Forum Ringside > Pickups

Rebel Yell bridge 50mm vs 53mm

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rbg:
So I found something puzzling, maybe people can help me with. I have a quite dark sounding super Strat and I have been enjoying a RY in the bridge. Super nice sound sound, just love it. However that is a 50mm spaced humbucher. The screw/string mismatching was bothering me, but it is absolutely impossible to get a 53mm RY. A couple of weeks ago miracle happened and a used 53mm one showed up on a second hand marker... so I grabbed immediately. It arrived and to my deepest surprise it sounds quite different compare to 50mm version. Not as clean and not as tight. If you know the RY sounds so clean, it feels like you have one if those wiggly frets -- the guitar is like super intonated. So 53mm version is still clean and deep, but not like 50mm. I thought that maybe those used 53mm are not RYs. I opened the pickup and it has RY scratched in the corner of the bobbins under the magnet. It also has SS and 717 scratched. All look like my 50mm RYs. 50mm one measure 6.9kOhm and 7kOhm, where 53mm version is 7.35 and 7.5k. The difference in R would be explained by longer bobbins, I would guess. They have a little bit bigger offset, maybe that is? Or maybe RY was designed and optimized to be a 50mm humbucker. Any ideas, why the sound is different? Or it is just a regular difference between two hand wound pickups? Thank you.

ericsabbath:
my bridge Rebel Yell is 53m and 14.4k, somewhere between yours and your 50mm

it does make sense that a 13.9k pup might sound cleaner and tighter than one that's almost 1k hotter and same specs, but maybe the pole alignment might play some part in this

rbg:
Thank you Eric. It is interesting. I also have two Crawlers that measures almost 1k apart. Two NBs I have measures almost 1k apart, and I actually prefer ~16.9k NB :-)

rbg:
One more thing, is it known if RY neck uses 42awg poly wire or it is 43 poly wire?

ericsabbath:

--- Quote from: rbg on November 04, 2025, 06:57:03 PM ---One more thing, is it known if RY neck uses 42awg poly wire or it is 43 poly wire?

--- End quote ---

Doesn't sound like 43 awg to me
Maybe 42.5 like the cold sweat?
Maybe 42?

It sounds middier and less bassy than the VHII and has a smoother top than the CS
Far different character from nailbomb and emerald, and definitely hotter than the mule and old guard

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