Remember that the gear ratio makes the counter go up once for every four turns. Learn how they work and sound and what to consider when choosing guitar. Jun 12, 2015 most all gibson pickups i have seen have had coils wound counter clockwise. Pickup winding book by jason lollar now available lollar pickups. There is some foam tape on the inside of the mounting plates to deal with surface anomalies that may be on the spoolsbobbins i. For more than three decades, jason lollar has designed and built some of the most soughtafter pickups for electric guitar, bass, and steel guitar. Basic pickup winding by jason lollar is now available directly from lollar pickups. The manual winding page consists of a target winding s box, completed winding s, rpm, direction, start and stop buttons. The best example of an spdt center on switch is the pickup switch used on guitars with 2 pickups the gibson les paul, the gibson sg, etc. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Jason lollars classic book, basic pickup winding and complete guide to making your own pickup winder. Open library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Has a source list for pickup making parts and supplies. As an amateur amp builder and pickup winder i found this book a little lacking.
If it is you id assume youd know that fender only wound pickups until they felt the coil was large enough to stop winding wire onto it back then. I bought the jason lollar book, now available from stewmac, and read the entire thing one night when i was on duty. Inspire a love of reading with prime book box for kids discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that delivers new books every 1. Pickup winding and repair we offer rewind and repair service for vintage and new pickups alike. It contains a good bit of history, is laid out well and explains the functioning aspectscomponents of a pickup very well. There are plenty of reasons, but i think having the capability to rewind broken pickups is a great thing to have in your repairers toolbox. There certainly are many fine guitar pickups from both the big names, and smaller boutique winders.
Reducing the voltage of the dc motor reduces its speed, but more importantly reduces its torque to the point where the wire wont break even if you hold the wire so it cant move. Jason lollar is an american luthier, musician, and cofounder of lollar pickups. Ironically, calculating the capacitance of shielding, cover, potting, bobbin, etc is simpler than the coils windingcapacitance, but keep those figures in mind. Are you the type who might pick up the phone book and say, im. On the right is a single pole double throw switch spdt center on switch. Thank you for reading and hope to hear from you soon. Pickup winding at seymour duncan hq, a far cry from seymours original. Reflecting knowledge dating back a hundred years, a pickups electromagnetic principles are rudimentary and covered in every gradeschool science book. There are lots of books out there on the market on guitar repairs and guitar building, but i cannot think of any how to books on winding guitar pickups. Back when electric guitars were a new thing, winding pickups was a. This book is exactly what it claims to be, a way to build your own pickups with the cost of building the device held firmly in place. If you would like them rebuilt to our standards an estimate will be given based on our hourly labor rate. The s90 is my version of a strat pickup like a p90.
Sep 12, 2014 proquality pickup winder you can make at home. Dec 01, 2006 as an amateur amp builder and pickup winder i found this book a little lacking. Nut slotting files work great for metal tuneomatic bridge saddles. Apr 07, 2016 ironically, calculating the capacitance of shielding, cover, potting, bobbin, etc is simpler than the coils windingcapacitance, but keep those figures in mind. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app.
This page shows how i adapted a small drill press for winding pickups. Check out our website and let us help you find the best passive guitar pickups for you. The magnets are handy if re winding a pickup that already has the slugs inserted. The following interview with jason lollar is an excerpt from dave hunters book the guitar pickups handbook. You learned everything you need to know about guitar pickups in your 5th grade science class. Choose a file of the same size as the string, or no more than a few thousandths wider. Own pickup winder, book, 70page edition includes a newly update preface. Normal dc resistance for a singlecoil pickup is 68k. Pictured above is the pickup switching diagram for a 2 pickup guitar. What are the common winding direction for fender and gibson.
When gibson bobbins are put on my winding machine, the top of the bobbin faces left top left and wound top coming and my winding code is tltc. There is also a putty that is used for pickup winding, though i have not tried it. Feb 21, 2010 per request i have uploaded an overview of my guitar pickup winder. When sending your pickup for rewind please include all contact information with email address and cell phone. This is how fender pickups were wound prior to 1965, since it was a semimanual operation, using a machine to turn the pickup bobbin, while.
A lot has already been said about handmade pickups versus mass produced, machine wound versions. I have a copy of this, seemingly, homemade book, and you can get much of the information in it elsewhere, nowadays. Great if you want to learn the steps to winding your own pickups or repairs. For the guitar enthusiast, basic pickup winding and complete guide to making your own pickup winder by jason d. The physical business of winding wire round a bobbin is actually very easy. Proquality pickup winder you can make at home hackaday. Before i mount the spool in the winder i loop some wire around through the pole piece holes figure 10 or wrap a length of wire around the pole pieces. Covers everything from the first experiments to classic models conceived for rickenbacker, gibson, fender, gretsch, danelectro, epiphone and others, with an overview of japanese and european manufacturers. That is also the pickup i had in my first carter i returned that guitar as it was the wrong color. However, the other 10 percenthow to implement those principles and apply them to an electric. The variac is really cool its designed to provide a smooth ac current, with padded voltage so, the motor doesnt. Too fast, and you can start on your way to the disaster zone. Per request i have uploaded an overview of my guitar pickup winder.
