Lollar Teisco pickups coming soon

[jason lollar]

I will have a teisco gold foil type pickup out in another 4 weeks maybe. Its .375 tall overall. It does have adjustable pole pieces but their location makes no difference due to internal construction and how the screws are anchored into a steel bracket. The magnet inside the coil acts as a pole piece much like a blade style pickup and it is app. 2.2 inches long so string number and spacing really makes no difference.
sorry about the crappy photo- its all I have.

[Steve A.]

Sounds great!

[Mark Hammer]

I've been slowly rebuilding one that I have. Maybe now I'll need to buy a second one, just for cosmetic balance!

Folks should probably note that the low profile on these means one can often just screw them to the top of a guitar without having to route the body in any way, other than for what to do with the wires.

[rjb]

It does have adjustable pole pieces but their location makes no difference... so string number and spacing really makes no difference.

Not being a wiseguy, just asking:
So, you're saying the adjustable pole pieces are purely cosmetic?

[David Schwab]

So, you're saying the adjustable pole pieces are purely cosmetic?

I'm not Jason, but I play one on TV... yes, that's how they were on the originals too.

[Mark Hammer]

That is also the internal workings of the old Epiphone New York pickups, like you see on this guitar: Epiphone Century Archtop 1959 Sunburst Price Guide | Reverb It may LOOK like there are two coils with adjustable screws in one of them, but there is really only one coil under the cover.

The principle is a little like the Fender Jaguar pickups, that have the magnetically conductive "comb" that couples to the underside of the polepieces, and then takes that pole and brings it up along the side of the pickup. In this case (the gold foil), the coil is wound around a bar magnet that has two holes in it for connection to the folded metal base, and the base is folded upwards along one side of the coil, but inside the cover, as opposed to outside the cover as with the Jaguar. It effectively repositions the main sensing area of a single coil pickup from top to bottom, to top to side. The P90 does that too, but it is centre-weighted, where the New York and gold-foils are sort of "side-weighted".

The adjustable screws are not entirely cosmetic. Let's just say they are maybe not as potent in their impact as the adjustable polepieces of a Dynasonic. Keep in mind that the folded metal baseplate provides a continuous field, from which the adjustable screws provide little "pimples". This is different than something like a humbucker bobbin, where the screw that goes all the way down to the keeper bar is essentially the only, or at least principle, means to bring the magnetic field of the bar magnet from under the pickup "up to the surface".

[jason lollar]

Mark has the details in his post - the poles are not purely cosmetic but if you leave them screwed down level with the cover there is a metal plate at the same level as the pole pieces so if your strings were out of alighnment it wouldnt matter, once you start raising them up they do work somewhat. This is one pickup where if any of the parts are off by just a few thousandths of an inch it keeps the pickup from assembling correctly. It took some adjustments to the individual parts before i could get everything to seat with a couple rivets- adjustments made before thousands of pieces were made that is.

[Mark Hammer]

Might we ask if there is anything "special" about the composition/material of the folded steel baseplate? A simple yes or no would suffice. Anything more is up to your discretion. That said, the nature of the bend and its machinability would suggest it is relatively soft steel.

[Bryan Jeppson]

An American producing (and undoubtedly improving on) Japanese electronic parts - kudos to you sir!

[jason lollar]

Right an american copying the japanese! Seems odd in this business but we could all learn by observing what the rest of the world is doing.
Anyway I wont give out the exact alloy- anyone can take a piece and send it off and have it analysed for about $50 Durkee Testing Laboratories but hot rolled mild steel with a zinc plating would get you in the ballpark.
After many years someone finally sent me a Bigsby blade pickup and they let me take it all apart and examine it and they let me cut a chunk off the blade to have it tested. it doesnt take much, they can do it with a sliver of metal about the size of a pencil lead but they tell you it needs to be larger. I would guess its more accurate with a larger piece.
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[michmcca]

A pickup that thin, and with that "gold foil" sound, strikes me as a candidate for floating on an arch top guitar. Jason Lollar: any chance of getting one with a finger rest mounting tab, like on your Johnny Smith? Thank you very much!

[jason lollar]

yes thats in the works- it was apparent right away and one of the reasons I pursued the design- its ultra thin design will fit on alot of instruments nothing else will work on. good observation!

[RedHouse]

I'm not Jason, but I play one on TV... yes, that's how they were on the originals too.

I'm not Jason either, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

IMHO none of the Teisco pickups from back in the day (70's) ever really sounded so good to my ears, but then, it might fit right into the whole "new-sound" trend, good going Jason.

[jason lollar]

Couple of things about that- somethimes what we remember things sounding like way back then turn out to be different than what we hear now. Consistancy of thse funky cheap pickups was not the best and variations in specific models can sound dramatically different.
i think if you heard a good example of one you would be most likely to be impressed but then again different strokes

[RedHouse]

Yeah, MMDV.
(my mileage does vary)

When I said back-in-the-day, I meant original cheap Japanese pickups, not my rememberance.

Fortunately I do not have to "remember" what they sound like as a buddy of mine has several Teisco's, a Kawai, Lyle, and even a few of those Sears jobs (with and w/o danelectro type pickups) he's a nut for the old Japan stuff, but they still sound crappy 2 me.
(but we're all different in what we like)