Firebird mag dimensions

[jason lollar]

I have never seen that piece of steel ontop of a stock firebird pickup before. That would kill the output under that string- or at least knock it down quite a bit. Magnet size just fills the bobbins.

[J S Moore]

It's kind of hard to see in the picture but that little piece of metal is on the end that the braided lead comes out of, so it would be under the B string. That it's there to have some sort of damping effect on the volume of that string seems to be a reasonable idea. I have never seen or heard of something like that with the Firebird pickups but it does appear to be there from the factory.

[David Schwab]

I think the small sheet on top of the pickup is there to dampen the output of the b-string similar to the staggered design on Fender pickups or the mortise on some blade-pickups.

Hermann

That's what I was thinking as well. Probably the unwound G too.

[Berman]

I think the small sheet on top of the pickup is there to dampen the output of the b-string similar to the staggered design on Fender pickups or the mortise on some blade-pickups.

Hermann

[JGundry]

That's about as helpful as it gets. Thanks, Jon...

I guess I should qualify it by saying that I was told all Gibson mini humbucker magnets were A4. I took that to mean that included Firebird mini humbuckers.

[David Schwab]

With it, the magnetic and electrical circuits are more alike.

You think it was to add a controlled amount of eddy currents
so as to tame the high frequencies?

I don't know, but if you short the two poles like that on a pickup, you have less magnetic pull (if any). Generally you don't get much output from the pickup.

The bottoms of the magnets were already connected with that plate. So I'm puzzled as to the reason they included it.

[salvarsan]

That thin plate bridging the magnets on top is interesting. Was it under the treble or bass strings?

With it, the magnetic and electrical circuits are more alike.

You think it was to add a controlled amount of eddy currents
so as to tame the high frequencies?

-drh

[David Schwab]

That thin plate bridging the magnets on top is interesting. Was it under the treble or bass strings?

[Zhangliqun]

That's about as helpful as it gets. Thanks, Jon...

[J S Moore]

As I promised a forum member, here are some internal photos.

[JGundry]

So the width of the magnet is more or less equal to the depth of the bobbins. That figures.

Now the question is what Alnico grade, traditionally?

I was told by a former Gibson employee that they were always A4.

[Zhangliqun]

So the width of the magnet is more or less equal to the depth of the bobbins. That figures.

Now the question is what Alnico grade, traditionally?

[J S Moore]

I have a 1963 Firebird pickup in my hand right now. Here are the specs:


Magnet: 2.044"L x 0.317"W x 0.125"H

There is a maple piece underneath with a strip of ferrous metal on top. Very thin and slightly less in size than the maple piece which fits roughly all the space on the baseplate with a little left for the lead.

Maple: 2.147"L x 0.880"W x 0.122"H With the ferrous strip it's 0.138"H

Additionally there was a small strip of metal across the top of the coil near one end. It is magnetic and looks quite deliberately placed straight across the top of the coils.

Strip: 0.942"L x 0.317"W x 0.0085"H

Hope this helps.

[trioderob]

Getting more inquiries about Firebird mini's and could use some help with dimensions on the two mags -- and also what, if anything, goes between the bobbins and the baseplate, since there's no bar mag below, only the two in the bobbin slots. Anyone have an exploded view of a Firebird mini?

zhang-

take a look at the early firebird photos in this book
there is something very hard about getting the this pickup just right,
and I have been trying to figure it out !

I think even the compounds in the spacers are important.

jason does a very good job with this pickup and I have his pup in my historic
firebird 1.

I love it but not sure if he nailed the tone 100 % as all the little details are
important in the construction.

[Peter Naglitsch]

The Deluxe Mini HB have a different sized magnet so Gibbo definitely had at least two sizes of magnets.