Hey guys,
just pondering an interesting question at the moment, and I'm sufficiently ignorant of all things electronics/physics to genuinely have no idea if it is actually a stupid question!
All specs/materials being equal across two different pickups (magnet, wire used, resistance, cover or not, etc), will they sound very similar? In other words I'm trying to figure out if there are any other factors that would dramatically alter a pickup's basic tone, to do with winding technique or anything else that I might not have thought about.
You often see claims from the big winders (SD, Dimarzio, etc) that this model or the other offers a unique sound, really tailored to an application in particular - when their competitors often offer similar specced pickups. I'm just curious to see where the marketing stuff starts to take over!
Click here to see me butchering some classic solos!
Comments
My list is by no means comprehensive. The professional builders on this forum can tell you plenty more stuff. On the other hand, they have worked hard to get where they are today. They cannot be expected to give away decades of experiential knowledge for nowt.
Even armed with all of the train spotter information, the only real test is to install a pickup in a guitar and play through your gear to see whether it suits your requirements.
In my opinion, the marketing takes over when some customers say to the makers, "I want to sound like _____________ (fill in the blank). Make it so."
Also in my opinion, your question stands a better chance of receiving replies from the pickup makers who grace this forum if you either tag them or use the thread starter editing tools - top right, next to the bookmark star - to move this Discussion to the Made In The UK section.
And this was by no means a way for me to get recipes to build pickups! I know full well it takes some real skill and countless hours of experimentation. Having had a couple of sets wound by the likes of @OilCityPickups and @Alegree I totally get the extra clarity offered by pickups handwound with care and knowledge.
I was more curious in terms of overall EQ profile, more than anything.
Oh and it's turns not DC resistance that would have to be equal. At Oil City we measure and grade wire batches, as diameter can vary even in these computer controlled modern times. When wire suppliers 'decant' wire of huge rolls down into the 5 kilo ones we use, it can get stretched ... that's allowed for in the specs, but sometimes it goes a little under gauge ... or doesn't stretch at all so is 'over gauge. By the way, we keep some of those 'part gauge' rolls for fine tuning on some custom jobs.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
Everything else is likely to be very subtle or could (and has been) argued to have a negligible difference.
This is in itself a tool ... higher capacitance is not necessarily a bad thing. Gibson machine wound their PAFs but with quite a fast 'traverse' on the wire feed, so the capacitance is higher than say a hand laid 'scatter wound' pickup, but lower than many mass produced pickups where the wire is simply laid up with the turns almost parallel. Pickup winders refer to the angle at which the wire crosses to be the 'turns per layer' as a layer is one complete traverse of the wire feed. So with a PAF bobbin, 80 or 90 turns per layer has the wire almost parallel on each layer, where as say 20 turns per layer has the wire traversing much faster and the angle between successive wire layers more extreme. The pickup with the high turns per layer will be noticeably less trebly than the one with 20.
There is a sweet spot with each pickup design where the turns per layer, set against the magnet strength and the actual number of turns on the bobbin create the most pleasing tone.
I've had the germ of an idea for quite a while that may come about later this summer or in the autumn if it proves practical: much as some luthiers do 'build your own guitar' courses I'm gauging if there would be interest in 'build your own pickup' days at Oil City. Your chance to come and play with the technology and drink good coffee, while coming away with a set of pickups of your choice, hand made by you.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
i.e. Enough to inform, entertain and get the majority of punters to appreciate;
1) that the task is probably beyond them
2) why the prices for bespoke pickups are (usually) justifiable.
Firstly as I mentioned above I shall be holding pickup making days.
Secondly, we will have space for setting up cameras for video work, and I plan to wake up our dormant YouTube channel and make some workshop videos.
There will be a few of basic wiring techniques that I get asked about all the time ... wiring up your own harnesses, soldering, changing pickup covers etc.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
Firstly as I mentioned above I shall be holding pickup making days.
Secondly, we will have space for setting up cameras for video work, and I plan to wake up our dormant YouTube channel and make some workshop videos.
There will be a few of basic wiring techniques that I get asked about all the time ... wiring up your own harnesses, soldering, changing pickup covers etc.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
for the more fumble fingered I may need to get a larger scrap copper wire bin :-)
As it is we usually get our Oil City Christmas drinks bash funded by the scrap wire from rewinds ...
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message