Gibson Mini Humbuckers: what amp do you use?

[Col Mustard]

Well, mods... that was fast service.
From a señor member's request for there to be a Pickup Lounge among these rooms
to an established place to discuss animal magnetism et al...
... in only a few hours. That was fast service.

SOMEBODY MENTION ANIMAL MAGNETISM?

No, down boy, this is a pickup thread.


Specifically, I'm just wondering what kind of experiences and/or opinions this community
might have about Gibson Mini Humbuckers. I never played a set of them until 2013 when
I bought a marked down and discontinued attempt on Gibson's part to mount, market and
move these p'ups in an SG or a Les Paul. That attempt was repeated with more success in
the 2016 line with the SG special T and the Gibson Les Paul Deluxe.

I believe that the venerable Firebird has had minis all along. Just rocking as usual.
The pickups themselves were invented by Epiphone Engineers working in Philadelphia in
the middle fifties... about the time Gibson Engineers came up with the Humbucking pickup.
AND just before Gibson bought the whole Epiphone company and all of their equipment, parts, inventory and patents for $20,000... which happened in 1957.

Originally equipped on Epiphone guitars like the Wilshire and Crestwood, and on some Jazz guitars...
The mini hum bucker has been around as long as its larger cousin IMHO and has given good service
all along, but never been as widespread or widely accepted and used.

Anyway, I like mine. Here's Rod Capps playing my SG with minis to accompany me.

https://soundcloud.com/michael-hough-5/wind-chimes-and-trains

What experiences can you offer.... positive or negative.
Specifically, what amp do you like to run them through? My SG seems to love to play through
the Blackheart Little Giant, as well as my good ol' Vox VT-30 which is what's on that song,
Wind Chimes and Trains.

 

[RVA]

I was going to say I was not a big fan until I heard your clip. Now it is clear I have no idea what I am talking about! Nice song.

That said, I think you have to proceed with caution when playing them. My experience is that they break up quickly and can be ice-picky if not dialed in with care.

 

[shreddy bender]

Hi Col! I had my SG III for 14 years and Sunny sounded like a Strat on steroids through any tube amp I put her through. The louder the amp the better.

They were "tarback" minis from the early 70's. My only experience with minis... They had their charm! ( And chime).

 

[eSGEe]

THe Girl.........in the second pic.......seriously ---- got her number?????

 

[shreddy bender]

Yeah... Looks like she's incognito- she's wearing a wig!

 

[Col Mustard]

My experience with this excellent SG and the new mini hums has been very positive. They can be bright,
but the tone controls work. And the instrument has a great growl in the lower frequencies, so I don't feel limited
in any particular frequency. I would never describe these new blade-sensor minis as anything like an ice pick.

I never play loud, as loud is described on this forum (playing outside with a professional PA in a large venue).
So I actually don't know how this rig would behave if I did. My VT-30 gets louder than I'll ever need, as does
my little Orange Micro Terror. The Blackheart seems to really let the minis sing, and gets quite loud in
my practice room. I like the tone of it, and bought a Sennheiser 609 to mic it and send that to the P.A.
So the 5 W amp is not handicapped by its smaller out put. It's very handy to carry in and set up, so I've
used it onstage a few times.

Anybody use these at "band volume..." as we say around here?

 

[Col Mustard]

THe Girl.........in the second pic.......seriously ---- got her number?????

you mean this one?


...you know what it is. 6-3-4-5-7-8-9

 

[Lineboat]

I'm tickled to see this section added so quickly too! Great job guys, and thank you!

As for the mini humbuckers, they're what put me into a Les Paul fever a few years ago. An older gentleman I know runs a local vintage instrument and repair shop. He had a '76 LP with minis and an AC30 in there on consignment. I played them both and fell in love with the amp and the sound. The guitar felt great and had that well used look that I like, but I thought it was the amp I wanted. He contacted the owner and I took it home, without the LP. After plugging in my Strat, Tele, and everything else I had at that time, I knew it wasn't just the amp. I called him back with intention of putting the LP on my credit card, but it has already sold!
I was sick.
Anyway, the tone of that guitar was something I felt inside, and something I haven't forgotten. If the new minis sound anything like those old ones they're awesome. I'll come across another LP like that one sometime and it'll come home with me.

 

[Col Mustard]

so.... Minis and an AC-30?
seems like that's one you'd want to keep, once you got your paws on a good one.
I'm fond of the VT-30, and it's got an AC-30 model on it... *grins
But my favorite model on the VT-30 is the Fender Deluxe.

