is it worth it?

[vtpcnk]

the seymour duncan mini-humbucker sm-1 (a la firebird mhb) has caught my imagination - with its 'sweet' tone.

on my tele thinline i would like to replace the standard size sd pearly gates hb at the neck with this mini hb primarily because :

1. the mini hb would better pair (volume wise) with the tele standard bridge pickup than sd pearly gates.
2. i would have a guitar with a mini-hb (which i don't currently have).

but the problem is that replacing a hb with a mini hb on the existing pickguard seems to be very tricky. looks like you need to drill a few holes in the body for the pickup ring to be able to mount the mini-hb on the existing pickguard which is routed for a standard hb. i am not at all keen to drill more holes into the body.

if i were to get a new pickguard (which btw warmoth cannot seem to do as my thinline is a non-warmoth one) it is going to cost me along with the mini-hb atleast like another $150.

but is my mini hb/"sweet firebird mhb" lust really worth it? or am i chasing a damp squib dream?

appreciate some insights guys.

 

[Unwound G]

The Firebird non-polepiece mini hum is ideal for a Tele neck pup with the following reasons :-

a)   As you have mentioned, the volume balance is better.
b)   The chrome cover follows the same theme as the original Tele neck single coil pup.
c)   The narrower focus of the the magnet and coils inside will produce a more sparkling tone than a full sized humbucker to retain that "Twangy" Tele character.
d)   The mini humbucker also drives well when pushed through the overdrive channel.

As for the pickguard, you can always order from custom makers like www.pickguardian.com with a tracing of your old pickguard and get them to cut a mini humbucker space over the traced full sized humbucker so you will not have to drill any holes by having the pickup suspended from it.  The investment will justify the vibe alone of having a mini hum in that Thinline.

Hope the above help.

UG.

 

[Dan025]

my answer is yes, do it. it is worth it

 

[vtpcnk]

>As for the pickguard, you can always order from custom makers like www.pickguardian.com with a tracing of your old pickguard and get them to cut a mini humbucker space over >the traced full sized humbucker so you will not have to drill any holes by having the pickup suspended from it.  The investment may justify the vibe of having a mini hum in that >Thinline.

my thinline pickguard was made by pickguardian. and i did contact tony about cutting some kind of a flat pickup ring for me to mount the mini hb on the existing pickguard.

on the ring we need two holes to mount the ring to the pickguard and another two holes to mount the mini hb to the ring.

so that is two holes per side. but the problem is that the width of the mini hb is only 0.139 on an inch smaller than a standard hb.

and two holes (on each side) in the space 0.0695 is almost an impossibility.

and i dont want to drill more holes in the body to facilitate the mount. so that is where i am stumped.

if you guys have any other ideas pls feel free to air them.

 

[Unwound G]

"and i dont want to drill more holes in the body to facilitate the mount. so that is where i am stumped."

You can always ask Tony to cut a full humbucker size pickup ring but with a space for a mini humbucker (see picture).

As for the pickup height adjusting screw holes, you can always bend the two metal flanges ever so slightly to align to the pickup mounting holes.  This is a common fix for some different brands of humbuckers that do not fit exactly to pickup rings.

 

[vtpcnk]

>You can always ask Tony to cut a full humbucker size pickup ring but with a space for a mini humbucker (see picture).

the pickup ring has a hole at each corner to mount on the body.

but my current hb is mounted on the pickguard - with only two holes on the pickguard.

if i use the pickup ring would i not have to drill the holes at each corner to mount it on the body?

i am sure how it works but my guitar tech says that the current hb is mounted on only the pickguard and not the body. i am not how that can be as the hb cavity has space only for the hb. so unless the screws dont go beyond the pickguard they have to penetrate the body, right?

or is my understanding wrong?

 

[Unwound G]

A simple fix is to use a Mini hum pickup ring adapter (as in picture) and glue it onto the old pickguard.  There are glues in the market that are stronger than screws.

The original humbucker rout should accommodate the Mini hum with no problems or obstructions.

 

[willyk]

Here are a couple of pics that may help.
This is a Warmoth body with a standard neck Humbucker route. The finished guitar features a SD antiquity mini humbucker which is pickguard mounted on a Warmoth guard. If your pickup rout will accomodate the mini'bucker, which it should, Pickguardian should be able to make you a guard with the right sized hole and you won't need extra plates,sleeves or anything like that. :dontknow:

 

[-CB-]

I can think of pros and cons for each method.

The simplist method, just use the adapter ring.  The extra holes will never show if you decide to go back to the HB or to a standard Tele neck or even to a Strat neck pickup (hint hint hint hint....)  The problem with that, is if you need to mount the pickup low... you've got the thickness of the adapter ring to contend with.  The one I saw was flat, and 1/16 inch thick.  Not too bad, but... if you really need it to be low, that 1/16 inch will come in handy.

I'm wondering if W will cut you a pickguard with only the mini hum opening in it, then you can transfer the mounting holes from your existing pickguard to the new one?

 

[-CB-]

BTW you're thinking along the same lines as I am... something different.

I"m sort of caught between mini hum and strat pickup at the neck.  If I could get a texas special neck pickup, hands down I'd mount it in a tele, since its probable the best single coil neck pickup on the market, bar none.  I hate to get the set, and then cannibalize it... however..... I'd have a middle RW and neck left over.  If I put those in the neck and middle respectively... and a HB in the bridge.... of a strat...  that might be something to say hmmmm about.

 

[vtpcnk]

>The simplist method, just use the adapter ring.  The extra holes will never show if you decide to go back to the HB or to a standard Tele neck or >even to a Strat neck pickup (hint hint hint hint....)  

given the number of holes already existing on the body for mounting the pickguard maybe i am making too much of a fuss about putting in two or four more holes.

>The problem with that, is if you need to mount the pickup low... you've got the thickness of the adapter ring to contend with.  The one I saw was >flat, and 1/16 inch thick.  Not too bad, but... if you really need it to be low, that 1/16 inch will come in handy.

i am only thinking of a flat ring - maybe the same thickness as a pickguard or maybe even thinner. is 'single ply' thinner than 'triple ply' etc?

>I'm wondering if W will cut you a pickguard with only the mini hum opening in it, then you can transfer the mounting holes from your existing >pickguard to the new one?

but there was no reply from W about the specifics of their thinline pickguard and its compatibility with non-W bodies.

 

[vtpcnk]

>If I could get a texas special neck pickup, hands down I'd mount it in a tele, since its probable the best single coil neck pickup on the market, >bar none.  I hate to get the set, and then cannibalize it...

you dont have to do it yourself - somebody is already doing it for you

"stratosphere"/"reliablefender" regularly puts used (and often mint) individual texas specials on auction on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/USA-Fender-Stratocaster-TEXAS-SPECIAL-Strat-PICKUP-NR_W0QQitemZ190366647966QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item2c52bc869e

 

[vtpcnk]

btw for those who are not aware of this fender in its 'hotrod' tele (with mini-hb and single coil) uses 375k pots.

these pots are not easily found - but you can get it at : http://www.darrenriley.com/fenderparts.htm