sidewinder wiring and winding....

[Possum]

No, the slug coil is a fast magnetic return, the distance of the field is much shorter return path than the pole screw side which is way longer. This is the reason alot of the old DeArmond single coils using alnico rods make them real long extending way down past the coil, it works. You can brighten a bucker up by cutting the screws off on the bottom, shortening them. If you want to make a real nice warm sounding bucker use two pole screw bobbins and no slugs. If you want a real bright single coil bucker use two slug coils.

You can't fit a P90 bobbin in a soap bar side winder, its not what I'm using at all. I'm altering a ready made bobbin that holds plenty of wire, it works quite well.

[Achiles]

This may help,using 1/8 screw as outside pole.
Q-tuners: World's first neodymium guitar and bass pickups.

[David Schwab]

No, the slug coil is a fast magnetic return, the distance of the field is much shorter return path than the pole screw side which is way longer.

Not on the top it isn't. And that's the only place that matters. Plus, the magnetic field travels at the speed of light, so how much faster could it be?

I think you mean to say the path is longer to the backs of the screws. But you aren't picking up the strings back there, and it's not going any slower or faster anyway. None of that matters one tiny little bit.

The difference in the tone of the two coils is because of the mass of the poles.

[David Schwab]

This may help,using 1/8 screw as outside pole.
Q-tuners: World's first neodymium guitar and bass pickups.

Be careful not to infringe on his patent. You can make sidewinders, but you can't make them with three rows of adjustable poles.

[Achiles]

Maybe short central screws (air gap)and bar keepers instead 1/8 screw.

[fieldwrangler]

Went to the fancy vintage guitar mecca here in Chicago this morning to lock myself in a small room with a Tweed Deluxe repro and some vintage Gibsons sporting P90's. I brought a mahogany test mule with my last gen P90-ish sidewinder in the bridge position.

I gotta say, I'm feeling real close on this one. In fact, I feel that I was just too conservative about making mine too "barkey" and the difference in inductance (mine is currently 5-something and the real bad boys are 6-ish) is just about exactly enough to account for the difference in voicing and output.

So, I'm gonna tentatively state that I think a sidewinder aspiring to P90 tones should probably have about the same inductance as the Real Things.

Bob Palmieri

[Possum]

Let me guess, you didn't use 42 gauge wire?

[fieldwrangler]

Let me guess, you didn't use 42 gauge wire?

Wrong, yet Oh So Right.

I did use 42 but I'm not cramming mine into a stock P90 case.

[David Schwab]

Wrong, yet Oh So Right.

I did use 42 but I'm not cramming mine into a stock P90 case.

The stock case might be fine as long as you don't mind the pickup sticking out the bottom!

[fieldwrangler]

True 'nuff.

[Possum]

Oh, well, then its back to "available real estate" problem. I think I'm going to finish mine and post sound samples if I don't burn out this weekend. Did you ever take apart one of those awful Gibson noiseless P90's? Basically they stacked two full P90's on top of eachother, thing weighs a ton and blows up your LCR meter if you dare hook it up to that ;-) They are unbelievably dark and you have to dig a deep hole in your guitar to use it.

[LtKojak]

Did you ever take apart one of those awful Gibson noiseless P90's? Basically they stacked two full P90's on top of eachother, thing weighs a ton and blows up your LCR meter if you dare hook it up to that ;-) They are unbelievably dark and you have to dig a deep hole in your guitar to use it.

They're called P-100s and they're arguably be the worst stock p'up ever, right after the Epi HBs.