Scatterwound pickups

[Harrysong]

Hi!
What is a "scatterwound" Pickup? I read that Rickenbacker is wounding his guitar toasters that way

[David Schwab]

It's exactly what it sounds like. You wind the wire in a random scattered pattern, instead of nice and neat rows.

Pretty much any hand wound pickup is scatter wound.

[Harrysong]

Thanks David.
I guess that the only 2 o 3 bobbins that I wound in my life ended being scatterwounds.

I can´t get them to look nice and even for chrissake .

[Possum]

....

Actually a "scatter" wind is any coil that is wound where the magnet wire is not perfectly laid down side by side with the last wind. So machines do scatter winds if set to do so. Hand scatter is a different thing and is more random though not totally random, there is thought and control by a skilled winder. Rickenackher uses a computer controlled winder, SoundmasterG just sent me a picture of it, it looks like a Tanac, and they wind them one at a time!

[Harrysong]

Thanks Possum.
Can you share the picture?

[David Schwab]

Rickenackher uses a computer controlled winder, SoundmasterG just sent me a picture of it, it looks like a Tanac, and they wind them one at a time!

Hey, I want to see that too! No wonder they are back ordered a couple of years! You would think they were carving all the guitars by hand too.

I trade you the picture of their winder for the email John Hall sent me.

[Possum]

....

Your wish is my command....

[David Schwab]

Notice, you have to stare at the winder or it doesn't work.

[David Schwab]

And here you go. I had mentioned that Rickenbacker really should get with the times and use some graphite in their bass necks. Then they could get them nice and thin like the 70's 4001s, and have a more stable neck. I used to grab the head on my 4001 and bend the neck like a whammy bar!

Dear Sir:

A recent link brought me to your comments posted on the
Music-Electronics-Forum last July regarding our stance on the use of
graphite in necks.

Competent patent counsel has opined that U.S. Patent #4,846,039 still
effectively covers the use of graphite in guitar necks and will do so for
some years to come. That is the basis for my comment.

Gee, you don't use graphite in the SGD instruments do you? Well, it's
unlikely the patent holder will bother you but unfortunately our somewhat
deeper pockets would be a fine target for such an action. Actually, you
might consider that as an indirect answer to the other question you posed .
. .

In any case, we have a much better idea anyway, and we'll see what the
future brings.


Regards,


John C. Hall
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Rickenbacker Int'l Corp.
3895 S. Main St.
Santa Ana, CA. 92707

Tel: 714-545-5574
Fax: 714-754-0135
Web: Rickenbacker International Corporation

Note that patent number 4846039 is for a solid graphite neck, as made by Moses Graphite, and not for neck reinforcements, which is not patented, and Moses will gladly sell you CF rods for that use. He also seems to forget that Rick Turner held the original patent on the graphite neck, and then Ned Steinberger had one also, and still had to license Turner's.

My favorite line is "In any case, we have a much better idea anyway, and we'll see what the future brings."

He said that about the bridges on the basses and the fact that the pickups were not quite wide enough for the 5 strings.

And Mr. Hall, if you are reading this, make the necks wider on the guitars! They are almost as hard to play as a Mosrite.

[Harrysong]

It looks like it´s the Tanac AX3 single splinded model Winder.