Follow along as I make a humbucker pickup for an electric guitar from start to finish. Show your support! Visit www.eguitarplans.com/ and buy a plan. Or visit highline-custom-guitars-2.cre... and buy a shirt!
Bravo! I’ve watched several videos about winding a pickup and none showed how the spool was oriented for the wire to freely come off the spool except this video. He just sits it on the floor.
Thanks Chris, Your video gave me tips on how to handle the only thing I still struggle with, soldering on the leads to the coil wire and attempting to not short out anything with moving them around. I think your way to deal with that will help me out greatly! I appreciate it very much! I think you should have included a brief bit testing the resistance of the coils to show how to check for a short or partial short in it. I do it about 100 times while assembling because I'm a bit insane about it. I also understand that becomes a rabbit hole based on wire thickness and number of windings, which might be why you skipped it.
Thank you, sir! I've seen some of your vids, but I'm now subscribed. I hope to make some guitars in the future. I've thought about how nice it would be to make my own pickups. Definitely something I'll try at some point and I'm sure I'll refer back to this as a starting point. Thanks again.
This video was awesome. Very informative and interesting! Thanks so much for sharing. This is definitely something I want to be able to do in the near future and everything you showed and explained was easy to understand and made a lot of sense.
Love your channel!! Just a note that Eddie Van Halen took the putting pick ups idea among other ideas from Tony Iommi and Jon Birch. In 1970 he needed to solve the problem of his P 90 pick ups squealing too much in front of his Laney stacks. Birch performed an overwound rewind on his bridge P90 and made an overwound neck P90 for him. both were potted.
The best video on this subject I have seen so far. Had all the information I needed to understand how humbuckers are actually made. Just subscribed. I wish you were just down the road. I suspect you would be the perfect guy to ask about dialing in a perfect humbucker tone :-) I look forward to seeing your other videos.
Thanks for all your vids, your´re great at explaining stuff, can´t count the tips and principles I´ve learned til now. I hope some day you tell us how a johnny smith style mini humbucker is made.
It was interesting the commentary on the reasons for the conventional Hotter Bridge Humbucker to create balance which is commonplace .. Jimmy Pages Les Paul tone in Led Zeppelin has been elusive as no mainstream manufacturer has ever created his UNCONVENTIONAL pickup arrangement. Namely a brighter Lower Wound 7.5k T Top with a short A5 magnet in the bridge creating some 'Twang' and a massively different high wind 8.6k Alnico 2 PAF in the Neck for a Buttery /Wood sound (Set BELOW pickup ring to create balance and no mud!)... These crazy pickup extremes create that "Hollow Toppy Chirp" almost acoustic sound in middle position which alludes conventional guitars.. With this setup, you get 3 much more 'radically different' tones than a regular hotter bridge/lower power neck setup.. Even the Gibson Jimmy Page model guitars are "Period Incorrect' pickup wise for Zeppelin, as they are modeled on post 1984 mods with hotter bridge
Thank you Chris. I always wondered why the neck pickup is constructed differently from the bridge pickup. Thanks for explaining the differences in detail. Now I understand! Fantastic tutorial video!
Fantastic video thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. Could you do a video explaining how to wind a bobbin counter clockwise I’m finding it all a bit confusing that side of it. Thanks
if a winder is spinning clockwise, and you mount the bottom of the bobbin to the winder plate, it will spin clockwise. If you mount the top of a bobbin to the winder plate, the winder still spins clockwise but the winding is in the opposite direction (counter-clockwise) to the previously wound bobbin.
This is a great resource, thank you! Do you press the bobbins in using an arbor press, and do you magnetize them? If so, I'd love to see further instruction on that. A bit more clarification on the steps that happen before winding. Thanks for the great videos!
Fender pickups have been wax potted since the late forties. People wax potted humbuckers in the sixties. EVH was a visionary but he didn't invent wax potting.
If you can't find a good source of color coded four conductor with a ground to convert two conductor humbuckers to out of phase switchable or single coil taps. Cut the ends off of USB cables. Cheap and available everywhere.