Pickup winding handmade guitars luthier school guitar. The link is to the beginners winding forum but replicating a vintage pickup might possibly be a question for the advanced winders forum. The designed2wind web page a resource site for pickup winding enthusiasts this site is for those interested in making and repairing magnetic instrument pickups. Output is weak what is the dc resistance of the pickup. Once that sets, your new pickup winder is ready to go. This essay covers the conversion of an inexpensive pickup in this case a mexican fender singlecoil first thing that must be done is to strip the pickup down to its components. Its also almost completely devoid of any information on modern e. To reset the value to 000000 tap the reset button r to the right of target winding s. It includes a new preface, an updated list of parts and materials suppliers, and a new list of references that you can use to increase your knowledge about guitar pickup winding. Pickup winding book by jason lollar now available lollar. Pickup winding with the schatten pickup winder troubleshooting here are some common pickup ailments. The magnets are handy if rewinding a pickup that already has the slugs inserted. It worked reasonably well, though i think maybe a bit thicker of tape would be better. Input your winding s by tapping on the numbers to increment the value.
His outofprint book, basic pickup winding, has become the bible for burgeoning builders and a literal collectors item, with rare copies. There is a lot of myth about pickups and pickup winding, and i found nothing in this book that an intelligent researcher couldnt afind on the internet, or bfigure out for themselves after taking a pickup or two apart. A 1979 graduate of the robertovenn school of luthiery, jason is the author of basic pickup winding and complete guide to making your own pickup winder. But there is a bit of mysticism and mythology that has been added along the way.
The bobbin is turned by a dc toy motor running on 6 volts instead of 9. Well, i never planned to start a pickup making business. First pickup wind after cruising youtube for ideas he came up. This is the worlds famous guitar pickup winding calculator app if you are a pickup guitar builder this is a must have app. Each of our guitar, bass and steel guitar pickups is custombuilt and handmade from scratch, merging oldschool craftsmanship with cuttingedge technology. It can be wound the same way by winding the bobbin top right and top going trtg.
There is also a putty that is used for pickup winding, though i. Most import pickups are built poorly and may require a great deal of work to make stable. It assumes that the reader will have some understanding of guitar and other magnetic pickups, since it is not my intention to reproduce material. This is also known as scatter winding, where the pickup wire is wound on the bobbin in a random manor. This is how fender pickups were wound prior to 1965, since it was a semimanual operation, using a machine to turn the pickup bobbin, while a worker would guide the wire onto the turning bobbin. You have clicked a page that seems to be very popular. The effects of winding and load on pickup tone gearslutz. This 70page edition includes a new preface, an updated list of parts and materials suppliers, and an updated list of references. After filing, polish the slot with mitchell abrasive cord to remove file marks. For attaching the pickup, i used a thin double sided tape that i had sitting around from repairing screens on a cell phone. Armed with this tool and just a little mechanical ability you will be able to build your own pickup winder using parts that are easy and cheep to find.
The first book to examine pickups in detail is here. This is the place to find out about pickup winding and making your own pickup winding machine. Lindy uses this to control the speed of the winding, using the knob on the top as a speed control. Hey, im thinking of getting into pickup winding my own pickups, and i wanted to know a couple of things before i bought anything. First pickup wind after cruising youtube for ideas he came up with his own take on how to build one using stuff. Guitar pickup manual coil winder cnc design limited. But it doesnt really get into specifics on any pickups, nor does it cover a vast number of early designs or builders. Guitars, too, are also full of uncontrollable variables. The spool is mounted between the two metal mounting plates. We take continual dc resistance readings throughout the manufacturing process to guard against a possible short, or break in any of the coil windings, and to ensure consistency in performance from one pickup to another. Underwinding will generally make the pickup sound brighter, open and cleaner. What are the common winding direction for fender and. Unfortunately the book is a bit lacking in any type of how to information on pickup design, which is ironic considering the title is the guitar pickup handbook. Jan, 2014 pickup winding can be something of a black art.
These wires carry a very small electrical charge when the strings of a guitar move over the charged magnetic poles of a pickup. Lindy built this machine in the late 1980s, when he was doing rewinds out of a spare bedroom in his richmond apartment. Lollar, stephanie lollar, april 1999, lollar publications edition, paperback in english 2 edition. No matter the manufacturer or the person doing the winding, one pickup can sound different from the next. But these days, because i only occasionally wind, i just use the very first winder i made when i was a teenager.
Back in the 90s i made a pickup winding machine after reading jason lollars book. Ok im going to be winding my own pups soon from the stewmac humbucker kit. This entry was posted in winding book and tagged jason lollar pickup winding book, pickup winding book, pickup winding book by jason lollar by admin. Most all gibson pickups i have seen have had coils wound counter clockwise. Lollar, stephanie lollar, april 1999, lollar publications edition, paperback in english.
To isolate a problem, unsolder the pickup from the guitar so that other electronic components dont affect your tests. Mar 17, 2017 his original winding machine is a testament to this simple, humble, but to the point and effective. Repairing a single coil pickup from a stratocaster. Nov 27, 2012 in a machine wound pickup that is not programmed to do any scatter winding, the wraps of wire around the pickup coil are neatly arranged and can be closely spaced together. By rocking the file side to side, you can widen the slot to fit a slightly wider string. I used this for winding individual pickups from data gathered from vintage pickups and have since purchased a larger machine. Back when electric guitars were a new thing, winding pickups was a very labor intensive and errorprone. With about a 20% improvement, this process changes pickup tone in such a way that makes it difficult to even listen to anything else afterwards. In this tech tip, we look at humbucker versus singlecoil pickups.