early Gibson firebird pickup (1963-1964) info wanted...

[trioderob]

what can you guys tell me about the first version of the
gibson firebird pickup.


any and all information wanted


1) wire type / bobbin construction / materials

2) ohm readings

3) special constructon details

etc,,,,,,

[J S Moore]

I think it was the same bobbin material as the mini ( which was nylon) but I'm not sure. Instead of screws and a bar polepiece magnets were used in the coils. One south up and one north up, of course. There was a ferrous shim under the coils as part of the design. It wasn't the full width of the baseplate, just wide enough to go from magnet to magnet.

[Sam Lee Guy]

Have seen several versions of these, some with one magnet and some with two (Alnico 5). All parts just like Epiphone mini pickup but no screws. For repair, Sam use 44 gauge wire, about 4,500 turns each bobbin.

[J S Moore]

The ones with the screws and a magnet instead of a stud bar are the Johnny Smith version. They've got a ferrous plate underneath to transfer the magnetic field to the screws.