Hayman pickups

[No Mutant Enemy]

I'm in the process of restoring a 1970s Hayman White Cloud and I thought you guys might be interested in these shots of the pickups. They have bobbin-less coils, similar to the Burns Tri-Sonic pickups described by David Schwab elsewhere on here, placed on a moulded plastic coil-carrier which carries a slab of iron into which the pole-screws are fitted. The assembled pickups are then screwed to a big steel plate which is bolted to another one, with six magnets sandwiched between them.

Cheers,
Ian

[David Schwab]

Thanks for the photos. Can you show the steel plate and the magnets? I'm trying to picture it.

I was REALLY hoping this thread was going to be about the RE-AN humbuckers! They were the oddest things I've ever seen. Been trying to find photos of the guts for years now.

The coils were toroids wound on a ferrite core, and the magnet wire was that cloth covered stuff like in AM radio antennae, which was exactly what they looked like.

I wonder if they also made these single coils?

I used to have one of these:

[the great waldo]

Hi David

The hayman and shergold pickups also had a large magnet about 12 mm x 12mm and 56 mm or more and if i remember correctly the coils were quite small. Apparently Jack Golder used to make a lot of tv cases and furniture in the factory and the guitars were a bit of a sideline. Thats what I was told at the time when I had my workshop under the Rose Morris retail outlet in Shaftesbury Avenue in London in the late 70īs early 80īs. Some of the guitars had so much wood routed out for the pickups that they would fall in two parts if dropped, but they did come with fanatastic low actions which was all the rage at the time.

Cheers

Andrew

Thanks for the photos. Can you show the steel plate and the magnets? I'm trying to picture it.

I was REALLY hoping this thread was going to be about the RE-AN humbuckers! They were the oddest things I've ever seen. Been trying to find photos of the guts for years now.

The coils were toroids wound on a ferrite core, and the magnet wire was that cloth covered stuff like in AM radio antennae, which was exactly what they looked like.

I wonder if they also made these single coils?

I used to have one of these:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15951[/ATTACH]

[jonson]

It wasn't a sideline Waldo, Jack went flat out building Hayman/Shergold and producing a lot of bodies and necks for his old buddies at Burns. Hundreds of Flyte bodies and when I saw him just before he died he was knocking out scroll necks etc. When he died I did manage to buy some of his stock and wish now I'd bought it all. His sons then reverted to the kitchen cabinet side of the business. Got a strange recollection that another member here made the Ned Callen pickups or similar there as well.

[the great waldo]

Those Ned Callen guitars were one of the few "hand made" guitars that came out at the time. I worked with Peter Cook who designed them for a while in the shop in Hanwell setting up Gibson guitars for Rossetti, this was the time when Gibson was trying to compete with fender making guitars like the Victory series. I remember we had a lefty Les paul custom that came in with dot markers on both sides of the fingerboard, so much for Gibsons quality control. I learnt a lot form Peter on how to do setups and fret jobs quickly as well as properly. The odd visit from John Entwistle and the Townshends was always an experience. Ealing had a great music scene and three guitar shops Tempo the ealing music centre/Dave Simms Peter Cooks
and also three guitar makers Peter Cook Chris Eccleshall and Me. Good times!!!

Cheers

Andrew

It wasn't a sideline Waldo, Jack went flat out building Hayman/Shergold and producing a lot of bodies and necks for his old buddies at Burns. Hundreds of Flyte bodies and when I saw him just before he died he was knocking out scroll necks etc. When he died I did manage to buy some of his stock and wish now I'd bought it all. His sons then reverted to the kitchen cabinet side of the business. Got a strange recollection that another member here made the Ned Callen pickups or similar there as well.

[No Mutant Enemy]

Thanks for the photos. Can you show the steel plate and the magnets? I'm trying to picture it.

Here's the bottom plate with the magnets. They were originally held on with paper double-stick tape; I replaced it with masking tape. Ignore the blue dots, they're just to ensure I put them back in the right places.

Here's a side view of the complete pickup assembly. The components are:
A: Spacer bar.
B: Neck pickup keeper bar. This is screwed into the bottom plate.
C: Magnet. There two more next to it, further "into" the picture.
D: Bushing for screw that attaches this assembly to the pickguard.
E: Top plate.
F: Bottom plate. This is the plate shown in the previous picture.
G: Middle pickup keeper bar.
H: Spacer.
I: Magnet. Again, one of three.
J: Spacer bar.

The keepers protude through rectangular slots in the top plate into the coil carrier, but not into the coil itself. You can probably see in the second of my original pictures that the hole has rounded ends, so the bar only goes as far as the moulded ribs.

