Post Type Archives: SWD

Generally you will increase the brightness and output from your pickup. Increasing the magnetic field can also reduce the sustain and increased string pull from the pickup that can slow down the string vibration.

The Alnico rod magnet material can be plated with may types of plating such as nickel, black nickel, chrome and gold to name a few for cosmetic appearance. During the early 80’s Fender would gold plate some of their Alnico rod pole pieces to designate a certain grade of material. Gibson during the mid 50’s…

I have always liked these pickups. They are a single coil pickup with a Alnico bar magnet down the center of the bobbin. I have wound them using between 9,600 & 10,000 turns of 42 AWG plain enamel magnet wire. The Melody Maker bobbin is make of nylon and the Alnico bar magnet slips into…

The “Patent Number” decal used after the “Patent Applied For” decal. This was a patent number for a “Combined Bridge and Tail Piece for a Stringed Instrument”. The Bridge/Tail Piece was applied for on July 9, 1952 and granted March 13, 1956. The Bridge/Tail Piece was designed by Lester W. Pulfuss better known as “Les…

A Mini Humbucker is similar to a Firebird and Epiphone pickups. The Firebird has non-adjustable pole pieces and the Epiphone has 6 adjustable 5/40, headless, slotted, machine screws. They measure about 2- 5/8″ long, 1- 1/8″ wide, 1-1/8″ high. The Mini Humbucker is also called the Deluxe Humbucker as used on the Les Paul Deluxe…

This is the nickname given to the original Gibson Humbucking pickup desigend by Seth E. Lover. The patent was filed on June 22, 1955 and granted on July 28, 1959. The actual pickup patent number for the pickup is 2,896,491. On the patent application it’s called a “MAGNETIC PICKUP FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT”. Some of…

The Lipstick tube pickup were designed for the Danelectro guitars. The Lipstick tube pickups were designed by Nathan Daniel. Nat designed a winding system using a photographic timer and winder that would rotate to the desired number of turns depending on the time that was pre-set. The magnets are wrapped with a black electrical cloth…

This was the first pickup used on Gibson Electric Spanish guitars shown in the 1935 catalog and named the ES-150. The pickup was made famous by the Jazz Guitarist Charlie Christian. The pickup was beautifully hand made using an Ivoried binding. The pickup was mounted into the hollowbody instrument by a 3 point adjustment for…

The bobbin is the same as a typical Gibson P-90 (Soapbar) with a single row of adjustable 5/40 Fillister head machine screws. The bottom plate has extended legs to keep the pickup from falling through the cutout in the body. The bottom plate on the neck and bridge pickups have a pre-shaped angle to allow…

This is a nick name given to a Gibson P-90 Single coil pickup. The cream cover looked like a bar of soap. This style of pickup can be seen on the first production of Les Paul Guitars. The soapbar pickups can be seen on Les Pauls made from 1952 to late 1956 and on Re-issue…