners. The height adjustment screws will hold it in place under the existing pickguard. If it moves you can use some silicone glue to hold it in place. Silicone glue is not permanent so you could reverse the mod and go back to using a full sized pickups. You can find them in black white or cream colors. If the pickguard is white, you may want to use a black ring so you don't have a two tone white which would look funky. I modded my EPI Dot with these rings and mini humbuckers and It sounds like my 70's Riviera which had mini's in it. Regular P90's will be a problem because that use a different mounting/height screws. You'd could buy a different pickguard, have one custom cut or make your own if you want to use standard P90's. WD cuts custom pickguards. I bought a strat that had a three mini humbucker route. You may need to contact them for your particular pickguard. http://www.wdmusic.com/guards_guitar_gibson_firebird.html The old firebirds that used dog ear p90's probably wont work. They need quite a bit of clearance under the strings and the modern version probably wont accommodate them. They wouldn't cover the old pickup routes and you'd wind up having to cut the pickguard around them which is way too much work. I'd stick with the square P90's, cut the pickguard and install either the Gibson height adjustment brackets which use machine screws for the height or use the long wood screws which pass through the pickup into the body and foam under the pickups to act as springs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted January 20, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 Thank you for the info, but mine has the Firebird pickups, which at the same size as the mini-humbucker. I'm hoping to find a P90 that's the same size as the MH. The Firebird pickups aren't "mini-humbucker" type, yet they do "buck" hum. Weird, I know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted January 20, 2017 Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 https://reverb.com/item/2339502-frankentone-p90-mount-lil-chester-pickup-dearmond-style-alnico-single-coil-neck-position?gclid=Cj0KEQiAh4fEBRCZhriIjLfArrQBEiQArzzDAXu-G2-IjoOgOXOr-K1G6pKIFlzuXHa-2m8EtypjPv8aAmll8P8HAQ&pla=1The only thing even close I can find. You may try messaging Bryan Gusher with BG Pickups to see about a custom build or something.? He used to frequent here, or you can try his website -http://bg-pups.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted January 20, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 https://reverb.com/item/2339502-frankentone-p90-mount-lil-chester-pickup-dearmond-style-alnico-single-coil-neck-position?gclid=Cj0KEQiAh4fEBRCZhriIjLfArrQBEiQArzzDAXu-G2-IjoOgOXOr-K1G6pKIFlzuXHa-2m8EtypjPv8aAmll8P8HAQ&pla=1 The only thing even close I can find. You may try messaging Bryan Gusher with BG Pickups to see about a custom build or something.? He used to frequent here, or you can try his website - http://bg-pups.com Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted January 20, 2017 Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 Here's some more choiceshttp://www.fralinpickups.com/product/big-single-mini/ http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LGP&Product_Code=242&Category_Code=humbucker-pickups Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted January 20, 2017 Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 No problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted January 20, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 The Fralin description does sound interesting. I wish someone could make a P90 in a Firebird pickup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted January 20, 2017 Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 I feel Fairly confident that Bryan Gusher, orthe custom shop at Seymour Duncan would build something for you, based on your specs. I have contacted both in the past, and they were willing, worth a shot anyway.The cost may be slightly more, but it costs money to ride trains and drink whiskey. Plus, you'd have a One-Shot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badpenguin Posted January 20, 2017 Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 So you have a mini hum. If it's 4 conductor wiring, try something simple. Ground the hot wire, and use the two taped wires as hot. It should gi9ve you that tone you are looking for, without spending a penny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted January 20, 2017 Members Share Posted January 20, 2017 The Fralin description does sound interesting. I wish someone could make a P90 in a Firebird pickup. I know that I've been "sort-of" in the market myself for some new mini-hums for my Gibson SG Special '70s Tribute. The reason being that this particular guitar had some newer designed mini-hums that really don't sound much different than an ordinary HB, except for maybe some slight nuances from the closer coils. So I eventually want