The reference thread for newbies!

[David Schwab]

I'm betting very loose tension is the culprit. I cant think of another way getting 13000 turns and being too big for a P-Bass cover??

It was a Jazz bass cover. He said two coils, so he must have been making a side by side humbucker. A Jazz bass bobbin is a lot taller though. But I think thats still too much wire to try and fir on there using 42. You have to use 43, like Dimarzio does. And still, that's too low a resistance.

Along with maybe too much scatter...Too much scatter and loose windings will fill up a bobbin fast.

It looks loose.

[Biarnel]

You posted a picture of the coil as seen from the top. Could you also publish a side-view picture? Please include a metric scale in the photo. This will prevent any measurement and/or translation confusion questions. Actually, top and side, with rulers, would be best.

PLease note that I'm not home right now. At the moment, I'm stealing PSTN connection from my parents-in-law telephone line. Next weekm when I'll be home, I'll post plenty of pictures.

In the meanwhile, I ordered from stewmac a bobbin of #43, the schatten winder, and 2 HB kit: we will perform tests on regular wire and regular winders.

You guys are really something. You helped me a lot, and it's 7 pages of forum at the moment thanks a lot.

By the way... how may I build a tensioner? i don't think I should tensioning with my fingers.

[black_labb]

sorry if its been mentioned but i didnt read the last 2 pages.

being a mechanical counter does it count the amount of rotations a shaft attached to the counter does. and then is it connected to the pup rotation shaft via a pulley. if this is the case then you probably didnt calculate the ratio. unless the 2 surfaces the pulley runs on are the same diameter, then you will be getting a different number on the counter compared to the number that there actually is.

if this is the case then id imagine that the diameter on the counter is smaller than the diameter of the pup rotating device.

[David Schwab]

In the meanwhile, I ordered from stewmac a bobbin of #43, the schatten winder, and 2 HB kit: we will perform tests on regular wire and regular winders.

Well I might be the only one here with a Schatten winder... Those kits are good practice, and they end up sounding good too. I haven't wound any with 43 gauge yet though.

You guys are really something. You helped me a lot, and it's 7 pages of forum at the moment thanks a lot.

Glad to hear it! We might seem rough, but we mean well. It's one big seemingly happy family.

By the way... how may I build a tensioner? i don't think I should tensioning with my fingers.

I use my fingers. That's a good way to start out. You will get a feel for the amount of tension to use.

[mkat]

This is a bass pickup the flatwork is 2cm x 4cm, and there's plenty of room for 7500 turns.

The flatwork on your bobbin is not the standard size for PBass bobbins, they're too small. I have a Fender '61 PBass set in front of me and the bobbins are almost full and look nothing like yours, which looks like a smaller coil. In saying this, from memory of one of your earlier posts I think your coil height is larger than a standard PBass pickup so that may account for why it looks so thin (one reason anyway).

Regards,

Michael

[Biarnel]

I would like to thank everyone in this thread for being so useful.
Now, I discovered that the wire I used was AWG41, that maybe was the main trouble.
I will use that for some "active" project.

Now I have really-overpriced schatten winder, and my pickups are getting better and better at each winding.

I installed a P + J set on my latest bass, here, http://www.biarnel.com/liuteria/iter/iter2.html and I'm SO VERY happy of their voice.

Really, this forum is wonderful. I write on several forums, and often people simply don't want to share knowlegde, or they want to keep being "better than you".

I'm a total newbie here, and lots of people helped me. So, I'm just here to say thanks.