251. I do lot’s of soldering and have a problem with melting the insulation on the hookup wire and pickups. What can I do?
There are several things that can be done to help from melting and burning the insulation on hookup wires. First check the temperature of your soldering iron. If it’s too hot it will damage the contacts and cook the solder. Always mask off the body or other surfaces that could get damaged by solder drops or spitting rosin inside the solder. I’ve used a Weller TC-202 soldering station for many years and tip # 7. You can use several different numbered replaceable tips. I’ve used # 7 & # 8. It works great when using rosin core solder and make sure to flow your solder and don’t use too much. The next thing I do is use a tinned Teflon coated, 7 strand, 22 gauge hookup wire. It comes in a variety of colors such as black, white, red and several others. It is really handy when soldering contacts over and over again. I like rewiring switches and don’t like using the standard PVC wire as the insulation usually shrinks and melts beyond use. Teflon wire cost more but it will last much longer than most other hookup wires. I like using cloth braid wire too as it is easy to solder and you don’t have to worry about it melting or shrinking.

252. How can I clean the pole pieces that get clogged with dirt and grime?
First I remove the strings and completely mask off the instrument so I don’t spray any cleaner or lubricant on the finish or hardware. To get rid of the debris I often use a fine bristle tooth brush that is moistened and gently scrub the pole pieces or bridge saddles. I also use a small amount of 409 cleaner and gently dislodge the dirt and grime. Immediately after loosening the dirt and grime, I dry the parts with a soft rag and even use a hair dryer set on low to evaporate the excess moisture. I often use another tooth brush to gently lubricate the poles and bridge units with “Tru-Oil” to keep down the oxidation and bonding of metal parts. The lubricant on the bridge saddles helps keep the string slightly lubricated and reduces friction between the string and saddle when plucked. Also do not use stainless steel screws as most of the stainless will not conduct the magnetic field to your strings.

253. Will a Gibson humbucker work without pole pieces?
If you remove the 6 adjustable pole pieces the pickup will still work because the bobbin with 6 studs is still conducting the magnetic field to the strings. The studs are ferrous and are in contact with the bar magnet beneath the two bobbins held in place by 4 wood screws. The output will be lower because your only picking up one side of the coil. It will sound thinner and brighter as the magnetic field will be directed differently to the strings and back through the adjustable bobbin. I’ve removed the screws in my “Tele-Gib” (a Telecaster with two humbuckers) to get a thinner sound when playing sessions and needing a clean sounding rhythm neck pickup. It works pretty neat especially if you like doing home recordings. It will give your guitar a few more sounds without using push pull pots or splitting switches. Put your removed screws in a safe place till you need them again.

254. How can I remove excessive moisture in my guitar case?
Most of the time you can get excessive moisture in your case by leaving it open during rehearsals and where high humidity can be a problem. I use a humidity control called Desiccants. They are activated clay packets that can eliminate mildew and rust damage. The bags come in various sizes to protect a designated amount in cubic feet.
A list of various bag dimensions:
3 x 3 x 1/8” and protects .14 cubic feet
3 x 3 1/4 x 3/16” and protects .28 cubic feet
3 x 3 1/2 x 3/16” and protects .42 cubic feet
5 x 3 1/2 x 1/4” and protects .83 cubic feet
5 x 4 3/4 x 3/8” and protects 1.67 cubic feet
5 x 6 x 1/2” and protects 3.33 cubic feet
5 x 8 x 1 1/8” and protects 6.67 cubic feet
5 3/4 x 10 x 1 1/2” and protects 13.33 cubic feet
8 3/4 x 12 1/2 2 1/4” and protects 66. 65 cubic feet
You can find the Desiccants from a company called:
ULINE-950 Albrecht Drive-Lake Bluff, IL 60044
1-800-295-5510

255. The pole pieces on my bridge Fender Jaguar pickup buzz if I touch it and also out of phase when I use it with the neck pickup. When I check the wires the black hookup wire is grounded like it should be. What can be done?
It sounds like the white or hot wire is connected to the beginning of the coil and the black wire is hooked to the finish of the coil. This can make your pickup electrically out of phase instead of magnetically out of phase. By carefully reversing the two wires at the pickup will make the beginning of the coil connected to the black wire and the finish of the coil to the white wire. This will also make the coils in phase when used together and eliminate the buzz you get when accidentally touching the pole pieces. If you decide to reverse the wires at the connections instead of at the pickup will work but I like to keep the black or beginning wire grounded on the pickup. You could reverse the magnetic phase on one pickup to make it in phase when used in combination with the other but the poles would still buzz if accidentally touched. Basically the hookup wires had been put on the opposite sides of the coil. This can happen when the pickup is rewound or repaired and the wires are put on wrong.

