Post Type Archives: SWD

The easiest way is to start unwrapping the pickup turn by turn and counting the number of turns per layer. I would go down a layer or two before you seriously start counting each turn per layer. As you unwrap you will soon begin to see a pattern of how the wire was put on….

I have seen this happen quite often. Care must be taken when the covers are removed as the solder that is on the cover can snag the tape and coil wires. Most often it can be the taped connections between the two bobbins or connections to the shielded lead wire that’s connected to the bottom…

The first thing to check would be the hookup wire at the end of the cable that’s soldered to the pots or switches. The fine strands of wire at that end can touch making the pickup act like it’s shorted out. Make sure all the insulated wires from each conductor are separated and not touching….

Depending on what kind of pickup you have, there are several things I do. For single coils that have black or gray Vulcanized Fibre for the flatwork (the material that looks like compressed paper) you can use a heating lamp or low temperature oven to slowly melt the excess wax. If you use hot water…

I never want to rewind an original pickup if it works and though it may sound bad to you, It may sound great to another player or collector. Many older pickups are very valuable and many have been broken or fail due to natural causes. If at all possible I would suggest having a new…

There are several reasons I have come across throughout the years. One could be a bad low E string. The wrapping on the string could have come loose or not have physical properties to attract the magnetic field in the pickup. Another can be the magnet rod pole piece has lost it’s magnetic field or…

Broadcaster and Telecaster rhythm pickups are not wax potted, but were treated with a potting solution to protect the coil from damage and give mechanical stability. After the coil and bobbins are potted and let dry, the cover is then put in place and the 3 tabs on the cover are mechanically bent over the…

Inner Coil Pole Corrosion happens when the magnet rod polepiece on your single coil pickups starts to rust causing the insulation to break down inside the coil. If the insulation (Formvar or Plain Enamel) breaks down, the exposed copper wire can oxidize and eventually break inside the coil. This usually happens from excessive moisture inside…

Make sure you remove all the bobbin hardware such as studs, screw or various polepieces. The best way I found to get out broken screws in humbucking bobbins was to carefully heat the broken screw from the bottom with a pointed soldering iron (not gun) to soften the plastic around the threads. From the top…

First off I would try to see how many turns were broken. If you can remove a few turns to the break, lightly sand the magnet wire and solder the finish lead on and test. If the beginning wire is broken that will be a lot more difficult. When you need to rewind it and…