Mini Humbuckers vs. Standard PAFs

[Cali Dude]

I've been playing for a long time now, but have never had the opportunity to play a guitar with the Gibson/Epiphone mini buckers. Could anyone describe the tonal difference; such as, output, tone, use in different guitars. I am thinking about looking into a guitar with them.

 

[black_doug]

Here's the Gibson Firebird.

 

[rze99]

Tighter brighter snappier

 

[Cali Dude]

Thanks, I dig Clarence GM Brown.

 

[ping-ping-clicka]

I've been playing for a long time now, but have never had the opportunity to play a guitar with the Gibson/Epiphone mini buckers. Could anyone describe the tonal difference; such as, output, tone, use in different guitars. I am thinking about looking into a guitar with them.

SPEAKING OF APPLES AND ORANGES....

HOW ABOUT : a Tele with a Mini in the Neck position?

 

[suave eddie]

I always thought the Firebird pickups were not the same as the mini-humbuckers like the ones on the old Les Paul Deluxe.

 

[bsman]

I always thought the Firebird pickups were not the same as the mini-humbuckers like the ones on the old Les Paul Deluxe.

AFAIK, they are the same and both are actually Epiphone pickups - leftovers from when Gibson purchased Epiphone. My cousin had a 71ish LP deluxe loaded with those, and I really liked the sound, but really did not like the fact that they were installed in a guitar with the infamous "pancake" body that felt to me like depleted uranium must have been used liberally in its construction...

 

[suave eddie]

AFAIK, they are the same and both are actually Epiphone pickups - leftovers from when Gibson purchased Epiphone. My cousin had a 71ish LP deluxe loaded with those, and I really liked the sound, but really did not like the fact that they were installed in a guitar with the infamous "pancake" body that felt to me like depleted uranium must have been used liberally in its construction...

https://humbuckersoup.com/guitar-pi...rd pickup uses two,the coils are wound around.

 

[Cali Dude]

https://humbuckersoup.com/guitar-pickups/mini-humbucker-versus-firebird/#:~:text=The main difference between the,between and below the coils.&text=A Firebird pickup uses two,the coils are wound around.

Thanks so much for that. A lot of good info there. Very cool!

 

[The Angle]

I played a '74 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe all through the late '70s (still have it, too), and I also have a Luna semihollow with two mini-humbuckers and a Bullet Tele that I fitted with a Guitarfetish neck mini-humbucker.

The Bullet provides the clearest illustration of the difference between a mini-humbucker and a single-coil because that pickup can toggle between the two with coil splitting. In mini-humbucker mode, the tonal difference isn't stark. In fact, if you're not paying attention, you could think it's just a boost switch and not actually changing the coil structure of the pickup. But if you are paying attention, you note that the tone gains more body, if that makes sense. The mini-humbucker senses vibrations across slightly more string length, so it gets a few more harmonics in the mix. There's slightly more bass, more body or fullness, and more output (seems like ~20 or 25 percent to my ear; what that translates to in actual volts, I have no idea). But the mini-humbuckers still have much of the crispness (or lightness or clarity or whatever else you call it) of single-coils. They don't get muddy or boomy the way standard humbuckers can, especially when strumming chords.

I hate trying to describe musical tones with such imprecise words, because I can only hope others understand them the same way I mean them. But if it's not clear, I really like mini-humbuckers. I wound up with the LP Deluxe in the '70s mostly by accident, but it turned out to be a very happy one for me.

 

[suave eddie]

Thanks so much for that. A lot of good info there. Very cool!

I always knew they were different but never really knew the details.

 

[39martind18]

SPEAKING OF APPLES AND ORANGES....

HOW ABOUT : a Tele with a Mini in the Neck position?

Got one (partscaster)! Love it!

 

[tfarny]

Minis are great, brighter and snappier than a regular HB. Maybe a little more polite than a Low-wind P90? That can be a good thing.

 

[39martind18]

I'm a minihum fiend. My main stage guitar is a 2005-6 Epiphone Sheraton II USA that features minihums. I also have a Heritage H550 that was equipped with full humbuckers, and I always seemed to be fighting for definition on the low end. I recently put a set of Epi ProBucker minihums in it, and the sound I've been looking for is now there, full, but with the tight lows I wanted.

12 string is an Epiphone Elitist Riviera 12 string- mini hums! Dayum, I love 'em!

 

[schmee]

Mini's are very much more middy. But clearer on the bottom end a lot too. The Seymour Duncan Antiquity ll minis with the adjustable poles are almost a dead ringer for real Gibson minis of the same type. Had them both and really couldn't tell a difference.
I had a Strat with 3 minis for a while, and a mini in the neck of a Thinline. Both were great, but I got a bit tired of the mids.
I've done my share of "mini messin":

 

[chris m.]

Minis are different from Firebird pickups-- different design altogether. Firebirds are apparently brighter and spankier than mini-humbuckers.

I suspect that with the right traditional, full-sized humbucker done with a lighter wind, you could probably get it to sound about the same as a mini.

But in general minihumbuckers sound just a bit brighter and a bit more tightly-focused than a typical PAF style humbucker, but not very far off. I had a '79 LP Deluxe with its original pickups and I liked its sound a lot. It was so dang heavy that I ended up selling it.

Even though a minihum is the same size as a P90, they sound very different. P90 is more open, strident, and punchy while the mini-hum is comparatively congested and mellower sounding, if that makes any sense.

 

[Wallaby]

IME I would add more brittle-sounding than a PAF to the list of adjectives. Not my cup of tea, but it was a long time ago and might have just been the particular guitars I had access to - both Les Paul.

Tighter brighter snappier

 

[Cali Dude]

Got one (partscaster)! Love it!View attachment 754332 View attachment 754339

Very nice. A beauty.

 

[Cali Dude]

Minis are different from Firebird pickups-- different design altogether. Firebirds are apparently brighter and spankier than mini-humbuckers.

I suspect that with the right traditional, full-sized humbucker done with a lighter wind, you could probably get it to sound about the same as a mini.

But in general minihumbuckers sound just a bit brighter and a bit more tightly-focused than a typical PAF style humbucker, but not very far off. I had a '79 LP Deluxe with its original pickups and I liked its sound a lot. It was so dang heavy that I ended up selling it.

Even though a minihum is the same size as a P90, they sound very different. P90 is more open, strident, and punchy while the mini-hum is comparatively congested and mellower sounding, if that makes any sense.

Thanks for the great description.

 

[richiek65]

SPEAKING OF APPLES AND ORANGES....

HOW ABOUT : a Tele with a Mini in the Neck position?

My Hot Rodded Squier