Ever made your own pickups?

[Tannhauser]

I'm on a bit of a DIY kick at the moment, and I've been thinking about maybe trying to make my own pickup.

The parts aren't expensive and can be bought online, and the process looks quite simple.

But, before I go down the rabbit hole, I thought I'd ask if anyone had ever undertaken the project themselves?

Here's a video, for anyone interested:

 

[Andy Eagle]

Yes BUT you need to learn a lot more if you want to have any idea of how to predict and control the results. Anyone any good has done this a LOT of times and has deconstructed and rewound many old pickups.

 

[Tannhauser]

Yes BUT you need to learn a lot more if you want to have any idea of how to predict and control the results. Anyone any good has done this a LOT of times and has deconstructed and rewound many old pickups.

I'm interested to know if you have any idea of where to look.

I likely won't bother, but I am interested - how do you make a high / low output pickup for example?

 

[fotozvuk]

I conceived a universal guitar, which does not seem to exist in nature. The main thing is that there is sound from both the humb and the single. Humbucker cutoffs do not produce the full sound of a single coil. That's why I put on 5 singles. Main single-coils 3 pcs SNC Fender (set in cents in photo) Added 2 Seymores (blue boxes) But ceramics, even in series with main SNC single-coils, gave a crackling attack. Therefore, I bought cheap Chinese Alnico 5 blades. The toggle switch in the center (black between two smaller ones) gives a cutoff of either the blade or the Fender (both neck and bridge at once) or in the central position both in series. Moreover, each of the blades has a toggle switch - on-on-on. (from the left and right of the main black toggle switch according to cutoffs) Combination - two windings back-to-back in parallel, one winding or two in series (I’m talking about the bladed Chinese Alnico 5, -12 kilo-ohms in series) But I mainly use black and white pickups in series, (the main black toggle switch is in the central position) and the black one is in parallel. It turns out that the inductance and resistance are equivalent to a humbucker, something around 8.7 k. Or, using the central toggle switch, I cut off the black and white ones along with 5 positions. Switch turns the guitar into a Strat. Everything is a complaint about understanding - to Google translator)))

 

[Andy Eagle]

I'm interested to know if you have any idea of where to look.

I likely won't bother, but I am interested - how do you make a high / low output pickup for example?

The things you have to work with are;
Wire gauge , 42 and 43 AWG are the common ones either lacquer or poly coated (different thickness coating make the coil a different size).
Magnets alnico 2~7 and ceramic
Size and casting method, ground or rough.
Number of turns, scattered or not.
Strong magnet with a higher number of turns will typically give higher output but at the loss of highs and articulation.
The physical size of the finished coil affects the sound and so does the exact placement of the pole pieces relative to it.
It's a life's work to get good at and once again you need to be a good player to really hone in on the fine details.

 

[Tannhauser]

The things you have to work with are;
Wire gauge , 42 and 43 AWG are the common ones either lacquer or poly coated (different thickness coating make the coil a different size).
Magnets alnico 2~7 and ceramic
Size and casting method, ground or rough.
Number of turns, scattered or not.
Strong magnet with a higher number of turns will typically give higher output but at the loss of highs and articulation.
The physical size of the finished coil affects the sound and so does the exact placement of the pole pieces relative to it.
It's a life's work to get good at and once again you need to be a good player to really hone in on the fine details.

Thanks Andy,

I'm really interested in the science of this, as you say, it's an expert thing to get good at so please forgive a noob question, but do you think that changing one variable will produce a result that is discernable by listeners? For example, would a pickup with all things the same sound difficult if scatter wound or not? What sort of effect does that have?

 

[Andy Eagle]

Thanks Andy,

I'm really interested in the science of this, as you say, it's an expert thing to get good at so please forgive a noob question, but do you think that changing one variable will produce a result that is discernable by listeners? For example, would a pickup with all things the same sound difficult if scatter wound or not? What sort of effect does that have?

Scatter and hand winding takes some of the uniformity out of the coil and results in a larger less tight coil. This adds dynamic sensitivity usually but it is not easy to exactly predict. It can also add feedback problems if you don't then wax pot the coil. For clean tones I think a not potted hand wound PAF style is hard to beat.

 

[Dixiethedog]

I have just had some custom wound PAF style pups made locally, that were inexpensive but still great sounding. I think that it would be cool to make your own, but one-half of me would suggest just buying some ready made pups.
However, learning how to do things is such a magical thing, so can I ask you to check out this video in the link?
Dr Nitro is not only an amazing guitar refinisher but he also makes superb pickups.