Tall coils vs. short coils

[Biarnel]

Sorry if the topic it's not that fresh, but the search function did not answer my questions.

So, tall coil: more space for more windings; short coil: less space.

tall:
---------------
   I I I I I I
   I I I I I I
---------------

short:
---------------
   I I I I I I
---------------

You have a tall coil using tall mags, or using thin flatwork.
You have a short coil using short mags, or using thick flatwork, stealing room for the wire.

Using the same number of turns, the short one will end up in a fatter and thicker coil, while the tall one will be slimmer.

Let's discuss about:
difference in sound
difference in volume
difference in resonance/harmonics
difference in overall "beauty" of the sound

(ah, I'm talking about bass-oriented pickups... maybe for a guitar it's completely different)

[David Schwab]

Well a few obvious examples would be Fender Precision Bass pickups, verses Jazz Bass pickups.

The P Bass has wide squat coils. The Jazz has tall thin coils. The P bass pickups have a fatter tone, while the Jazz has more upper mids and harmonics because it's sampling a smaller section of the string.

Another example would be a Strat pickup compared to a Jazzmaster. The Jazzmaster has that broader mellower tone.

Then take a P-90. Another variation of a wide flat coil. Compare that to a single coil Melody Maker pickup.

Ric pickups are on the squat side also.

As for the reason? A few things to consider would be a wider flat coil has a wider aperture. So it's sensing a wider sample of the string. More fundamental and less harmonics because the harmonics are likely canceling out because they are closely spaced.

Another factor is probably the outer wraps of the coil are farther from the poles so some highs are lost in the windings?

I like both coil types for different things. I tend to like the taller coils better for bass, or in my case, two tall coils in a humbucker.

[bassjase128]

HI newby here,

I take it (regarding P-bass and Jazz pickups) you could build a middle of the road pickup and get a 'best of both worlds' sound? by building the pick up in between depths and widths of the two pick ups (if that makes sense)

Jason

[Achiles]

Talking about bobbins,
are GJ and Guitars parts USA bobbins the same?

[Possum]

...

No.

[mkat]

So, tall coil: more space for more windings; short coil: less space.

No, that's not right, as the number of windings is determined by more than the height of the coil. The space varies but you can still get the same, more or less space regardless of the height because the dimensions of the bobbin and/or your design determine this.

However, turns per layer is another story and would fit more to your assumption.