Original '57 Strat pickup spec question

[kayakerca]

Anyone have or has measured up an original '57 Strat pickups for the diameter of the Alnico magnets used (.187" vs .195")? I seem to remember reading elsewhere that they where Alnico V magnets.

Thanks in advance.

[big_teee]

Hi Jim:
I don't find any magnet diameters listed anywhere.
I did find a bunch of various pictures, of guitars and pickups.
https://www.google.com/search?q=1957...w=1366&bih=582
They look to be large, or maybe appear that way cause the magnets are not beveled.
So it looks like:
Black Bottom flatwork
Heavy Formvar 42 wire
Magnet wire diameter .0029"
Staggered non beveled magnets
Cloth black & White hookup wire
Non RWRP
Wind Direction is TL/TG, (I interpret that to mean CW)
Hand wound
Magnets North up
8100 turns
Around 6k DCR
I would go with .195 magnets.
SD note 304 has most of this.
301-325 - Seymour Duncan
GL,
T

[kayakerca]

Hi Jim:
I don't find any magnet diameters listed anywhere.
I did find a bunch of various pictures, of guitars and pickups.
https://www.google.com/search?q=1957...w=1366&bih=582
They look to be large, or maybe appear that way cause the magnets are not beveled.
So it looks like:
Black Bottom flatwork
Heavy Formvar 42 wire
Magnet wire diameter .0029"
Staggered non beveled magnets
Cloth black & White hookup wire
Non RWRP
Wind Direction is TL/TG, (I interpret that to mean CW)
Hand wound
Magnets North up
8100 turns
Around 6k DCR
I would go with .195 magnets.
SD note 304 has most of this.
301-325 - Seymour Duncan
GL,
T

Thanks Terry. I think we would be on the same page on this one. I have to say I trust the SD historic data without reservation. I think I'll do both sizes and let the customer choose based on the tone when installed. And as you know, I am not a hand winder, so I'll do my CNC thing with a low tpl plus a set with my standards tpl. As much a prototype exercise as a sale.

[big_teee]

Thanks Terry. I think we would be on the same page on this one. I have to say I trust the SD historic data without reservation. I think I'll do both sizes and let the customer choose based on the tone when installed. And as you know, I am not a hand winder, so I'll do my CNC thing with a low tpl plus a set with my standards tpl. As much a prototype exercise as a sale.

Good luck on all of it.
I hear you on the hand wind.
If I had your rig I wouldn't either.
However the rig I have now is EZ-PZ
I also can't even imagine making a set without RWRP.
I also wouldn't make a set without a slight bevel.
I very much don't like sharp edge magnets.
So now that I have RWRP in the mix, then I need yellow and black wire in the middle.
Also not big on a aggressive stagger, so I would do a mild stagger.
I don't like any real short magnets, so I'm back to .671", .688s and .710s
So after those changes, I'm just right back to my standard pickups.
Have fun!
GL,
T

[kayakerca]

Good luck on all of it.
I hear you on the hand wind.
If I had your rig I wouldn't either.
However the rig I have now is EZ-PZ
I also can't even imagine making a set without RWRP.
I also wouldn't make a set without a slight bevel.
I very much don't like sharp edge magnets.
So now that I have RWRP in the mix, then I need yellow and black wire in the middle.
Also not big on a aggressive stagger, so I would do a mild stagger.
I don't like any real short magnets, so I'm back to .671", .688s and .710s
So after those changes, I'm just right back to my standard pickups.
Have fun!
GL,
T

Beveled for sure and RWRP as well when I get the protoype down for the set.

This is for a new customer (and I will say a new friend after a great 4 hours in his music room). He was only looking for a bridge pickup to match the tone of the bridge pickup in Eric Johnson's '57 Strat. It's funny, on the YouTube promo video with EJ playing his '57 up against the Fender Signature Series Strat, you can absolutely hear the difference in tone. Hope I am up to the task.

I took my 3 Strat test guitars I have loaded with 3 of the stock models I produce over to his place. After a couple hours of A/B switching the 3 guitars (without me telling him the specs of any of the sets) he liked the bridge on the test guitar that was in fact a 6K bridge. He liked it a lot, but not quite the goal. It was 42 SPN with A2's, so the HFV on A5's will hopefully make the grade (I'll try both .195's and .187's).

I was blown away when I dropped by this guys place (I use "this guy" as he asked me not to publish his name and address if I used the picture of part of his rig below ). The pic below is only about 20% of the gear he had in the room. You can't even see the pedals on the floor let alone the other rigs. He had an incredible ear and could tweak on the fly to move toward the tone he was looking for.



Obviously I am a hobbyist as no one doing this for a living could afford to spend so much time out at a 'potential' customer's music room for a single one-off pickup! Or maybe they do. Either way, he is now a customer and a friend that shares the same OCD character traits as I do. :-)