How do I wind a bright neck humbucker?

[paulyy]

Is this bright enough?

PAF Neck

This is a Stew-Mac kit, wound 5,000 turns per coil.

Very nice! Thats kind of what Im looking for. Mine sounds good but theirs no pop or snap. Yours has the pop and snap that I like.

[David Schwab]

Very nice! Thats kind of what Im looking for. Mine sounds good but theirs no pop or snap. Yours has the pop and snap that I like.

I was actually very surprised. I picked up a few kits to try out my winder, which I had just gotten.

I like them bright like that.

[LtKojak]

I was actually very surprised. I picked up a few kits to try out my winder, which I had just gotten.

I like them bright like that.

Do you mind tell us how much did it measure, resistence-wise? Was it poly nylon wire from StewMac as well?

I'm surprised too. A guy I know sells StewMac kits as handwound boutique p'ups and they don't sound like yours do, David.

[EFK]

"That was cryptic, i suppose."

You just did it again! And so the baseplate is available from... ?

[EFK]

BTW David - is that a Gibson scale or Fender scale? It half sounds like a strat. Body wood? Neck wood?

[Artur pickupmaker]

I had made some straty-sound PAFs with 10,5 mm tall AlNiCo 5 rods in both bobbins, about 3,5 Kohm in one and 4 Kohm in the other bobbin of 42 awg wire.
The lower, unmatched outputs, and AlNiCo 5 rods seems to result in a clearer and brighter sound. Try this one.

Steel in the coils always seems to goes to a darker sound.

[Possum]

....

Belwar you should try the new Mojo baseplates, they're not the same according to David. Well, shit there's only one baseplate worth a damn and both AllParts and StewMac sell it, what else is there? Nothing. StewMac's price is ridiculous though, I buy very little from them these days..

[NightWinder]

....

Do you mind tell us how much did it measure, resistence-wise? Was it poly nylon wire from StewMac as well?

I'm surprised too. A guy I know sells StewMac kits as handwound boutique p'ups and they don't sound like yours do, David.

Schwab uses Poly- I've been after him for near 4 yrs to get some P.E but NOOOO,lol.

[David Schwab]

Do you mind tell us how much did it measure, resistence-wise? Was it poly nylon wire from StewMac as well?

Looking at my notes from the time (April '06), it says 7.93K before taping, and 8K after. Yes, that was the wire from Stew-Mac. That was the first time I wound one of the those kits.

BTW David - is that a Gibson scale or Fender scale? It half sounds like a strat. Body wood? Neck wood?

Yes, that was a 25.5" scale Charvel Strat, with an alder body and a maple Tele neck.

That does have a lot to do with the twangy nature of the sound.

[David Schwab]

Schwab uses Poly- I've been after him for near 4 yrs to get some P.E but NOOOO,lol.

I like poly! Poly wants a cracker!

PE is too expensive, and for what I do, I doubt I would hear a difference.

Most of the wire I use these days is Elektrisola and Essex. I like the Elektrisola stuff a lot. It handles nicely. I also have one roll from Phelps Dodge, that's 46AWG! I think Gibson used to get wire from them.

[Stealth]

Just to see if I'm getting this right...

Would using, say, an FR4 fiberboard as flatwork material, but with the attached copper layer normally used for designing PCBs, provide enough metal in the bottom to boost the treble in the pickup output, or would copper, being diamagnetic, simply not work?

Any answer would be appreciated, including the "RTFM from your Electromagnetics I classes".

[Achiles]

A pci baseplate would give me a bright or a dark sound compared to metal baseplate?
http://www.sergiorosar.com/galeria/1024/015.JPG

[Stealth]

A pci baseplate would give me a bright or a dark sound compared to metal baseplate?
http://www.sergiorosar.com/galeria/1024/015.JPG

After reviewing my own question (and realizing I should've, indeed, RTFM), you now raise a good question, considering diamagnetics like copper effectively repel magnetic flow away - however slightly or imperceptibly. Would that even affect the pickup sound?

[David Schwab]

There are several bass pickup designs that use copper clad PCB, even as bobbin material. The copper is thin enough that it shouldn't effect the tonality, while acting as a shield.

Core material matters too. That's one way that Bill Lawrence got those super bright, yet hot humbuckers. He also didn't use a metal baseplate. You can also use thinner wire.

But in general, just don't over wind them. Look at pickups like Filtertrons. Those are around 4 to 5K.

[Possum]

...

Didn't BL use stainless steel blades? Those are bright...