Help make my first mid/hot humbucker, how many winds, speed, etc..

[Crossfire]

Hey guys,

I am just looking for a good starting point to try my first humbucker. I assume this will take quite a bit of trial and error. My favorite pickup tends to be the Duncan JB, goes in most of my guitars. I'd like something in that ball park, with just a little less "quack" in the mids.

The pickup is going in the bridge of a PRS 20th anniversary single cut, which currently has Tremonti pickups in it.

I'm using 44g wire. Alnico 5 magnet.

Any suggestions on how many windings I should do on each bobbin and how fast I should oscillate the "hand"? I have a motor hooked up to the "hand" which can oscillate up to 11 RPM (from left of bobbin, to right, and back again). The bobbin spinner can rotate up to 1000RPM.


I understand hand speed affects capacitance. I understand number of winds and wire gauge affects resistance. But I can't find any information on the JB other than it's 16.4k, has a Bass/Mid/Treb of 5/6/8 (whatever that means, that's totally subjective), a resonant peak of 5.5khz, and I read somewhere it was 44g wire.

https://streamable.com/so1fuo

Thanks!

[copperheadroads]

You diving in the deep end .. lol ..Starting off with 44 gauge wire as it is very easy to break /stretch which cause shorts as well . so if you wound with 42 gauge wire before & things worked out ,using smaller wire you may have to use less tension . Also try slower than 1000rpm untill things get consistent .

[Crossfire]

You diving in the deep end .. lol ..Starting off with 44 gauge wire as it is very easy to break /stretch which cause shorts as well . so if you wound with 42 gauge wire before & things worked out ,using smaller wire you may have to use less tension . Also try slower than 1000rpm untill things get consistent .

That's fair, I'll order some 42 and 43 gauge wire.

Any advice on the original post? I don't know how many windings a JB has.

If I calculate using 44 gauge wire estimations of 2.65349 ohm/foot, and the inside circumference of the bobbins I have is 0.4675 ft, that puts me at about 10000 turns per bobbin to get to JB's 16.4kohm resistance. Does that make sense? My bobbins are 1/4inch tall. Can I even get that many winds on a 1/4 inch?

[copperheadroads]

That's fair, I'll order some 42 and 43 gauge wire.

Any advice on the original post? I don't know how many windings a JB has.

If I calculate using 44 gauge wire estimations of 2.65349 ohm/foot, and the inside circumference of the bobbins I have is 0.4675 ft, that puts me at about 10000 turns per bobbin to get to JB's 16.4kohm resistance. Does that make sense? My bobbins are 1/4inch tall. Can I even get that many winds on a 1/4 inch?

Are you familiar with the coil estimator ?
http://www.jdguitarworks.com/coil/coil.html
You should look around this forum there is a lifetime of information here in threads & the Stickies here that Big T & others have put together ..
using that coil estimator you will find a humbucker bobbin in the drop down list .... id go around 7000 turns of 44gauge

[Crossfire]

Are you familiar with the coil estimator ?
http://www.jdguitarworks.com/coil/coil.html
You should look around this forum there is a lifetime of information here in threads & the Stickies here that Big T & others have put together ..
using that coil estimator you will find a humbucker bobbin in the drop down list .... id go around 7000 turns of 44gauge

Ya, but I couldn't get it to work. Trying getting a 44 gauge wire up to 8.2 on a PAF humbucker bobbin. It gives errors.

[kayakerca]

Ya, but I couldn't get it to work. Trying getting a 44 gauge wire up to 8.2 on a PAF humbucker bobbin. It gives errors.

Seems to work. . .

[Crossfire]

It says the max layers is 62, and turned red because it calculated 93.

[kayakerca]

It says the max layers is 62, and turned red because it calculated 93.

That is not an error. Since 62 layers/turns will take you right to the edge of the bobbin for a "loose scatter" "Winding By Fill Factor", to obtain 8.2k, you would be winding past the edge of the bobbin into open air to get to the required 93 layers/turns onto the bobbin. The number of layers is shown in red if it exceeds the number that would take the wind past the edge of the bobbin just so it is easier for you to see.

[copperheadroads]

That is not an error. Since 62 layers/turns will take you right to the edge of the bobbin for a "loose scatter" "Winding By Fill Factor", to obtain 8.2k, you would be winding past the edge of the bobbin into open air to get to the required 93 layers/turns onto the bobbin. The number of layers is shown in red if it exceeds the number that would take the wind past the edge of the bobbin just so it is easier for you to see.

Howdy Jim ,Happy Halloween

[kayakerca]

Howdy Jim ,Happy Halloween

Hey, Copper. . . Been a while! Just going a little crazy here in Ottawa, keeping my head down waiting for the bug to get the "H" out of town.