Merry late christmas and a couple questions...

[copperheadroads]

IMO Heavy Formvar has a hollow sound - in all the descriptions i have heard "Hollow" fit it the best ...
& yes with my conclusion , there was a few 10's of thousands of turns wasted in R & D

[David Schwab]

Ok, skso I guess this would be the million dollar question... if PE and SPN sound pretty much the same, then why do companies still use the PE when it's like three times mlre expensive? Is it just a marketing ploy?

No, I said PE sounds darker. Formvar and SPN sound alike.

[David Schwab]

IMO Heavy Formvar has a hollow sound - in all the descriptions i have heard "Hollow" fit it the best ...
& yes with my conclusion , there was a few 10's of thousands of turns wasted in R & D

That's because it's thicker. I now have heavy formvar and heavy poly, and they both get that hollow tone. I like it for neck pickups. If you want to take that tone a step further, use 41 or 40 AWG wire. Very hollow and hi-fi sounding.

[big_teee]

That's because it's thicker. I now have heavy formvar and heavy poly, and they both get that hollow tone. I like it for neck pickups. If you want to take that tone a step further, use 41 or 40 AWG wire. Very hollow and hi-fi sounding.

David may have answered one of my questions.
About heavy HPN, and HFV.
I am getting low on the HFV, and was thinking of getting HPN next time instead of HFV. It's cheaper.
So for strat pickups it would sound very similar, and I think I could get the HPN in clear?
So David have you wound any strat coils with the HPN?
I know you don't normally wind any single coils.
Later,
Terry

[copperheadroads]

That's because it's thicker. I now have heavy formvar and heavy poly, and they both get that hollow tone. I like it for neck pickups. If you want to take that tone a step further, use 41 or 40 AWG wire. Very hollow and hi-fi sounding.

Thanks David ,I have been trying to score a small 2 lb spool of42 ga Heavy poly , to compare to HF but they are hard to find , The last time i inquired at BAE wire .they only had a 10 lb spool

[John Carlsen]

Is there any reason that I should keep my poly? The thing I'm having a hard time is that the poly is sooooooo much cheaper than plain enamel. BUT, i don't ever see other small companies like Lollar, Fralin, etc. talk about using poly. I only ever hear them talk about formvar or PE. Same thing with Leosounds, bare knuckles, etc. Is it just marketing or am i really going to need to buy the pricey stuff to keep up with the best sound i can get?

[big_teee]

Is there any reason that I should keep my poly? The thing I'm having a hard time is that the poly is sooooooo much cheaper than plain enamel. BUT, i don't ever see other small companies like Lollar, Fralin, etc. talk about using poly. I only ever hear them talk about formvar or PE. Same thing with Leosounds, bare knuckles, etc. Is it just marketing or am i really going to need to buy the pricey stuff to keep up with the best sound i can get?

It depends on what type pickups your winding and How much money you can spend.
It's hard to find PE in less than 5 pound rolls.
Most winders winding vintage humbuckers, use 42PE.
Most winders winding vintage 50s and early 60s strat coils use Heavy Formvar.
If your winding vintage late 60s & 70s strat coils 42PE.
Vintage tele pickups used 42PE on the Bridge, and 43PE on the neck.
So you see it can get to be quite an investment.
You make the call.
Good Luck,
Terry

[John Carlsen]

thanks, that helps a ton, Terry! I suppose that what I'm hearing is that the biggest reason to use formvar or PE is to be "vintage-correct" if I'm doing that kind of thing. Right now, I'm mostly doing strat pickups. Would it be reasonable to think that I should be stocked on all three types? Formvar for 50s and early 60s, PE for late 60s and then perhaps Poly for more modern type strat pickups? Basically what I'm finding is that in the realm of strat pickups, there aren't really too many ways to slice the pie. The differences I've been finding have been more subtle and have more to do with the "feel" when I'm playing them, depending on the magnet, insultion, etc. It'll still sound like a strat pickup, just beefier, or clearer, or whatever. I guess my biggest question is if I could reasonably expect to be able to sell a marketable product with Poly, or will people look the other way just because of the wire type?

[big_teee]

No, I said PE sounds darker. Formvar and SPN sound alike.

David you say Formvar and SPN sound alike?
Are both the Formavar (HFV), and SPN (HPN), both double insulation not Single?
That was my question earlier.
If I bought heavy Poly HPN, would it sound the same as HFV?
In Your Opinion?
Later,
Terry