Call Me Crazy: Cheap Winder Build

Here's some data I got from some Gibson and Duncan pickups if anyone is interested in it.

Gibson

'61 lead 7.89k ohms A5 magnet, potted
'61 rhythm 7.91k ohms A5 magnet, potted

'57 Classic + 8.17k ohms , potted and I think they are A2 magnets
'57 Classic 7.89k ohms, potted and I think they are A2 magnets

Burstbucker 3 8.35k ohms, potted, A2 magnet
Burstbucker 2 8.05k ohms, potted, A2 magnet

Seymour Duncan

Whole Lotta Humbucker bridge 8.47k, potted, A5 magnet
Whole Lotta Humucker neck 8.00k, potted, A5 magnet

Seth Lover bridge 7.93k/8.34k* A2 magnet, unpotted *I have multiples and they are different
Seth Lover neck 7.50k A2 magnet, unpotted

Somehow I managed to install the Antiquities without checking them, but I believe the specs are like the Seth Lovers with weakened magnets and aged covers.

If anyone has other specs they have measured for themselves feel free to add them here.
 
LRT said:
This is a cool thread
Nakes me want to try. The shop i work at use to wind motors so i have access to all the tooling
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It's actually kind of fun, plus gives me something to do when I can't sleep at night. Once you get a feel for feeding the ridiculously tiny wire it isn't too bad. I bought a feeder/tension tool from Stew Mac, but I haven't used it yet. I like being able to control the tension by feel. I haven't had any come out bad yet.
 
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Another finished pickup. Ended up at 8.33k ohms. About 5400 winds on the screw bobbin and 5600 on the slug bobbin. I wanted a hotter output for this pair, so I will make this the neck pickup and shoot for more winds on the bridge tomorrow. I have the winder speed up to 170 rpm now, so it doesn't take as long. I might be able to get up to 200 rpm pretty soon. That would put me in the vicinity of 25 minutes per bobbin.
 
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Here is the screw coil of the next bridge pickup. I was able to get 5950 winds on the bobbin without issue. 4.647k ohms. If I go a couple hundred lighter on the slug side I should still be around 9.00k ohms when finished. Time to play for awhile before I finish up.
 
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I stuffed them in the white Signature T for testing. I need to play it some more and compare. Definitely hotter and you can hear that. This is the brightest of the 3 neck pickups I have done and they all have the same metal pieces. More winds should be darker sounding, so it must be the different wire. The bridge pickup is almost nasal sounding. Like hot and thin. I'm going to dial in the pickups a little more and see what that does.
 
Cadorman said:
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I stuffed them in the white Signature T for testing. I need to play it some more and compare. Definitely hotter and you can hear that. This is the brightest of the 3 neck pickups I have done and they all have the same metal pieces. More winds should be darker sounding, so it must be the different wire. The bridge pickup is almost nasal sounding. Like hot and thin. I'm going to dial in the pickups a little more and see what that does.
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I love quoting myself! I got them all dialed in and there are a couple of clips over in the "what color" thread. They are really quite nice after getting the height and pole screws adjusted.
 
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Getting ready to start. That top spool is just keeping tension on the wire for the time being. For comparison, the top spool is 42 awg plain enamel (vintage style) and the one down low is 42 awg single coat poly. I feed the wire off the top of the spool from that drawer to get some distance. The wire will break if you try to let it spin the spool. It's really delicate.
 
I can see that they're relatively simple.
I guess I should have said that I wish I knew more about how pickup affect my tone and why.

I've been thinking about the SD JB for a couple days. As you're aware, I just got a new JJ Jr. and while it is awesome, when I play my Epi V through it, it's got Lace Hammerclaws in it, the tone is "close enough" but when I play my '16 Explorer through it (stock pups) it sounds waayyyyy more Jerry-ish

I'm bout to put up an embarrassing clip in my NAD thread if you care to hear it, but I know Jerry used a JB for the first probably 20 years of his career...

Was just curious if it might be worth the $70 and then soldering that would come with it to simply try a JB.

Lots of SD pups around here but none are a JB, interestingly enough...
 
My take on it is the higher the output of the pickup the less "guitar" you hear. It's a combination of magnet type and how many coil winds. Ceramic magnets deaden harmonics somewhat. More coil winds emphasize midrange and lower high end. Equal winds on bobbins are quieter, but also lose some top end. Type of steel used for slugs and screws affects the amount of top end.

So, I say try the JB. You will probably like it. I generally like low to mid output humbuckers and rely on pedals and the amp for gain. Everyone likes something a little different.
 
Cadorman said:
My take on it is the higher the output of the pickup the less "guitar" you hear. It's a combination of magnet type and how many coil winds. Ceramic magnets deaden harmonics somewhat. More coil winds emphasize midrange and lower high end. Equal winds on bobbins are quieter, but also lose some top end. Type of steel used for slugs and screws affects the amount of top end.

So, I say try the JB. You will probably like it. I generally like low to mid output humbuckers and rely on pedals and the amp for gain. Everyone likes something a little different.
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The only thing I think I know for sure is that I am not a fan of active pickups. I feel like they're all very "sterile" kinda sounding. I like the gritty and toothy organic sounds of passives that really respond to touch/finesse/whatchamacallit

I dunno if that even makes sense. Lol

See? I dunno jack about pups, really lol

You have a real badass thread here though dude. I will try not to poop it up, but I'll continue watching, as I have for some time already!
 
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