So how does pickup re-winding work?

[Brow]

Is this something that gets done to broken pickups, or can any pickup be re-wound to sound like another?

I ask this because I plan to swap the Seth Lovers in my Gibson LP Standard for a set of covered Mules and was wondering if I could just send my Seths off to BK to be re-wound as Mules, have the baseplate changed to BK and then have covers fitted?

I'm sorry if this is a stupid/naive question, but I'm curious :)

Craig

[FELINEGUITARS]

Really not worth doing it that way
Will cost nearly the same I reckon .
Would be better to buy the pickups and then sell the SL s to a friend or on ebay.

Or find a cool BKP dealer (like me) who may offer you a part-ex on the old pickups

[Brow]

Really not worth doing it that way
Will cost nearly the same I reckon .
Would be better to buy the pickups and then sell the SL s to a friend or on ebay.

Or find a cool BKP dealer (like me) who may offer you a part-ex on the old pickups

Hi.

Thanx for your reply.

It was only an idea I had, I didn't know if it was feasible or not :)

I'll probably just buy the Alnico IV Mules and then sell my Seth Lovers on Ebay. They always seem to go for a good price :)

Craig

[Tim]

Good question Brow.

When a pickup, let's say a humbucker, comes in for rewinding we strip and wind the coils to the customer's spec.Sometimes putting in a new magnet too.However swapping the baseplate isn't really practical as you're almost totally rebuilding the pickup and it's cost pretty much the same.

The majority of rewind work we do is vintage stuff,ie repairing a broken PAF hwich has to have the correct wire or an early Strat coil.Again, attention to detail is important.

You can't polish turds unfortunately..........some pickups parts are so poorly made that you're better off with a brand new one.However we can radically change a pickups tone by rewinding and go even further with a magnet change.

The pickups we make are really the sum of the whole.I take a great deal of attention over the integrity of all the parts we make-we now manufacture ALL our own pickup components-and also how I wind them so the cumulative result is a great sounding pickup.

[Brow]

Good question Brow.

When a pickup, let's say a humbucker, comes in for rewinding we strip and wind the coils to the customer's spec.Sometimes putting in a new magnet too.However swapping the baseplate isn't really practical as you're almost totally rebuilding the pickup and it's cost pretty much the same.

The majority of rewind work we do is vintage stuff,ie repairing a broken PAF hwich has to have the correct wire or an early Strat coil.Again, attention to detail is important.

You can't polish turds unfortunately..........some pickups parts are so poorly made that you're better off with a brand new one.However we can radically change a pickups tone by rewinding and go even further with a magnet change.

The pickups we make are really the sum of the whole.I take a great deal of attention over the integrity of all the parts we make-we now manufacture ALL our own pickup components-and also how I wind them so the cumulative result is a great sounding pickup.

Thanx for the detailed reply Tim :)

After talking to you at the Ozzmosis gig, talking to you on the phone and via this website, I know you do take your business and products VERY seriously and it shows in the final product.

I do like the Seth Lovers I have currently in my LP, but they seem to me to have some kind of mid-range hump/spike that makes them somewhat 'brittle' sounding at times. Which is why I plan to replace them with a set of covered Alnico IV Mules, which I think will be just what I'm looking for :)

Craig

[HJM]

That sounds like poly wire!

[Tim]

That sounds like poly wire!

Got it in one, polysol or poly wire does seem to produce a mid spike whereas true plain enamel has a flatter response through the mids.However the Seth Lover humbuckers as 'supposed' to be wound with plain enamel so, assuming that's the case,it's probably the result of machine winding bringing the capacitance up and making them a touch honky.

There are a few 'voices' in the winding world trying to shout down the vaildity/importance of plain enamel claiming it sounds no different to polysol......these people either don't play guitar or need a hearing test!
The proof, as all you guys know for fact, is in the tone. Getting hold of plain enamel(good quality plain enamel too) is getting harder but not impossible.To ensure consistency and quality we're buying in increasing quantity to make sure we've always got a healthy supply.

[Brow]

That sounds like poly wire!

Got it in one, polysol or poly wire does seem to produce a mid spike whereas true plain enamel has a flatter response through the mids.However the Seth Lover humbuckers as 'supposed' to be wound with plain enamel so, assuming that's the case,it's probably the result of machine winding bringing the capacitance up and making them a touch honky.

There are a few 'voices' in the winding world trying to shout down the vaildity/importance of plain enamel claiming it sounds no different to polysol......these people either don't play guitar or need a hearing test!
The proof, as all you guys know for fact, is in the tone. Getting hold of plain enamel(good quality plain enamel too) is getting harder but not impossible.To ensure consistency and quality we're buying in increasing quantity to make sure we've always got a healthy supply.

I'm not saying I hate the sound of the Seths, I don't at all. But I think that a set of Alnico IV Mules will be better for me.

I'll have to wait until I get more studio work (ie, more money) and then I can start ordering pickups :D