The mini hums rip... through that preset. I'd love to play this little darlin'
through a real one. But $$$$$$$$$$

However; since this is a Mini Hum thread, tell us more juicy details about
how the Les Paul Deluxe sounded through the Vox.

AFAIK, the pickups used in '70s Les Pauls were not like what we have now. They had
regular magnet-and-bobbin setups, like a regular HB, and with adjustable pole pieces.

The new ones have a blade sensor instead of pole pieces... Gibson claims they are a new
design. They are now all the same issue pickups: Firebird, Les Paul Deluxe and SG use the
same ones. I checked.

I'm curious about players who have these other instruments, and how the minis work for
them. Nobody ever said Firebirds suck, did they?

 

[Biddlin]

I've never understood the "hate" for mini-hums. The ones I've played have been very sweet, indeed.

 

[Lineboat]

so.... Minis and an AC-30?
seems like that's one you'd want to keep, once you got your paws on a good one.
I'm fond of the VT-30, and it's got an AC-30 model on it... *grins
But my favorite model on the VT-30 is the Fender Deluxe.

The mini hums rip... through that preset. I'd love to play this little darlin'
through a real one. But $$$$$$$$$$

However; since this is a Mini Hum thread, tell us more juicy details about
how the Les Paul Deluxe sounded through the Vox.

AFAIK, the pickups used in '70s Les Pauls were not like what we have now. They had
regular magnet-and-bobbin setups, like a regular HB, and with adjustable pole pieces.

The new ones have a blade sensor instead of pole pieces... Gibson claims they are a new
design. They are now all the same issue pickups: Firebird, Les Paul Deluxe and SG use the
same ones. I checked.

I'm curious about players who have these other instruments, and how the minis work for
them. Nobody ever said Firebirds suck, did they?

I do still have it. It's stashed away in a closet at my parents house. It a sweet piece of equipment, and heavy as a tank. It's not practical to use very often. I let my old 74 Super Reverb go a month or so ago. A neighbor wanted it for a showpiece, and it was doing nothing anyway. The AC30 is a keeper though!

 

[Tony M.]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say a poor choice for minibuckers would be an Altec 417B
loaded blackface Twin Reverb, unless you happen to like brain darts and lost fillings.

 

[smitty_p]

AFAIK, the pickups used in '70s Les Pauls were not like what we have now. They had
regular magnet-and-bobbin setups, like a regular HB, and with adjustable pole pieces.

That is correct. In fact this is true of pretty much all the early minis. There are two varieties, here. Both have adjustable pole pieces in one coil. However, where you may encounter a difference is with the design of the non-adjustable coil. Some use a single steel slug that goes nearly the full length of the bobbin. Others use six, vertical steel slugs. This is much like a PAF.

I believe the LP Deluxe used the style with the single, bar slug in the non-adjustable side.

The new ones have a blade sensor instead of pole pieces... Gibson claims they are a new
design. They are now all the same issue pickups: Firebird, Les Paul Deluxe and SG use the
same ones. I checked.

This may, in fact, be a new design. Traditionally, Firebird minis have not been built like the PAF-style. They consisted of a bar magnet inside of each bobbin. They have no steel pole pieces, just a bar magnet inside each coil.

This new design sounds like it just has steel slugs inside each coil. This makes it a little different from either of the previous varieties.

Apparently, Gibson has employed the marketing-rich description of "blade sensor." Cute. I guess that has more PR value than saying, "Steel Slug."

As for amplificadores, I use my 1974 Gibson SG, with the PAF-style minis, to great effect in a Marshall. It works well in my Fender amp, too. I do have a darker-voiced speaker in my Fender, so I have no treble issues.

I do like the result in a Marshall, though. It can deliver a great snarl without sounding too grainy.

 

[Col Mustard]

well, the new minis have none of that. no pole pieces, no slugs.
they have something different, which Gibson calls a "Blade Sensor." I believe it is a piece of steel
that runs crosswise to the strings, and picks up their vibrations because it's in the field of the coil.

I'm very curious about other players experiences with these. Not so much the old ones, because
I believe they will never be seen again. I'm interested in how members are using the new ones,
and what amps seem right.

