Wanting to get started building pickups

[jammers5]

Hi Everyone:

Been thinking a long time about getting into different aspects of guitar repair, as I am pretty good with my hands and like to work on my own guitars. Recently I have been thinking about upgrading my Stats pickups and been researching new pickups. Then I thought it would be cool to wind my own. But I don't know where to start. I mean, I can find the tools to DO the work on Mojo and Stew Mac etc. But am thinking more about the "recipies" - how many winds, what wire, what magnets etc. to make the sounds I want.

Is there anywhere I can research this type of thing? Any tips?

Thanks in advance,

J5

[jammers5]

hey guys just found a sticky thread on this subject, I'll read that first - cheers!

J5

[big_teee]

We have a whole forum called Beginner/Hobbyist.
There is a getting started Resources thread in that section.
A good place to start.
http://music-electronics-forum.com/t30228/
Beginner/ Hobbyist
If you use the search for each particular forum, it will keep it focused a little tighter.
Good Luck,
Terry

[GroundskeeperWillie]

As I've done in winding pickups for myself & a few friends .don't wind to save money you will keep buying gear ...buy a set from a winder & move on .
the $ in in other aspects of tone

[jammers5]

As I've done in winding pickups for myself & a few friends .don't wind to save money you will keep buying gear ...buy a set from a winder & move on .
the $ in in other aspects of tone

I understand completely what you are saying. this would be a hobby like any other and I know it would cost me money. The idea of winding a set of pickups and understanding how wire, # of wraps, type of magnets etc affects tone really does intrigue me.

I have bought pickups from a winder that is a member of this forum. As a matter of fact I just ordered another set from him this past weekend. He makes amazing pickups and can't wait to get my latest order to pop in my 93 american Standard Strat. My brother has ordered a couple of sets from him as well - on my recommendation!

Cheers

J5

[CheopisIV]

DO start winding your own pickups! It's as fun as anything and can be hugely rewarding when you stumble onto the right sound, but also quite frustrating until you get there.
You won't get it right away, but you should be able to get close. You'll also learn a whole lot more by actually winding than by reading theory so the sooner you get going, the better off you'll be.

DO keep records of what you're doing which should include wire gauge, number of turns, magnet strength type and orientation, tension estimates, pattern and TPL estimates or amount of scatter... really anything you can think of just so you can replicate something when it works out. Most importantly, write down what you think of the sound of the pickup once you install and try it; leave it overnight or for a couple days and come back to try it again and write down your impression at that time, then do it again.

DON'T worry when your humbucker sounds like a mud bog or like a Tele bridge... that can be fixed! But only if you know how you broke it in the first place.


Just get going on it and quit waiting until you know everything, because even when you think you know enough you'll find it's not entirely correct or was a chunk of misleading info from 'X' pickup salesman to further his own sales. There are very important interactions between the parts in the pickup and less important interactions that some tend to worry too much about. Hey, I'm not saying they're wrong, just that I found different results in my own experimentation. You will too!

Formulas for pickups are very important and not likely to be something you'll readily find aside from generalizations. You just gotta get winding and testing to discover some a recipe that works for you with your equipment and your technique. Again, record EVERYTHING you do in as much detail as you can.

Here's a thread on the MLP forum that kicked me into gear. I went from "online research mode" to "get my ass moving" mode after getting the small details from Barnaby's tutorial. I also tried to wind using his technique but my results were not good! I have a couple sets of his pickups that do sound amazing so obviously there's some difference in my technique vs his. I burned through 6 sets of pickups and mixed/matched coils all over the place before something worked and now I have my first production wind that I can consistently spin out. Very rewarding!

[jammers5]

DO start winding your own pickups! It's as fun as anything and can be hugely rewarding when you stumble onto the right sound, but also quite frustrating until you get there.
You won't get it right away, but you should be able to get close. You'll also learn a whole lot more by actually winding than by reading theory so the sooner you get going, the better off you'll be.

