Some people...

[David Schwab]

I started making pickups for the same reason I started building basses; I couldn't find what I wanted in commercial products. And I like making things.

[jonson]

Don't blame him it's not his fault. He got born a fool and just got bigger. As to the age group thingy well that includes me at 63, but I can't remember living through it and if you do then you wern't there.
I don't think in the long run he will do much damage as most of the guys replying will never get round to it anyway. I belong to an Australian woodworking forum that has a musical instrument section and this forum is put forward with respect by quite a few guys over there, so no he will dissapear into obscurity.

[David Schwab]

...he will dissapear into obscurity.

The thread over there already seems to be deleted.

[jonson]

Looks right David it seems to have gone. Either their commercal rules were applied as he was advertising a winder or he upset more than us. None of the big guys would like that kind of crap either. Right now where was I with all this senility setting in......Oh yes got to chuck away all those old counters of mine and just guess at it in future.

[John_H]

It is insulting to see your hard work, and research trivialized. I don't know which is worse though. That or the usual hype.

[big_teee]

It is insulting to see your hard work, and research trivialized. I don't know which is worse though. That or the usual hype.

I agree John:
This went one way.
Normally I'm thinking the opposite. Damn It's just rewinding!
I really say that when I look at some of the sites, and prices!!!
Please don't shoot I'm only the Piano Player.
Terry

[madialex]

Yeah it was removed and me, not him who got the rule book thrown at him for mentioning I wound pickups, that crossed the line into commercialism? While he clearly was a shill for the winder guy and Bill Lawrence.

No disrespect to Don Mare but I have seen a lot of posts talking about ways he does some pickups and stuff and nothing is ever even mentioned. Not picking on you Don, just making an observation. Not to mention all the times he has self promoted "Rob that is" his guitar tech abilities and what jobs he has done this week etc... A lot of double standard there these days it seems

Never mind Don, I see you are paying for the Vendor rights, sorry. But the other guy is not a Vendor so whats up with that?

OK I'm now over it lol. It just burns me up when someone who hasn't half a clue spews stuff like that. What got me was him saying BL was the master and we were all just wannabe's. Personally I think BL is a great guy but I have never cared for his pickups, way too bright IMHO YMMV

[jason lollar]

dont let that sort of thing get to you, if you read the back cover of my book it said or says something like "now anyone can wind pickups"
Well yeah once someone with basic mechanical skills sees pickup winding and building demonstrated most people could do it- its just a matter of getting over the reluctance to try it although these days well over a decade after I published that book there is alot more info out there and less reluctance but I never said you should do this and then go start a business and I dont think Rob was saying that. if you are making one or two or 10 pickups for yourself or for guitars you build- who cares? just go by resistance because you will install it and youll hear if there is a problem.
i regularly get slammed by the new guys- i hear about it. People tell me that they say I wax the crap out of my pickups and my work is sloppy and my quality control is no good- its ridiculous!
My quality control is 10 X better than ever, 15 years ago and before i didnt know nearly as much about what to check for. i never saturate coils with wax, all my stuff has a level of microphonics i design in, my materials are far more consistant than they use to be because most of my stuff is either made in shop or made specifically for me so i am not as affected by different sources of supply with no warning. I test and retest- i have a whole schedule of quality control inspection that is different for every pickup. if you dont do alot of testing or dont know what to test for I gaurantee if you build enough pickups you are going to let alot of problems loose on the public and you wont know it
Some people just feel they have to step on the back of your neck on the climb up which is really a dumb ass way of going about it. I feel sorry for the new guys- there are so many people doing this that shouldnt be or that should maybe just make one type of pickup. Let them battle it out with price wars. one thing I learned the hard way- if you dont charge enough you wont be around in the long run and i have seen it demonstrated over and over- you cant afford to have parts on hand or have parts made or do the proper R+D or go to trade shows let alone feeding yourself. One of my biggest concerns is that I am around next time a customer wants me to be- proper pricing helps insure that I am there and I am ready to go with the right parts on hand when i am called on.
Anyone with the illusion that pickup winding is easy- its sort of like blues- it might be simple but its not easy- anyway people with that illusion wont be around for long if they had to do it all day long every day.

[StarryNight]

it's pretty obvious that spending thousands of hours and dollars into something that you're passionate about increases the committed to the understanding of it on a deeper level. No one inherently knows how to wind a good pickup - it takes study and practice. Anyone theoretically can wind a pickup, but the commitment/drive to do so is not something many people possess. Building a winder, sourcing specific parts, sourcing info, studying and r&d - is downright exhausting! You start speaking a different language. Your wife doesn't understand you anymore. You close your eyes and see wire. You try to imagine what steel sounds like! I mean, are we all nuts? I guess I'll just speak for myself.

[madialex]

I got a reply back from the Admin saying that it was I that disrespected the poster with my comments lol. How the hell is it that I disrespected him by simply disagreeing with him? He resorted to name calling which I never did, I did ask him to refrain from it I also stated several times I was not trying to make him mad only trying to make a point But I disrespected him.

Whatever, seems that forum is almost as bad as some others I had visited in the past.

[Spence]

I got a reply back from the Admin saying that it was I that disrespected the poster with my comments lol. How the hell is it that I disrespected him by simply disagreeing with him? He resorted to name calling which I never did, I did ask him to refrain from it I also stated several times I was not trying to make him mad only trying to make a point But I disrespected him.

Whatever, seems that forum is almost as bad as some others I had visited in the past.

Not all moderators are created equal.

[Chuck H]

All hail the Tboy

[soundmasterg]

All hail the Tboy

+3

[kevinT]

Had a similar thread in My Les Paul forum recently. It's interesting to see folks' perpectives regarding the pickup-making industry. It's funny because these are people that don't wind pickups or run a business but they seem to know all about it. It's easy to talk trash. It's a lot harder to back it up. It get's interesting further into the thread.

I didn't get to read the thread that Ben was referencing, but anyone with brains could probably tell that he had his own agenda...to sell a winding machine. However, to dis pickup winders at large is a crappy way to market a machine. Was it the sidewinder machine that is sold on ebay?

Tale of Two Bobbins : Winding Bobbins - My Les Paul Forums

[David Schwab]

I didn't get to read the thread that Ben was referencing, but anyone with brains could probably tell that he had his own agenda...to sell a winding machine. However, to dis pickup winders at large is a crappy way to market a machine. Was it the sidewinder machine that is sold on ebay?

Oh does he make that machine? Yeah, that's the one on eBay. He talked about the Schatten being over priced (it is), but I think that other one is also.

Tale of Two Bobbins : Winding Bobbins - My Les Paul Forums

Well that thread starts off a lot better...

Well as the title states, I tried my hand at Winding Bobbins over the past few months and wanted to pass on the results. Winding Bobbins really is an art. What I discovered is that Winding Bobbins is all about the materials , attention to detail mixed in with a small amount of marketing hype.

Initially I thought..."how hard could it be to Wind Bobbins and make a living at it". Once I really started thinking about it and investigated the whole business, I came to realize the time constraints of running a Winding Bobbin business. You have family issues that get in the way, issues with material suppliers, personal health, fires,floods, earthquakes ...any possible natural disaster that could arise to shut you down will eventually rear it's ugly head.