 

[Sp8ctre]

This thread came at a perfect time for me...I just had an SG Special T with mini hums it delivered today! I will try her out tomorrow and give my thoughts. I'll run it through my Silkyn tube amp which has a Fender clean on one channel and a Marshall dirty on the other. Then through the Helix until I find a model that kicks ass...or I'll discover they are not so good for me???

 

[smitty_p]

well, the new minis have none of that. no pole pieces, no slugs.
they have something different, which Gibson calls a "Blade Sensor." I believe it is a piece of steel
that runs crosswise to the strings, and picks up their vibrations because it's in the field of the coil.

I'm very curious about other players experiences with these. Not so much the old ones, because
I believe they will never be seen again. I'm interested in how members are using the new ones,
and what amps seem right.

Yeah, that whole "Blade Sensor" name irritates me, though. It's nothing new. Like you say, it's just a single steel slug that runs crosswise to the strings. Gibson has employed it in the non-adjustable coil of certain varieties of their mini-humbuckers since at least the Les Paul Deluxe. The only difference between that and these pickups is that both coils now have the one long steel slug, instead of just one coil.

BTW, Google "blade sensor" and you'll get hit after hit for blade refills for the Gillette Sensor razor!

You'll have to forgive my reaction...I spend a good portion of my day having to separate marketing from real specs, so I'm a little oversensitive to it. If I get it wrong it can cost lots of money.

Anyway, good Colonel. Now, you have piqued my interest, too! I find myself interested in these new mini-hums, as well.

I suppose it would be a fairly easy thing to swap a set into my '74 SG to see the result.

 

[Col Mustard]

the minis fit in the same place as a Gibson P-90. The new ones use the same base plate in the
bottom of the rout. So I could swap a pair of P-90s into my SG special and screw them right into
the base plate... no problem. Except that I like the minis, so they're staying.

There are other makers besides Gibson of course... SD and Lollar for sure, and certainly others.
But I'll bet you could find a set of barely used ones online easily enough. Guitarists are so closed minded
that there's probably lots of players who ordered a guitar with minis online, unplayed, and couldn't
figure out what to do with it once it arrived. Not everyone appreciates a unique tone. *shrugs.

But I do.

 

[Sp8ctre]

My Mini's are staying...maybe Lollars down the road??

 

[Paul G.]

Some notes on history and construction:

Epiphone mini-hums aren't. Before Gibson bought the Epiphone name (and a bunch of unconstructed parts) Epis had Tone-spectrum (Epi name), we call them "New York" pickups. They have adjustable poles on one side, but are actually single coil pickups. They are not respected as they were kind of weak and thin-sounding.

Gibson started making Epiphone guitars on the same lines and in similar models to their own guitars. They did this to allow 2 exclusive franchises in a small area. Gibson dealers got exclusive franchises. If they could sell Epiphones in a nearby shop, more sales! To differentiate between Gibson and Ephiphones, Gibson decided to keep the small pickup look of the Epis, but created mini-humbuckers. These were built exactly like the big ones, six slugs on one coil, 6 adjustable poles on the other, with a bar magnet between, down at the bottom of the pickup. This gives a U-shaped magnetic field, north up on one coil, south up on the other. Reverse wind the coils and your hum is bucked!!

The Firebird pickup is different. When McCarty commissioned the Firebird he though it should have unique pickups. The original Firebird pickup has a blade magnet in each coil, one north up, other south up. There is a steel plate on the bottom to give the same magnetic field as a normal humbucker. Rumor has it that this is essentially 2 Melody Maker pickups in a single cover, configured to make a humbucker. This was done to save money. May or may not be true.

Current Firebird pickups from Gibson (not custom shop) use Ceramic magnets and ridiculous overwind (14k neck, 21k bridge), surprisingly they sound pretty good, especially in the neck. The bridge sounds kind of flat played clean but there's plenty of vintage-style aftermarket.

The plain covered mini-hums are kind of in-between. There is a magnet at the bottom (like a mini or regular hum) and steel blades in the coils. Different way of getting to the same place.

All sound good (except the "New York"), some sound great.

And they have grunt and sparkle, making them sound good in BF/SF Fenders, but great in darker, gainer amps: Tweed Fenders, Brown Fenders and especially Marshalls.

IMO, of course.

 

[Paul G.]

Old style Firebird neck pickup clean -- looks like a solid state Vox Super Beatle amp (get to the solo). Sorry about the lame bass player, where they picked him up, I'll never know:

Old style Firebird bridge and neck pickup a bit dirty: