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Re: Firebird pickups in offsets

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 2:33 am
by Embenny
ThePearDream wrote:
Wed Mar 13, 2019 6:03 pm
Don't rush on my account. Are you happy with the standard FB set you got?
My switch on that guitar (Blacktop Jaguar) broke, so while I'm waiting for its replacement, only the bridge position is currently working. I decided to gamble on a cheap switch from eBay for once, and it's been on a slow boat from china for like a month. Hopefully it gets here soon.

The bridge pickup is great though. It's kind of what I've always hoped WRHBs would sound like but they never did. It's thicker than my Fender single coils, has more mids but not in a hyped or overwound way, but still has that immediacy to the string attack that you only get with alnico polepieces, and much more clarity to the treble than a PAF.

Compared to a TV Classic Plus, my favourite side-by-side bridge humbuckers, it's got more midrange, more bass, and more output, along with a smoother string attack, but it isn't any less clear-sounding. It's less clangy and percussive, less sharp, and more throaty, kind of like when you compare a Telecaster bridge pickup to a Strat.

I don't have any other Firebirds to compare it to at the moment, though. Fab winds his FBs with 43 AWG rather than the vintage 42, but targets a similar output wind. This renders the resistance useless when comparing to 42 AWG pickups, as his read a couple of kohm higher without necessarily being overwound or higher output. The conventional wisdom is that thinner wire gives more midrange, but that isn't necesssrily true - it's just often used by winders in order to overwind pickups by fitting more turns onto the space of a given bobbin.

So, I'm not sure how it would compare head to head with a vintage wound 42 AWG Lollar, for example, but I really hate overwound/mid-heavy humbuckers, and I really like this one. Overall, it succeeded at what I hoped it would - being a very clear-sounding humbucker that sounds different from any of my other current pickups. Hopefully I'll be able to report on the neck pickup and the Big Birds soon.

Re: Firebird pickups in offsets

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 4:20 am
by elektrovac
I made this a few years back. Body is semi hollow mahogany with maple top, pretty much Gibsonish spces all the way. It was inspired by Neil Young's Old Black. The Firebird pickup is a Fralin. Colour is 1970/80s Mercedes-Benz Manganbraun Metallic.

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Re: Firebird pickups in offsets

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:46 am
by ThePearDream
elektrovac, that is gorgeous! Super tasteful.

mbene085, that all sounds pretty promising. I went ahead and ordered a pair of the Big Birds since they were on sale on Reverb. I'll put them in my red Talman, so I can free up the current pickups for another project.

Re: Firebird pickups in offsets

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 8:16 am
by Embenny
ThePearDream wrote:
Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:46 am
elektrovac, that is gorgeous! Super tasteful.

mbene085, that all sounds pretty promising. I went ahead and ordered a pair of the Big Birds since they were on sale on Reverb. I'll put them in my red Talman, so I can free up the current pickups for another project.
Nice, I hope you like them. I'm curious to find out how similar mine end up sounding to the regular-sized ones. Hopefully different enough to justify keeping.

FYI his standard cover is usually nickel. If you want chrome, you have to specify. Mine were going in a Jag so I specified chrome for the BBs to match the plates. I forgot to do the same for the regular sized ones...blacktops only have one plate but it irks me that they don't match. You might want to match the jack plate on the Talman so I thought I'd point that out.

And I agree, that Old Black JM is superb.

Re: Firebird pickups in offsets

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 8:23 am
by ThePearDream
The Reverb listing says they have chrome covers, but I guess I'll have to wait and see. I do have spare nickel Talman plates I can use if I have to...

Re: Firebird pickups in offsets

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 9:18 am
by Embenny
Oh, good. If the listing specified chrome you should be fine. I ordered from his website and the default turned out to be nickel.

Re: Firebird pickups in offsets

Posted: Sun Mar 17, 2019 10:27 am
by MC3
I almost immediately think Neil Young when I think firebird pickup, and that jazzmaster above is just amazing.

Re: Firebird pickups in offsets

Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2023 6:40 am
by npfrs
Finished this up earlier this year

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