Oil City ... The Weasel on pickups, repair, building and rewinding

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  • JookyChapJookyChap Frets: 4234
    Adam_MD said:
    I love reading pickup winding threads.  :D

    I've also got a tele pup with adjustable p90 pole pieces, it's a really interesting pickup wound by Marc at Mojo pickups.  It still sounds like a tele bridge pup but also kinda like a p90, awesome for playing who and ac/dc tracks 
    One of only two Tele Gimps in the wild :) I loved that pickup...

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  • MegiiMegii Frets: 1670
    Hi Weasel - just wondering if you might have any future plans to introduce strat-sized humbucker pickups to your line up? I guess I'm thinking along the line of something vaguely similar to SD's "lil '59" . Don't know how easy that one would be to do, but I think it would be very cool if someone like yourself could bring the handwound touch to that kind of design. :)
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  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9978
    tFB Trader
    All the parts are easy to come by for rails style pickups ... but I don't think the design lends itself to hand winding. Personally I've never found one I like the sound of that much ... the fault, if it is such ... is the very narrow coil aperture ... and that is inherent in the space limitation. I am doing a lot of research and prototyping of split humbucking single coil sized pickups ... they don't suffer the narrow coil aperture or the limitations on magnet structure that the rails design is prone to.

    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • MegiiMegii Frets: 1670
    Appreciate the reply Weasel, cheers. SD's "Lil' 59" pickup actually has 2 rows of individual pole pieces, rather than the blades, but I guess some of the limitations you talk about would still apply. I suppose what I'd really love is something you could drop into a strat, but which had something of the tone of a vintage PAF or perhaps a warm sounding P90 even. Maybe an impossible dream lol. Your research does sound very interesting, and I have looked at your website a bit lately, some good stuff you are doing already it would seem! :)
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  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9978
    tFB Trader
    the problem is not in the blades or individual poles ... but in the narrowness of the actual coil, and the fact it has to be wound with very, very thin wire to get the output up. Getting something P90 like is a little easier ... and I will be sorting out something like that hopefully this year :)
    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • jaygtrjaygtr Frets: 218
    thanks for the thread resurrection , i didn't know it existed until today. 
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  • MegiiMegii Frets: 1670
    the problem is not in the blades or individual poles ... but in the narrowness of the actual coil, and the fact it has to be wound with very, very thin wire to get the output up. Getting something P90 like is a little easier ... and I will be sorting out something like that hopefully this year :)
    Appreciate what you're saying Weasel, and I'll keep my eyes on your website for P90-esque developments, cheers!
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  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9978
    tFB Trader
    jaygtr said:
    thanks for the thread resurrection , i didn't know it existed until today. 
    Well it was the first technical post here ... so it kinda got buried by all the excitement of a new forum :)
    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • frankusfrankus Frets: 4719
    GW - is it worth taking the magnet and pole pieces out of cheapo strats and putting magnetic slugs?
    A sig-nat-eur? What am I meant to use this for ffs?! Is this thing recording?
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  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9978
    tFB Trader
    Well; you can make the pickups sound better certainly. The real problem is the very fact you can take out the slugs means the pickups have plastic bobbins. Nothing against plastic as such, but it means the inner turns of the coil can't get wound close in to the magnets, in the 'sweet spot' where a fair bit of single coil tone comes from. It will help to change slugs for mags certainly ... but not work miracles :)
    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • frankusfrankus Frets: 4719
    ta :)

    A sig-nat-eur? What am I meant to use this for ffs?! Is this thing recording?
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  • ROOGROOG Frets: 554
    Very informativeTGW, thanks

     

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  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    @TheGuitarWeasel Super old bump.  I'm having a go at this and have just removed the covers from an old set of pickups I had in the house.  Can you tell me the easiest way to remove the last of the wax which is still sticking to the pickup please?
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  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9978
    edited January 2015 tFB Trader
    A hair fryer used GENTLY ... and some tough, kitchen roll to mop up the softened and liquefied wax. I don't pussy about with getting wax out of old covers ... I dip em in boiling water and the wax floats off as a scum :-)
    PS This was the original and first tech thread on the spanking new forum .... awww nice to see it again!
    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    edited January 2015
    Thanks Ash I figured that was the easiest but didn't want to start on them just incase.

    I remembered reading something about boiling water but hadn't realised it was for the covers and thought I'd imagined it :D

    I'll order the mags today and will hopefully fingers crossed report back with success
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  • Not seen this thread before, awesome!
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  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    Right just ordered some alnico iii, iv, v and 8 the pickups have alnico ii in them at the minute. I was just going to get iv and v but thlught I'd get iii and 8 for a laugh seeing as the covers are off. Hopefully they get here before the weekend. I record sound samples with the different mags to see how they sound.
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  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    edited January 2015
    Well that was easy.  Magnets arrived today and only took a few minutes to take out the A2 from the neck, A5 from the bridge and swop them for a pair of alnico iv.  Just tested them with a multimeter so I know they're both still working.  

    It's a bit late to be breaking out the soldering iron now so I'll put them in their new home tomorrow, I'll probably leave the covers off for a while so I can try out the other types after I get used to the A4 and record some sound samples.  One of the benefits of ordering zebra bobbins under nickel covers is I still like the look of them.

    Thanks Ash @TheGuitarWeasel for a super easy informative guide - I wouldn't have had the balls to try this if you hadn't posted this thread.

    Obligatory zebra pics.



    I'll post another shot or 2 when they're in their new goldtop home - I must admit I'm looking forward to seeing them in a goldtop, I suppose the only other question is do I put them in a regular goldtop lp or a gold sparkle lp?  :D

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  • OilCityPickupsOilCityPickups Frets: 9978
    tFB Trader
    Glad the guide was of use :-)
    Professional pickup winder, horse-testpilot and recovering Chocolate Hobnob addict.
    Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups  ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message  

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  • BigPaulieBigPaulie Frets: 1036
    I know I'm bumping a 9 year old thread, but I don't care!

    This is a great guide and for a professional to offer this advice for free is what restores my faith in this community when I discover these golden nuggets.

    @oilcitypickups did the 2 to 4 conductor conversion guide ever happen? Search function not proving much use.
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