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Thread: Mini Humbucker of possible interest...

  1. #1
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    Mini Humbucker of possible interest...

    I have been fishing around for a bit more vintage style pickup for an ES-style bass, and when I saw these I almost fell out of my chair:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hot-Mini-Chr...0AAOSwBahVcYYU

    What the heck was a Seymour Duncan stamp doing on the bottom of a cheap Asian pickup? I have heard of people using the real SD minis as a drop in replacement pickup on T-Bird basses, and know that they the real ones have bar magnets, so they are at least ballpark suitable for both bass and guitar.

    So I bought couple, and they arrived today. Sure enough, one had the Seymour logo on the bottom, exactly like the pics on evilbay. The other did not have the logo. They both have four leads so you run the coils in serial, parallel, out of phase or single coil. Lots of possibilities. Both measured 7K. If you use two of these you'd want separate volume controls or a blend pot to get balanced output.

    They don't have the high quality braided shield covering the leads that genuine SD's have...and although they use the same wire colors as SD, the colors don't seem to mean the same thing. On these the red and green wires are joined, and the black is joined to the uninsulated ground wire. On real SD's the white and black would be one coil and green and red the other, so green and red would not be connected.

    I could not resist popping one open when it got here. Inside there were two coils wrapped around a bar, just like in the real ones. Under them was what appears to be an Alnico bar magnet.

    They are more or less as advertised by the seller. That does not mean they are SDs, nor does it mean they will sound good in a bass. Still, at the price, if they sound like crappy, at least I won't have spent the house payment on them.

    Will report as I learn more about them as I know more... but since my build is likely to go slow, may not have a sound check for some time to come.
    Last edited by fender3x; 10-03-2016 at 12:10 PM.

  2. #2
    GAStronomist wokkaboy's Avatar
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    Rich, price is very reasonable but you won't know the quality of the pickups till they are functioning.
    As you say if they end up being rubbish you have only wasted about $20 for the pair
    Current Builds and status
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  3. #3
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    That's basically how I feel about them. The real SD's are over 6x the price. Wilkinsons are 3-4x the price. So for $20, if they don't sound good they'll make nice paperweights, and I'll probably put a set of these in it:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wilkinson-WM...cAAOSw5dNWmoTk

    Not a bad price but still three times what a set of these cheap-o's cost me.

  4. #4
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    If the magnet is black its ceramic if its silver its alnico

  5. #5
    GAStronomist wokkaboy's Avatar
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    good advice Tony, thought you were away, maybe you have wifi or mobile coverage where you are staying

    thought you were a Saints fan mate, that's what happens when you upset DB hahah
    Current Builds and status
    scratch end grain pine tele - first clear coat on !
    JBA-4 - assembled - final tweaks
    Telemonster double scale tele - finish tobacco burst on body and sand neck

    Completed builds
    scratch oak.rose gum Jazzmaster - assembled needs setup
    MK-2 Mosrite - assembled - play in
    Ash tele with Baritone neck - neck pup wiring tweaks and play in

  6. #6
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    Have 2bars on the phone wok I can keep my eye on DB
    Been pouring rain allday so look like the wild man from Borneo mud from A2B

  7. #7
    Moderator dingobass's Avatar
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    And just wait for Woks latest avatar update.......

    There is always a workaround for glitches, mistakes and other Guitar building gremlins.....

  8. #8
    GAStronomist wokkaboy's Avatar
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    I'm waiting for the avatar update DB, remember the deal we (I) made hahha
    Current Builds and status
    scratch end grain pine tele - first clear coat on !
    JBA-4 - assembled - final tweaks
    Telemonster double scale tele - finish tobacco burst on body and sand neck

    Completed builds
    scratch oak.rose gum Jazzmaster - assembled needs setup
    MK-2 Mosrite - assembled - play in
    Ash tele with Baritone neck - neck pup wiring tweaks and play in

  9. #9
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tonyw View Post
    If the magnet is black its ceramic if its silver its alnico
    Click image for larger version. 

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    In that case it's ceramic. When I took a good look at the magnet, I also noticed that it was cracked.

    Communicating my displeasure with the seller. $20 poorer, but a little wiser. Not a good alternative.

    Will most likely spring for the Wilkinsons evenentually--unless others have a better idea?

  10. #10
    Moderator fender3x's Avatar
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    So, since that was a bust... what do you folks think about these pickups? I see that they make a full sized bar HB, as well as a mini-HB for firebirds. Since this seems to be an Australian mfg, I am guessing some of you have had experience with them?

    http://mrfabulous.com.au/index.php?r...ategory&path=3
    Last edited by fender3x; 12-03-2016 at 03:46 AM.

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