Tone is the relationship between the gauge of wire, the number of turns, and the strength you charge the magnet to. The stronger the magnet, the more winds it can take. Over winding a weak magnet makes a muddy pickup
Jimmy Pages Alnico2 Neck PAF is Wound to a Hot(ish) 8.6k , but then set below pickup ring to balance the underwound 7.5k Short A5 T Top in the bridge . No Mud .( The Led Zeppelin Set no mainstream manufacturer has ever made!)
hey I like the Video and it's pretty informing but there was one part that was not right in terms of the positioning of the Pickup. the most about it was right but a bridge Pickup and a neck Pickup have with the same note played the same frequency. because if they had different frequency the same note would sound different (like a played a note sounds at the neck as a a but at the brige as a b) but the reason why chords sound brighter is the thinner sides have a higher frequency but not so high altitude as the thicker sides and the diffrence between the higher altitude of the thicker sides getts narrower to the bridge so they sound higher
Eddie Van Halen was a genius to the degree that he learned extensive musical theory and classical music because his father was a task master and a very capable guitarist who pushed his children to learn as much as he could make them learn about music.
Ultra- cool, Dude! Many years ago, I dreamed of building my own guitar. In retrospect, I guess I had created in my mind, a hybrid PRS, solid body Classical, and Brian May's Red Special. Anyway - I also thought of winding my own pickups. I had a friend whose Dad wound pickups using a spool and a fishing spinning reel. This entire realm of electronics v acoustics has always fascinated me. Sad thing - I barely passed me Electronics 101 Class in college.
Strings are vibrating with the same frequency, no matter which pickup position you pick. The amplitude is the only thing that's different. An open A = 440 Hz. The maximum amplitude is in the middle. So, either in the middle between the bridge and the saddle or between the bridge and the fret that's pressed. When you pick fretted notes this middle position shifts and the frequency therefore increases, but the frequency above the neck and bridge pickup is still the same.
How about magnetizing the pickups? Aren't humbuckers supposed to be composed of two single coils with opposing magnetic fields? Also how many turns do you usually put in your pickups (both bridge and neck)
Chris, this is my second time watching this one, and I suspect I'll watch it a couple more times before I attempt my first DIY humbucker. Do you have any tips on where to get the best pickup parts for the best prices? Do you buy in bulk? I've seen some 'humbucker' pickup 'kits' that include all the pieces - are these a good option or do you pick everything separately?
For the guitars I sell on Reverb, I buy kits fro CE Distribution. You have to have a business account to get the best prices. For custom builds I source parts all over the internet.
Hi, hope this is not a silly question but do you solder the two finish wires together or the start and finish wires? I only ask as there seems to be a lot written about this on the net and I can't tell which way is right.
Great video. Ty! I've been playing for years and never knew that so much went into a pup. Question: can a passive pup go bad over time? I heard that you shouldn't put your pups near anything metal. My old pups just don't sound like when they were new. Thanks!
Yes, they can go bad. The coil wire insulation can degrade over time, which can weaken the signal and lead to shorts. Also, the magnets can be degraded by blunt impacts and excessive heat, although these issues are rare.
I just received my Mira se and the tape on the pickup was a mess. to fit can I tape over or remove tape and retape and what size tape do I get. .It would not be an issue except the cobbjob is on the bass side and I see it.
I just got a 1965 black Hagstrom 1 electric guitar, and the pickups are known to have a special sound that people pay a premium for, even decades old. QUESTION: When I was rubbing the rust off the pole pieces, pressing hard (heavily rusted), I discovered the poles are not one solid piece. The top part (that is visible) is actually a little steel cap that is glued onto the pole underneath. Apparently the rubbing alcohol I used to free the rust dissolved the glue. This happened on two pole pieces. I cleaned the old glue off, and put a tiny pinch of super glue (with pressure overnight) to secure the two caps. Have you ever seen pickups made this way, with metal caps fixed on top of each pole? They were magnetized. If you put them upside down, they would repulse, but the correct way, and it they fit right back in place. They work fine, but I'm curious nevertheless if this strange construction is unique to Hagstrom, or is this a build technique unique to Hagstrom? Thanks for your wonderful video.
@@HighlineGuitars I would love a HB for the neck of a 25.5, that is not muddy and splits well giving a clear clean sound. I will use both coils separately also, would like each to have different number of winds, enough to sound a bit different. I love the sound of a strat. I play no distortion and love old rock and country music. Is this possible?
