Stacked Strat Bridge Pickup project!

[Stratz]

New issue.
Now the top coil is open.

I'm laughing out loud...

I know, I'm a bad person. Sorry Terry.

[big_teee]

These multi bobbin and multi tap pickups are a PITA!
I peeled it off, and I see what I did.
I pushed up on the middle forbon before I glued it.
I pinched a wire between the magnet and the forbon.
Keep in mind this small diameter 43 I'm using is pretty fragile.
Got to determine if the pickup is worth while.
Then we will come up with better methods.
I tell a lot on myself, that a lot guys don't tell us.
Like the TV fisherman doesn't show most of the ones that got away, and the F-ups.!
T

[SonnyW]

I feel for you Teee, and I can tell stories on myself too... I burned up a lot of wire last year fooling with a stacked pickup design almost like this using the .781 tele magnets and two tops, I worked out what I thought would be a stacked humbucking design. I thought I had it down and so I jumped the gun and wound up two sets of them just to discover that I didn't get the phase right between the coils and they weren't hum cancelling. I had buried the connections between the coils under the second winding, and basically what I ended up with was 6 tall non-hum cancelling scrap pickups. It wasn't until I soldered the leads on that I figured out I had goofed. I didn't even try to cut the wire off, just put them in a box and went on to the next project and never got back to it. Maybe I will try again sometime.

[big_teee]

I finished winding it this evening.
It's Untested.
I'm going with just two wire humbucking mode, and no split, or tap at this time.
The top coil is 7k+, bottom coil is 6k+, somewhere around 13.5k combined.
All starts and finish leads are accessible so It can be rewired if necessary.



This is a Prototype to test the Stacked design.
For hum canceling, and tonal possibilities.

[Lyrebird Steve]

When I built my stacked pickups I used my coil calculator (or use this excellent Coil Estimator) but you can pretty quickly see how you need to split your bobbin.

For example, that if you are winding the "Main" coil with a 42 Heavy Formvar on a standard Strat bobbin
- using 43 Single Poly you can wind 50% more turns into the same space ... thus you need a 3:2 ratio (ie allocate 50% more space for the 42HFV wire)
- using 44 Single Poly you can wind 100% more turns into the same space ... thus you need a 2:1 ratio (ie allocate 2x the space for the 42HFV wire)

I used 42HFV and 43 SPN so my bobbin (11.5mm) had a 1.5mm flatwork in the middle leaving 10mm of winding area. I opted for 6mm space at the top, and 4mm space at the bottom, and got about 6000 turns on both.

The top layer came out around 4.8k and the bottom around 6.2k

[big_teee]

I wound slightly unequal coils of different height, and both the same gauge.
I will try feeding the top taller coil, and grounding the lower coil.
I will test it tomorrow.
All of you guys are welcome to start and record your projects here on the BC.
Also list your data, and show pictures.
It makes it more fun and interesting when we all share and show our projects and data.
Trying to share and show how different pickups are made.
T

[big_teee]

Just took the pickup down to the shop.
I charged the magnets, and temporarily hooked it to the Amp.
It is hum canceling, it is also in its present state extremely Microphonic.
So first item tomorrow, is to warm up the wax pot and give it a good swim.
Then I will give it the guitar test.
I compared it to a strat single coil, and it definitely has less hum than the 7k single coil.
Keep your fingers crossed!
T

[Stratz]

No need to go through the bother of potting it until you listen to it in a guitar first. Just stand away from the amp and keep the volume down to where it wont squeal.

If you decide to rewind it it will be a mess.

[big_teee]

IT IS A BIG SUCCESS!!!
I went ahead and potted the Pickup.
I put it in my test Strat, and was Pleasantly surprised.
It is very quiet hum wise, and is good and loud, and does still sound stratty.
It is very bright, so you do need a good tone control on it.
Not sure if it would be right for neck and middle, but works well in the bridge.
I hope others will give it a try, and If I can help with the mechanics of it, let me know.
This project came out Well enough to warrant further testing and experimentation IMHO.
T
**
So to recap.
Used .781x.187" A5 Magnets.
Both coils wound the same direction, with 43 Gauge SPN.
Both Start leads go through to the bottom and tie to the eyelets, and cable leads.
Both Finish leads are soldered together and taped on top, under the cover.
Bottom coil is 1/4" bobbin height.
Top coil is about 5/16" bobbin height.
Bottom coil is 6k +, and Top Coil is 7k +.
Total DCR is around 13.5k Ohms.
This Project is a prototype to prove the Mechanics, and tonal possibillities.
No TPL, or Total turns available at this time.

[Mark Hammer]

What's the inductance on a puppy like that?

[big_teee]

What's the inductance on a puppy like that?

I have no idea, I have no test gear except a DMM.
I was just wanting to try all different Pickup designs.
Be able to help others here on the BC when They have questions or problems.
I just did a repair on a Seymour Duncan Stack, so that gave me lots of ideas.
It is a very bright pickup, I think 44 gauge would be a viable option also.
I'm still partial to the Strat mini blades, but Strat Players Want Pickups to look like Strat Vintage Pickups.
This fills that bill.
I was pleasantly surprised how much hum these canceled.
These seemed to be much more Hum canceling than the SD model I repaired.
It can be split, but I've never been a big fan of the volume drops, with splits and taps.
So I did the standard 2 wire Humbucking mode.
So give it a try if you want to.

[Stratz]

What's the inductance on a puppy like that?

Probably somewhere between the high 4's to low 5's Mark.

It is a very bright pickup,

Good job T.
Is it a useable bright or ice pick bright?
You can dumb it down with some copper foil if it's way too bright.

[big_teee]

Probably somewhere between the high 3's to low 4's Mark.


Good job T.
Is it a useable bright or ice pick bright?
You can dumb it down with some copper foil if it's way too bright.

No it's stratty bright.
I think I could up the cap on it.
I had a humbucker in that position, and I think it has a small cap in there now.
It's a usuable pickup, and could be adjusted.
So tell me how to use the copper foil?
Thanks

[Stratz]

So tell me how to use the copper foil?
Thanks

If there's room the easiest way would be to stick the foil to the inside perimeter of the cover. This way you wont screw up your pickup.

[rhgwynn]

Hey stratz, dont you need something to help isolate the bottom coil from the top? A lot of pickups like this have some sort of metal plate surrounding the bottom and sides of the top coil.

-Rob