Soapbar bass pickups!

[big_teee]

Making some Soapbars for my Ibanez SoundGear SR300L.
I bought the bass used, and it has always been real noisy when plugged in with or without the volume turned up.
I had intentions when I bought it to make new pickups and rewire it Passive.
I've had it a year, and finally got around to messing with it
It sounded much better as soon as I rewired it passive.
The stock Ibanez pickups are 2 wire and will work passive.
They are 13k for neck, and 10.5k for the bridge.
They are marked position front and rear.
I tried them that way wired passive, then I switched them, so the 10.5k is in the neck position.
Sounded better that way.
I made my humbuckers with the 3 inch bobbins, with ceramic magnets that go in the bobbins, from Mojo.
This is not my normal pickup winding niche.
Any tips to get the most out of passive humbuckers.
Wound Low, Medium, or High?
Thanks,
T

[big_teee]

Worked slick and these are about the easiest humbuckers I've built yet, considering all types.
That includes the PAFs, Mini, Mini blades, etc.
T

[big_teee]

Here's a couple pics of the Soapbar pickups I made for my Ibanez SR300L Lefty Bass.
This is my novice/Hobbyist approach to making Soapbar Pickups.
I'm sure there are more professional ways to make them, and finished with epoxy, but this worked fine and anyone can make them like this.
The bobbins sit on a hand cut plastic plate.
the Bobbin assembly goes in the cover, and can be finished a variety of ways.
I spot glue the plate to the cover.
Then I wax pot in the cover.
Drain the hot wax.
You can epoxy or leave as is.
Just some ideas of how to get started making soapbars in the covers.
Pretty easy to make and They sound great.
Experiment in the 5-10k DCR range depending on what tone, and brightness your looking for.
T

[big_teee]

This Thread has had over 320 hits?
Just curious if anyone has tried to make a similar soapbar bass pickup yet?
They are so easy to make, and I was so suprised how great they sound.
And close to zero hum or noise.
T

[Rodent]

on my list of things to do in 2014 ... getting everything ready for NAMM is keeping me more than busy right now, and winding is limited to rolling what I already have recipes for with the exception that I have a split-coil J4 I need to get matched up to my P4 before I head down to Anaheim in Jan

R

[Rodent]

I'd sure like to find a source for Bart P2 and P4 sized 3-hole covers. I'm not a fan of the 4-hole or EMG sized covers

R

[big_teee]

I'd sure like to find a source for Bart P2 and P4 sized 3-hole covers. I'm not a fan of the 4-hole or EMG sized covers

R

That was the only covers mojo had that fit my Ibanez route.
You can use any cover that will fit the hole route of your bass.
I plan on routing a P-bass with a soapbar at the bridge soon.
Not sure where you would get the Bartolini covers?
T

[Rodent]

I'm definitely not looking to vacuum form covers myself, and keep glancing towards silicone molding ... but that sure is a lot of added work. One advantage I see with molding my own covers is that I can make them whatever size I want or need. that's fine for my own bass offerings, but IMO not something the aftermarket will be too receptive to embracing

R

[big_teee]

I'll just stick to what covers I can buy readily available.
If I was to route a new hole in a bass, I would stick with the standard EMG sized covers.
I like the 4 hole covers I used also.
Good Luck to all that try the soapbar bass pickups, whatever cover you decide to use.
T

[big_teee]

Update on the Soapbars.
I tried substituting the plastic plate for a steel plate.
I thought the steel plate might add to the tone.
I soldered the shield to the steel plate.
If anything the steel plate made the pickup a bit darker, and I got a new static buzzing noise.
I tried grounding the steel plate different ways and the noise stayed there.
I potted the pickup with the steel plate and no change.
So I took the bobbins off the steel plate, and spot glued back to the plastic plate.
The problem was solved.
I repotted the pickup with the cover on, and it is very quiet, and Near 99.5% no noise.
The quietest pickups I've ever made, and they have great bass tone.
The secret on soap bars is to get the right number of turns, or DCR for the position.
I tried different Pots, and settled on 500k Volume Pots, and a 1 meg Tone, with a .047uf Cap, YMMV.
My next adventure is to try making a Sidewinder style pickup using the same parts.
I will report back my findings and results.
T

[LowNote]

big_teee, did you use the ceramic 8 2.60" long bars? If so those are the ones I used, wound with 42PE to DCR of 3.4 per coil. What DCR did you wind yours to? I haven't had much time to experiment with them in a bass yet, though.

LowNote

[big_teee]

big_teee, did you use the ceramic 8 2.60" long bars? If so those are the ones I used, wound with 42PE to DCR of 3.4 per coil. What DCR did you wind yours to? I haven't had much time to experiment with them in a bass yet, though.

LowNote

Hi LowNote:
Yes I used the 2.60" C8 mojo magnets and bobbins.
I did lots of experimenting, and the neck pickup ended up, on my Ibby SR300L is about 7.5k series total.
The bridge pair is around 9k series total.
Yours should sound good.
It depends on the pickup location and tone your looking for.
I'm running mine Passive.
The pickups were noisy if you touched or tapped the cover before potting.
I potted the pickups and poured all hot wax out of the covers.
Much quieter to the touch, and no microphonics after potting.
T

[LowNote]

Are you doing a scatter wind? Not much room on those bobbins, 3.4k was about all I had room for with a scatter wind. I just ordered another set of bars and bobbins for four more coils. I'm going to use 43PE on these to get a higher DCR. I should have some time to play with the other set in the next few days. The real test is at practice with other guitars to how well they play with others.

LowNote

[big_teee]

Yes I use the 3 inch long bobbins.
Mojotone Bass Blade Pickup Bobbin Black (4 String)
Outside dimensions of bobbin are 3.00 long x .540 wide x .500 tall, There is a .150 x .430 channel for wire.
I hand wind, but I do minimum scatter.
I wind the bobbin with the magnet blade in the bobbin.
That keeps the bobbin from deforming, but you can still use medium tight tension.
9-10k of .0026" 42 gauge wire is doable.
I'm going to try another one with 41 gauge, and a sidewinder is another option.
Your 6.8k should be just right for the neck, may be fine for the bridge if you want it pretty bright?
You may want more on the bridge, try them both ways.
T

[big_teee]

I am in the process of winding another Pair of bobbins with the 41SPN.
It occurred to me the problem with getting more wire on the bobbins.
The bobbins have square corners on the inside of the winding area of the bobbins.
If you take a small file, and round the corners near the end, it eliminates the wire cutting across the sharp edge, and it gives more room for the wire.
Allowing 9-10k of 42AWG.
T