Pickup

[Bill Ford]

Bent,
You might try the material that is used for engraved name tags, I've seen pups that looked like that was used, also would be strong enuff. Good lookin job,as usual, keep up the good work. Thought at first glance you were experiment on the PP sound til I counted the mags.

Edited to say...I like the way you connect the wires...neat!!

BTW I have a drawing for you,check email...BF

[Bent]

hi Bill, Thanks for the suggestion. I have already tried the engraving stock. I find it too flexible for the thickness. Also, the layer of black is too thin only about a paint layer.
Yep got your drawing & replied. I'll leave it to you to make the phone call

[Farmer]

Bent, a long, long, time ago in a galaxy far far away, oh I'm getting carried away, I made a coil with aluminum on top and bottom. since I didn't know what I was doing, I didn't use the right wire size or enough turns. I don't know if it would stop or at least reduce the hum. how many turns does it take to get 17 K and what size wire?........Mike

[Bent]

Mike, I'll gladly share whatever info I have on the subject, but don't hold me to it - my knowledge is sadly lacking

An approximate number of turns equals the K ohms. This is VERY approximate because you do need a counter. So for a 17000 OHM coil you need 15-16000 turns for a 10 string pickup.
Here is what I use for material:
Wire: lacquer insulated copper wire. The gauge is 42AWG
Magnets:'Alnico 5' magnets, 3/4" long by 1/4" diam pole pieces.
Some plastic with a bit of flex in it, about 1/8" thick
Some thin copper foil for shielding, if you are making single coil pickups

My procedure is, I wind close to the amount of turns, then stop and check the resistance with my ohm meter
For a nice tight fit for the magnets in the plastic bobbin, I drill the hole one number undersized to the 1/4" and press the magnet in place with my drill press.

[mac639]

Don't you think 17k is too high for a regular pickup. I usually wind mine to about 9-10k and have lots of output. I also use 1/8" lucite and spray paint it on the bottom side any colour I want to. I like the idea of perhaps using aluminum though for the top and bottom. One would think that that would increase the hum shielding if nothing else.

The old ShoBud and other vintage pickups were around 7k I think, and they sounded fine, maybe just a little weak but with the powerful amps we have now this isn't a problem.

By the way I'm hoping to have some pics of my latest creation up tomorrow. I hate the way pics come out with artificial light. I'm going to wait until tomorrow daylight to see if I can get better ones.

[Bent]

Hi Mac, I don't really know...all I go by is what the master builders do.
I have here right now a Truetone single coil 17.5K and that seems to be right in the ball park for pickups from what I read.
I also have a Fulawka humbucker here, it measures 19K
As a comparison, older pups were a bit lower..I think the Emmons single coil was around 13K

So you're saying lower resistance means less hum? Sure, I could wind a 7K and try it out, but I feel that there is a difference in sound that a the amp isn't going to have any bearing on. Take an old Bigsby single coil or one off of a Fender 1000 pedal steel...I think they had pups wound to around 7 or 8 K. As far as my ears are concerned, those pups sound more tinny and thin with less "body".

In discussing pickups, it seems we always talk about the resistance as being the do all and end all of pickups when, from what I have read, ohms is only one concern out of several factors in a successful pickup.

Like I said earlier, I am far from having my sh!t together when it comes to this topic, so tune in all you electronics wizards

[Farmer]

Bent, Another reason thoses Fenders sounded that way was the changer the string went through was made of steel, I think chromed steel. If you recall, they had good sustain to. That Steel company I worked for, a long time ago, used steel on the changer and they had real good sustain. By the way, I posted some pictures of some parts and tools that I made for the build I am working on, under the steel header above. I have some more I can post, check the ones posted and let me know. I take it your mill is keeping you busy. I guess you were right about the board being full. My posting worked once Larry fixed the problem. I read where you used your drill press to press the magnets into the plastic for the pickups. I needed to bend some 1/4 in. pieces of aluminum, so I welded up a small frame, to put my 12 ton bottle jack in. it works real good...... thats all for now...Let us know how your milling is coming along......Mike

[Dave-M]

Novice here, so don't know if this would work. Has anyone tried winding a humbucker by using two reels of wire soldered to a centertap, and winding both at the same time in the same direction?