to get some more vintage sounding mini-hums that get closer to the vintage tone of the early mini-hums. Right now that guitar is enjoying a long nap, i.e. out of rotation, but I'm holding back on making the upgrade investment because I'm not really sure how far I want to go towards the vintage tone, or which pickup/brand to purchase.. I think I'd be happy with those Lollars or Fralins I posted above, but then again, I could also go more vintage/twangy with something like these. http://www.fralinpickups.com/product/firebird/ Anyway, the point of my story is that some of the Gibson products have updated their pickup configurations so they can have little in common with the mini-hums of yore. Not sure if that's the case with your guitar, but it sure is with that SG I pictured above. There's something I like about that guitar, so I kept it, but it's tone missed the mark of what I was expecting by a mile. Believe it or not, I also bought this Epiphone Wilshire And I much prefer the tone of its pickups. They are definitely more of that vintage voicing that I was expecting from the SG. So whereas I'm not happy with the mini-hums in the Gibson and want to swap them out, I'm quite happy with the mini-hums on this Epi. And that's dang near "a first" with me when it comes to Epi pickups. I just wish I was as happy with the jack and p'up selector on this Epiphone. That jack failed in short order. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted January 21, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 21, 2017 Many say the newer Firebird pickups are really hot sounding, but mine are not. They sound good, but the bridge just doesn't sound like I want it to. Maybe I can try pushing it with a TS808. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted January 21, 2017 Members Share Posted January 21, 2017 This thread inspired me to get my SG 70s Tribute out for another spin. My initial thoughts were still the same as above. But then I decided to start tweaking the pickup heights. I did lower the pickups a hair, the neck is still pretty close to factory specs but with the center of the p'up being about 3/32" under the strings (this is with the outer strings depressed at the last/highest fret). I also reduced the bridge to that same height or just a hair more. So factory specs for bridge p'up heights are ~ 1/16" so I'm now 1/32" lower than that at ~ 3/32". This adjustment did bring out noticeably more chime. So I'd say give that a try if you haven't already, and yeah, a Tube Screamer should also help. I find the TS-9 to have a bit more mid hump than the 808. The 808 to my ears is a little tamer and smoother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted January 21, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 21, 2017 This thread inspired me to get my SG 70s Tribute out for another spin. My initial thoughts were still the same as above. But then I decided to start tweaking the pickup heights. I did lower the pickups a hair' date=' the neck is still pretty close to factory specs but with the center of the p'up being about 3/32" under the strings (this is with the outer strings depressed at the last/highest fret). I also reduced the bridge to that same height or just a hair more. So factory specs for bridge p'up heights are ~ 1/16" so I'm now 1/32" lower than that at ~ 3/32". This adjustment did bring out noticeably more chime. So I'd say give that a try if you haven't already, and yeah, a Tube Screamer should also help. I find the TS-9 to have a bit more mid hump than the 808. The 808 to my ears is a little tamer and smoother.[/quote'] I increased the p/u height yesterday, and it definitely helped. I'm going to sh!t-can the stock 300k volume pots, and go with 500k. Maybe change the tone caps as well. I haven't looked at the back of the pups, but by looking at the control cavity, it doesn't look like anything has been changed. Sort-of not wanting to take it away from stock. If I change the pups, I'll go with a set of Klein or Novak pickups. Technically, none of the reissue pups are true to original 60's, as those (like PAF) used Alnico IV bar magnets, not Alnico V. Agreed. The TS9 is a more "in-your-face" sound for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted January 22, 2017 Members Share Posted January 22, 2017 So you want to keep it stock, but you know exactly what brands you'd use if you swapped them? What was the question again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MacFangus Posted January 22, 2017 Author Members Share Posted January 22, 2017 So you want to keep it stock' date=' but you know exactly what brands you'd use if you swapped them? What was the question again?[/quote'] The original question pertained to P90 picks that will fit into a Firebird route... If I can't get a P90 pickup to fit the Firebird, I will use Klein or Novak Firebird pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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