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Showmaster HH Firebirds

Introduction

    For my last and final Showmaster (the picture above is before modification), I began thinking of all the unique electric guitar pickups I could possibly utilize that would have a vintage vibe but be significantly different from the pickups I already had.  I already had standard humbuckers, filtertrons, and single coils (but the noiseless stack type).  I began to research ideas on what pickups were truly different from the ones I had.  I started looking around Seymour Duncan's website for ideas on unique concepts.  I asked Seymour Duncan if the Wide Range humbuckers could be made to handle metal (for diversity) and they said that was not currently possibly.  So then I was poking around and saw miniature humbuckers, but they were too similar to normal ones.  But then I happened upon their Firebird pickups.  You see, a firebird pickup, the original ones, were two bobbins but with the blade magnets inside the coils.  So they were definitely different.

Sourcing the Showmaster

    I was incredibly lucky that I found a red "fire burst" Showmaster HH online!  I felt this was the absolute perfect guitar for firebird pickups!

Vintage Mojo

    I began listening to artists like Phil Manzanera and I was immediately captivated.  So I set about asking Seymour Duncan if a metal-ready bridge pickup was possible.  I was told that "with the right amplifier" it could work.  So their phone technician put me on hold to go ask the famous Maricela "MJ" Juarez if she could do it, and she said she could.  So I bought the set.  I actually paid custom shop pricing for the neck because I wanted it to not be antiquitied (i.e. made as if brand new on an original firebird guitar back in the day).  She wound the bridge to "vintage hot" specifications.

    When it was delivered and installed, I was naturally worried because I'd never used a "vintage hot" pickup, much less a firebird pickup.  I saw the DC resistance and was concerned.  But my concerns were completely disarmed when I began to play the guitar.

    It took me a while to adapt at first because their output was about the level of a vintage single coil.  But oh my goodness!  They sound amazing!

The Adapting Process

    Here is with the adapters that my friend 3D printed for me.  They look shiny due to the lighting, but they're actually good.  In some of these pictures, they have the adapters I purchased off of someone on Etsy.  These Etsy adapters didn't work, but I can't really complain because each guitar is a bit different.  And they were cheap.

Use in Worship and Concerts

    So far it's been an amazing guitar in concert and for worship music!