GFS Pickups FAT Mini Bridge Humbucker

Bridge model, Humbucking, Passive, chrome cover, 6 adjustable screw pole pieces, Alnico V magnet, 8.6 Kohms spec, but reads closer to 9k.

I installed this pickup in the bridge position of an 06 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe. I still have the original Gibson Mini in the neck position. This is not a drop in replacement pickup for this guitar, but I was able to make it work. Anyone familiar with the Les Paul Deluxe mini hums mounting won't be surprised by this. I got an aftermarket mini surround bezel, then rebent and drilled out the mounting ears on the new pickup to match the mounting profile of the original Gibson Mini I am replacing. The stock Gibson mini buckers are sweet, but the bridge is too thin for my tastes. I wanted something with just a little more umph, and I didn't want to alter the appearance of the guitar. Duncan and Dimarzio both offer replacements, but none had the look of the original mini, so I figured it was worth a 35 buck experiment.

The output is hotter and thicker than the Gibson mini. It is darker as well, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. At first I didn't like it. I thought it was dark and not articulate, but then I played with the pickup height and got it sounding quite nice actually. It has more bass, and a bit less mids and top than the original mini, as well as more output. After tweaking the height a bit (it is VERY sensitive to height adjustments), I am quite pleased. It still retains good mini character, but is meatier with smoother highs. They still bite, but they don't hurt you. I did lose a little top glass in the "both on" mode, but it's still a good tone. It's worth it to get a more usable bridge tone to me. I play classic rock, 60's through 90's, and some blues. Because they are so cheap, I ordered a Little Crunchy version to try as well. One of those two will stay in this guitar. I like this one better for my purposes than the original Gibson. Someone who was more from the Fender clean camp would probably like the original pickup better. I'm more of a medium gain Marshall type guy. When price is factored in, it's a no brainer. I'm gonna give it an 9, because it isn't my perfect tone, but it is darn good. It's gotta be a 10 based on value. It's a good sounding very useable pickup. I'd buy again for sure.

I would buy again, and I am anxious to get the Little Crunchy Mini I just ordered and see how it fares. I think Jay would sell a few more of these if he offered some with shorter unthreaded mounting wings and some instructions as to how to mount them in a LP Deluxe. There's a serious shortage of LP Deluxe style replacements out there, and these work quite nicely. I tried it because it was cheap and matched the stock appearance, and the sonic description seemed to be what I was after. After some trial and error, I was pleasantly surprised. It's worth every penny of the 35 bucks I paid for it without a doubt. You guys who are unhappy with your thin brittle LP Deluxe bridge tone, drop me a line and I'll tell you all about it.