The two keys to make a T style neck pickup way improved compared to original is a Nickel cover (Fender used Brass) and a taller bobbin
That is the way I roll them
Remember that DC resistance really has nothing to do with output or tone. It would be better to compare resonant peak and inductance.
to boldaslove6789
You wrote that the original pickup sounds great, so I was wondering if the pig squeal is only an issue when you are "too" close to the amp?
Would a potting treatment risk altering the pickup sound which you are currently happy with?
(50's and 60's P90s always squealed really easily on me if I got too close to the rig.)
overtone wrote:to boldaslove6789
You wrote that the original pickup sounds great, so I was wondering if the pig squeal is only an issue when you are "too" close to the amp?
Would a potting treatment risk altering the pickup sound which you are currently happy with?
(50's and 60's P90s always squealed really easily on me if I got too close to the rig.)
It's definitely a Microphonic's issue, the pup has sensitivity almost like a Microphone. When the gain is high on the amp the pickup squeals, its not a feedback issue as proximity doesn't effect whether the pup squeals or not.
Here is a Australian pickup maker. His stuff is good, I had my rewound original 82 Strat pickups rewound by him (I used enamel wire over formvar, not vintage but still a good sounding pickup.)
To my ear this sounds nicer than the Don Mare stuff, but I think nearly anyone can wind a good single coil pickup. So it is probably the quality of the recording and the player.
In my own experience it is easier to make a good single coil than a good humbucker. Easiest is the P-90, toughest the Strat.
I never did buy a magnetic charger, which would have made it a lot easier as you can charge the magnets in the finished pickup to whatever level sounds the best.
David, I think the thing to remember is these pickups weren't made by tone zealots, they were made by factory workers who needed the money.
I think most modern hand wound pickup have to be in the same league as nice vintage stuff by virtue of the winder listens to how it sounds, this sort of QC wasn't performed by Fender (or any brand really) pickup winders.
Mind you, I should point out that I'm not a fan of mass produced stuff like the SD SSL-1, they are a good pickup, I had them in my Strat for a few years, but they had a certain sound about them (I don't know why this would be so) and the output of the pickup was all wrong, it was too hot.
To my ears all the mass produced pickups are overwound, especially humbuckers, and they all have nasty ice picky highs to varying degrees. And my ears are old ears with diminished high end response. I think it is a bit like speakers, it's the spikey stuff with unlovely resonances that does this, not the treble extension itself.
I'll admit I'm making this comparison with my own LP which has a pair of '65 Gibson patent # pickups in it, but they are also not overwound at 7.1K/7.3K.
When I say mass produced I'm not talking about the artisan builders like Lollar, Fralin and so on. But the current Fender and Gibson standard USA made stuff is pretty poor IMHO, especially given the price of the instruments they put them in. The best pair of HBs in a recent informal test I did at a big store were in a USA Gibson LP Custom, $3,600 sell price, and they still had a very noticeable spikey treble compared to mine. The cheaper instruments were noticeably worse than the new Custom.
"Ron took the original A&F pickups that Alan Hamel and Fred Stuart made and used those and ideas he got from Alan Hamel and all the research he did for Nacho for the blackguard book on the Broadcasters and came up with his own design."