Pickup Rewinds

[big_teee]

I have been winding on the pickups today.
Got to put the cables on the pickups, and the neck cover on and pot again.
I have 7900 turns on the neck, and 10,000+ on the bridge.
Should be a good blues tone.
Don't know how they will work in series, as hot as I have them wound.
I talked to the tele owner, my Blues playing Grandson.
He wants to start with the two pickups with the standard 4way wiring.
We'll see how that sounds.
Then go from there.
T
**I built the bridge pickup CCW/NorthUp, Neck CW/South up.
Replaced vintage cloth wire, with small 2-wire shielded.

[bbsailor]

Wow, that does sound like some great ideas.
Unfortunately, I don't have any of those parts right now.
If we like the series tone, I may order the parts later.
The other option, we're considering if the 4 way is a no go, is to route and install the middle pickup with a 5 way switch.
I have the templates, and parts to do that, and I've done that several times.
My player is a strat player, and it is hard to get a strat player turned on to a two pickup tele.
They feel limited, or naked, without the middle pickup.
Fixing to go start working on those pickups now.
Joe, thanks again for the input!
T

T,

Here is another way to consider a 3 pickup Telcaster switching options.

Use a DPDT mini switch between the volume and tone control to select whether the real neck pickup is selected or the middle pickup is selected as the neck pickup from a 4 position selection switch perspective. This gives you 8 switching choices while maintaining a familiar mental switching order from the players perspective. This can also be done using a DPDT push pull tone pot to simply alternate between the real neck pickup or the middle pickup being selected as the neck pickup from a switching perspective. This can easily fit on the Telecaster metal plate.

I don't mean to beat a dead horse but give it a chance to become a different animal... a Stratotele.

Joseph J. Rogowski

[big_teee]

T,
Try to use stacked concentric 500K volume controls wired for individual control of each pickup when used in parallel or series.

The pickup leads go to the pot center and outer lug. The output is taken from the other pot outer lug. Use a push pull pot with a DPDT switch for the tone pot to reverse the phase oh the neck pickup.

When two two pickups are on in either series or parallel and the phase switch is pulled up to be out of phase you get a nice notch effect but it can be tuned by a slight twist of either stacked volume control about one tenth of a turn.

All this fits on a Telecaster mounting plate and inside the body cutout.

Joseph J. Rogowski

Wow, that does sound like some great ideas.
Unfortunately, I don't have any of those parts right now.
If we like the series tone, I may order the parts later.
The other option, we're considering if the 4 way is a no go, is to route and install the middle pickup with a 5 way switch.
I have the templates, and parts to do that, and I've done that several times.
My player is a strat player, and it is hard to get a strat player turned on to a two pickup tele.
They feel limited, or naked, without the middle pickup.
Fixing to go start working on those pickups now.
Joe, thanks again for the input!
T

[bbsailor]

For a performance guitar, and this will be, I will use some 2 wire with shield.
The small black and white will be to the pickup, and the shield to the cover.
On the tape, fender, did that some years ago, I always took it out.
I like the magnets as close to the cover as possible.
I pot the neck pickup twice.
Once without the cover, and once with.
I've got the guitar all swarmed in my shop on a card table.
It has flooded rain all night, but I will go and rewind the pickups sometime today.
Going to wind the bridge hot, and the neck medium, both with 42.
I haven't had a project in a while.
Will have to clean the cobwebs off the winder!
T

T,
Try to use stacked concentric 500K volume controls wired for individual control of each pickup when used in parallel or series.

The pickup leads go to the pot center and outer lug. The output is taken from the other pot outer lug. Use a push pull pot with a DPDT switch for the tone pot to reverse the phase oh the neck pickup.

When two two pickups are on in either series or parallel and the phase switch is pulled up to be out of phase you get a nice notch effect but it can be tuned by a slight twist of either stacked volume control about one tenth of a turn.

All this fits on a Telecaster mounting plate and inside the body cutout.

Joseph J. Rogowski

[big_teee]

For a performance guitar, and this will be, I will use some 2 wire with shield.
The small black and white will be to the pickup, and the shield to the cover.
On the tape, fender, did that some years ago, I always took it out.
I like the magnets as close to the cover as possible.
I pot the neck pickup twice.
Once without the cover, and once with.
I've got the guitar all swarmed in my shop on a card table.
It has flooded rain all night, but I will go and rewind the pickups sometime today.
Going to wind the bridge hot, and the neck medium, both with 42.
I haven't had a project in a while.
Will have to clean the cobwebs off the winder!
T

[Leo_Gnardo]

With the neck pickup floated, with a separate ground?
You could wire it either polarity.
That's probably how it was wired.
I plan on making mine, regular RWRP.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
T

With the 4 way switch in neck only mode, or in parallel mode, one lead - typically the neg end - of the "floating" neck coil is attached to ground. In series mode, the negative end of the neck coil is attached to the positive end of the bridge coil. If the coils are in-polarity you wind up with an overall larger signal. I haven't tried reverse polarity, you might get a strat-like quack that way. Seems that's what you're going for with a RWRP pickup.

