MrMuckle Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 (edited) Have any of you guys actually followed the instructions in his book and have successfully made a pickup? I'd love to hear how it went. Edited October 11, 2010 by MrMuckle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Never heard of this book? Any more info on it? Looks like all old/used versions on amazon... Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim37 Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 i think the main problem with pickups is they can be so simple to make. yet so hard to make a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 i think the main problem with pickups is they can be so simple to make. yet so hard to make a good one. Amen. I will add. Making a good one is not as hard as making good ones Consistently and Predictably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 That's what we're gunna have to do if we get together for beers or something in Charlotte man. Talk pickups! I have parts (no winder yet) that were given to me that are just asking to be wound up.... Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 I have the book. I *think* he is the guy behind Q-tuner pickups. Anyway, the pickups in the book is all very non-traditional and pretty low impedance. They doesn't match the vintage craving the market currently dispays... And half of the book is about building basses. There are better books about pickups, although I don't rate any of them really good. At last not if you are looking for a book about making pickups (traditional pickups that is) And its not that hard to make say a Fenderish pickup and get it to sound good. That opinion is something that is mainly advocated by pickup winders. Getting consistent results is a different thing, that is something I totally agree to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Yes, he is the Q-tuner guy...he is a little 'off the wall' but I kind of liked that, and of course the book is about making fretless bases, whixh is not clear, and half of it about pickups of his own design. In that respect though, it is interesting as it exploress quite a few 'different' ideas and construction techniques...all the designs are for bases though. I kind of liked the quirky nature of the book, I used some of those kinds of ideas in making some of my sustainer designs, but it is not really that useful for making 'pickups' for the guitar... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMuckle Posted October 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 I just got the book, too. The instructions are a little confusing to someone new to guitar making like myself. And no, Chris, the book hasn't been updated since 1988. It's interesting how there's not really a good step-by-step book out there on pickup making. I may have to make another post on finding someone to make non traditional custom pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verhoevenc Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 There are PLENTY of you on here that build enough pickups you could write something better than what is currently out there. It'd be nice to know things besides parts and how to make a winder. Things like how to charge magnets, affect of height/width of bobbin, resistance, wire thickness, etc. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 I've been aiming to write a series of magazine articles for the leading Scandinavian guitar mag for some time now. Been doing it on and off for two years, but never got satisfied with the outcome. I'm better at making stuff than writing about it. I have contemplated to translate it all to English and make it available "as is" for anyone interested. Let's see what happens... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 I may have to make another post on finding someone to make non traditional custom pickups. I found that to be the main thing about this book, that there are non-traditional approaches...it's more of a springboard for ideas I suppose. For instance, side coils on edge or epoxy molding of the pickups themselves, incorporating wooden covers...this is all fairly unusual things and the techniques for building them sound enough and transferable to experimentation...I can't think of another book that goes in that direction really. I am sure there is a market for something on pickup building...but a lot of it is an 'art' that comes from knowledge and technique...I suspect what a lot of people are going to want is prescriptive, do this, get that...and that is inviting controversy as we all have our biases and preferences and opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RestorationAD Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 There are PLENTY of you on here that build enough pickups you could write something better than what is currently out there. It'd be nice to know things besides parts and how to make a winder. Things like how to charge magnets, affect of height/width of bobbin, resistance, wire thickness, etc. Chris I have thought about it. But it is a black art and I am by no means an expert. That info is different for different makers and hard fought knowledge to say the least. You could ask ten pickup makers about those things and get ten different answers. There are some generalities to be made...but there is a lot of voodoo to go with it. Your best bet is to get over to the pickup makers forum and spend several days reading and taking notes. I've been aiming to write a series of magazine articles for the leading Scandinavian guitar mag for some time now. Been doing it on and off for two years, but never got satisfied with the outcome. I'm better at making stuff than writing about it. I have contemplated to translate it all to English and make it available "as is" for anyone interested. Let's see what happens... I have been thinking about this myself but I don't have the credentials to write for a national mag. I think since it is not my main gig and I am an unknown it would be hard to get people to take me seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMuckle Posted October 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 I bought this book because of the non-traditional approach, but the more I research this I realize it's not a path I want to go down. Building them myself, that is. However, I don't want to buy pickups that are just replicas of the tried and true. Can you guys recommend some builders who have more experimental designs that don't even have to fit standard dimensions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwedishLuthier Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 OK, we have requests for how to charge magnets, affect of height/width of bobbin, resistance, wire thickness, etc. that need to be covered in any article, book, on line essay... Anything more apart from the obvious "how to actually put the magnet wire around some magnets/plastic bobbins"? I think I have most of it covered in the disposition for the magazine articles, but I would really appreciate any input. Construction details of specific pickup icons (although that have been covered in a few books)? Experimental designs...I dunno...most of them haven't survived for one specific reason or another. Pre CBS were considered the thing to get in the early 70's, less than ten years from the CBS take over. Leo Fender, Seth Lover, Harry DeArmond, Dan Armstrong, the EMG guys (can't bother to dig out the names of the two brothers right now) seems to have hit the right sound from the beginning as there are very little "real" news on the pickup market, except for the Alumitones and Q-tuners, and they have gotten mixed reviews to say the least. Guitarists are a conservative bunch of people, especially when it comes to pickups. Bass players seems to be more receptive of new ideas thou... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.