256. Can you put a bridge position pickup in the neck position?
If a pickup is specifically wound or calibrated for the bridge position it may have more turns of magnet to increase the output for that position. If a pickup is wound hotter for the bridge, it can have more volume and fullness but can sound to dark or fat sounding in the neck position. The string vibration near the bridge is less than the neck position and players often want a better balance between positions. Many guitarists especially jazz players have put specifically wound bridge pickups in the neck position for added warmth and fullness. Pickups that are calibrated for the bridge position can generally have 5% to 40% more turns when using finer gauges of magnet wire for the coils. If two coils in a humbucker are wound with 4,500 turns per coil and the DC resistance could be 7.3 k ohms, the neck position may sound full and warm but the bridge may sound thin and bright. If you put 5,000 turns per coil the pickup could be 8 k ohms and the bridge position could sound fat and full and the neck pickup could sound dark and muddy. Many manufactures wind their pickups the same for each position and when you adjust the amplifier settings for the neck pickup, the bridge pickup would sound thin and less output. Calibrating pickups for the bridge and neck helps balance the sound when switching from neck, middle and bridge positions. Increasing the magnetic field can increase the output and brightness in a pickup. Over the years players have put larger or stronger magnets in their pickups to increase output and more sustain. I’ve found that stronger magnets tend to dampen or slow down string vibration and cause the strings to stick to the polepieces when using your vibrato arm.
Note: A tremolo is a mechanical device that varies the volume level as used in many amplifiers and vibrato is the alternations in pitch or frequency.

257. What is a “electromechanical transducer?”
It is another term used for a “pickup.” It converts the mechanical vibration of a string when plucked through a magnetic field within a pickup. As the moving magnetic field moves back and forth through the coil, an alternating current or signal is produced. As the signal travels through a volume and tone control or other circuit if used the signal travels to the jack. Connecting a shielded cable between the instrument and amplifier allows the signal from the instrument to be amplified and heard through the speakers.

258. Using non-ferrous bronze strings on an acoustic guitar how does a magnetic pickup in the sound hole or under the strings pick up the string vibration?
The wound strings used for acoustic guitar are usually made of bronze or other non-ferrous alloy. When using magnetic pickups under the strings the portion of the string that disturbs the magnetic field is the ferrous inner core of the string. The inner core is normally made from a ferrous material commonly called spring steel or music wire. A ferrous material is one that is attracted or attracts a magnetic field. The plain E-1st and B-2nd strings are spring steel with no wrapping. The same spring steel can be wrapped with ferrous or non-ferrous alloys for different gauges and tension. A string can be made with a thinner inner core and larger diameter wrapping or a thicker inner core and thinner wrapping or both. If you unwrap the outer wrappings of a bronze string you will see the inner core is most likely made of spring steel. The outer wrappings can be made with numerous diameters to increase or decrease the total diameter or gauge of string. I’ve unwrapped acoustic strings to determine the diameter of the ferrous inner core and to help me determine the amount of magnetic field needed for each pole. The pitch of a string is determined by the diameter of the outer wrapping and how many turns per inch when tightly wrapped side by side. The greater the diameter of an outer wrapping the less turns per inch. The smaller the diameter of an outer core wrapping will allow more turns per inch. This is similar to the pitch on a screw such as a 6/32 machine screw. The 6 is the diameter of the screw and the 32 is the threads per inch. Strings with a larger inner core will produce more output in an magnetic acoustic pickup.

259. What can be done if a pickup is epoxied and has a shielded single conductor cable. How can you reverse the phase on the pickup?
I would try to find the orientation of the existing magnetic field in the pickup by using a gauss meter or determine alignment and polarity of the magnet or magnets used. I would remagnetize the pickup with an opposite polarity it originally had. This would change the polarity magnetically and make it in phase with the existing pickup.
If a pickup has no exposed metal parts or poles that might be grounded, I would try to reverse the hot and shield wire close to the pickup. Sometimes the single conductor wire may have a second conductor cut off inside the cable where you can’t see it. If you reverse the hot and shield wire at the pickup, the coils inside could be surrounded by a shield or other hardware that could hum or even buzz if you touch the cover.

