My first post ans some questions

[Rafael Puyol]

Hi everybody Im Rafael form Montevideo Uruguay
I would like to make my own pickups, but in my city awg42 or 43 the only one I can find is thicker, will I be able to make my own pickups, will they sound good?
Furthermore I was wondering whats the differende between a real tele pickup and a squier pickup??
Can I use commonly available magnets instead of alnico??
Thankssss a lot
Rafa
Sorry for my english

[Ruel]

Hey Rafael! Welcome to the forum. You have the same name as my son's, although his is spelled Raphael.

If you use a thicker wire, you will not get the required number of turns due to the limitation caused by the fixed size of the pickup bobbin. Tele pickups are wound with #43 wire which are thinner than #42. Using #42 would already alter the tone.

When you wind a coil using wire that is thicker than #43 or even #42, the resulting pickup will have lower output and will be brighter in tone, due to the less number of turns that you will be able to do.

In the case of the magnet, if you are not able to get alnico mags, you can use ceramics which are easier and cheaper to acquire.

[Rafael Puyol]

I found a 0,05 mm wire in a local shop which I think will be usfeul, so now the problems are the alnico mags, what would happen If I use ceranic mags in a strato or tele pickup. I was wondering comparing your mics to the original fenders do the sound similar?? Better or worse??
Thansksss a lot
Rafa

[Ruel]

42 wire is .063mm so .05 being smaller will produce more windings, leading to higher DCresistance and output. Ceramic magnets are stronger than alnico mags which will also contribute to a higher output. They also make the tone brighter. Since single coils sound brighter than other types of pickups such as humbuckers and P90's due to their thinner and taller bobbins, you will have to do some experimentation with the number of turns in your coils to produce a tone that will suit your taste. Strat pickups use 42 wire while Tele pickups use 43. You might be able to produce something that is closer to a Tele sound with ceramic mags and .05 wire.