Multi-gauge coils?

[Steve A.]

I was wondering if anyone here has tried winding a tapped coil using, say, 42 or 43 gauge wire as the inner windings for the initial tap and then adding a thicker gauge wire like 32 to 38 gauge for the additional windings.

I was thinking that the additional windings should increase the strength of the coil without affecting the DC resistance that much. What brought this up is a Gibson 490T pickup that I want to make a little bit stronger (I've already replaced the A2 magnet with A5.)

While on the subject of unusual pickup windings the bridge pickup in Roy Buchanan's favorite tele, Nancy, was reportedly something like 4k ohms with an internal short that contributed to its unique sound. I would think that it would be the windings closest to the magnets that were shorted out (if it was the outer windings then it would be just like a severely underwound pickup- right?)

So has anyone tried to re-create Nancy by winding a tapped pickup and just using the outside windings?

Questions, questions, questions...

Thanks!

Steve Ahola

[Mike Sulzer]

Then there are others who say the pickup was actually open, working by means of capacitive coupling across the open.

[dpm]

I can't comment much on the Buchanan stuff but I wind tapped humbuckers with multiple gauges, usually starting with 42 to get a PAF vibe, then adding 43 or 44 to get a more modern slightly higher output option. The issue I see with adding heavier wire is that you'd run out of space without having a significant effect on the output and it'd be tonally almost identical. Only one way to find out for sure.

[madzub]

Then there are others who say the pickup was actually open, working by means of capacitive coupling across the open.

i'm one of those others. i once wound a tele pup with a tap, and by leaving the tap connection open, creating an open circuit somewhere in the middle, it got that nancy tone. don mare says nancy's bridge pup gave no measurement, hence an open circuit. i tested that tapped pup using just the inner and then just the outer winds, and as you'd expect it was just a weak, very underwound pup sound. the capacitive effect of the open circuit is what gave it that nancy tone.

[David Schwab]

Luthier Harvey Citron makes pickups with two different gauge wires on each coil. He calls them "custom blended" humbuckers.