260. When did Fender start using grey bottom flatwork on Stratocasters.
I have collected much info on Fender pickups and recently Tim Pershing send me info about his Fender Mustang. Tim’s Fender Mustang serial number L45879 has both grey and black bottom flatwork on the two pickups. This may have been a transition period when Fender switched from black to grey. The pickups had the date10-16-64 on the pickups and 9Sept64A on the neck. I’m sure there are other instruments that could have both grey and black bottom pickups. The pickups are usually on a tray and one tray for the bridge pickup may be all black bottoms and the tray for the neck pickup could be all grey. The same bottom flatwork was used for Stratocasters too. The vulcanized fibre used back then was a lighter grey than the 70’s darker grey and a date was written or stamped on the bottom of the bobbin before it was wound. I’ve noticed several changes in Fender pickups right before Leo sold the company to CBS and I’m sure the employees at CBS made many changes to increase profits such as eliminate wax potting on Telecaster lead pickups.

261. Where can you find information on wax that can be used for potting pickups?
I talked to John who works for the company Zophar Mills Inc.-690 C Albany Avenue-North Amityville, New York 11701-(516-789-1115) (fax # 516-789-1116) and they makes different types of wax for potting coils and make specialty products for the electronics industry. The company has been around since 1846 and have made various wax potting compounds listed below. It is important to find what type wax you need for your specific application. If you can’t find a specific item needed, they have developed over 4,000 products in their laboratory. Here is a chart of some older waxes that can be used for various coil and transformer applications.

Impregnation Waxes
Type Melting Point Specific Gravity Color
1340 180 degrees F .906 Pale Yellow
1393 170 degrees F .912 Pale Yellow
1436 185 degrees F .917 Light Lemon
1440 160 degrees F .918 Light Yellow
1463 150 degrees F .903 Pale Yellow
1539 190 degrees F .917 Lemon
1546 192 degrees F .942 Light Lemon
1549 185 degrees F .904 Light Lemon
1592 185 degrees F .904 Light Lemon
1563 234 degrees F 1.028 Tan
F-530 160 degrees F .906 White
C-760 265 degrees F .940 Pale Yellow
F-590 265 degrees F NA Pale Lemon
F-596 275 degrees F NA Light Yellow
C-770 265 degrees F .942 Pale Yellow
F-924 172 degrees F .906 Yellow
C-22 143 degrees F .920 Lemon
C-994 250 degrees F NA Yellow
Q-589 265 degrees F NA Light Tan
Q-448 275 degrees F NA Tan
C-50 260 degrees F .942 Pale Lemon
Z-71 270 degrees F NA Light Yellow
Z-81 188 degrees F NA Light Yellow

Paraffin Waxes
Type Melting Point Specific Gravity Color
P-18 133 degrees F NA NA
P-58 143 degrees F NA NA
P-194 158 degrees F NA NA

I do not using paraffin waxes that you can buy commercially in supermarkets as they often have a shinny glaze that look bad when potting guitar or bass pickups. Note: working with wax and heating elements can be very dangerous. Proper procedures must be done with eye protection and ventilation.

262. Wax Potting Guitar & Bass Pickups
I get many requests on wax potting guitar and bass pickups so I wanted to give you detailed information and procedures to carefully follow. Get familiar with all the procedures before beginning.
POTTING PRECAUTIONS:
Always wear eye protection when working on your instrument. When removing pickups and unsoldering it is important to make a schematic of the wiring inside your instrument. Use pieces of masking taped to mark what position where your pickups are unsoldered from. It is easy to forget where to connect wires on the harness if you are unfamiliar with the wiring especially if you are doing guitar repair. You get many different instruments and even the same models with different wiring diagrams.
As a petroleum product, paraffin is highly flammable. When heated too fast or too high, it can vaporize and self-ignite. To avoid the danger of the wax bursting into flames, use a hot plate or electric stove (never a gas range) to heat it. Use a double boiler or a specialized heating pot for melting wax. They are expensive but when doing production are worth it. Heat only until the wax melts and keep it at the that temperature. It should never get hotter than 160? degrees Fahrenheit (F). You can use a candy or canning thermometer to check. Don’t smoke while you work with hot wax as the fumes can ignite. Don’t ever leave the hot or melting wax unattended for any amount of time.

