Custom Eko pickup bobbin - questions, suggestions and outright no-nos

[Stealth]

Several weeks ago I started working on an ancient Eko bass that came to me nearly bare - the only thing left was the body, neck and the rusted, junky electronics that went right out. The bass is now undergoing heavy refinishing and should be done... whenever it's done.

->

In the meantime, in about two weeks when exam hell settles down, I'm planning on starting winding my first pickups - and along with that, I'm considering designing the pickups for this puppy, considering it literally came to me with none attached. They're definitely something non-standard, 93mm × 34mm x 18mm (or 3.66" × 1.33" × 0.70") and I'm thinking of creating some kind of a P90-oid clone.

So, the attachment contains some ideas I've been mulling over - this should only provide the general idea, as I have yet to see exactly how the strings line up over the pickups (the bridge assembly is here, taken from a Danelectro bass, but I have yet to get the tuners).

Any "small-pole" pickups are supposed to have standard 3/16" polepieces (similar to P and J basses), any "mega-poles" are supposed to be 3/8"s (as with Musicman pups). The "ring-pole" pickups are just that - 3/8"s with 3/16"s diameter bores. The blade-poles are either 3/16" or 5/8" (which I already sense might be overkill). Polepiece gradient denotes whether the polepieces are all with the same polarity or if they're RWRP. Finally, any pickups with a dotted line denoting symmetry are humbuckers (that'd be the last 6 of the 12).

Any questions, suggestions or outright "get the hell out"s?

[Stealth]

Just to clarify regarding the wire and the magnets - I'm willing to experiment, so both pole-piece magnets and under-slung bar magnets with iron pole-pieces are a viable option, and so are both Alnicos and Neos (though I have yet to find a local shop that stocks the former). The wire will probably stay plain enamel AWG 42 in all cases because there's not that much cash in my pocket at the moment, and magnets are (from what I've spotted from local prices) far cheaper to buy and change, even apiece.

[David Schwab]

If you widen the routs slightly, you can fit EMG-40 size pickups (4 X 1.5").

But if you are going to make you own, I'd go with the third one.

[belwar]

Third one down.. single narrow bar. Love it!

[Stealth]

If you widen the routs slightly, you can fit EMG-40 size pickups (4 X 1.5").

But if you are going to make you own, I'd go with the third one.

I'm definitely thinking of doing my own - not only for cost-cutting purposes (though it's hard to speak of cost-cutting when it's a prototype), but because part of me wants to do this the hard way.

belwar - your vote has been cast into the poll. David - which third did you mean? The same as belwar, or the humbucking, splittable version of it? The wiring schematic I was thinking of attempting to clone was a phase-switch-less T-40, for the record.

[Dave Kerr]

I'd go with the top right configuration, blade humbucker. Plenty of trial and error led to that selection in my son's bass project.

[David Schwab]

I'm definitely thinking of doing my own - not only for cost-cutting purposes (though it's hard to speak of cost-cutting when it's a prototype), but because part of me wants to do this the hard way.

Oh yeah, I figured you were making them, but those EMG style cases are available.

David - which third did you mean? The same as belwar, or the humbucking, splittable version of it? The wiring schematic I was thinking of attempting to clone was a phase-switch-less T-40, for the record.

The top right. But they all look interesting. I'm personally not a fan of pole pieces or single coils.

It's a cool looking bass.