Post Type Archives: SWD

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…

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…

I like having a mounting hole no larger than 1/16″ around the outer dimension of a pickup, cover or mounting system. I like keeping the instrument cut only deep enough to fit the pickup at it’s lowest adjustment. If the cavity is too large or deep, the tone of the wood will be affected and…

The closer to the bridge a pickup is will make the pickup brighter, thinner sounding and less output as the string vibration is less as it gets closer to the bridge. The amplitude of the string vibration increases closer to the fingerboard and the pickup will sound fatter, fuller and increased output providing both pickups…

This has been done by many players. One of the first that I’ve seen done is on a 1953 Fender Telecaster owned by Bob Bain. Bob had his work done by Gibson salesman Tiny Timbrell around 1956 in Hollywood, California. Tiny had one of the first humbucking pickups produced by Gibson and had it mounted…

During the past few months I have seen so many variations in pickups, bridges and nut spacing. When companies start changing dimensions it causes a whole new problems with after market components such as covers, mounting rings, bridges etc. We have American Standard measurements and Metric and many parts being made overseas to fit American…

Fender and Gibson spacing are different but if you really want to add or replace the Gibson Melody Maker pickup I would suggest using a blade style replacement pickup. By using a blade after market pickup, the Gibson’s narrower spacing won’t be affected. The Melody Maker pickup also uses a bar magnet inside the nylon…

I would look to see if the pickup is the same shape and size as pickup that you want to add or replace. A large humbucker will not fit in a single coil cavity without modification or routing the instrument. I would ask my self, do I want to change the routing in the body…

The pole pieces are used in a pickup for directing the magnetic field to the strings. If the strings are off set from the pickups the signal or output can be affected. The relationship of the strings to the pickup is important as well as the shape of the coil. The magnetized string movement will…

This can either be a neck or a bridge alignment. If you just noticed this and it didn’t happen before, check the condition of the instrument for any broken joints or damage. This is very typical on Fender style instruments and can happen if the instrument is dropped or bumped in the case. With my…