First Telecaster pickup wind

[Brian W.]

Hello ---
Having gotten the feel of my cheap [$14] Goodwill sewing machine, I wound an old Telecaster bridge pickup with 42G Formvar. I kept winding until I felt like stopping [did not count the winds] and then trimmed a bit of the wire until I got 9 K. This being my first "official" wind I did not have high hopes so just was happy with no breaks. The coil is uneven and I did not try real hard to get a tight wind for fear of breaking the wire [it's not "mushy" either]. I installed it in a Telecaster that I've had for around 40 years and have used on tons of recordings and live band situations. Welll... the new pickup actually sounds good.... still very "Telecaster" sounding but a little louder and less "trebly " then the stock pickup. Since I haven't been able to play it at any gigs I am reserving judgement until later.

[big_teee]

Sounds good, and glad you had success.
Depending on the height of the coil, how many turns you got on your bobbin.
With my winding methods, a 9k coil with 42HFV would be somewhere in the 10.5-11k turns.
Some varibles you can try that effects tone?
Bobbin height (between the flats), wire type, single or double (heavy) insulated wire.
Magnet type.
If you want sweeter high strings, you might try A2 or A3, for bass A5.
I build some with the 4 higher strings A3, and A5 on the E & A.
Experiment till you find what you like.
Pots and caps, also change the tonal end result.
If your bobbin is piling up lopsided, then your bobbin is probably not mounted square to the surface it is mounted on?
Causing a wobble, when the bobbin turns.
I wound with a drill and no counter, for a few years, counters are nice, but you can guesstimate pretty close without one.
GL,
Mod-T

** If anyone has anything to add on first pickup winding, please do.

[Brian W.]

Thanx big___teee -
I'm pretty sure the sloppy coil was due to sloppy winding! I wound another Telecaster bobbin [10 K] with the same wire on the same sewing machine and it's pretty much perfect shape. It is also lacking in high-end clarity and volume that the 9K wind has. I'm curious if the sloppy coil and slightly looser winding of the 9K pickup isn't responsible for these characteristics. They both have A 5 magnets, too.

[Brian W.]

Live & Learn---

I re-wound a Strat bobbin 3 times [same coil]. Each time I "pig-tailed " a broken coil wire instead of starting over. Consequently, I get different ohm readings when I bang on the pickup with a screwdriver. Seems to me that repaired wire is the problem.
Hhmmm......on further investigation.... every Fender pickup I have exhibits the same trait .
Why does the ohm reading jump around when the pickup is hit with a screwdriver?