Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Talk about modding or building your own guitar from scratch.
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Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Sat May 13, 2017 12:16 pm

Anyone have this in their Jaguars? Does it sound good? Do you have sound clips?

curious to try this out. I know I'll need to route though.

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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by CorporateDisguise » Sun May 14, 2017 4:25 am

No, but it sounds like a great idea.

I'm pretty sure Crackwhore has a mini hum in the neck. Maybe Pat will chime in.

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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by s_mcsleazy » Sun May 14, 2017 8:06 am

my bandmate has a jazzmaster clone with mini-buckers. the thing sounds pretty beefy. i think on a jag it would come down to the strings you use but i'm guessing it would add some bass to the sound
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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by JVG » Tue May 16, 2017 12:47 am

I've got SD Antiquity II in a jag, and I love them. The body is from a Cobain model, so it didn't need any extra routing. I'll put up some pics of it soon, I'm just waiting on a new pickguard to arrive.

Anyway, I think they're fantastic (and underrated) pickups, especially in the neck position. They have really great character. I wouldn't say they're better than jag pickups, just different. Not quite as bright, but still fairly lively. I play mainly with clean or moderately overdriven sounds. I'm not sure how they respond to a heap of distortion.

One major difference you'll notice between jag pickups and firebirds is the lack of single coil twang on the wound strings.

As a side note, previously I tried SD mini humbuckers, but they were a bit dark/dull for my taste.

If you don't mind hacking into your body to accommodate them, I'd totally recommend experimenting with them.

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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by NICQ » Tue May 16, 2017 3:04 am

I have installed 2 firebird pickups in a Telecaster:

Image

They're David Barfuss Firebird Pickups (not Mini Humbuckers)

Sound great - very lively and clear, still have a bit more mids and bass like a cross between Single Coil and Humbuckers, not as much mids as a p90 though
hard to describe - warmer Single Coils maybe or clearer Humbuckers..

no sound clips unfortunately - guitar is disassembled right now (re-painting the body)...

Hardtail tele is not comparable to a Jag though... would be interesting with the tremolo and bridge - should be thinner and more metallic sounding maybe

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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by danbind » Tue May 16, 2017 9:51 am

Read Curtis Novak's description of Firebird pickup configuration on his site. A completely different animal than a minihum.
remember / to kick it over

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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by Embenny » Thu May 18, 2017 7:48 am

danbind wrote:Read Curtis Novak's description of Firebird pickup configuration on his site. A completely different animal than a minihum.
Yeah, they bear a superficial similarity ("small humbucker") with virtually no construction/tonal similarities, much like a Jazzmaster pickup vs a P90 ("wide single-coil").
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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by JVG » Thu May 25, 2017 10:04 pm

Got the pickguard sorted (though it's not quite as snug a fit as I hoped...oh the perils of the Jag pickguard!)

SD Antiquity II Firebird pickups. I love them, and recommend them as a great alternative to Jag pickups. I buffed them first, because I didn't want the aged appearance for this guitar.

It started life as a Cobain body. I installed a bright switch, and changed the wiring to the standard Jag scheme (except for the toggle of course). I've got a "standard" control plate from Faction, which I will get chromed soon and put in place of the Cobain plate. [Insert rant about the difficulty in finding lefty Fender parts...]

For the record, it's a Musikraft neck. Reverse decal, just to mess with your mind!


Image

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Image

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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Thu May 25, 2017 11:16 pm

That is LOVELY J!!
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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by CorporateDisguise » Fri May 26, 2017 2:27 am

Wow, that is beautiful! Chrome 4 dayz.

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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by JVG » Fri May 26, 2017 5:29 pm

Thanks guys. I think it looks pretty good too, although the motive for installing these pickups was purely about the sound. Admittedly it doesn't really sound like a Jag anymore, but it doesn't sound like anything else either, which I'm pleased about.

Actually I'm getting very curious about trying FB pickups in a Jazzmaster next. Hmmmm....

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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by Gavanti » Fri May 26, 2017 5:34 pm

I've had them in both the bridge and neck positions of a JM, and they sound great. Love the Jag project!

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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by bubble gloves » Sat May 27, 2017 12:39 pm

Image

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I can't remember exactly what I did with this one...
Ebony fretboard, Mahogany body, Lollar pickups, Tim Schroeder fret job, Marty Bell finishing....
Rock solid guitar with beautiful tone.

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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by Unicorn Warrior » Sat May 27, 2017 3:31 pm

So we have two now, but what do they sound like? Let's hear them

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Re: Anyone have firebird/mini-hums in their Jaguar?

Post by Larry Mal » Wed Mar 25, 2020 2:57 pm

Bumping this thread- does anyone know where I would find a pickguard that would accommodate Firebird pickups in a Jaguar?
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