Vintage lapsteel pickup rewind

[StarryNight]

thought i would share this one as I think you guys would like the unique factor. I was stumped to figure out a way to rewind it as it was so bulky, but it all came together with some perseverance (notice how the forbon is covering the screw attaching the pickup to the winder ).
I'm still not sure of what the original coil consisted of; most of it was electrical tape with only a very small center which I couldn't make out - it was so compact. Also if anyone knows what magnets these are...? oh, and dig those monster caps!

[madialex]

I rewound an electromuse pickup for a restoration me and my buddy did recently. Pretty cool pickup. Was basically a big magnet that was shaped like a real skinny H. Kinda difficult to wind but I got it. First wind ended up dead because it caught the edge and broke the winding. Re-taped it and it did good next go round.

[David Schwab]

thought i would share this one as I think you guys would like the unique factor. I was stumped to figure out a way to rewind it as it was so bulky, but it all came together with some perseverance (notice how the forbon is covering the screw attaching the pickup to the winder ).
I'm still not sure of what the original coil consisted of; most of it was electrical tape with only a very small center which I couldn't make out - it was so compact. Also if anyone knows what magnets these are...? oh, and dig those monster caps!

Electar; is that an Epiphone?

I would think those would be cobalt steel magnets, like in the Charlie Christian pickups. Did they still have a decent charge?

You did a nice job there.

[copperheadroads]

Nice job Starry
I've been thinking about building a lap steel here lately & been taking in some info on them ,i don't remember ever playing one

[StarryNight]

yes, it said Epiphone on the headstock but perhaps the electronics were farmed out to Electar? I think Django Reinhardt played Electar amps. The gauss reading on my Elpro machine was around 250-300 so still a very good charge. The magnets really grabbed nicely during the screwdriver test. It was very cool to see a pickup design like this. It's kind of inspiring to think many design possibilities exist out there.

edit: sorry, I should have mentioned the gauss reading I took was at the top of the steel slug, not the magnets themselves.

[David Schwab]

yes, it said Epiphone on the headstock but perhaps the electronics were farmed out to Electar? I think Django Reinhardt played Electar amps.

Electar is one of Epiphone's trade names. The current Jack Casady bass has Electar written on the pickups.

The amp was called an Epiphone Zephyr Electar Orchestral Amplifier.

Epi Electar Amp


Electar Model-M Lap Steel Guitar - The Unofficial Epiphone Wiki

[rjb]

I rewound an electromuse pickup for a restoration me and my buddy did recently. Pretty cool pickup.

Ah, the venerable Eye-Beam. I also did an Electromuse restoration, obsessively documented here: http://music-electronics-forum.com/t26723/

I think the coolest thing about the Eye-Beam is its simplicity - or elegance, if you will. The pickup is just a coil of wire wrapped around an i-beam shaped magnet, with the i-beam's flanges forming the "bobbin". And it's wedged into its cover with two pieces of scrap insulation. Talk about minimalism.

Compare that to the complexity of this Electar thing. Take a gander at that mounting contraption in the 4th photo. Whole different design philosophy.

IMHO, these differences are what make old lapsteels (and banjos and saxophones and such) so neat.

-rb