These pickup winders in Ohio produce a quality product at an incredibly low price point, lower than many imports. An entire set of Strat style coils for less than $75 (as of 11/21).
Anyone have any firsthand experience with these guys? All the reviews I've read so far have been positive.
I bought a set & will let you all know my impressions
Be sure to note the test parameters when you post your findings; type of amp, tone-control settings, string type, etc.
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Single coil pickup manufacturing isn't quite rocket science. Buy the magnets from the supplier, put them in the bobbins, wind the coils and solder the leads. What matters is the magnet type and Br, size and position, the wire diameter and the number of turns. After that it's pretty much all marketing and internet hearsay. The resistance, inductance and magnets determine the frequency response.
Baseplates can increase the power of the magnets near the strings by shortening the magnetic circuit on the back side.
The nickel or steel in the vibrating strings distorts the field of the magnet, and we all (hopefully) know what happens when you put a moving magnetic field around a coil of wire. (Hint: induction.)
So which pickups for you? What sound do you want? Are you using nickel or steel strings? There is no one greatest pickup. It all depends on what you're going for.
Your best bet is to pay the slightly greater price for Duncans or other established mfgs since they will be more consistent and always high quality.
Pickups are very easy to make and you can buy all the components, you might want to consider that too and discover your own recipe that suits you.
Chuck
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
I am one step ahead of you & already checking out YouTube videos & hunting down a cheap sewing machine
Lol
The only tricky part is getting the lacquer off the wire before you solder it to the leads, but you'll figure it out. When I was a young buck just out of school I designed solenoid valves for jets and rockets and had to learn all the ins and outs of winding coils. The best thing you can get are these little leather finger pads to let you tension the wire by feel. You also want a turn counter. IIRC Stew Mac sells a nifty little winder, along with all the components to make your own pickups.Originally Posted by Cogs
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
I'm not having much luck sourcing the fibre bobbins. Anybody have a lead?
The very next set of Telecaster pickups I buy will be Bootstraps. The prices are unbelievably low and I am anxious to give them a try. I have four builds in progress right now but already have Fender Custom Shop pickup sets for them. I will probably replace the stock pickups in my recently acquired Squire Classic Vibe '60s Thinline with a set of Bootstraps, but that has to be on the back burner right now. I really appreciate the heads up about Bootstrap pickups.
Born in Fullerton, California in 1952
The pickups arrived yesterday. I'm not exactly thrilled with my initial impressions. The magnet poles are not beveled. While for some this wouldn't be a deal breaker, that was one of the selling points for me. The pickups in the photos on their website indeed have beveled pole pieces. I sent out an email, we'll see what response I get. If I keep them, I will probably install them at some point in January.
that sounds an awful lot like bait and switch. If I were expecting beveled, they'd better be.
"Live and learn and flip the burns"
Unless the advertised specs specifically mention beveled pole pieces you may have an issue getting any satisfaction from the company. What is their return policy?
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
I guess you can file this under "you get what you paid for"-
I emailed them yesterday afternoon & received a fast & professional if ultimately unsatisfying response:
"Hi Robert,
Thank you for reaching our and for your order! Per the listing, our 54 vintage pros use alnico 5 rod magnets. We use magnets that are available from our supplier and the current supply chain. The magnets pictured are functionally, materially and tonally identical to the magnets in the set that we sent and there should be no practical difference between these magnets. If you would like to return your order for a refund or would like to exchange for a set with a heavier break on the edge of the magnets, I would be happy to do that.
Thanks,
_"
So at this point I'm leaning toward just keeping the pickups & at least hearing what they sound like. I'm not going to snub my nose a a set of American made p'ups that are just a skosh over $50. Everything else about them looks pretty solid, & I'm not going to do battle over the merits & possible tonal characteristics of beveled vs. non-beveled poles. I'm just unhappy with the purchase.
Oh well, I've got plenty of other guitars they can go in, just not the particular build I purchased them for
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