Firebird
Our Firebird Replacement Pickups are an authentic reproduction of the ’60’s Firebird®. Bright and clear. We have upgraded the materials for a warm, rich and dynamic smooth tone.
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Firebird INFO:
Want to learn more about our Firebird? Here's all the information you'll need:
Firebird FEATURES:
Fralin Firebird pickups will breathe new life into your guitar: original or re-issue. Featuring a bouncy, rich, tone, you’re guaranteed great versatility. USA-Made Materials and hand-made quality makes our pickups an improvement over the original design.
- Snappy and Bright bridge pickup
- Warm, rich, and full-sounding neck pickup
- AlNiCo Bar Magnets for a smooth, full-range tone
- Built with USA-Made parts in Richmond, VA.
Sound
Our Stock Set utilizes a Stock-wound Neck and a +4% Bridge. This allows for complete and even volume across all positions. The +4% Bridge sounds snappy, bright, and is pretty quick to get dirty. In the Neck position, the Fralin Firebird sounds great clean or dirty. The lows are bouncy and rich, where the highs are round and clear. Our Firebird pickups are the perfect solution to get away from a shrill-sounding guitar. Ours sound full, with extended range and excellent articulation, clarity, and dynamics.
Tech Specs
Wound with 42 & 43 Gauge Single Poly Nylon Wire and Alnico V and VI Bar Magnets. All USA-Made Baseplates and covers.
The Stock Neck will read about 6.5K, and the +8% Bridge will read about 10K.
Sizing
Lead Color Codes
See below for our Lead color codes. For help with matching to other manufacturers, check out this resource here.
Gibson Braided Lead:
2-Conductor Lead:
Firebird Questions And Answers:
Have a question about our Firebird? Ask it here. Your Question will be publically visible.
If you want to ask a Private Question, please contact us through our Contact Us Form.
If you have multiple questions, please call us at (804) 358-2699.
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Hi Lindy, looking to match your firebird neck pickup (stock) and one your tele bridge pickups,
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Q Hi Lindy, looking to match your firebird neck pickup (stock) and one your tele bridge pickups,A
Hey Mike,
You have a lot of options here! Please give us a call when convenient for you, and we can help talk you through your options. - Tyler
I’m interested in putting a 4% overwound Firebird pickup in the bridge position of a korina Strat. Which model Strat pickups would you recommend for the neck and middle positions?
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Q I’m interested in putting a 4% overwound Firebird pickup in the bridge position of a korina Strat...... Read moreA
Hey Julien, thanks for your question! We'd recommend our High Output Strat Pickups for the Neck & Middle. - Tyler
Do your firebird pickups stop the squeal and feedback?
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Q Do your firebird pickups stop the squeal and feedback?A
Hey Lou, all of our Firebird pickups are wax potted, and not microphonic. Some firebird pickups can be wound to 15 - 18K, where ours are a bit more tame and live in the 7K - 10K range, depending on the output. - Tyler
im doing a strat build and i want to put a single pickup in the bridge. i want something that can cover a lot of different ground. would the 4% overwind be the safest bet?
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Q im doing a strat build and i want to put a single pickup in the bridge. i want something that can...... Read moreA
Hey Matt, yes - we'd recommend the +4% for the bridge if you're looking for a versatile pickup! - Tyler
Hi Lindy Firebird question here.. Got my 1st Gibson firebird, looking for a warmer tone from the stock bridge. Currently I have to turn guitar tone down to 4 or so. Very ice picky over 6. What do you suggest for a bridge output please ? Alnico 2 magnet for bridge ? Thanks , Clint (got my p90 set, love them)
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Q Hi Lindy Firebird question here.. Got my 1st Gibson firebird, looking for a warmer tone from the ...... Read moreA
Hey Clint, we would probably suggest a Stock Neck and a +4% Bridge, with Alnico 6 (use the "notes" field to request on the checkout screen). This will warm the tone up.
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I am truly amazed! I have been building guitars for 10 years and I have never found a pickup that I liked better than these. They have a slightly strat-type sound but with more fullness. They are rich and still cut through the mix. I am completely satisfied with these pickups!
I swapped in firebird minis (+4%/+8% overwind) into my Gibson 135 routed for p90s. Full transparency, the woodmounted ring for the firebird was a super snug fit, so my tech did sand the cavity out just a bit to make for easier install.
