Humbucker?mini-humbucker?P-90?

[tomm]

hello everybody...i'm looking for one of these guitars(gretsch jet or corvette)...and i'm thinking...Can bare knuckle makes mini humbuckers?(like a mini nailbomb or something else)...or can i put  a p90 in thoose slots?
thank you


http://www.elderly.com/images/new_instruments/30N/G6129T62_body-front.jpg
http://www.gretsch.com.au/featured/electrocorvette/images/g5235_beauty_02.jpg
http://www.elderly.com/images/new_instruments/30N/G5246T_front.jpg

[Philly Q]

BKP used to make mini-humbuckers (Gibson style) but apparently don't anymore.  In any case, no standard humbucker, mini or P-90 will fit a Gretsch without modifying the guitar.

But you could get the Gretsch pickups rewound by BKP.

Alternatively - since BKP don't make Gretsch replacements I think it's OK to say this - you could investigate TV Jones pickups.  But they don't make anything super-hot, or Metal pickups in Gretsch housings.  The hottest they make is roughly equivalent to a Gibson PAF.

[tomm]

thank u for the reply...so do you think that is the right slot for a p 90? i want a punchy pick up so i don't think tv jones is my best choice...is hotter a p90 or a mini humbucker?

[Philly Q]

Most mini-humbuckers are clear sounding and fairly low output.  A P-90 "feels" hotter than a mini-humbucker, it's more of a raw, aggressive sound. 

But as I said, a P-90 won't fit those Gretsch pickup slots.  Here are the pickup sizes:

http://www.tvjones.com/tech_specs/techspecs_dim_ptron_frame.html

http://www.tvjones.com/tech_specs/techspecs_dim_standard_frame.html

[Ratrod]

If you go for the Electromatic Double Jet, mini humbuckers would fit right in.

P90's are slightly wider so you'll need to do some routing.

If you get the Corvette, give those pickups a chance. I was suspicious about those high output ceramic pickups but they turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

If you get the 6128 DC Silver Jet, check out TV Jones.

Also check out gretschpages.com for everything you want to know.

Edit: Don't get too hung up on DC ratings. A classic 4.5K Filtertron is just as hot as a 7.5K PAF.

[Philly Q]

If you go for the Electromatic Double Jet, mini humbuckers would fit right in.

Ah, nice one, I wasn't sure about those little pickups, although they're obviously smaller than Filtertrons.  I stand corrected.  :)

[Ratrod]

Being a contributing member on the gretsch pages I'm supposed to know these things, Phil.

Antoher tip for the Original Poster, if you want a Grestch that can rock hard with the best, look into the Power Jet or Billy-Bo. It'll save you alot of modding.

[hunter]

Only boutique pickup builder I know of who does Gretsch styles is Häussel.

There is more info here: http://www.acys-lounge.de/tronebuckers.html

[tomm]

i don't really like the single cut guitars...the billy bo is interesting...does it has miny humbucker too? i really like gretsch...im very into that raw sound ala jack white...but im very afraid about these miny humbuckers instead of the regular hb....

[Philly Q]

The Billy-Bo has TV Jones Power'Trons - they say "the tone is remarkably close to a fifties PAF humbucker, blended with a zing and twang that is all Gretsch".

http://www.gretschguitars.com/gear/index.php?product=G6199&cat1=&cat2=&q=&st=1

http://www.tvjones.com/pickups/powertron.html

[Ratrod]

The Electromatic Pro-Jets have mini humbuckers.

The professional (Japanese) models such as the Duo Jet, Power Jet, Billy-Bo etc. have Filtertrons.

Filtertrons have a very unique tone and can't be compared to mini humbuckers.

My personal opinion about TV Jones Powertrons is that they actually have more of a P90 thing going than PAF.

Jack white has several Gretsches and some ghost build ones. The White Billy Bo, seen in the Bond theme, has Powertrons. The copper triple Jet has TV Jones classic Filtertrons, AFAIK. Then he has a vintage White Penguin with vintage Filtertrons.

Just like AC/DC's Malcolm Young, you don't need high output and lots of overdrive to get that raw tone.

[tomm]

that it's true...but i'm more into the white stripe's sound(huge raw fuzz)( i know that he has single coils in  humbuckers cases)...but i don't kow if the mini humbuckers are the right choice...have powertrons the same dimension of the filletrons?

[Ratrod]

Those mini-hums don't lack power but they do sound very generic and very muddy with overdrive.

Powertrons have the same dimensions as filtertrons. The only difference is that the Powertrons have taller coils but that makes no difference for a retrofit.

However, you can't swap the mini-hums for filtertrons without doing some routing. You'll also need the english mount option. Regular filtertrons are surface mounted, not suspended from a ring.

If you're on a budget, I'd go for the Vette. Lots of bang for the buck.

If you got cash to burn go for a 'real' Double Jet. They're chambered so much they're as hollow as an ES335 and that's a big part of Jack White's tone equasion.

The electromatic ProJet series are chambered a bit but no more than Les Pauls are 'swiss cheesed'.

[tomm]

ok..thank you very much for the reply