Best Mini Humbucker Pickups for Warmer Jazz Tone

[tonyd4545]

I have the Epiphone Sorrento 1962 reissue, which I am really digging, but the stock mini humbuckers are way too bright and hot for me. Sometimes I also get tons of buzzing. I'm looking to replace them with a jazz guitar pickup that is not as loud and can achieve warmer tones. I like to hear the wood sound of the guitar as best as possible.

I'm not too well versed in mini pickups so I would love to hear some suggestions from you guys!

Thanks a bunch!

[gitman]

I suspect it's not so much the pickup alone but the diverse design-elements of this particular model Epiphone and possibly also your current setup, i.e. strings, action, volume/tone settings and your amp of course.
Try this :
- a set of medium gauge flatwound strings
- raise the action as far as you're still comfortable with and then a hair more
- check the bridge-base and make sure it makes full contact with the top of the guitar
- raise/lower the pickup to find the sweet spot

The buzzing as you describe it : is it an electrical noise ? In that case there is a bad solder-joint somewhere
in the wiring or maybe the jack doesn't make good contact with the plug of your cable.
You should be able to get a fine mellow sound with this guitar but also take into consideration that it's a thin-body
design so it won't get you the depth and punch of a full-sized archtop.

As for a quality replacement pickup you can ask Kent Armstrong to wind a smooth and mellow sounding
mini-HB - same goes for Lindy Fralin and a few other custom-winders. They don't charge too much (+/- $ 160.00) and you
get really good service from these guys.
Mini-Hums as Gibson designed and made them do sound brighter than the normal-sized humbuckers.

[neatomic]

check out the hofner diamond mini humbuckers...might be hard to find..but great sounding...hammertone?



also guild sells their fine mini hum...

Guild LB-1 Bridge Pickup - Nickel | Guild Guitars


2 great lower wind warmer mini hums...check exact dimensions for fit!!

cheers

[rob taft]

My mini humbuckers of choice are made by Jason Lollar. I have them installed in the neck position in a couple of my guitars.

[neatomic]

My mini humbuckers of choice are made by Jason Lollar. I have them installed in the neck position in a couple of my guitars.

big lollar fan..but they are 350$ a pair..for an epi??

also jl describes them as fatter/hotter...something the op was trying to tone down

not to detract from the actual pickup...just the application

cheers

[jads57]

I use a bridge Minihumbucker in the neckmpositionmof my Tele. The slightly hotter wind makes it a bit warmer.

[cosmic gumbo]

I have a Sorrento RI and the stock Gibson mini humbuckers are only 6.8K. That's not really a hot wind. They are bright by design, even the mini floaters on an expensive carved archtop are bright. It's just what they are.

Maybe 250K pots will warm them up, maybe different caps too. Try lowering the pups. Dialing back the tone and the volume warms things up a bit.

[Hammertone]

check out the hofner diamond mini humbuckers...might be hard to find..but great sounding...hammertone?


...great lower wind warmer mini hums...check exact dimensions for fit!!

The "bridge" version is @5K, the "neck" version @4K - lower wind indeed. They are slightly larger than Gibson-style mini-humbuckers. I have a bunch of them in nickel, with Hofner pickup rings. But I think there are various Gibson-sized minis from aftermarket suppliers like Lollar, SD, Dimarzio, TV Jones, Budz, or old Gibson minis, that would do the job without the potential hassle of fitting a different sized pickup.

[Jim Soloway]

My mini humbuckers of choice are made by Jason Lollar. I have them installed in the neck position in a couple of my guitars.

Agreed but it should be noted that Lollar makes more than one model of minis. Fir warmth you have to specify the PAF version.

[feet]

Lollar pretty pricey, and you aren't getting anything other than what he has. I remember asking about a couple of modifications to the standard set for this very reason and his quote was in the $400 range. I passed, but they did assure me they were warmer and not like the Gibson paf minis of the 70s.

Rio grande offers various riffs on the mini. Never heard any, but maybe worth a look? Rio Grande Pickups:Single Mini-Humbuckers for Guitar

Mojo tone also makes minis. If it were me, I'd shoot them an email and ask if they'd play with the magnet and winding to get what I was after, like they used to do with their full humbuckers.

But after all these years, I'm still managing with my modem Gibson mins, even with my stainless steel bridge and 500k pots. More warmth is something I was always after and never exactly got. I just learned how to appreciate and use their voice and they've been my number one ever since. Nice pots, caps, strings, picks and technique can impart a little more warmth in the cheap. Maybe a wood bridge?

[entresz]

I'd try contacting Pete Biltoft @ Vintage Vibe pickups
he can custom wind you some mini humbuckers that would suit your needs - his prices are really reasonable.
A lot of his pickups are designed with interchangeable magnets too and usually ship with a couple of different magnet types. I.e. if the A5 magnets are too hot you can try some A2s for a smoother sound.

[Jimmy Mack]

A lot of good advice here, even if the answer to the OP's question did not pop up.
We all go thru this. A little more this... a little less that. It's the same in the custom carpentry/construction biz. It can drive you a bit nutz.
So, listen, ask questions, read, and keep on the quest. I think the answer to your quest is not far off.
Yes, the mini's are not the warmest p/ups. But hey, a lot of players want to play Tele's and Strats and coax jazz tones out of them. I think you are farther ahead with the Sorrrento and mini-hums. Plus you have that wooden body to work with. Since when do Epi stock pickups satisfy every need???

