True Hand Wound

[PoorMan]

Who does 'em?

I know Zhang does.

I never thought I would bother but I had (a little) free time last night and for some reason decided to try. So I sat down with wire in one hand and a bobbin in the other. I only wound one 'bucker bobbin. It's sloppy as all hell and very loose/spongy (mainly because I failed to notice I was winding over a lead wire for a good amount of time). I broke the wire 3 times and dropped the bobbin about 10. A clumsy effort for sure--and the beer didn't help either.

Because the wind is so loose, I'll probably scratch it and try a new one. I have no idea how many turns of wire, I just wound it until it was full and got 3.71k with 42 SPN. Probably would have made a nice neck pickup if the wire wasn't flappin' in the breeze.

Just thought I'd share. Anyone else got any stories or experiences to share?

[David Schwab]

why would you even bother?

It's not like there's a benefit in doing it that way.... no pickups were made like that.

[kevinT]

Who does 'em?

I know Zhang does.?

I thought Zhang used an electric drill setup? I could be mistaken.

I never thought I would bother but I had (a little) free time last night and for some reason decided to try. So I sat down with wire in one hand and a bobbin in the other. I only wound one 'bucker bobbin. It's sloppy as all hell and very loose/spongy (mainly because I failed to notice I was winding over a lead wire for a good amount of time). I broke the wire 3 times and dropped the bobbin about 10. A clumsy effort for sure--and the beer didn't help either.?

Man you must have the patience of Jobe. I would have needed quite a few beers to even think about attempting it.

[PoorMan]

why would you even bother?

It's not like there's a benefit in doing it that way.... no pickups were made like that.

Morbid curiosity, I guess. Just an experiment.

Some guys handwind...doesn't Tim White? I think Armstrong did.

[PoorMan]

I thought Zhang used an electric drill setup? I could be mistaken.



Man you must have the patience of Jobe. I would have needed quite a few beers to even think about attempting it.

Zhang offers pure hand wounds in addition to using a winder.

LOL! Perhaps the beers are to blame.

[Rosewood]

I tried winding a coil by hand about 25 years ago and got about a 1k turns on before I thought about going postal, and that was without beer.

[David Schwab]

Morbid curiosity, I guess. Just an experiment.

Some guys handwind...doesn't Tim White? I think Armstrong did.

I don't know who Tim White is, but I'd imagine most people used some kind of motor... like Seymour Duncan used a phonograph turntable.

I think Rick Turner started out doing it all manually too. That's why he wound pickups with low turn counts!

[Zhangliqun]

I don't know who Tim White is, but I'd imagine most people used some kind of motor... like Seymour Duncan used a phonograph turntable.

I think Rick Turner started out doing it all manually too. That's why he wound pickups with low turn counts!

It's true I do make a line of pu's (primarily humbuckers) with the wire wrapped entirely by hand. I was inspired by a Timbucker (Tim White pickup) that I opened it up and what I saw could not have been wound by a machine to my mind. I can't say with 100% certainty that he lays it on by hand but it would explain why his waiting list is 18 to 24 months. It would also explain how I got a very similar tone doing it that way.

It takes a little getting used to and you can wrap it pretty fast by hand with some practice, but I can get a humbucker coil done in about 2 hours, including the necessary breaks.