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Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
For some while I thought I would do a little mini series about building one of my more 'involved' humbuckers: the Buccaneer Wide Range.
Most people know the story: Fender produced a couple of shoddy and lackluster 'reissues' of the WR ... that were in reality no more than conventional humbuckers inside that huge WR shell ... with the spare space filled with wax and wadding.
A stock pic to illustrate:
In the background a proper WR ... in the foreground what looks like a standard bucker wrapped in a wax soaked sanitary pad!
Worse still these 're issues' had bar magnets under the coils ... rather than individual CuNiFe magnetic pole pieces ... and no steel plate under the coils to boost the inductance. In short not a WR at all!
When I designed the buccaneer I took a cold hard look at the options: bobbins could be made from scratch to the original Fender spec ... but magnets were a problem. The originals were ... as I said ... made from CuNiFe ... a magnetic material soft enough to thread and make the slugs adjustable. Sadly CuNiFe is hideously expensive and rare these days, so I took the decision early on to use fixed alnico slugs with dummy screw slots. This enables the choice of many more grades of magnet than the threaded non CuNiFi WRs that some of my competitors make. It also allows tailor made flatwork that can again be adjusted for customer's preferences in sound.
Most of my flat work is laser cut these days ... but as the pole spacing of the WR is a one off ... my vulcanised fibre sheet is cut for them the way I started way-back ... using a routing jig. It's noisy and dusty ... but it gets the job done
See you in the next part when the magnet slugs get all beveled and slotted.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
Six magnets all with their south poles up ... ready to be beveled
Done exactly as Fender did in the fifties: a power drill, a bench grinder, a VERY steady hand and some serious goggles ... cos if these puppies shatter everyone gets a bit!
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
Just prior to adjusting the jig ... and getting some coolant on the magnet as I slot it. see all the filings? They must all be removed before the pickup is assembled: for that job I use large quantities of Bluetack ...
One set of slotted magnets
next episode shortly
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
I hope it has a better ending than Dexter.
But if it's rubbish, I'll be genuinely upset.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
This plate sits under the coils and pushes up the inductance of the pickup by adding ferrous mass in the magnetic field. This gives a little 'free boost' in power ... but it's major effect is to smooth out the top end frequencies while adding a little beef and girth to the low end. Tele pickups get a great deal of their characteristic sound from the baseplate ... as to Wide Ranges ... so god knows why Fender left them out! For the record I use steel basplates on several of my designs ... the BrassKnuckle and my Winterizer Firebird pickups being two.
Don't worry the plate will be buffed and made prettier ... though with the cover soldered on the pickup nobody else will ever see it
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
By the way, get ready for me to purchase another set from you. Probably a high output bridge bucker and either a p90 or matching bucker for the neck. I'm planning my next build, and I'd like it to have a chance of sounding good, even if I can't make it play well
Adding ferrous material (iron) within the magnetic field of the pole magnets and within or under the coil increases the inductance of the pickup. Increasing the inductance gives a tiny boost to 'perceived' output power ... but most importantly it shifts the frequency response of the pickup noticeably: fattening up the lower frequencies a little, and making the top end a little more smooth and less 'icepick in the ear'.
Classically this effect is heard on Telecaster Bridge pickups ... where the plate helps keep the twang down low ... whilst stopping what could be a 'shrill' design (due to it's very tall coils) from making peoples teeth break with the treble
Most Humbuckers have there single magnet way down under the coils ... and transmit the magnetic field to the strings via spindly 3mm pole screws (not much ferrous mass there) and this adds ... along with the high turn count of wire between the two coils ... to the more 'middle' centred ... less focused sound of a classic humbucker.
The Wide Range (designed by Setrh Lover for Fender) was supposed to do what it said on the tin ... provide a very wide and even coverage of frequencies .... to be clear and sparkling like a single coil ... yet to have a big, fat bass and plenty of middle like a classic humbucker. To this end the WR has six magnetic pole slugs per coil like a single coil ... that are much larger than standard humbucker ones ... and two coils per pickup ... reverse wound and reverse polarity to be hum cancelling. The effect of the single-pole-per string layout is to give huge clarity and note separation but a slightly wayward treble ... particularly in the bridge position. Add a baseplate or reflector plate, and some of that 'rudeness' is tamed.
Not everybody likes the original Wide Range sound in truth: it's pretty close to two single coil pickups mounted close together ... huge, fat and without careful handling, even a touch overpowering. But with the right amp and sensitive use of the volume control it really shines. Modern makers have added refinements that Seth Lover never invisioned ... for example my Buccaneers are available with four conductor wiring which gives you an almost Strat-like tone from the bridge pickup when split. Plus in the bridge you have the sheer grunt of an 11k pickup wound with 42awg wire (impossible in a regular sized humbucker) that can push your amp really hard ... and split you have, pretty close to a conventional Tele pickup ... complete with baseplate!
Also, personally I have reduced the neck pickup output a touch from Fender's original, to make it balance better with the bridge. This has produced wine of the most versatile pickups I make.
My BrassKnuckle conventional sized humbucker shares a lot of design features with the Buccaneer and Wide Ranges in general ... and is a good option for wanting a similar versatility in a normal regular sized package.
Hope all that made sense (grin)
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
Hi Ash - mailed you re a Hendrix / Timmons sounding neck HB for a Jem 7V ...
Mailed back at ya You've got me thinking ...
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
The biggest changes to my line up of pickups yet is about to happen: I've been in development for months ... and now the first of the new humbuckers is ready to be unveiled. My aim is to have one of the most comprehensive ranges of humbucking pickups outside the big guys. So Joining my Blitz Spirit PAF style lower output units ... my Scrapyard Dog, and Scrapysrd Dog Plus ranges ... my alnico 4 NightFighters ... are the new V range of high output buckers.
From the 15k ceramic magnet V1 ... through the classic 17k alnico 5 V2 ... to the alnico 8 and Ceramic alternatives of the awesome 20k V3 ... there will be something for all those who like to rock out a bit more.
As you can see, some V's feature magnum sized hexagonal poles ... others will feature the choice of retro, seventies DiMarzio style, hexagonal slugs or conventional slotted poles and slugs. Magnet choices will range from conventional alnico 5 and ceramic ... to alnico 8/ceramic 8 hybrids and my special super sized 1/4 inch thick alnico 5 bar.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
I'd better not tell you about the prototype 20+k Tony Iommi style P90 prototype on my bench then ...
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message