Neck Pickup Attack

[David Schwab]

That does look like a lot of aluminum. if the pole screws are steel, could they have some role in guiding flux through the coil?

It is aluminum. I believe the pole screws were steel, just regular humbucker poles, but it's been a while since I had that pickup here. I do remember that there was no magnetism at the fake poles. The also use humbucker poles to secure the pickup to the brass baseplate:



You can see the two blades on either side. But because they put the pole pieces in upside down, they don't get close enough the cover. I think the pickup would sound better with the aluminum thing removed so the blades would be right under the cover.


Wound with 43 gauge wire:

[David Schwab]

I agree, i knew when i bought that bass. I got it for a reduced price - cheap enough to justify new pickups. The pickup maker closest to me has got an order für darkstar-alikes under the standard covers. Thanks to this forum i could supply the specs.

The pole screws in the gibson beast do not have any noticeable effect. BTW: its sound is cold and it lacks "upper bass / lower mids". Like a heavy-metal-screaming-super-distortion guitar pickup would sound in that position (i had tried such PUs in my RD bass). Must be played REALLY loud in order to be audible.

I have been making sidewinders that fit the covers. They have a nice low end with a top end that sounds a lot like an old Rickenbacker.

[bea]

That looks as if the bobbins had been turned toward each other with the magnets faced inward and the two coming too close to the strings removed?

[bea]

...two blades on either side. But because they put the pole pieces in upside down, they don't get close enough the cover. I think the pickup would sound better with the aluminum thing removed so the blades would be right under the cover...

Maybe a tiny bit, but not substantially better (i tried). IMO they would need Alnico magnets or more iron. Alnico magnets would be an easy job for Gibson, and it would have the huge advantage of a much better balance with the bridge pickup.

Just have connected the coils in parallel. Not unexpedly the overall sound did not change too much (the higher resonance is NOT an advantage). But at least the two pickups are now more or less balanced.

Maybe it would help to put two steel blades on top of each coil?

[David Schwab]

That looks as if the bobbins had been turned toward each other with the magnets faced inward and the two coming too close to the strings removed?

That's exactly how the Gibson mudbucker is, it's a sidewinder. Only they have steel in the bobbins and the magnets on the ends.

[David Schwab]

Maybe a tiny bit, but not substantially better (i tried). IMO they would need Alnico magnets or more iron. Alnico magnets would be an easy job for Gibson, and it would have the huge advantage of a much better balance with the bridge pickup.

Just have connected the coils in parallel. Not unexpedly the overall sound did not change too much (the higher resonance is NOT an advantage). But at least the two pickups are now more or less balanced.

Maybe it would help to put two steel blades on top of each coil?

Ceramic magnets are stronger, which will make the pickup louder and more sensitive. They already have steel blades in the bobbins. They don't need alnico. That would make the pickup sound mushy.

They need to get the blades closer to the cover and lose the block of aluminum in the middle.

[bea]

That would make the pickup sound mushy.

That's probably the problem with the Epi and ARTEC sidewinders. They actually have improved by adding additional steel blades, but not enough.

To the TB-plus-bucker:

They need to get the blades closer to the cover and lose the block of aluminum in the middle.

That's what i did to the pickup. For my taste it is still too "cold", albeit very "clear". And yes, a tiny bit more mushiness and warmth would IMO be nice. I think i'd do another simple and cheap experiment before i start experimenting with the Bisonic like pickups.

BTW: according to the official Gibson specs, in the midtown bass the TB plus neck pickup is said to be equipped with Alnico 2 magnets (and the bridge with ferrite, just the opposite of SG and Junior DC). I am surprised.

[bea]

They need to get the blades closer to the cover and lose the block of aluminum in the middle.

Quickly summing up the present state of the project:

- removed the aluminum bar
- switched coils parallel
- attached a steel bar of 60x10x4 mm to one of the inner magnets (the 100 mm pointing toward the strings)

the latter step gave the pickup some warmth, but also gives the tone some mushiness. Actually the direction i want it, but actually a bit too much.

I'll experiment with one or maybe two thinner blades, and i am looking forward to find a state where the pickup is not only more useful than before but really useful. It appears to find the right balance by trial and error.

[bea]

Let's continue with the TB-Plus, starting from here:



To turn it into a sidewinder, the bobbins have to be turned face to face to each other. A steel blade is put between the bobbins. Due to the large distance between the bobbins the wires are long enough.

Here the prototype:



I used a spare blade of 4x10x60 mm on an insulated brass socket of 5x5x60 mm i glued on the baseplate. Coils were conncted in parrallel - i did that earlier to tame the TBplus a bit.

Result: less ultra deep bass mud, more pronounced upper bass/lower mid. Unfortunately a really sharp resonance. I will probably need coils in series and/or a thicker blade.
But anyway: turning the tone pot down a bit leads to a really nice sound which is everything but dull. Turning the tone pot to 0 gives a sound pretty close to a mudbucker with open tone pot. So all the remaining issues can be resolved electronically.
Despite of that i am going to try a 6 mm wide blade, like it is used in the real mudbuckers.

[bea]

Played it in my Duo this evening. Replaced one of the pots by a PU selector switch. The neck PU needs to be tamed - resonance too strong, maybe a bit high, needs to be tamed a bit.

Meanwhile i simply added 2.2 nF and 470 kOhms parallel to the input of the volume pot to bring down the resonance of either PU a bit.

But the sidewinder still lacks some deep mids, there is still a bit too much deep bass and some lack of lower mids. Sound will not fit very well into any band context.

What about adding a 2nd steel bar + proper insulation (because of eddy currents) - would that help?