If the neck coil's - end is grounded, it defeats the ability to be series wired. If it's left attached to the pickup cover as normal, then you'll get a hum touching the pickup cover. I've had to do a little surgery on stock Tele neck pickups when installing 4 way switches, to remove the little jumper that goes from coil to cover, and tack on a separate wire to ground that cover.

[big_teee]

With the neck pickup floated, with a separate ground?
You could wire it either polarity.
That's probably how it was wired.
I plan on making mine, regular RWRP.
I'll let you know how it turns out.
T

[Leo_Gnardo]

One of the common 4 way wiring schemes has both pickups in parallel in one of the mid positions, and in the other position both pickups in series. For the series wiring to work, one of the pickups - in 4 ways I've wired, the neck pickup - has to be "floated", that is neither lead connected to ground. And that means intentionally or by accident. The tape may be in there to insulate the pickup from its metal cover. Hope this helps, Terry.

[big_teee]

I received a Tele guitar with issues.
Apparently it is a parts caster.
It has a nice 3 tone burst body with top binding.
The neck is a B-Heifner, licensed Tele Neck.
The bridge pickup says Van zant on the copper plated baseplate.
It measures open, and doesn't work.
The neck pickup still works but is muffled, and measures nearly 9K ohms.
The pickup switch is a 4 way, and does parallel and series.
Both pickups are wound CCW, bridge is South up, and the neck is North up.

Since I've never fooled with a four way switch, and series wiring, not sure about both being wound CCW?
Also both pickups have heavy masking tape over the magnet polls.
I've always let the magnets touch the cover and baseplate, with no tape.
Curious how others do theirs?
I plan on rewinding both with 42 gauge single.

Any input welcome?
T

[kayakerca]

I have a couple of Tele bridges in for rewinds. They are '66/'67, so just at the start of of the CBS time. Both grey bottom and marked as '67. Notice any difference between the 2 bobbins?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]43499[/ATTACH]

The top flatworks have the same physical length and width. The bottom flatwork pole piece spacing is the same, but the spacing on the top flatworks is another story. . .

The bobbin above on the left wound pretty nicely. All the old patina still intact (flatwork, magnets, lead wires, base plate, etc.) Just the new 42PE. Still needs to be potted and string wrapped, but that's for tomorrow.



We'll have to see how the bridge on the right with the narrowed pole piece top flatwork winds up. That'll be Friday after a few days for the lacquer to cure up.

[Jim Darr]

I have a couple of Tele bridges in for rewinds. They are '66/'67, so just at the start of of the CBS time. Both grey bottom and marked as '67. Notice any difference between the 2 bobbins?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]43499[/ATTACH]

The top flatworks have the same physical length and width. The bottom flatwork pole piece spacing is the same, but the spacing on the top flatworks is another story. . .

I've seen a few similar examples, but nothing that bad. Well, its only rock & roll, so little issues like this shouldn't matter a whole lot. LOL

I have a bridge Tele top flatwork from the same era that was punched "way off" center. So much for QC in the good old days. Sometimes I think if it made a sound it was okay.

[kayakerca]

A couple of Tele bridges - '66/'67

I have a couple of Tele bridges in for rewinds. They are '66/'67, so just at the start of of the CBS time. Both grey bottom and marked as '67. Notice any difference between the 2 bobbins?



The top flatworks have the same physical length and width. The bottom flatwork pole piece spacing is the same, but the spacing on the top flatworks is another story. . .

[copperheadroads]

The only problem with the Cooder Valco pickup is the G string is weak .

[rjb]

Dr. Obvious Says

Going by the selection switch configuration, I reckon 1+4 and 2+3 could be humbucking pairs.

[copperheadroads]

The owner finds the EKO pickups thin sounding so I may rewind them ,they all read in the 8.5k range & magnets are quite strong so weak magnets are whats wrong .
A few pics
the bobbin is not full so i would suspect it's 44 gauge or smaller . I'm not sure if rewinding this little humbucker sized bobbin will help fatten the tone much ,I would reverse the poles of one set & turn it into humbuckers then they would be fat!!!