Oil City Neodymium 'Graduated field' Humbuckers ... a first listen

OilCityPickups · November 2018

Neos clean lead

Neos clean rhythm

Neos overdrive lead

Neos overdrive rhythm

Neos full drive lead

Neos full drive rhythm

Thanks to Mike at Stone Wolf for these demo files ... and please excuse the slightly reverby workshop!

Funkfingers · November 2018

Interesting but spoiled slightly by the audible plectrum and string noises reaching the microphone.

String to string balance seems good. Note separation is excellent. Shred fiends will love it.

Maybe, it would be worthwhile developing a non-exclusive version of these NGF humbuckers for owners of regular mid-price Fender, Epiphone and Ibanez instruments?

digitalscream · November 2018

Sounds as good as it can, but as @Funkfingers said it's pretty difficult to judge with just a camera mic.

I'm still holding out for high-output noiseless singles of some kind...

OilCityPickups · November 2018

Funkfingers said:

Interesting but spoiled slightly by the audible plectrum and string noises reaching the microphone.

String to string balance seems good. Note separation is excellent. Shred fiends will love it.

Maybe, it would be worthwhile developing a non-exclusive version of these NGF humbuckers for owners of regular mid-price Fender, Epiphone and Ibanez instruments?

A I said: 'a first listen', not a rigorous demo :-) done ad hoc in Mike's workshop with a customer.

Achieving good string balance, particularly on multiscale instruments was a design parameter of the Neo GF ... as was note separation without sacrificing warmth and musicality. At 9.2 and 12.7k I think these are certainly more versatile than just a tool for 'shred fiends'.

I'm currently developing a variant of the Neo GF in seven string 'active mount' with a possible view to making limited quantities available for, for example: Strandberg Boden players.

digitalscream said:

Sounds as good as it can, but as @Funkfingers said it's pretty difficult to judge with just a camera mic.

I'm still holding out for high-output noiseless singles of some kind...

Ha :-) I really only will build 'noiseless singles' when I believe I have a technology that will really make them sound like single coils ... I've never encountered a 'noiseless single' that wasn't compromised on tone through hum cancelling.

digitalscream · November 2018

TheGuitarWeasel said:

digitalscream said:

Sounds as good as it can, but as @Funkfingers said it's pretty difficult to judge with just a camera mic.

I'm still holding out for high-output noiseless singles of some kind...

Ha :-) I really only will build 'noiseless singles' when I believe I have a technology that will really make them sound like single coils ... I've never encountered a 'noiseless single' that wasn't compromised on tone through hum cancelling.

To be honest, my main need is for "something noiseless that fits in a single coil space and sounds good". I appreciate that's not necessarily the same thing as "a noiseless single"

What I really want is a hum-cancelling pickup that sounds identical to a Red Lace Sensor. I'm not sure that's even possible

Funkfingers · November 2018

digitalscream said:
What I really want is a hum-cancelling pickup that sounds identical to a Red Lace Sensor.

Erm, that would probably be a Red Lace Sensor. (They still make 'em.) Shame that their noise-cancellation is not one hundred per cent perfect but, of course, what is?

digitalscream · November 2018

Funkfingers said:

digitalscream said:
What I really want is a hum-cancelling pickup that sounds identical to a Red Lace Sensor.

Erm, that would probably be a Red Lace Sensor. (They still make 'em.) Shame that their noise-cancellation is not one hundred per cent perfect but, of course, what is?

I know, I have a couple of them. I just want them to be noiseless

OilCityPickups · November 2018

digitalscream said:

Funkfingers said:

digitalscream said:
What I really want is a hum-cancelling pickup that sounds identical to a Red Lace Sensor.

Erm, that would probably be a Red Lace Sensor. (They still make 'em.) Shame that their noise-cancellation is not one hundred per cent perfect but, of course, what is?

I know, I have a couple of them. I just want them to be noiseless

The closest thing to a noiseless, strat sized pickup is a rails style humbucker ... stacked pickups have one 'parasitic' coil that increases the load and DCR without contributing to the signal so they are lifeless when compared to a single coil. Split single coils (P bass style) suffer from weirdness happening with bends as the string crosses from one polarity direction magnet/magnets to the other (plus the wire has to be very fine to allow two split coils to sit end to end in a Strat cover).
Rails pickups have two coils that both contribute to the sound, are fully hum cancelling, and if not overwound can do a pretty good impression of a single coil ... HOWEVER ... guitarists simply can't get over their looks when compared with a conventional Strat pickup ... that's why I stopped making them.

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Oil City Neodymium 'Graduated field' Humbuckers ... a first listen

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