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 +8% Bridge. This allows for complete and even volume across all positions. The +8% 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.
FAQs
- Which Output do I choose? We can wind the Neck from either Stock or +4% output, and the bridge from Stock, +4%, and +8% output. The most popular set is a Stock Neck and +8% Bridge. Adding more winds to the pickup increases the output, midrange, and decreases the highs. Underwinding the pickup will clean it up and make it sound more articulate.
- What lead do I choose? This depends on your guitar and a few other things. Gibson Lead: Go with this if installing a set into a Gibson-style instrument, where each pickup has its respective volume pot. 2-Conductor: Go with this lead if buying a Single, or installing into a Fender-style instrument.
- What’s the String Spacing? 50mm.
- What’s the tonal difference between this pickup and the Mini Big Single? The Mini Big Single is cleaner in the low strings and slightly beefier on the treble strings. The Firebird definitely has some of the “Humbucker” thing going on – slightly darker wound strings and brighter treble strings.
- What Pot do I use? 500K will give you the brightest tone.
- Wiring Diagrams? Here!
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? Leave it here! We will answer your question within 24 hours.
CUSTOMER REVIEWS
16 Genuine Reviews for Firebird
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Can I buy these in matching sets of three? I have a Reverend Warhawk 390 with three p90s. I think it would be awesome with three firebird style mini’s.
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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.
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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!
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I’m considering the Firebird neck pickup as a replacement in my PRS S2 Vela. I like the stock Bridge Humbucker quite alot but I’m not really feeling the D type single coil in the neck. The Bridge pickup is listed at 8.0k. I also kinda liked the bright and tight sound of the neck pickup in the firebird I had. So my question is what wind should I order to stay fairly close to the original Firebird sound I liked so much AND have it be well balanced with the 8k bridge pickup which I don’t believe I will ever want to change ? Thank you in advance Mike
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These Firebirds Brought my Melody Maker alive ….crisp…bright …responsive …..nothing against P90’s but a whole different ballgame …awesome
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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!
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Are the firebird mini’s wax potted? Thanks. Rick
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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!
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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
Can I buy these in matching sets of three? I have a Reverend Warhawk 390 with three p90s. I think it would be awesome with three firebird style mini’s.
Hey Reid, yes – we recommend (2) Neck outputs for the Neck and Middle, and a Bridge! Simply add a set to your cart, then add another neck. Let us know in the notes field that they are for a 3-pickup guitar and we’ll make sure the lead lengths are correct.
I’m considering the Firebird neck pickup as a replacement in my PRS S2 Vela. I like the stock Bridge Humbucker quite alot but I’m not really feeling the D type single coil in the neck. The Bridge pickup is listed at 8.0k. I also kinda liked the bright and tight sound of the neck pickup in the firebird I had. So my question is what wind should I order to stay fairly close to the original Firebird sound I liked so much AND have it be well balanced with the 8k bridge pickup which I don’t believe I will ever want to change ? Thank you in advance Mike
Hey Mike, Lindy recommends a +4% Firebird Neck with Alnico 6 Magnets. This will be thick and loud and match nicely with a humbucker in the bridge. You can request Alnico 6 in the “Notes” field on the checkout screen!
Are the firebird mini’s wax potted? Thanks. Rick
Yes – all pickups are wax potted. You can request no potting, but we don’t offer our 10-year warranty on corrosion if no wax potting is performed.