• From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Topic: pickup winding happiness

a guy I bought my Trini Lopez from wanted me to wind him some pickups...

here's a link where he recorded some audio for me:
http://www.reverbnation.com/play_now/song_14307305

These are zebra coil alnico II pickups
7.5 neck (42awg)
8.7 bridge (43awg)

wax potted 80%parafin/20%beeswax

cool
happy the guy likes it.

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool
  • Devan
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  • From: Darwin, Australia
  • Registered: 2010-04-13
  • Posts: 1,304

Re: pickup winding happiness

Here's a video I saw recently of some dude winding a pickup.  He seems OK at it.  Might want to give him a call and see if he can give you a hand?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-3ETThGC-0

lol  lol  lol

JBLP Gold Top #129 - redubbed "#1 in Oz"
  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: pickup winding happiness

It's actaully really funny he mentioned a 14k pickup for tele, because that was exactly the k reading on the first tele neck pickup I ever did. The wire I used was really thin, and I was able to get over 8000 winds... the thing sounded terrible!

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: pickup winding happiness

Maybe with a DAARRRK sounding amp it would be ok...  or not. lol

AD3THREE's Website

  • From: N.Wales, UK
  • Registered: 2009-03-06
  • Posts: 2,183

Re: pickup winding happiness

How did you get into this?
Is it costly to buy a machine?
Is it something that you can do in your shed quite easily, but takes time to perfect?

6 Reply by Rocket (edited by Rocket 2012-08-24 14:37:41)

  • Rocket
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  • From: San Francisco
  • Registered: 2006-04-26
  • Posts: 10,277

Re: pickup winding happiness

Winding is winding, machine or by hand.  It is one of those things where it is a SCIENCE, and...it is also an ART.  Which camp trumps the other can be a personal thing...

Give it a go. Trial and error is your internship.

No I don't wind pickups, but I've worked with various coils (MANY variations) with their myriad applications, over the years.

Rock ON & Keep the Faith,
Rocket

Nick-Keep The Fearless Faith Intertwined Circuitously, Wind UP then Wind Down my busy, busy friend!

"He still doesn't charge for mistakes! wink"
http://jbonamassa.com/tour-dates/
"Everybody wants ta get inta the act!"
“Now, this isn’t your ordinary party crowd, here.  I mean, there are professionals in here.”
  • From: N.Wales, UK
  • Registered: 2009-03-06
  • Posts: 2,183

Re: pickup winding happiness

Yeah, but by the time I'm done winding by hand...I'll be too old to play the guitar...
I may just rewind an old one for now and see how that works out...

  • Rocket
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Re: pickup winding happiness

DaveWammbarro wrote:

Yeah, but by the time I'm done winding by hand...I'll be too old to play the guitar...
I may just rewind an old one for now and see how that works out...

lol

Why NOT unwind and rewind?  Great start to experimenting... Then...well, what's next then?! 

Experiment ON, Curious Like, & Keep the Faith,
Rocket

"He still doesn't charge for mistakes! wink"
http://jbonamassa.com/tour-dates/
"Everybody wants ta get inta the act!"
“Now, this isn’t your ordinary party crowd, here.  I mean, there are professionals in here.”
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: pickup winding happiness

Seymour Duncan first started out with a record player to wind his early pickups.  I've never wound pickups, but I work with fiber optic cables at work a lot... anyway when you wind the cables up you want everything to be laying next to each other.  We call that traverse.  I imagine its all the same concept you want the wire to stack next to the wrap nice and tight and you need to keep track of the amount of turns you put on it... that way when you discover the secret formula you know what you did to make it.  Don't forget to document anything and everything you did.

AD3THREE's Website

  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: pickup winding happiness

DaveWammbarro wrote:

How did you get into this?
Is it costly to buy a machine?
Is it something that you can do in your shed quite easily, but takes time to perfect?

lots of research and G.A.S. side effects...
The machine was around $400
It was "pull your hair out" frustrating to do humbuckers at first. Single coils are easy to start with though.

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool
  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: pickup winding happiness

AD3THREE wrote:

Seymour Duncan first started out with a record player to wind his early pickups.  I've never wound pickups, but I work with fiber optic cables at work a lot... anyway when you wind the cables up you want everything to be laying next to each other.  We call that traverse.

A traverse reminds me of a worm gear on a fishing reel. My winder doesn't do that, I have to do tension and winding pattern all by hand. That said, you can easily wind pickups with a cordless drill (to spin the bobbin) and a pedometer (number of winds) with a small McGyver like setup.

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool
  • Rocket
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  • From: San Francisco
  • Registered: 2006-04-26
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Re: pickup winding happiness

NPB_EST.1979 wrote:
AD3THREE wrote:

Seymour Duncan first started out with a record player to wind his early pickups.  I've never wound pickups, but I work with fiber optic cables at work a lot... anyway when you wind the cables up you want everything to be laying next to each other.  We call that traverse.

A traverse reminds me of a worm gear on a fishing reel. My winder doesn't do that, I have to do tension and winding pattern all by hand. That said, you can easily wind pickups with a cordless drill (to spin the bobbin) and a pedometer (number of winds) with a small McGyver like setup.

Tension by hand as an art by "feel", or tension by hand as science by measured tension from a tension gauge?

Rock ON & Keep The Long & Winding High Road of Faith,
Rocket

"He still doesn't charge for mistakes! wink"
http://jbonamassa.com/tour-dates/
"Everybody wants ta get inta the act!"
“Now, this isn’t your ordinary party crowd, here.  I mean, there are professionals in here.”
  • From: Detroit
  • Registered: 2006-06-02
  • Posts: 5,807

Re: pickup winding happiness

Rocket wrote:

Tension by hand as an art by "feel", or tension by hand as science by measured tension from a tension gauge?

Rock ON & Keep The Long & Winding High Road of Faith,
Rocket

Tension by holding the wire between your fingers and gripping tight, but not so tight the line snaps - which can happen, then it's smart to cut and start over. But no loose to where you can't fit enough winds on the bobbin. Wind too loose and you'll have a microphonic pickup.

Tension by guage would be nice for my fingers, as long as I can still use my hand to direct where the winds go on the bobbin. smile

- Nic from Detroit... posting on JB's Forum since 6-2-2006
Ask me about my handwound Great Lakes Guitar Pickups
Since 2010, Bonamassa fans have taken advantage of my JB friend discount = my cost + shipping. cool
  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: pickup winding happiness

Found this really cool video of a pickup winder this guy made from crap around his house.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI8rkDrk … re=related

AD3THREE's Website

  • From: North Carolina
  • Registered: 2008-10-26
  • Posts: 2,926

Re: pickup winding happiness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Az72sPv4 … re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg22xVCA … mp;list=UL

This one is really easy looking too!

AD3THREE's Website