263. How to eliminate microphonic feedback from your guitar and bass pickups using hot wax.
Years ago I pulled apart a Fender Telecaster pickup and saw string wrapped around the coil to protect the magnet wire that saturated with black wax to help reduce moisture from penetrating the pickup and used to eliminate microphonic feedback or squeal. The theory came from the transformer industry to coat the coil and keep the coil windings firmly in place. The Fender company wax potted the early coils in wax as the bobbins were made from a paper product such as vulcanized fibre and even old time cards were used. The paper pieces were cut, punched and fabricated into bobbins for supporting the windings of the coil. After the bobbins were wound the coils were wax potted to keep the coil firmly in place. The early pickups had lamp black or black carbon added to the wax to make it more opaque and less visible inside the mounting or bridge plates. The lamp black dyed the string around the early Broadcaster, Esquire and Telecaster pickups also using the blackened wax the assembler could tell that the pickup was finished and ready to be used in assembly. I’ve seen many single coil pickups where the wax didn’t fully saturate or permeate the coil. If a wire vibrates or a metal cover is loose an oscillation or eddy current can produce uncontrollable microphonics or feedback. Proper potting saturates the coil with hot wax and fills all the gaps inside the pickup to eliminate the parts from vibrating. Potting pickups is easy as dunking a candy apple but it’s dangerous and “you must be careful.”
MATERIALS NEEDED:
1. Candle, canning or special industrial wax- found in most hobby shops or craft stores.
2. Double boiler- water in the bottom container and wax solution in upper container.
3. Heating element- electric stove or portable heating element. Do not use a gas stove or open flame! I use industrial wax melting pots. They are expensive too.
4. Paper towels- for blotting and wiping excess wax off pickups.
5. Wax paper or cardboard- to place pickups after they have been wax potted.
6. A cooking thermometer that measures between 130-180? degrees Fahrenheit (F).
7. Eyeglasses- to protect the eyes if you splatter hot wax.
8. I use gloves to keep the hot wax of my hands and fingers.
9. Support wires- I make wire hooks to help hold pickups so they can be agitated.
10. Cooling fan- This helps cool the pickups faster as hot pickups can loose most of the wax if allowed to cool too long.
PROCEDURE:
1. Buy paraffin candle wax at a hobby shop or where canning supplies are sold. Use a natural color wax when potting gray fibre pickups. Stay away from bee’s wax as it is too soft and sticky.
2. Heat the wax in a double boiler. A set of two nesting saucepans in which the contents of the upper are heated by the simmering water in the lower. Melt the wax slowly and keep the water below from coming to a boil.
3. Use your thermometer and when the wax melts around 160? degrees Fahrenheit, keep it at that temperature and no higher!
4. Read the “RECIPE” section below for desired pickup potting. This gives recommendation on how long to immerse various pickups.
5. Hold the pickup or attach wires and gently lower it into the wax. Alternately draw the pickup back and forth and bounce it gently of the bottom of the container. This gentle tapping loosens built up wax and eliminates air pockets inside the pickup.
6. After desired potting remove the pickup from the how wax, let drip till the wax slows down and put the pickup on wax paper or cardboard. I move the pickup often when cooling so the pickup doesn’t stick to the paper.
NOTE:
When measuring the DC resistance of hot pickups the resistance will be much higher than at room temperature. I often cool pickups using a gentle fan about a foot away from the pickups. I also used an industrial vacuum system to help remove air bubbles from voids in the pickup when wax potting. Agitating will help do the same thing but will take longer.
7. Gently blot the top of the pickup with a paper towel to remove excess wax that could make it difficult to firmly seat a plastic cover. Do not squeeze the coil as it can force out the wax and distorting the shape of the coil. Using a paper towel or tissue, gently wipe off excess wax on metal covers. Keep the metal covered pickups bottom up.
8. Avoid handling the pickup till it’s cooled down after about an half hour. This allows the wax to set and holds the components of the pickup firmly in place. Also keeps from getting fingerprints all over the pickup.
RECIPES:
Proper potting depends on complete permeation of the pickup in wax.
Telecaster Lead with metal bottom plate: Loose bottom plates on early Broadcasters, Esquires and Telecasters is one of the main causes of microphonic feedback using higher amplification. I keep screws in the three elevator height adjust holes to keep the bottom plate secure to the bottom of the bobbin.
1. I submerge the pickup in hot wax not exceeding 160? degrees Fahrenheit.
2. I agitate the pickup for approximately 1-3 minutes.
3. When the pickup is first submerged the wax cools and coats the pickup.
4. Agitate the pickup to loosen hardened wax and loosen air bubbles.
5. When the air bubbles stop and completely saturated remove the pickup.
6. Place the pickup on the wax paper or cardboard-occasionally move to keep from sticking on the paper.
7. Blot the top and bottom of the pickup to remove any excess lumps of wax
8. I keep the top of the pickup facing down. This puts a thicker coating of wax on the upper edge of the pickup and helps protect the coil if accidentally snagged.
9. Cool the pickup fairly quickly to stop the hot wax from dripping out.
Telecaster Rhythm: I always keep the metal pickup cover on when potting the rhythm pickup. These pickups have always been known to howl even at lower volumes. I also keep the bottom up on these pickups too. The metal cover can retain much heat that can melt the wax back out of the pickup if it was top side up. The wax would just drip out. Follow the same procedures from 1 to 9 listed above.
Stratocasters, Duo Sonics, Jazz Bass, Precision Bass and including all other Fender Single coils.
Extreme care needs to be taken as the coils are exposed on these model pickups. The covers should be removed (all plastic covers) as they can melt or distort in the hot wax. Be careful when agitating the pickups that you don’t hit the coil and damage the windings. Breaking one turn of magnet wire will cause the pickup to fail. Agitate slowly and carefully and avoid banging the pickup too hard on the walls of the container. Follow the procedures for the Telecaster lead from 1 to 9 listed above.
PICKUPS WITH PLASTIC BOBBINS: EXTREME CARE MUST BE DONE!
Humbucking Pickups,
Soapbar or Dog ear P-90’s,
Mini Humbuckers, Firebird pickups.
Most manufactures use various types of plastics for injection molding bobbins or coil forms on many styles of pickups. The materials used for molding have varied molding temperatures that can distort when exposed to hot wax. It is extremely important that you carefully watch the pickup at all times. The bobbins are under extreme pressure when the coil is wound and subjected to high temperatures. There can be extreme stress and tension on the coil form that can shrink distort when subjected to heat. Certain components used in making humbucking style pickup’s can retain a high amount of heat such as magnets, studs, pole pieces, covers and bottom plates.
1. When the pickup is first submerged the outer surface can frost over with cooled wax.
2. Agitate the pickup to remove the film of thick wax till the components warm to the temperature of the wax.
3. Soon after the bubbles diminish get ready to remove the pickup.
4. The potting time can vary and extreme caution needs to be taken to watch the pickup.
5. Don’t leave the pickup unattended as it can start shrinking and distorting the poles.
6. Each pickup needs individual attention and devoted time when wax potting
7. If the pickup had a metal cover, place the pickup bottom up.
8. Quickly cool the pickup to eliminate excess wax from exiting the components.
9. Note: I always agitate the pickup and quickly get it out of the hot wax. This will reduce possible damage to the coils and inside components.
10. Wipe excess wax off the outer cover and blot the bottom plate while cooling.
11. After the wax thickens and is a non drip state, the pickup can be picked up by the legs and turned over and the top side of the cover can be wiped clean of excess wax.
12. On adjustable pole pieces, I raise the poles and clean out with an old tooth brush to remove the wax within the slots and screw back in to desired height and allow to firmly cool.
13. When potting pickups with no covers and the coils are protected with a special tape: Carefully pot and firmly press back into place the loosened tape. I’ve often put rubber bands around the coil to keep the tape from unwrapping due to the hot wax. After the wax cools, the tape normally stays in place. You need to agitate the pickups slowly to reduce peeling of the tape.
POTTING EPOXIED PICKUPS:
Wax potting epoxied pickups can rather difficult because the thick epoxy covers the components but is usually to thick to permeate the coil and fine voids. Air pockets can still cause microphonic feedback in epoxied coils and I try to avoid this type of potting especially on passive or non active pickups. Wax potting might help if it can seep into voids left unfilled by the epoxy. Epoxied pickups are difficult to repair or rewind when broken. Earlier epoxy resins would shrink and often caused the pickup to eventually stop working.