DO keep records of what you're doing which should include wire gauge, number of turns, magnet strength type and orientation, tension estimates, pattern and TPL estimates or amount of scatter... really anything you can think of just so you can replicate something when it works out. Most importantly, write down what you think of the sound of the pickup once you install and try it; leave it overnight or for a couple days and come back to try it again and write down your impression at that time, then do it again.

DON'T worry when your humbucker sounds like a mud bog or like a Tele bridge... that can be fixed! But only if you know how you broke it in the first place.


Just get going on it and quit waiting until you know everything, because even when you think you know enough you'll find it's not entirely correct or was a chunk of misleading info from 'X' pickup salesman to further his own sales. There are very important interactions between the parts in the pickup and less important interactions that some tend to worry too much about. Hey, I'm not saying they're wrong, just that I found different results in my own experimentation. You will too!

Formulas for pickups are very important and not likely to be something you'll readily find aside from generalizations. You just gotta get winding and testing to discover some a recipe that works for you with your equipment and your technique. Again, record EVERYTHING you do in as much detail as you can.

Here's a thread on the MLP forum that kicked me into gear. I went from "online research mode" to "get my ass moving" mode after getting the small details from Barnaby's tutorial. I also tried to wind using his technique but my results were not good! I have a couple sets of his pickups that do sound amazing so obviously there's some difference in my technique vs his. I burned through 6 sets of pickups and mixed/matched coils all over the place before something worked and now I have my first production wind that I can consistently spin out. Very rewarding!

Thank you for this encouraging post with lots of great tips! I will take your advice and not get boggled down in theory and start practicing when I gather up supplies and tools.

Cheers!

J5

[David Schwab]

You will actually be surprised that your first pickup probably won't suck, and will actually sound good. Start with a simple model, like a PAF or single coil. Getting one of the kids of Stew-Mac or other places makes it easy to build a working pickup in no time. You will likely break lots of wire in the beginning until you get a feel for it.

Have fun!

[jonson]

You will actually be surprised that your first pickup probably won't suck, and will actually sound good. Start with a simple model, like a PAF or single coil. Getting one of the kids of Stew-Mac or other places makes it easy to build a working pickup in no time. You will likely break lots of wire in the beginning until you get a feel for it.

Have fun!

Dave are you sure one of Stewmacs kids will be up for that. Please don't edit leave it as a classic.

[jammers5]

You will actually be surprised that your first pickup probably won't suck, and will actually sound good. Start with a simple model, like a PAF or single coil. Getting one of the kids of Stew-Mac or other places makes it easy to build a working pickup in no time. You will likely break lots of wire in the beginning until you get a feel for it.

Have fun!

Yes I certainly would be surprised if it didn't suck!

i would probably start with some Tele pup as they are my favorite guitars. I already have a set of custom pickups in my roadworn that I absolutely love so that one is off limits! But I have a Mexi Tele that I may play with....may also pickup a mexi strat to uses as a guinea pig! If I get anything I am happy with the first one I'll get pickups in will be my G&L ASAT Classic. Love the guitar but the MDF's give me little to no twang...

J5

[mcgruff]

Another tip to add to CheopisIV's list: record a few standardised sample clips (DI) of each new pickup so you can compare them later. Audio memory is pretty useless.

You'll probably get lots of breaks on your first coil but once you get a feel for wire tension it's actually very easy to wind a good quality pickup (so long as you're using reasonably good quality parts).

Starting as a complete beginner, I managed to make two very playable humbuckers for about the price of one new boutique pickup. I think I made five in total to get there - and one of the discards was still a decent pickup just a bit overwound for my taste. Another was dead. The last was just a failed experiment in underwound humbuckers which was way too thin sounding. Even the failures are useful so long as you learn something from them.

That maybe gives you an idea of the strike rate a beginner can get - provided you do your research into pickup design first. Before I started winding I had a good idea of the general PAF "formula" otherwise I'm sure I wouldn't have done so well (for a beginner).

Be prepared to experiment to find your ideal voicing. That's the beauty of winding your own though: you can try out several different pickups until you find one that is just right. Magnet wire is cheap.