Well worth it!
I am stunned how great this decision was. In a wild turn, these firebirds have altered how I play – with the clarity and sensitivity of these, I am encouraged to be way more relaxed with my right hand. No need to dig out for the tones. Kind of like driving a manual car vs auto, I feel like I have complete control over my tone.
I’ve never been so ecstatic with the performance on a bridge pup! Mind-blowing.
If you are unsatisfied with P90 tones, and want a solution without rerouting, the firebirds are a fantastic option! You won’t get the typical humbucker experience. You will get a beautifully colored tone, mud free, with ultra clarity or grit depending on your style.
I bought a +8% overwind Firebird bridge pickup for my 2016 custom shop VOS Firebird I. Wow! What a massive improvement this is over the blurry, raspy stock ceramic/20k pickup that the guitar came with from Gibson. The Fralin version is beautifully made and does exactly what the description says. I’m new to Firebirds, though, and evidently still struggling a bit with the design of a proper Firebird pickup. The Fralin alnico 5 version is very very bright. I mean stinging. More so than a Tele, but without the low end. The mounting position of the pickup just a hair away from the bridge probably also emphasizes the highs. I imagine it might not be cost-effective for Fralin to mill other magnet options and offer them in this pickup – like alnico 2 or 6, maybe. But I would love to try something like that. Some kind of move to tame the high highs a bit.
I replaced the stock pickups in my 2016 Gibson Firebird with a set of Fralin’s, 4% overwound neck and 8% overwound bridge. The stock pick ups, although powerful, were both harsh and muddy. My Fralin’s are clear and full, bright but not harsh, with a lower output. I love them. The old pick ups were a detail I never stopped compensating for. The Fralin’s sound great right away. They allow me to stop thinking about pick ups and just play the guitar. I can go from one of my other guitars to my Thunderbird without getting tripped up by the tone, she fits right into the family now.
Support was excellent while I was shopping. They handled my questions promptly and patiently.
I went with the recommended 8% overwound bridge and standard neck pickups. I thought I’d have to set the bridge low, but the two pickups balance well together. The sound has a bright midrange snarl that isn’t glassy and brittle like the stock Gibson FB pickups. I’m glad I made the upgrade to Fralin.
Stellar Firebird pup!
Lindy is not only one of the best custom builders of pickups anywhere, his commitment to the customer is impressive! I received a personal call from him before he wound my Firebird bridge pu, to help clear up my muddled understanding on my order. He will see you get what you want & in the end we all want the best available! Thanks Fralin crew!
These Firebirds Brought my Melody Maker alive ….crisp…bright …responsive …..nothing against P90’s but a whole different ballgame …awesome
I bought a set of Lindy’s Firebird pickups for a 2015 G Firebird. The stock set had an ok, brighter P90 kind of sound. I got Lindy’s stock neck and 8% over bridge, and they sound very matched in output and thickness, as Lindy states. As he also says, they have little more Gibson like sound. With your tone knob all up, they have a lot of brightness and cut. Back it off and you can get a little more of that humbucker character. If your wanting a little more of a Fendery sound, you might want to try his mini humbucker or big single. His Firebirds underwound could maybe achieve that as well? Once I played the guitar with these Fralins, it sounded much more like the Firebird sound I’ve always heard on those Traffic, J Winter, Roxy Music records. This is my first time with this kind of guitar and PUs, btw. I have four sets of Lindy’s pickups and I’m as fully satisfied with the tone on these as the others I have. The output on these, seems a little above his tele blues specials and definately a bit less than an old Epiphone casino, with original P90s, I was playing beside it. Lindy’s always have the best tone i could imagine. As long as you research all his pickups and listen to what he says, you can usually nail down exactly what you want on the first try. Good luck!
My Novo Serus T had a Fralin P45 in the neck position, sounded great but I was dreaming of having a firebird neck pickup in a Tele-style guitar. Now it’s just perfect!
Fantastic pickups
I bought an over wound set of firebird pickups for a les paul that had p90s in it. Whoa Nelly. They have a lot of clarity and a really nice top sparkle. They are really responsive with gain when I use the volume knob, and have a broad tonal range so that I actually use my tone knobs. All the way up, they have a nice bark, which is round and throaty, not sharp and ice picky, but still really articulate and clear