Chocklit_Thunda
Hi. How y'all doin'? ?
I've been thinking about winding my own pickups lately....
I have a few (a lot of) questions I was hoping you guys could help me out with regarding repairing and more importantly building pickups...... Been checking the web but that stuff just gets expensive when shipping costs come into play.....
1. Where can I get pickups rewound and possibly a magnet swap around the Benoni (JHB) area? (This one's a bit urgent...)
2. Where could I get Alnico Magnets oriented for guitar pickups cheaply?
3. Where can I get 42AWG wire locally?
4. Where can I acquire pickup bobbins, covers, rings and baseplates?
5. Is it possible to use 2 types of magnets on one pickup? (Mixing A2 with ceramic or A2 with A5 etc.)
6. If the wire touches the polepiece will there be problems?
7. What is the best material to pot with?
8. What would be the implications of winding with thicker wire, thinner wire and wire of a different compound e.g. aluminium, silver etc.
9. Can someone explain the differences between unoriented and oriented alnico mags, rough and polished mags and how which way the magnets should be oriented affects tone?
(Before someone comes and shouts at me..... Yes I have tried the search function and google, yes I know about the Stwemac website and yes I have looked at Alan's building and repair post (but half the links are dead).....)
studmissile
Hey Chocklit_Thunda
The 2 key luthiers in the Benoni area are:
BvanS Guitars namely: Neon Gecko
http://www.guitarforum.co.za/profile/Neon%20Gecko/
and Pete Buckle. I know Pete makes his own Tele pick ups (Along with guitars and amps) (011) 973-4831:
http://www.guitarforum.co.za/setup-mods-and-repair/pete-buckle/
Not too sure about cheaply but more reasonable priced based on quality that is superb.
For specific electronics try GT Electronics a at Boksburg (East Rand Mall) above Whetherlys.
Chocklit_Thunda
Great! Hopefully Pete can rewind that old Pearly gates for me ? I took it apart and only one of the wires is connected ??? The one coil has 3 wires sticking out.... Definitely needs work! ? as for Gecko and BvanS, do you know if they rewind or repair pickups? I know they do bodies and necks and spray jobs.
Thanks for the input
studmissile
Then you know about as much as me with regards to BvanS. You'll have to check with Neon Gecko. They do make amps so, maybe pups are in the fray too.
Like I said I know Pete makes his own pick ups. Great pick ups, in fact if you do contact him, try out his ( I thought they were great, but that was a while ago) and get a price on those. I would be interested to see how much those custom pups are.
Neon-Gecko
Funny enough, I was actually discussing the option of going into pickup winding with my partners yesterday and the general consensus was that the importing of the machinery and components needed to do this properly would in fact cost more than some of the pickups that we currently import. Factor in the labour and it's a no-brainer when there are plenty to top quality, easy to obtain, mass produced pickups that are available locally...
Chocklit_Thunda
Well if the machines are expensive you could always hire me and get a sewing machine or a drill with a bicycle counter.... ? but yeah I'm in need of someone to rewind the pearly gates and swap out the A5 magnet for me.... As for winding myself I was mainly aiming to wind for my own guitars and just playing around with concepts and ideas hey... If I can take it into business in the future it would be great but right now it's just for fun
Norman86
maybe try the stewmac pickups if yu only want to experiment.. they have the types you can build yourself..
otherwise, import some.. its really not that expensive..
with shipping, and customs, i paid R1500 for my Fender custom shop Custom 54 pickups..
try getting that price new in ZA..
Norman86
Chocklit_Thunda
Yeah I've seen the stew mac stuff but they're pretty pricey compared to other places on the web... But I'm looking for local stuff hey... It's usually cheaper. And stew mac only have a5 and a2 mags (pricey too compared to addiction FX)... I want to try a4's and a8's as well as mixing two or more mag types in a single pup ? bobbins and baseplates may have to be sourced overseas but surely magnets and wire could be found locally? Especially seeing as some people rewind pickups themselves?
AlanRatcliffe
So one of the wires is broken off from the coil? Is it an inside or an outside winding? If it's an outside winding it's a fairly simple fix - unwind a few turns and resolder. Inside winding and it means rewinding the whole coil...
I'm not sure, but Mike Du Toit in Cape Town might be willing/able to rewind. He was thinking about building a winding machine last time I spoke to him. Tel: +27 (0)21 715-3869. Mobile: +27 (0)73 885 1959
If you are thinking about getting into it yourself, find a copy of Jason Lollar's book: Basic Pickup Winding
Chocklit_Thunda
Well on one coil the wire is fairly close to the outside where the break is but it's wax potted pretty hard... The other coil the inner wire is broken off and can't be found ☹ one coil is repairable, the other not so much... And I want to change the magnet from an A5 to a sweet, syrupy, Leona Lewis sounding A2 ? it's actually a pearly gates + and I want a regular pearly gates
I'll give all these guys a call and see which is the best option
Norman86
wire shouldnt be a problem locally..
but im not so sure about the magnets...
also get in touch with nicovlogg or mikem on here, they will definitely be able to point you in the right direction in terms of pickups in general!
Chocklit_Thunda
Ah thanks Norman! I already have some dealings with Nico (got the vintage PG+ from him and he helped clarify some stuff with Tele pickups for me ? ) but if they offer some of their wisdom it would be great ? I'll try the magnet vendors on the web
Anybody got any info on the differences between polished and rough or unoriented vs oriented with regards to magnets? Mainly I hear that about A5's but sometimes with 2's 3's and 8's
Norman86
sorry dude, i know no more...
but i would get hold of nico and mike.. they love playing with pickups! ?
Chocklit_Thunda
Shall definitely do that before I take the plunge with wiring my own pickups ?
Thanks for all the input so far
Norman86
no probs... btw, check your pm...
Chocklit_Thunda
Spoke to Pete today and it would seem that my not so pearly gates is on its way to becoming pearly again! ?
Thanks for that
I'll speak to him as well to find out where he gets his winding supplies ? hopefully I learn a thing or two
peterleroux
Chocklit_Thunda wrote
Spoke to Pete today and it would seem that my not so pearly gates is on its way to becoming pearly again! ?
Thanks for that
I'll speak to him as well to find out where he gets his winding supplies ? hopefully I learn a thing or two
When you go to drop the pickup off, take a look at the rig he made for winding pickups, it's pretty impressive, and can be set up to do scatterwinding and all sorts of interesting things.
Chocklit_Thunda
I most definitely will! ?
I've been checking out Mojotone and Addiction-FX for pickup supplies and they seem to have what I'm looking for. hopefully i can get some winding done ?
Attila
It would be interesting to see what he charges for a complete rewind, Please share with us as and when you know.
I see a few boutique winders have a 1) price to buy pickups and 2) a price for Rewinds,
Which leads me to assume that if you want a more vintage sounding "Pearly Gates-type-Buckers" that someone like Pete, with the right tooling can take
your old hardware. (bobbins, Magnets etc Note: * ) and wind you a boutique calibrated set - I am I right or wrong here - Y/N/Maybe
* Yaaa I know that the "sum" of the pickup parts will produce various induction, output, frequency response etc.
I tell you where I am going with this: as an example: Bare Knuckle pickups offer a rewind service at GBP40.00 vs a new pick up at around GBP114 excluding
shipping, So it would make sense to have a natter with Pete to see what he can do locally. or have I lost the plot completely
