Mini-humbucker
Encyclopedia
The mini-humbucker is a humbucking guitar pickup (used in electric guitar
s) originally created by The Epiphone Company
. This pickup resembles a small Gibson
PAF humbucker
although, it is constructed differently and produces clearer, brighter tones that are quite unlike typical Gibson sounds, and fits well between single coils and full-sized humbuckers in the tonal spectrum. It is frequently used in jazz guitars, mounted under the fingerboard or on the pickguard.
The mini-humbucker pickup was acquired by Gibson after their purchase of Epiphone in the late 50s. After this acquisition Gibson began using the pickup on various models. They continued to use them on many Epiphone
electric guitars (now manufactured under license for Gibson) and several of Gibson's archtop jazz guitars. A slightly different variation of the mini-humbuckers were used on Gibson Firebird
guitars, thus giving them a very distinctive tone.
The Firebird pickup uses a pair of long 'rail' magnets whereas the Les Paul Deluxe mini-humbucker uses individual magnets for pole pieces. The Les Paul Deluxe mini-humbucker has adjustment screws for the pole pieces; the Firebird mini-humbucker does not.
In the 1970s, mini-humbuckers replaced Gibson's original P-90
single-coil pickups on several of Gibson's budget guitar models, as well as the Les Paul Deluxe: the size and shape meant that it could fit very comfortably into the space occupied by the P-90, so no extra routing was required in the solid body guitars. Only select re-issue Gibson models are still made with Mini-Humbuckers, as they are less popular than standard humbuckers.
A mini-humbucker type of pickup design is also used for the pickups in Rickenbacker
650 guitars and 4004 basses.
A number of third party manufacturers make mini-humbucker replacement pickups. Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, Guitar Fetish, Chris Klein, Curtis Novak and Jason Lollar as of 2011 have replacement mini-humbuckers.
Pete Townsend of The Who used a number of Gibson Les Paul Deluxe guitars in the 1970's that featured the mini-humbucker.
Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy) and Barry Bailey (Atlanta Rhythm Section) are users of the mini-humbucker.
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s) originally created by The Epiphone Company
Epiphone
The Epiphone Company is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. Epiphone was bought by Chicago Musical Instrument Company, which also owned Gibson Guitar Corporation, in 1957. Epiphone was Gibson's main rival in the archtop market...
. This pickup resembles a small Gibson
Gibson Guitar Corporation
The Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
PAF humbucker
PAF (pickup)
P.A.F. or just PAF is the world's first humbucker guitar pickup, invented by Seth Lover in 1955 as an engineer for Gibson and began use in mass production guitars in 1956 or 1957. However Rickenbacker and Gretsch had developed humbucking pickups also...
although, it is constructed differently and produces clearer, brighter tones that are quite unlike typical Gibson sounds, and fits well between single coils and full-sized humbuckers in the tonal spectrum. It is frequently used in jazz guitars, mounted under the fingerboard or on the pickguard.
The mini-humbucker pickup was acquired by Gibson after their purchase of Epiphone in the late 50s. After this acquisition Gibson began using the pickup on various models. They continued to use them on many Epiphone
Epiphone
The Epiphone Company is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. Epiphone was bought by Chicago Musical Instrument Company, which also owned Gibson Guitar Corporation, in 1957. Epiphone was Gibson's main rival in the archtop market...
electric guitars (now manufactured under license for Gibson) and several of Gibson's archtop jazz guitars. A slightly different variation of the mini-humbuckers were used on Gibson Firebird
Gibson Firebird
The Gibson Firebird is a solid-body electric guitar manufactured by Gibson from 1963 to the present.-History:The Gibson Guitar Corporation released several new styles during the 1950s to compete with Fender's instruments, such as the Telecaster and Stratocaster. After success with the Les Paul in...
guitars, thus giving them a very distinctive tone.
The Firebird pickup uses a pair of long 'rail' magnets whereas the Les Paul Deluxe mini-humbucker uses individual magnets for pole pieces. The Les Paul Deluxe mini-humbucker has adjustment screws for the pole pieces; the Firebird mini-humbucker does not.
In the 1970s, mini-humbuckers replaced Gibson's original P-90
P-90
The P-90 is a single coil electric guitar pickup produced by Gibson since 1946. Having a more complex architecture and larger dimensions than Fender's single coils, it is occasionally mistaken for a humbucker.- History :...
single-coil pickups on several of Gibson's budget guitar models, as well as the Les Paul Deluxe: the size and shape meant that it could fit very comfortably into the space occupied by the P-90, so no extra routing was required in the solid body guitars. Only select re-issue Gibson models are still made with Mini-Humbuckers, as they are less popular than standard humbuckers.
A mini-humbucker type of pickup design is also used for the pickups in Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker
Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker, is an electric and bass guitar manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California...
650 guitars and 4004 basses.
A number of third party manufacturers make mini-humbucker replacement pickups. Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, Guitar Fetish, Chris Klein, Curtis Novak and Jason Lollar as of 2011 have replacement mini-humbuckers.
Noteable Users
Johnny Winter has used a Gibson Firebird guitar since the late 1960's. His tone is centered on the Firebird mini-humbucker.Pete Townsend of The Who used a number of Gibson Les Paul Deluxe guitars in the 1970's that featured the mini-humbucker.
Scott Gorham (Thin Lizzy) and Barry Bailey (Atlanta Rhythm Section) are users of the mini-humbucker.