264. What gives a pickup a Jazz sound? Tom Bolton-Akron, Ohio
Jazz players that I’ve talked to usually use heavier guage strings and often roll off the high end using their tone control. Jazz players often use the neck pickup alone and play through a cleaner sounding amplification. Using heavier strings will make the pickup sound fatter with more output. As the string diameter increases, an increase in the movement of magnetic field through the coil will increase the volume and fullness. Adjusting the pickup closer to the strings will increase the fullness, sensetivity and output. Picking the string closer to the neck will also increase fuller harmonics and louder signal to the amplifier. Many Jazz players use flatwound strings to help eliminate the fret noise when changing chord positions or playing fast melodies. One of my favorite melody chord players is a guitarist named Roy Lanham who did a few solo albums in the early 60’s and was heard on recordings with The Fleetwoods (Come Softly to Me) and The Sons of The Pioneers with Roy Rogers. Roy Lanham used flatwound strings on his Fender Jazzmaster. Pickups used for Jazz players can normally have lower DC resistance in the mid 6 k ohms as on older Gibson Johnny Smith pickups and Guild humbuckers can be 7.2 k ohms. Larger Gibson style humbucking pickups can range from 7.3k-7.6k to 8.7k on the average. Gibson P-90 single coil pickups can have a variable range from the mid 7k to high 8k ohms. Sometimes if you are using a pickup that is wound hot or has a higher DC resistance over 8.5k, the pickup can start sounding dark with loss of clarity especially when playing faster jazz runs and melody chords. Using a 250 k audio taper volume control will slightly decrease high-end especially in humbuckers. Using a 500 k or 1 meg will increase the clarity when using humbucking pickups that are wound hotter than single coils.

