Foreword : the goal of this topic is to share my experience and thoughts of hobbyist. But if someone wants to answer my questions, I’ll be grateful, of course.
So, I’ve compared a genuine vintage 1962 Strat pickup with a contemporary replica built by a “big brand”, in the same guitar, with the same settings. Both PU’s are A5 single coils with staggered mags.
Inductance @ 400hz are identical: 2,6H.
Resonant peaks are virtually the same. Screenshot below. A slightly lower resonant frequency suggests a bit more capacitance in the vintage coil.
DCR= 6k (vintage) vs 6,5k (replica).
Gauss levels aren’t the same: according to the Teslameter used, the theoretically degaussed replica is still 1,25X more magnetized than the vintage PU.
Harmonics spectrums are vastly different: the vintage PU has a prominent fundamental but provides 1/3 more upper harmonics. See the 2d screenshot below, where each PU amplifies a 1khz signal.
Tone: the 62 sounds vintage, you guess it. The replica sounds good on its own but once compared to the vintage model, it exhibits an unpleasant upper mid spike.
Hypothesis:
-the superior harmonic richness of the vintage model is imputable to its hand-wound coil.
-the higher inductance to resistance ratio in the vintage PU implies a different alnico formula, with a higher ferrous content in the old recipe.
-I still wonder the reason why the staggering of the harmonics is so different while the resonant peaks are comparable. Winding patterns? Magnetic field ? Something else?
Any thought?
Dear pickup winders, if one of you feels able to match the features noticed in the vintage model, I’ll be happy to order him a couple of PU’s…
I wish you all a merry Xmas and a happy New Year!
So, I’ve compared a genuine vintage 1962 Strat pickup with a contemporary replica built by a “big brand”, in the same guitar, with the same settings. Both PU’s are A5 single coils with staggered mags.
Inductance @ 400hz are identical: 2,6H.
Resonant peaks are virtually the same. Screenshot below. A slightly lower resonant frequency suggests a bit more capacitance in the vintage coil.
DCR= 6k (vintage) vs 6,5k (replica).
Gauss levels aren’t the same: according to the Teslameter used, the theoretically degaussed replica is still 1,25X more magnetized than the vintage PU.
Harmonics spectrums are vastly different: the vintage PU has a prominent fundamental but provides 1/3 more upper harmonics. See the 2d screenshot below, where each PU amplifies a 1khz signal.
Tone: the 62 sounds vintage, you guess it. The replica sounds good on its own but once compared to the vintage model, it exhibits an unpleasant upper mid spike.
Hypothesis:
-the superior harmonic richness of the vintage model is imputable to its hand-wound coil.
-the higher inductance to resistance ratio in the vintage PU implies a different alnico formula, with a higher ferrous content in the old recipe.
-I still wonder the reason why the staggering of the harmonics is so different while the resonant peaks are comparable. Winding patterns? Magnetic field ? Something else?
Any thought?
Dear pickup winders, if one of you feels able to match the features noticed in the vintage model, I’ll be happy to order him a couple of PU’s…
I wish you all a merry Xmas and a happy New Year!
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