I was REALLY hoping this thread was going to be about the RE-AN humbuckers! They were the oddest things I've ever seen. Been trying to find photos of the guts for years now.

Those Hayman 3030 humbuckers are probably the same as the ones in my Shergold Meteor; the switches and knobs are certainly identical. When I next have that in bits, I'll post some pictures.

I replaced the Mach One Humbusters (made by Re-An) in my Flyte. If I can find them (they're somewhere in my basement!), I'll see if I can get them opened up.

[jonson]

You guys are bringing back too many memories. Ealing (Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner) just for a start and the last time I saw Chris Eccleshall was when I gave him a load of Brazilian Rosewood offcuts for his inlay work at a Barbican show in the eighties, I think he'd already moved to the west country by then. I lived in Harrow back in the sixties and never went to Ealing music shops but occasionally Maurice Placquets about a mile away in Acton. Good pics guys/good memories.

[David Schwab]

Here's the bottom plate with the magnets. They were originally held on with paper double-stick tape; I replaced it with masking tape. Ignore the blue dots, they're just to ensure I put them back in the right places.

That's a whole lot of stuff going on there!

Those Hayman 3030 humbuckers are probably the same as the ones in my Shergold Meteor; the switches and knobs are certainly identical. When I next have that in bits, I'll post some pictures.

I replaced the Mach One Humbusters (made by Re-An) in my Flyte. If I can find them (they're somewhere in my basement!), I'll see if I can get them opened up.

When I got the 3030 I thought the pickups were really dark sounding. Then I noticed that they were using 100k volume and tone pots! I replaced them with 500k pots and it opened up the tone. Now it was loud and bright. The only reason I sold the guitar was the neck was too narrow for me to play comfortably. Wish I kept it now.

[No Mutant Enemy]

Yeah, the White Cloud also has 100K pots, but it sounds really smooth, like good boutique Strat pickups. Not sure about the Meteor.

[MacLoud]

Hi
I worked for Peter Cook for three years when the workshop was in a small brick garage in his parent's back garden in Perivale.
Ned Callan guitars were the product of Peter's design, Jack and Norman's woodwork (quality variable) and Derek Adams polyester spraywork (in an appalling place in Brick Lane).
I did wind all the pickups for the guitars as it was a job Peter hated. Simple plastic bobbins, rod magnets and wind until they were full.
I later had a shop and recording studio in Hanwell and when I wanted to move abroad, Peter bought the lease. I spent the last few weeks before I left setting up Gibsons sent from Rosetti. They were truly awful, the amount that were stuck in the cases was incredible. Sprayed and put away wet.............
Peter was a gifted maker but became disillusioned with the guitar business and sold the business to his partner Trevor Newman, who has now sold it on, however it still bears Peter's name.
Delta MacLoud

[the great waldo]

Hi Macloud

I used to do a lot of guitar repairs for Geoff Baker at Tempos while he was at the bottom of west Ealing in the little shop before he moved down to Hanwell, Geoffs selling technique was a real eye opener. I remember Derek Adams being nicknamed the Snowman (all that polyester dust) I used to end up spraying strats for tempos any colour so long as it was black or white. Different times.

Cheers

Andrew
ps. you donīt happen to know what happened to Mick Walmselley ? (I think I spelt that right) and by the way Peters gigging again with his band July

[MacLoud]

Hi Andrew
I remember Geoff Baker very well indeed, let us say his sales technique was "questionable" and leave it at that in a public forum.
I expect that Derek did not make old bones as he never seemed to wear a mask.
I spoke to Peter yesterday and I have a copy of the latest July recordings.
I do have a telephone number for Mick Walmsley, pm me if you want it.
regards

MacLoud

[milobender]

Just found this thread and nice to find some new to me Ned Callan info.I am in the states and actually have 2 Hombres,2 Basses,a single cut and double cut Salisbury(or SG)and recently got a Cody finally.Love them all,especially the Hombre models.Were all the pickups made in house?Have a thing for these quirky guitars,have Haymans and a couple John Birch guitars but started with a Burns split sound about 10 years ago. Would love to verify the SG styles are UK made as well. Thanks.

[MacLoud]

Hi Milobender.
Yes all Ned Callan pickups were made at our workshop in Perivale.
The bobbins were made to our spec by a local moulding company.
The metal covers were made and plated by another local company.
The magnets were bought in from Eclipse as I remember.
It really was just a case of putting the bobbins onto the machine and wind until full, all by hand and no turns counter..

There were nearly 3000 Ned Callan guitars manufactured before Peter went into other directions.
Delta MacLoud