New Jazzmaster build- minibucker suggestion

[SlingeroGuitaro]

I have told myself that every guitar I build will be something that none of my others can come close to.

i will be ordering a swamp ash Jazzmaster routed for 3 mini humbuckers, a 5 way switch in the upper horn, a side input and will have strat-like tone/volume controls. 

i've never used mini humbuckers, i have never played a guitar equipped with them, and i dont know where one is. my goal is to have a super switch to split the coils of the humbuckers in the 2/4 positions.

i'm not one for truly vintage tones, i enjoy a little higher output pups with a more crispy midrange. i am open to any suggestions. what are some of your favorites?

 

[big bob]

I have a three mini hum heritage 170,  jason

Lollars all the way

 

[SlingeroGuitaro]

How do you like them? Are the cleans and dirties? Have you split the coils? How do they compare to a set of p90's?

I've only ever heard that mini's are comparable to p90's and originally thought about putting some in this build, but like I said- always build something different, and ive got a couple p90 setups.

This guitar will have a hardtail (probably vintage strat), and a reverse CBS, fatback neck.

 

[OzziePete]

Take the time to doa  little research into what you want.

There are two types of Mini Hums that are popularly available, after market.

1) Is the type that usually sits within a P90 cover/mounting ring like in the photo in the post above, and the pickup has polepieces.These first showed up on the Gibson Les Paul Deluxe in 1969, though a similar looking pickup was on older Epiphone guitars prior to Gibson taking Epiphone over in 1958 or so.

2) The Firebird mini humbucker , which is usually a non polepiece pickup with a chrome or gold cover, and  a specialised sized mounting ring to match. These first appeared on the Gibson Firebird in the early 60s....

Both are humbucking, both sit somewhere tonally between the P90/Strat single coil and a humbucker (PAF style). The Deluxe versions are usually hotter in DC resistance, but that throws them more into humbucker territory, while the Firebirds are quite a weaker humbucking pickup and do get quite single coil in sound. DC resistance is not the be all and end all of how hot a poickup may be, and I think the Firebirds might have had Alnico magnets while the Deluxes housed Ceramics....

My suggestion for you would be to look at what guitars pleased you the most over the years and what pickups they had. If the answer is a single coil type pickup, then it may be better  to head in the direction of a Firebird pickup, but if you have a leaning towards Gibson LPs and so on, then maybe the slightly hotter version of the Deluxes are more for you.

Of course, nowadays, the after market pickups can be a lot hotter than the production models, so there may be hotter Firebird pickups around and less potent Deluxes.......the choice is yours I guess.

Because they are smaller in housing than the usual humbucker it is natural that you cannot get as many coil winds on the pickup and that will affect how these sound inherently.

From my own experience I can say though, that a Firebird pickup - a good one - is a mighty angry little ant when put to a cranked amp. Ask Neil Young if you don't believe me!

They are interesting pickups but because they are 'left of centre', routings for them are sporadic, even throughout the Warmoth body range (You cannot get a pickguard for a Jazzmaster made for mini hums, by Warmoth, for example. Don't ask me why I have asked twice within 5 years and the answer is still NO.... :dontknow: ). I also don't believe they would sound too great when split, or the humbucker wiring coupled up in parallel. In fact, I'm pretty sure they'd sound anaemic.

 

[SlingeroGuitaro]

I do a lot of studio work here, and I've always believed one of the reasons I get the work I do is because I dont make a record with 'tricks' or that I have some slick approach to mixing-My goal has always been to make records with professional instruments designed to inspire and allow an artist to speak creatively. I know too many people that pick up a Strat and immediately play Hendrix or SRV licks. I try to say 'Instead of recording with an SG, which many people have, let's record that line with this Strat with a sound modeled after an SG.' my process isn't necessarily to make everything completely ambiguous but I don't want a person to listen to music I've produced and immediately recognize something as a Strat, tele, etc.

I had the thought of splitting the coils to add some total flexibility. I was thinking of first trying this combo:
1)neck
2)outside neck/full middle
3)middle
4)inside bridge/full middle
5)bridge

I have this setup with some medium output single sized humbuckers in a Strat- it keeps the split positions from quacking but gives a more classic Strat sound that the humbuckers can

I guess what I'm trying to accomplish with this build is have a guitar that will cut through in the midrange, can handle medium to high Bain settings but has enough bottom to handle itself alone.

I'm not a huge fan of les paul or prs type sounds. I prefer 335's, sg's, strats and teles for the music I write and produce. I had contemplated full sized humbuckers in this guitar but I was wanting to use this 5-way switch system and I'm not sure how 3 full sized would look on this body.


...Ive been spraying nitro all day and my brain is fuzza and all over the place. I'll make this more coherent in the morning when I'm not typing on my iPhone.

 

[big bob]

How do you like them? Are the cleans and dirties? Have you split the coils? How do they compare to a set of p90's?

I've only ever heard that mini's are comparable to p90's and originally thought about putting some in this build, but like I said- always build something different, and ive got a couple p90 setups.

This guitar will have a hardtail (probably vintage strat), and a reverse CBS, fatback neck.

sorry for the slow response, I like the lollars a lot. They are hotter than the old gibsons, and can get real gritty cranked. The clean sounds are brighter than a p-90 and have a twang. The pickups have an imedate attack, and a long slow delay. pinch harmonics work great. They are punchy and chimey. can you go to a store and play some.. Thats what I would do.