[lammie200]

I don't know how the Epi's compare to Gibsons, but the mini humbuckers on my ES-390 have A-2 magnets. They are decently warm but a lot of it has to do with the overall pickup height, the pole pieces heights, and the differences of the heights between the two pickups. My theory is that if you can get the magnets between the two pickups to not pull on the strings at the same time you can get more warmth out of the sound of either pickup and both pickups combined. I would adjust the heck out of the Epi's first to make sure you can't get the tone that you want.

These are a pretty decent price for a pair. Very configurable, too.

Buddha Mini Humbucker Set hand-wound guitar pickup | Reverb

[DRS]

A reasonably priced and excellent mini humucker is the Seymour Duncan Vintage Mini Humbucker SM-1N.
Clear and powerful with defined highs, not shrill, not muddy.
$109 usd


Vintage Mini Humbucker – neck | Seymour Duncan

[jads57]

Peter Biltoft of Vintage Vibe Pickups is wonderful to work with,and fair pricing!

[cosmic gumbo]

FWIW, no mini-humbucker is going to give the same tone of a full sized PAF style humbucker. It just doesn't sample as much string, a mini is more focused.

[broturtel]

Hey there! Well, I have a Loar LH-650. I think that along the line I wanna switch out this pickup. It's a Kent Armstrong mini-humbucking floating pickup. It sounds pretty good but I think I want a tad bit warmer sound. Will a full-sized humbucker be warmer? Would it even be worth it to go to a full-sized humbucker or should I upgrade it to just a better sounding mini-humbucker? I don't know a whole lot about pickups or about gear technicallities(sp) in general.

[Gustavo Eiriz]

Yes. It will be warmer... But it wont be as warm as the same full size humbucker routed into the top.

Enviado desde mi LG-H870 mediante Tapatalk

[cosmic gumbo]

Full size humbucker is the sound folks seem to be looking for, but not very many are available to install as a floater. This KA 12-pole seems to be a popular choice.

[broturtel]

Yes. It will be warmer... But it wont be as warm as the same full size humbucker routed into the top.

Hm, how will this effect the acoustic sound? I also play my archtop acoustically quite a bit.

[gitman]

When installed correctly it won't alter the acoustic sound/response of your guitar. Go to an experienced repairman/luthier and he will take care of it in 30 minutes.

[cosmic gumbo]

When installed correctly it won't alter the acoustic sound/response of your guitar. Go to an experienced repairman/luthier and he will
take care of it in 30 minutes.

Really?? Routing a hole in the top and installing a humbucker won't alter the acoustic sound/response?? I'd double check that advice before giving it.

[rpjazzguitar]

All other things being equal, a full size humbucker would sense a larger length of string, which means slightly less focus on higher harmonics and a warmer sound, at least if I understand the physics.

But, that's not the only way to warm things up. Thicker strings. Flat wounds. Higher action. EQ settings on the amp. Lowering the pickup, if possible (also causes it to sense more string), lowering the pole pieces if they're raised. Even a different pick can help.

One thing I'm not clear about is how much a tone capacitor of a different value might help. If I understand it, and I may not, a different cap value changes the EQ curve as you roll off treble with the tone control. I don't know if it makes a difference when the tone control is at 10. I also don't know if the value of the pot makes much difference.

Anyway, the point is that there are a bunch of different ways to warm things up. If you listen to late 50's and early 60's Jim Hall, you'll hear what I think of as beautiful warmth and he was using a P90 single coil at that time. Not even a humbucker.

[sgosnell]

I personally like the sound of a DeArmond Rhythm Chief floating pickup. Mine sounds warmer (whatever that means) than most of the set humbuckers in other guitars. Of course the pickup isn't the only thing that affects the sound.

I don't think the comment that "it won't affect the acoustic tone" was referring to a routed in humbucker, but to the KA floater, which should have minimal if any effect.

[Cunamara]

Really?? Routing a hole in the top and installing a humbucker won't alter the acoustic sound/response?? I'd double check that advice before giving it.

The KA in the video's a floater, so no. But routing one into the top would likely change the acoustic response significantly, especially if that entails accidentally cutting through a brace or two.

In response to the OP's question, however, the answer is not necessarily. Humbuckers and single coil pickups can be wound with the intention of producing different sounds. You can have a very bright and clear humbucker and you can have a dark and fat single coil. I had a Kent Armstrong PAF0 floating humbucker that was much brighter and thinner- articulate, some would say- than my current floating Charlie Christian pick up from Vintage Vibe Guitars. The minis on my GB10 can go from bright to dark, but those are also much hotter than the average mini; the volume is usually at about 4 on that one.


Frequently guitars with mini humbuckers only have a volume control and don't have a tone control. Installing the latter can provide a lot of tonal flexibility to the existing pick up at a very modest price. Also, just rolling back the volume knob and turning up the able to compensate can provide a warmer tone; try rolling it back to about 7 or so. I use the volume knob to establish my basic tone and then use the tone knob for fine adjustments. And of course twiddling with the knobs on the amp can make a big difference.