Bass Pickup Shell

[doc-bass]

Hi.. guts

What's the material of those famous bass pickup (Bartolini, Bassline, EMG, LanePoor).? How to make it.? Is it injection or casting process.? I'm just wondering

[belwar]

The lane poors are epoxy or some other 2 part resin such as alumilite. The duncans look like a plastic injection mold (far superior in looks if you ask me). no idea on the barts, but would guess injection molded. Wal started with a plastic injection on the pro bass, then on the later MKII and MKIII did epoxy covers in molds. Check out alumilite.

[doc-bass]

Thank you...belwar

Bartolini looks like IC Chip material. Do the thickness of the shell (all sides) any affect to the magnet and RF sheild.?

I'm new at this forum. If I would like to make my own PU, where should I start.?

[David Schwab]

Most of the older Barts are cast in epoxy. Some of the newer ones use ABS shells like the Baselines.

You can get a lot of different shells here:

Got Guitar Parts? : Guitar Jones USA

[David Schwab]

The lane poors are epoxy or some other 2 part resin such as alumilite. The duncans look like a plastic injection mold (far superior in looks if you ask me). no idea on the barts, but would guess injection molded. Wal started with a plastic injection on the pro bass, then on the later MKII and MKIII did epoxy covers in molds. Check out alumilite.

Have you used alumilite for pickups? I was thinking of checking out a similar casting resin, but the open time is really short, and I can't see it seeping into the nooks and crannies in that short a period of time.

It would sure beat 24 hour cure time though.

[doc-bass]

thank you ..David

alumilite is very interested

[Stealth]

Apparently, jworellbass just cast his own alumilite pickup shells and the results are quite good.

[David Schwab]

Apparently, jworellbass just cast his own alumilite pickup shells and the results are quite good.

I just ordered some of this to try out:

AeroMarine Products - Casting Resin

I already use his epoxy.

[Bruce Johnson]

David;
I think that's the same casting resin that I've been using to make all of my bobbin parts for the last 5 years. I bought mine from a local place called Plastics Depot, and it's marked with their house brand name. The technical description all sounds the same. It's very easy to cast in silicone molds and will pick up fine details. It sets in about 5 minutes, but I usually allow 15 minutes before popping the parts out of the molds. The finished part machines about like model car kit styrene. It's naturally an opaque off-white.

One drawback is that you can't really color it to black. At least I haven't been able to. I've tried a lot of different pigments and dyes in it and the best I could get was a smokey grey. For bobbins, the grey is fine, but getting any good looking color (other than off white) for outer shells would be tricky.

MicroMark (the hobby supply place) lists a black pourable urethane casting resin, which sounds interesting. I was thinking of ordering some soon and trying it out.

[David Schwab]

Bruce, if you scroll down on the page I linked you will see:

AeroMarine "Jet Black" Casting Resin - "This is the best and blackest casting resin on the market"

That's the stuff I just ordered.

I do most of my pickups in plastic shells, but I do some in rubber molds, so I want to check this stuff out to speed things up.

[doc-bass]

I would like to buy winder machine, which one that all of you advised (good & cheap). I don't good in detail to build

[Rick Turner]

There are a couple of different black pigments often used for polyurethane casting resins like Alumilite. Get the carbon/lamp black. The other is iron oxide, and boy, will you be surprised when you cast a pickup with iron oxide pigmented resin! At least you'll be able to see the shape of the magnetic field(s)...though who knows what the effect might be on sound.

BTW, the earliest Bartolini shells were vacu-formed, not injection nor open cast molded. That's when they were called "Hi-A" pickups.

Hiya, Bruce...

[David King]

Doc-bass where are you? The asian winders on ebay look about as good as anything for the price and I imagine you could order them from anywhere in the world cost-effectively.

[Chris Turner]

Bruce, if you scroll down on the page I linked you will see:

AeroMarine "Jet Black" Casting Resin - "This is the best and blackest casting resin on the market"

That's the stuff I just ordered.

I do most of my pickups in plastic shells, but I do some in rubber molds, so I want to check this stuff out to speed things up.

This stuff might also be worth a shot: Smooth-Cast® ONYX® | Smooth-On, Inc.

[doc-bass]

Yes, I'm in asia and will look up at ebay