PICKUP DESIGN
hi guys,
Just thought I'd start a new thread on pickups, (groan!) as I am about to wind a new one for my first lap steel build, the Red Devil. The first pickup i made was a very straightforward single coil with DC resistance of 9.4k. It's ok but a bit underpowered, very 'bright' , does the clean pedal steel sound ok but does not handle overdrive very well.
I prefer the sound of single coils over hum buckers, at least on my straight guitars ( sounds wrong that!) but as I am new to lapsteel, I really don't know much about what is the 'best' pickup for different sounds. One thing I have noticed is that due to them being played 'horizontally' lapsteels are more prone to picking up 'mains hum', ( noise from lights, magnetic field, motors etc,etc) . Try it, next time you are plagued by noise, stand up and hold your lapsteel like a regular guitar.
I have come up with a few designs but feedback (whoa) from you guys would be grateful, may save me going down a blind alley. The three front runners are :-
1). A P 90 with a 'dummy coil', to try and knock out mains hum.
2). A 'blade style'. P90' again with dummy coil
3). (my front runner). A split single coil similar to a fender precision bass, which I believe is in effect a humbucker as the two coils are wound (and magnets reversed) so as to cancel out mains hum but are not next to each other, so in theory will retain that single coil sound.
Also along with my quest to banish the dreaded hum I was thinking of putting a 'tap' on these pickups so as to have the choice of a 'clean, underwound' sound or a full throttle roar!
Looking forward to some lively input.
Ray.