FIRST PICKUP

[bassjase128]

Hi all,

I am going to make my first pickup, I want to make a bucker for a bass preferably like a musicman or a warwick (MEC) copy. as I prefer the sound of these type.

As this is going to be my first pickup I would rather copy a tried and tested version than guess and mess up.

So... could someone be so kind to either give me the specs of a pickup or point me in the right direction to find one please.

I have a coil of 42 awg copper (and some experience as a motor rewinder in my past) and some plastic to make bobbins out of
(how much difference to the output sound is there due to the use of fibreboard or plastics etc???)

but I have not purchased my magnets yet as i am unsure as which to buy I would love to copy musicman bongo pickups using neodymium but they are expensive and im unsure as to the correct sizes etc and i wouldnt have any idea of how many turns.

some advice (in fact any advice) would be greatly appreciated.


jason

[bassjase128]

Many thanks for all the help !!! sarcasm is low i know.

just some small tips would be a great help.

thanks

J

[jonson]

Be Patient o Hull person. I'm not gonna give you advice as I don't muck around with Bass pickups. but the guys that will are asleep. Look at the time difference. You probably read that post by Spence about the Newbies coming on and asking Questions and this is what it's all about. Have you searched the forum and the old firebottle forum cus it's all there so you may not need any help.

[David Schwab]

I've been trying to find info for you on MM pickups, but I don't have any so far.

You can get an idea from looking at commercial units like Basslines. They give the DC resistance at the site. I'm sure they are probably wound with 42 AWG.

[bassjase128]

Thanks David,

im being impatient as always, im going to order a book dedicated to building pickups and get some knowledge before i try. I will concentrate on just getting a sound out of a pick then start to look at how to improve and then why this improves etc etc

thanks again

Jason

[Dave Kerr]

Take a look here for MM pickups through the ages.

[David Schwab]

Take a look here for MM pickups through the ages.

I saw a real pre EB Stingray that had a pickup I have not seen since. The guy that owned it said it was a prototype. Someone famous gave it to him... I think it was Robert Bell from Kool and the Gang, since they are from NJ and I have an old customer that was in their touring band. I also did some work for Clay Smith, their guitarist. So that must have been the connection.

The pickup had a closed cover and under that it had jazz bass style rod magnets, two for each string on each bobbin.

I tried to buy the bass from him but he wouldn't sell it.

[bassjase128]

That would have been interesting to have had a look at, but on the other hand they never went into production, so does this indicate that the pickup was not that good?

Jase

[Achiles]

David,how tall was the bobbin?

[David Schwab]

The bass sounded fine to me. The bobbins looked like the standard height. They had the two springs under the pickup.

It might have been something they started before the company went out of business, or in that transition after Leo stopped making them. I didn't get to take the neck off to see the date.