265. How are pickup cover made? Albert Thompson- Pennsgrove, New Jersey
Pickup covers can be made several ways:
- Metal covers can be fabricated, bend and soldered to a desired shape. This is especially done when making prototypes and short runs. Metal covers should be made out of a nickel silver rather than brass, aluminum etc.
- Plastic covers can be injection molded using many types of commerical molding plastics for desired cosmetic and durability. This is more expensive as injection molds can cost thousands of dollars and more precise parts can be made for longer runs.
- Plastic covers can hand fabricated or machined for prototypes and short runs especially when making a sample product to see how it will work within certain specifications.
- Plastic covers can be thermoformed either by drawing into a female cavity or male form. Many early covers where thermoformed with heat and a vacuum system. As it draws the air out of the cavity or mold, the plastic is drawn to the shape of a specific design.
- Prototype covers can be machined to precise tolerances by using various types of materials such as paper phenolic, linen phenolic, glass filled phenolic, hard woods, certain non-ferrous* metals
*(ferrous materials covering the complete pickup will usually keep the magnetic field from conducting to the strings)
- Covers can be molded into a silicone or other mold to hold the coils and pole pieces and filled with epoxy or similar potting solution. When dried the cover and coil are one unit and can be safely removed.

266. What kind of pickup can I use if the string spacing on my bridge doesn’t match a Gibson or Fender spacing? Tim Woods-Denton, Texas
I would recommend using either a humbucker or single coil pickup(s) with blade polepieces. This helps when you are using a non standard Gibson or Fender spacing that the majority of pickup replacement companies manufacturer. Here are a few common specifications that come in handy:
Guitar Pickup Bobbin E to E Pole to Pole
Gibson Humbucker 1.935” .387”
Gibson P-90/P-100 1.935” .387”
Fender Stratocaster 2.075” .415”
Fender Telecaster Lead 2.170” .434”
Fender Telecaster Rhythm 1.985” .396”
Fender Jazzmaster 2.011” .402”
Fender Jaguar 2.032” .406”
Fender DuoSonic 2.075” .415”
Fender Mustang 2.075” .415”
Gretsch Hi-Lo Tron 1.913” .383”
Gretsch Filtertron 1.913” .383”
Bass Pickup Bobbin Center Center
Measured E to G E to A
Fender Single Coil Precision 2.115” .705”
Fender Jazz Bass-Neck 2.221” .738”
Fender Jazz Bass-Bridge 2.330” .776”
Fender Precison Bass-Split 2.228” .763”
Keeping this above chart near by will help when determining a pole spacing for various instruments. Many bass instruments can use various pole or string spacing and you need to do a little math to determine what best suits your needs. If you have a non standard string spacing and need individual poles correctly spaced under each string then a custom pickup should be considered. You have many choices for the type bridge and pickups that can be used for your specific application. I would consult with other pickup companies to get specifications and dimensions for mounting the various types of pickups available.

267. If my 70’s Strat pickup has around 7,600 turns of 42 gauge plain enamel magnet wire what will the pickup sound like if I put 7,600 turns of 41 gauge plain enamel magnet wire? Rob “The Knob” Foster-Chicago, Illinois
A single build of 42 gauge plain enamel magnet wire has the nominal diameter of .0028”. The nominal diameter of 41 gauge plain enamel is .0031”. The ohms per 1,000 feet for 42 gauge magnet wire is 1,659 ohms. The ohms per 1,000 feet for 41 gauge magnet wire is 1,323 ohms. When using the 41 gauge magnet wire will cause the coil to be fatter because the diameter of the magnet wire is larger and brighter sounding because the 41 gauge has less DC resistance than the 42 gauge magnet wire. When measuring magnet wire the smaller the number the larger the diameter of the wire. Typical magnet wire used in typical Gibson and Fender guitar and bass pickups is 42 gauge and is pretty much the industry standard. Rickenbacker has used 44 & 45 gauge magnet wire. I believe Carvin humbucking pickups and Velvet Hammer single coil pickups use 41 gauge magnet wire to get a brighter top end. I’ve used 40 & 41 gauge for bass pickups where I need a cleaner top end better clarity and have used 42, 43 & 44 for many versions of pickups and smaller diameter magnet wire where I need get more turns on to help increase the output. There is a compromise between the magnetic field and the magnet wire diameter and number of turns for a specific bobbin shape.

