Post
by Embenny » Fri Apr 07, 2023 9:47 am
In my experience, the magnetic core of a pickup and its inductance are the two primary factors that determine how it sounds, with the number of coils then coming in third.
Typical Fender pickups always have an alnico magnet acting as the polepiece, while typical Gibson pickups have steel polepieces charged by bar magnets underneath the bobbin. That's the main split between the two "families." This impacts the pick attack and dynamic response more than anything, with alnico polepieces having a very sharp attack and steel polepieces having a blunted but heavier-feeling attack.
The inductance then sets the resonant frequency and voice of the pickup. A lot of P90s have similar inductance to PAFs, for example, so they have a similar midrange emphasis and can be used pretty interchangeably with similar amp settings.
Lastly, the number of coils. Picking up the string at two different points leads to the loss of some upper harmonics, and introduces some compression into the dynamic response. E.g. a P90 with the same inductance as a PAF has a bit more sparkle and a bit wider of a dynamic range.
Firebird pickups, with their alnico polepieces, end up sounding like a Fender pickup of equivalent inductance, but with a bit less sparkle and a bit more compression. They are to Fender single coils what PAFs are to P90s. Because they're narrower than PAFs, there's even a bit less of that high-end cancelation, and because the bobbins are so narrow, they are traditionally wound on the lighter side, dropping their inductance closer to Fender pickups than, say, a WRHB with its larger, heavier-wound and higher-inductance coils.
A Firebird pickup wound light enough comes really close to a Fender single coil tone. So much so, in fact, that Mojotone's "quiet coil" are just Firebird pickups shrunk down even narrower to fit into a Fender footprint, and end up sounding close enough to be marketed as "noiseless single coils."
So that's roughly what you get with a vintage wound (~6.5k/42 AWG) Firebird pickup. A slightly louder, slightly fuller, slightly compressed Fender tone.
It's one of my favourite pickups. I love the vintage wind for its Fendery vibe, and moderately overwound versions strike a near-perfect balance between traditional Fender and Gibson tones, since their inductance lands closer to PAF/P90 territory, but the pick attack keeps that "Fender" feel.
But to loop back around to Kinmans, the reason I buy these pickups, even for a guitar that could fit a Firebird like my Jazzmaster, is because that extra sparkle and reduced compression that you get with a Fender single coil is something that I still appreciate, and there aren't many winders out there who have figured out how to maintain those qualities in a noiseless design. If I A/B my Kinmans against my Firebirds, the differences can really be felt. FBs are noiseless and Fendery, but they're still not "noiseless Fender pickups."
Having said that, I've got another pair of Firebirds under PAF covers on its way for one of my Flying Vs, because I just plain prefer Firebirds to any of the standard-format Gibson pickups. I also prefer them to WRHBs, whose wider-spaced polepieces and larger, heavier-wound bobbins push the inductance up into more of a thicker "Gibson" tone, despite keeping the dynamic response of magnetic polpieces. Firebirds simply sound closer to Fender pickups than WRHBs do.
Edit: a bunch more posts happened before I posted this...this was meant as an indirect reply to Iffymiffy.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.
