Modding my Custom Shop '06 Firebird V

[bonzoboy]

Even though my '06 Custom Shop Sunburst sounds absolutely incredible with the Probucker pickups,I had a set of '64 style Firebird Mini Humbuckers made by Craig Vineham.Craigs pickups are just plain fabulous and his PAF Sweet V-59s are the best PAF type pickups that I ever heard.I had him make 3 for my Epi SG bodied '61 Les Paul Custom tribute and they were just plain breathtaking in their tone-she had the authentic PAF tone that Michael Bloomfield got from his lovely '59 Les Paul on his iconic "It's Not Killing Me" album.Anyway getting back to the mini humbuckers,Craig wound them to '64 specs so that I'll get the Strat-like single coil like sound that Brian Jones got from his Firebird VII on the Ed Sullivan Show back in 1964 and on Stones albums from the era.I will also be able to emulate the raunchy tone that Johnny Winter gets from his Firebird V on his covers of the Stones' "Stray Cat Blues","Silver Train" and other Stones' songs that he blows out of the water.I have been looking for an adapter and Stew-Mac got back to me right away with news that next week they'll be coming out with a pickup surround that will allow me to put the mini-hums in the full size humbucker size pickup bezel.I can't wait to hear what she will sound like with the Vineham pickups in her,I know that everyone who has heard the Epi Les Paul Custom since I got the Vinehams has been blown away. A buddy of mine has all of his Les Pauls,his Les Paul Jr.,his Ibanez and all his Strats equipped with Vineham pickups because the Les Paul pickups give him the closest thing to an original PAF that he can get-and only for $60 each-his Les Paul Jr. has the real Leslie West tone nailed down and the Strats have a full "L" series ('62-'65) Strat tone,he swears by Vinehams and he says that whatever the guitar,Vinehams always better the stock pickups.I hope to be able to post a sound demo of the Mini hums when I get them installed so that you all can hear the difference in the tone.

[crust]

The selection of available pickups to improve the overall sound and performance over and above the stock ones installed by Epiphone seems to be (to me) a thriving market. Sound like you found a winner

[bonzoboy]

I really have mixed feelings about changing the pickups because the Firebird as it is,sounds just like a mid 60s SG and I love that tone,but then again I always loved the tone of the old Gibson mini-hums.I'm hoping someday in the future to buy a used Firebird Studio and spray paint over the worn Cherry or worn Ebony finish-which I never did like-with a gloss finish and put the mini-hums in that and reinstall the Pro-Buckers in the Custom Shop Firebird.

[Scott Marlowe]

I really have mixed feelings about changing the pickups because the Firebird as it is,sounds just like a mid 60s SG and I love that tone,but then again I always loved the tone of the old Gibson mini-hums.I'm hoping someday in the future to buy a used Firebird Studio and spray paint over the worn Cherry or worn Ebony finish-which I never did like-with a gloss finish and put the mini-hums in that and reinstall the Pro-Buckers in the Custom Shop Firebird.

 

I really like a single coil bridge, mini-humbucker neck setup. GFS makes a pretty inexpensive tele with that setup that I'm sorely tempted by. Even if it took a better mini-humbucker to get what you wanted sound wise, it wouldn't be too expensive. The Epi G-400 with tapped humbuckers is interesting for this reason too.

 

I've seriously considered putting a mini humbucker in my dual p-90 SG for the neck position.

[bonzoboy]

The Vineham mini-humbuckers only cost me $160 a pair.I put a set of 3 of his Sweet V-59 PAF pickups in my G-400 Les Paul Custom and even though I thought that the guitar sounded great as it was,with the V-59s it sounds incredible.I was blown away that 3 pickups that sound identical to the best of the PAF Les Pauls only cost me $180.