The effect of magnet wire size on a guitar pickup

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i once played a mid 70's fender delux, awesome tone, they used somarium magnets in the humbuckers. these magnets are not cheap and ive never seen them being sold in a suitable size. if you ever come across some they would be worth trying
 
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For reference, Rickenbacker toaster top pickups are wound with #44 wire. The originals are scatterwound and not potted. Pole pieces are A5. Examples from the 50s are lower DCR than the 60s which were usually 6-8k. There was a period where reissue toasters were made that were wound to 10-14k. I have one of these "hot toasters" in my '64 375 (was a 365) bridge position. I love it. YMMV.
 
some pickup kits are using 3 D printer bobbins , i think the original bobbins are better,

DMP is there a particular artist you want to wind up? I think i just searched all the hits on goggle, the info is spread out all over the place,
 
For reference, Rickenbacker toaster top pickups are wound with #44 wire. The originals are scatterwound and not potted. Pole pieces are A5. Examples from the 50s are lower DCR than the 60s which were usually 6-8k. There was a period where reissue toasters were made that were wound to 10-14k. I have one of these "hot toasters" in my '64 375 (was a 365) bridge position. I love it. YMMV.
Forgot to mention that the A5 pole pieces are 1/4" diameter. Toasters had mostly short poles (3/8" long) but there were also long pole (3/4" long) versions made in the 50s and 60s. My '64 has two long pole types. They protrude below the pickup body so routing below them is required.
 
The Charlie Christian Bar Pickup looks like it was using 38 Gauge coil wire. Is the 41 after it an indication that the coil was spliced ?
Or is it humbucker with two different coil
The Rickenbacker Lapsteel Horseshoe also use 38 awg
That gives me a little hope :)
 
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some pickup kits are using 3 D printer bobbins , i think the original bobbins are better,

DMP is there a particular artist you want to wind up? I think i just searched all the hits on goggle, the info is spread out all over the place,
No one in particular, just curious to see measurements of different PAFs. Found a lot on different forums when searching, especially the les paul forum.
I'd like to buy some extra bobbins and wind a few and then mix and match to hear the difference. Where are you guys getting the bobbins? And the other parts? I'd like to get kits and then some extra bobbins.
 
i get my stuff on fleabay i have had many bobbins from china that have been marked seymor duncan? ive had a few that i recognise as shaller. when buying the magnets note that rough cast magnets tend to have a slightly reduced top end response.
 
No one in particular, just curious to see measurements of different PAFs.
"PAF" today is generic for full sized Gibson style humbucker. Most of the pickups sold today are nothing like the originals(which also had variance), and that's okay.
The bobbin dimensions, winding height and width, wire and insulation type have an effect on the inductance. Also, the metallurgy of the magnets has an effect on the inductance (and the frequency peak of the pickup). Specifically, the iron content.
If you take a cast iron frying pan and put it near the guitar pickup while you're playing it, you'll hear the difference from the increased inductance.
This is why certain magnets sound good in particular combinations, and horrible than others.
Ceramic is particularly bad in Gibson style humbucker pickups, but works great in the DiMarzio blues bucker (LOOKS like a PAF, isn't). Those bobbins are very different than typical Gibson bobbins.
Pick up covers also matter. The original ones were very thin nickel silver. Later ones typically kill treble response, as they had too much brass content in order to make the tops flat and be extremely shiny. Most companies still get this wrong.
Philadelphia Luthier Supply has parts to make many different style pickups. No affiliation, just a happy customer
 
there is also machine wound vs hand wound.

Don Mare claims to have unlocked the winding style of the famous Fender winder by reversing a few of her pickups, that must have been a chore,

he is backlogged to the point of turning off his product pages on his site til he gets caught up,

wire tension will dictate the build of the coil and thus the capacitance, so hand wound will have variance from one person to the next, turns per layer, type of wax or no wax, random pattern of the wind,

and magnets wear out, so pickups will have a sweet spot in time, then fade away,

Garcia always liked fresh magnets,
 
Most Fender custom shop pickup I've played have been horrible, typically overwound, limited high-end, sloppy bass with a few exceptions.
The biggest exceptions were pickups made after Fender bought Jackson / Charvel, where a certain former Jackson employee (Abi Y) started to make Fender CS pickups. I love mine; I don't think they're more than about 4K (lower than I've seen any others listed), but they're the first set of traditional design fender pickups I found that were balanced without the treble pickup clanking.

Another way to get a hot Strat treble pick up to not be clanky is to put a steel plate underneath it, such as a telecaster would have... Changes the inductance and the resonant frequency.
Stock style magnets
 
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