Guitar Pickup Review

Mighty Mite Motherbucker Set

Motherbucker. What a fun name!

Some might be thinking of this behemoth from the olden days: Three coils! Bet you don’t miss any string coverage with that bad boy! LOL! In fairness, reports are that is more of a moderate wind.

Today’s Motherbucker is a different story. There is one that clocks in at about 20k. Another is available at about 16k. The 16k model can go it alone in the bridge position or be a neck pickup to compliment the 20k variation. 20k?!? We cover a fair share of super-high resistance pickups here, so bear with me. HaHa!

Starting with these as a complete set, the installation is in a neutral-sounding double-hum super-strat. It has a Floyd Rose tremolo system, a Bourns 500k pot, and a Switchcraft 1/4″ jack. During the install process, I take advantage of the opportunity to hit the frets with the Lizard Spit Fret Polishing System and to apply Lizard Spit Slick Nutz to relevant friction points.

Motherbucker 20k

This is a powerful set of humbuckers and is clearly targeting the hard-rock and metal crowds! It’s still plenty versatile, but it resides in Rock City. With strong low end, beefy mids, and bold treble response, the 20k Motherbucker means business. Harmonic squeals are off the charts for your flashy lead guitar work. You also get plenty of crunch for your riffing. This pickup will knock the wind out of you, but with an organic character from the Alnico 5 magnet. Yes, it definitely fills up the room and is a consideration for a single guitar band.

Mighty Mite Motherbucker 16k
Mighty Mite Motherbucker 16k
Motherbucker 16k

Putting the 16k Motherbucker in the neck works really well with the 20k bridge. Stop freaking out! LOL! Steve Stevens used a 16k humbucker in the neck position when the LA Strip was a sea of big hair. The respective voicings make this a natural-sounding transition from one position to the other. A neck 16k is punchy and full with attitude to spare. If you can wire the set to switch to split or parallel mode, you have a very flexible guitar setup.

In the bridge position, the 16k Motherbucker is a classic hot-rod (hint, hint!). Use it in your single-hum pointy guitar and you are ready to rule the arena stage! Distinct low end with a proud midrange and sizzling highs. For a double-hum, use something like the Mighty Mite 1400 for a very adaptable workhorse. Or for a little extra spice, maybe throw the 1300 in the neck!

Demo VIdeos

Here are a few demo videos from Brazlian shredder Tiloy D’Alessio.

Mighty Mite Motherbucker …. Performance Tiloy D’Alessio.
Mighty Mite Pickups ” Motherbucker (Bridge) “. Performance Tiloy D’Alessio
MIGHTY MITE PICKUPS —- Motherbucker —- Peformance Tiloy D’Alessio (guitar improvisation)

How about that?! Definitely check out Tiloy’s YT channel for his own music and many more gear demos.

Specs

Motherbucker 20k
Series – 20.38 k
Inductance – 11.781 H
Split – 10.135 k
Split – 10.246 k
Parallel – 5.104 k
Magnet – Alnico 5

Motherbucker 16k
Series – 17.282 k
Inductance – 8.598 H
Split – 8.598 k
Split – 8.711 k
Parallel – 4.326 k
Magnet – Alnico 5

We discuss a fair share of super-high resistance pickups here. As well as the conditioning that 7-8k is open and vintage while 14-16k can be thick and modern. Yet that doesn’t always translate to how it sounds in your guitar. And these Motherbucker pickups are an example of that.

The Motherbucker pickups are going to be good for hard rock, shred, metalcore, doom, thrash, extreme metal, garage, punk, fusion, 80s metal, djent, punk, hardcore, progressive metal, grunge, nu-metal, progressive rock, alt rock, and classic rock. And you can get them direct from Mighty Mite, with no pesky middleman getting in the way!

For reference, this Mighty Mite Motherbucker pickup set evaluation was conducted with a Fractal Axe-Fx II XL+ featuring Celestion Impluse Responses and Fractal MFC-101 MIDI Foot Controller.  Real cabs in use are Marshall 1960BMojotone British, and Peavey 6505 cabs loaded with Celestion Classic Series Vintage 30s and Classic Series G12M Greenbacks.

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