Hi,I was wondering if you/someone could help me out here. I was planning to change the cover of my pickups ( Gibson Humbucker 490r e il 498t) in gold tone so I would need to change the Pole Screws too in the same colour. I bought Pole Bolts - Slot Head 5-40 x 18mm (imperial). Did I get the right POLE Screws or did I need to buy different ones? I am still waiting to receive the guitar with those pickups so I can not really tell but these pole screw looks a little too small to my eyes. I am not an expert so I was wondering if you could help me out Thanks!
I realized from the video that the finishing ends of the coils are soldered together. Which wire from the beginning of the coils do you use as "hot": the "Start" of the southern coil or the northern one? Thanks, Chris!
Awesome video, thanks for this! I know it’s a bit older but I actually had a question in regards to wire - when I’m trying to wind, I constantly have to stop to unspool a bit of wire and it makes the winding part take forever. I cannot go quickly. When I unspool a bunch of wire to wind, it’s likely that unspooled wire will pool and knot next to me as I’m trying to wind. I set up the spool on a little pole, in hopes that as I wind, the wire will be pulled, the spool will then turn and feed more wire as it goes, but then I have issues with wire snapping, as the spool is too heavy and is only relying on the pull from the winder to unspool it. How do you go about having enough wire and being able to work at that speed while dealing with a spool of wire? Thanks!
I’ve never had the issue you described nor have I heard of anyone other pickup makers with that same experience. With the spools I use, the wire unravels on its own as the bobbin spins.
@@HighlineGuitars thank you for the response! It must have to do with how I have the spool set up. I set it up expecting the spool itself to roll to unwind while the pickup winder does its thing. I need to set it vertically so the wire can come off freely (how a fishing pole spool would be orientated) and not expect the spool itself to move.
I personally would love to have an extremely bright and clear sounding bridge pickup with minimal low end mud (200-400Hz). Any suggestions as to what magnets, winding and wire I should use if I decide to build one?
Good video except the only bit I was interested in that you never said anything about was the hook up wires, which one is live, which one is earth and which two get connected together?
Thanks for this video, it's really useful. When you solder the pickup wire to the lead wire do you have to scratch off the enamel coating, or do you just wrap it round a few times and the solder melts it forming a connection? Thanks!
Great video! I had one question though. There is a guitar player you are probably familiar with “Eddie van Halen” who crafted his own pick up. What did he do differently from you to get more of a (screaming tone) this question is very specific sorry, haha.
I think even Eddie would tell you it's not so much about the pickup as it is about the way he plays. In other words, if you played his guitar, it would sound like you. However, if Eddie played your guitar, it would sound like Eddie. That being said, the humbucker he originally used in his Frankenstrat was a Gibson PAF lifted from an ES-335, which was potted with paraffin wax. God only knows the specs of that original pickup, but he has stated in the past that one of the coils didn't work. PAFs are usually wound with 42awg wire to a low DCR and I would guess the magnet was either an Alnico 2 or a low gauss Alnico 5.
@@HighlineGuitars Thanks - that's what I was hoping you would say. Seems like their prices are quite reasonable compared to others. Please keep the videos coming. All the best!
Hi - do you always the same base plate material (looks like German Silver) or have you used a brass material? If you do or can share some insight; what difference do you find it makes on the tone of the pickup, everything else being equal? I would think that they would have some affect on inductance(?) Great video by the way!
I use nickel silver like most quality pickup makers. Brass is usually found in cheapo import pickups. As for tone or inductance, who knows and who cares. If brass is perceived as cheap I'm not even going to bother. How would you feel if you bought an expensive set of Seymour Duncan humbuckers and they came with brass baseplates? You'd think they're fakes.
Do you have any pickup videos on you connecting a guitar pickup to get a frequency Response measurement to see the frequency response curve of the pickup?
@ Gauss Meter There are quite many inexpensive Gauss Meter plans (based on Arduino + an LCD display) floating on the Web, but Chris just uses his voltmeter... @ 9:45, how come? I mean, we are creative folks, right? What do we make out of this? :) hint: Linear HALL sensors