268. What kind of guitar to you like looking for and is it for a specific sound or artist using it? What are some playing styles, influences and inspriations. Carl Rogers-Houston, Texas
Recently I’ve been listening to many surf instrumentals and trying to figure out what instruments the guitarist and bass players used. In my early years of playing guitar I’d often look at album covers with a magnifying glass hoping to see what position the switches were in or perhaps figure out if they were using round wound or flatwound strings. Looking at the photo’s close up only enlarged the dots on the paper from the printing process but I could almost make out what it was. I was still hopeful that maybe I could find other photo’s in magazines or in music history books to see what guitar settings the players used. I would hear a tone on a recording that I liked and go into a frenzy trying to buy the guitar just like “the one” they were playing. I’ve gone out and bought every guitar I could find hoping to sound like my earliest influence and friend Duane Eddy. I’ll try to find a 1957’ Gretsch 6120 with two single coil DeArmond pickups. Not a 56’ or a 58’ but a 57’! I’ve been looking for the Guild DE-500, Duane Eddy Model which is very rare settled for a DE-400 with white single coil DeArmond’s instead. My other goal was to find similar instruments used by The Ventures. I have the early 60’s Jazzmasters, maple neck Strats and a maple neck 58’ Precision Bass. One of my favorite covers by The Ventures is titled “The Ventures” (Dolton BLP-2004). On the cover Don Wilson is playing a A major chord on his maple neck Strat and Bob Bogle playing a A 7th chord on his Jazzmaster. Nokie Edwards is kneeling and playing a beautiful 58’ Precision Bass with the cleanest maple neck and chrome bridge and pickup cover in place. You can see Don’s lever switch in the bridge position and Bob’s Jazzmaster toggle switch in the neck position. You can see the wear marks on Don’s maple neck from hours and hours of playing and can almost read the time on his watch.
It’s great having similar instruments used by your guitar hero’s and it’s important to let your guitar hero know how much you appreciate them. I’ve always wished I could have told Roy Buchanan, Danny Gatton, Albert Collins, Roy Lanham, Jesse Ed Davis, Jimmy Bryant and Jimi Hendrix how important their music was to me and all the hours I spent listening to their recordings over and over again. I’ve been lucky to grow up in an era when the electric guitar made hero’s out of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and hundreds of other guitarist’s that have become your hero’s. I’d watch every TV show that had a guitarist playing such as Neil LeVang and Buddy Merrill playing on the Lawrence Welk show. I couldn’t wait to watch the Ozzie and Harriet show when little Ricky and his band featuring James Burton playing the scariest Telecaster solo’s I’ve ever heard. By watching James bend those strings, I figured out he was using a plain G string. It’s a great feeling watching and learning licks from other guitar players to see how they play chords and solo’s. I wore out many records trying to learn songs by Chet Atkins, Les Paul, Duane Eddy and many other guitar instrumentals. I’d learn the bottom part, the high part and then tried to figure out how to play both parts...at the same time! I was lucky to have lived in Southern New Jersey where we could drive to the Atlantic City or Wildwood and watch groups like The Fenderman doing “Mule Skinner Blues” or watching Pete Carroll and the Carroll Brothers backing up Chubby Checker doing “The Twist” or watching Roy Buchanan playing at a club called Dick Lee’s. I would sneak into night clubs wearing sunglasses to look older or lying about my age to get an ABC Card, (Alcohol Beverage Control) so I could play in night clubs when you are under 18 years of age. I respect the player who has a unique sound and playing style that you instantly recognize when you hear them play. I couldn’t wait to play to Cincinnati, Ohio to see Lonnie Mack playing somewhere around town or to see Cal Collins play chord inversions like I’ve never seen before. I hung out with many great players from the area such as Bill Bartlet who played a Mosrite in the group called “The Lemon Pipers”. Joe Walsh would visit Cincinnati and we’d jam on an old Yardbird favorite “Train Kept-a-Rollin”. One of my favorite players and long time friend is Adrian Belew who has done many great things for and with the guitar. We set fire to a Stratocaster in a tree outside Frank Zappa’s house because Adrian wanted one that looked like Jimi Hendrix set on fire. Another musician I came in contact with in Cincinnati is Larry Goshorn a fine country and blues player who worked with the band Pure Prarie League that later included a great singer and guitarist Vince Gill. I love going to Nashville to see players like Brent Mason, Jimmy Olander and Steve Wariner play Tele’s that would make Roy and Danny proud. Albert Lee always loved Jimmy Bryant for his endless riffs and fancy picking. Other friends I deeply admire for their playing is Arlen Roth along with Jerry Donahue. Arlen, Jerry and I have spent many hours talking about guitars, guitar recordings, particular sounds and all the players that have influenced us. One of my favorite cities to play is in Dallas, Texas with famous bluesman Bugs Henderson. Bug’s has worked with Freddy King and I had the honor of playing on his recording of “Honky Tonk”.
To this day I’ve been trying to find the player that performed on an early 60’s TV show called “The Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour”. I remember a young group in western wear doing an instrumental version of “San Antonio Rose” and half way through the song the guitarist did a back flip and the crowd went crazy. At that point I said to myself “I want to play guitar”. Maybe someday old re-runs of the show might be aired and it would be great to find out who the guitar player was.
Vintage Guitar Magazine is so important to the players of today as well as those from the past. All the contributors are trying to give you needed and interesting information on artists, equipment and general history. We need to pay respect to the many guitarist’s we have heard on recordings and document the countless stories and history these players have given us. Many young players today may not like or even think some early guitar instrumentalist were very good but you need to look at the time period and how influential they were at the time and still are. I often thought how players like Chet Atkins, Les Paul, and Jimmy Bryant learned how to pick so well without having video tapes to watch or limited recordings of other players. They picked and played in every position to enhance their guitar sound and spent much time practicing to master their distinctive style. I’ve been lucky to have seen and listened to some of the greatest musicians and their music will always be with me. SWD

