Formvar Single Coils...

[big_teee]

Why not take some wire off the pickups for him.
I do that all the time when I'm doing something new or trying different things on prototypes.
I put more turns on I take turns off.
I would take wire off the neck till its around 5.8, 6-6.2 for middle, and whatever you think for the bridge.
Terry

[magnetic sound]

I certainly could. I recommended going the route of a different wire. He wants a very clean tone for chords mainly. He says the pickups sound kind of woody to him, which I know where he's coming from.

What would you suggest: stick with formvar and remove some coils, or rewind with something else to achieve a cleaner sound for mainly chord playing?

[big_teee]

If you have the time I would try taking some wire off.
It would be the most frugal approach.
I happen to really like the HFV Woody sound of the 50s and 60s.
If you want to test them in a right hand guitar.
You can mount all but the neck pickup, turned around. if your guitar is routed enough.
I do this all the time lefty.
I turn the pickup around when I mount it in the pickguard.
That way I can test play a right hand pickup if I want to, in my lefty.
Good Luck,
Terry

[StarryNight]

trying to make suggestions on a pickup, rig, player, we've never heard is kind of tricky . For a "cleaner" tone one would think a lower DCR, further distance from the strings, A5 magnets for clarity - maybe slightly de-gaussed. Even the type of string and pot values should be considered. The difference between PE and HF are, I think, small variables in this equation. A clean sould can be achieved using both.

[magnetic sound]

Thanks guys.

I think I will then go about removing some wire. The pickups in question are for neck and middle position. He's got a Lil 59 in the bridge. I actually should have my "test" guitar ready by the time I'm able to do this, so I can plop them in for a listen before installing in his guitar. Come to think of it....I can have HIM listen to them too while in the test guitar so he knows if there is any extraneous noises when the pickups are in his guitar as he plays, it's him not the pickup.

[FunkyKikuchiyo]

From my experience, it sounds like you're on the right track. HF is great at woody, warm, complex... but bright and clean seems to come from the single builds a bit more. It all depends on other factors, of course. Some others on here are a bit better in talking about magnet types than I am so I won't try to go into it, but I'm going to assume you've already considered that.

You may be able to interpret him setting them too close as a sign of what he is trying to get out of the pickups... probably more highs and pick attack. Perhaps the whole chorus thing he was thinking he heard was just the thicker sound of this pickup compared to what he was getting.

Really, I'm just guessing, though.

[Zhangliqun]

This guy sounds like the classic I-don't-really-know-what-I-want customer who is absolutely impossible to please. I have the feeling he won't like it with PE either. Or poly.

He will not like it on a boat.
He will not like it in a moat.
He will not like it on a plane.
He will not like it on a trane.

Sam he am.

God be with you...

OKAY...I had a chance to listen to the pickups in question and here is what I found out:

1) The initial description of the problem was quite far off.
2) There really wasn't any sort of weird artifact happening.
3) The owner requested a couple pickups (overwound) which were completely wrong for his style/sound he was going for.
4) I question how he has his settings on the guitar (volume & tone) because it contradicts what sound he is trying to achieve IMO.
5) I believe he had the pickups a little too high, although you could debate that.

I listened to him play and then I played the guitar. I ran both pickups (neck & middle) through a wide range of amp and guitar settings. They seemed to sound very good at low volume, and I think sounded really really good when I turned the amp up. (BTW - amp used was a mid 90's Fender Pro Jr. into a Top Hat 1x12 cab/Celestion Alnico Blue, no effects pedals.)

In the end I am removing the coils and winding new coils with either plain enamel or poly and winding to a lower turn count. If these pickups weren't left-hand staggered, I'd keep them and make him two new bobbins because I really do like the sound of these. But I have the specs I made these to so I should be able to make some up regardless.

I had a feeling this was how it was going to turn out because the person in question has a habit of doing this kind of stuff. I have looked at two amps of his with "weird sounds" which turn out to be nothing more than a typical tube amp. I have a strong feeling the newly wound pickups with yield some weird sound to him too. But either he likes them or not because I can't keep rewinding them.