Mini-humbuckers vs. real humbuckers, and P-90s

What's the difference between... say... a Les Paul with mini-humbuckers and a Les Paul with real humbuckers?

Do the mini ones sound...

- Weaker?
- Quieter?
- More trebly?
- More... or less... something? :confused:

What's the difference?

And how do they stack up to single coils?

Also, P-90s... what do those sound like? How do they stack up against humbuckers and mini-humbuckers? Against single coil?

Pickup makers try to answer these questions to help potential customers decide what they want. Check out the descriptions and sound clips at >DiMarzio<.

In non-scientific language, mini humbuckers are funkier than full-sized ones. They have more in the upper mids, as far as I remember, and are less "full" in sound.

P-90s are fatter than typical single coil pickups. They don't have that kinda hollow sweet sound that single coils can have; it's a bigger, stronger sound.

The thing about your quesiton is that there are varieties of pickups within the types you've mentioned. For example, there are vintage P-90s that sound really mellow, but there are also modern high-gain P-90s that can have a bigger and wilder sound than most humbuckers.

I think Townsend once had a Les Paul with minihumbuckers in neck/bridge and a normal full-sized humbucker in the mid position. I gotta wonder what that was like!