269. How is the flatwork made or fabricated?
Typical Fender style flatwork is punched out and pierced out of a material called Vulcanized Fibre. It is made by saturating paper with a chemical solution and compressing under heat. Many layers of paper can be used for the desired thickness and color. Typical colors are black, gray, red, bone and natural. It’s the most common material used for fabricating guitar bobbins and flatwork...

270. What are the various shapes of bobbins?
A bobbin can be made in various shapes depending on the desired number of strings to be used. Bobbins can be tall and have narrow coils like Fender Stratocasters or have short and wide coils like a Fender Jazzmaster. Fender Strat bobbins have a .434” traverse and a Jazzmaster is close to .125” traverse. Gibson humbuckers have an average traverse of .245” and but may have specified .250” but the molded plastics can shrink a little. Bobbins are normally used to hold the magnet wire that’s wound with a specific number of turns and gauge of magnet wire.

271. What is flatwork?
Flatwork is normally a material that’s punched or routed out of a desired material to be used to make a coil form or bobbin. On a Fender Stratocaster or Telecaster pickup the flatwork is held together by rod magnets. The flatwork also keeps the magnet wire or coil to a desired shape.

272. What is the bobbin?
A bobbin can either be molded or fabricated out of flatwork and is used to wind the coil for a desired number of turns. A bobbin can be molded or fabricated from a number of materials such as nylon, PVC, ABS plastics or various types of phenolic, vulcanized fibre or even wood and paper products.

273. What materials are bobbins made from?
The bobbins that are injection molded can be made from many types of plastics and even Bakelite which starts out in powder form and has been used on older Rickenbacker bobbins. I like nylons as it is easy to work with and the material will hold it’s tolerances better than polystyrene plastics and have longer durability and wear.

274. Why do some Fender pots have a .001 mfd. cap between the # 2 & # 3 lug?
This helps keep the high-end or brightness in a pickup when you roll off the volume control. It helps the pickup retain clarity as you turn the volume down usually below the 8 on a volume control that’s 1 to 10. This also helps when using a 250K or 500K audio taper potentiometer.

275. How are metal covers made?
Metal covers typically used on Gibson style humbuckers are normally deep drawn through a series of stages to the desired depth. After deep drawing the cavity is trimmed to the desired height and holes are pierced for the adjustable polepieces if desired. The covers are then polished and plated with the desired finish. Such finishes can be Chrome, Nickel, Black Chrome and Gold.