Potting: dipping a pickup in wax to seal the windings to minimize vibration so the pickup feedbacks less (and is not microphonic). This may sound dumb, but it could change the tone slightly. Also, if you turn down the Tone control to that pickup, it will go complete dead and silient. The Five-Two Telecaster pickups put a unique spin on the classic Telecaster pickup sound with a special combination of Alnico 2 and 5 rod magnets positioned specifically to deliver tighter lows and smoother, sweeter highs. It is absolutely crucial to monitor the wax temperature and keep it below 140 degrees or else the bobbins will melt and distort, killing the pickup. Also vintage Fender magnets are Alnico and not Ceramic. Hand Winding:This is also known as scatter winding, where the pickup wire is wound on the bobbin in a random manor. The Five-Two was originally designed for Nashville studio players who wanted a classic Telecaster pickup that could produce a softer treble attack on the high strings while retaining all of the articulate snap on the low strings. Looks like you haven't made a choice yet. The tops of the magnets are ground flat. The Antiquity Tele Rhythm is a faithful reproduction of an early-50s Tele neck pickup. Also the wood itself is older and different than wood today (less polution back then means cleaner wood). There is plenty of warmth as well as crisp detail that makes this a great pickup for players who use a hybrid picking style or do lots of string bending. A lot of the sound of old Fender pickups is due to the random layering and variable winding tension of the wire, which effects the tone. The constant insistence by posters that it's A3 is pure speculation based on what they think their ears are telling them. Zmie), Komentujesz korzystajc z konta Facebook. Actually, the reason has to do with the design and materials of Fender pickups themselves. Bridge unloaded: V: 2.6dBV f: 6.29kHz (black), Bridge unloaded: V: 5.9dBV f: 6.81kHz (black), Bridge unloaded: V: 2.3dBV f: 7.05kHz (black), Bridge unloaded: V: 3.2dBV f: 7.72kHz (black), Bridge unloaded: V: 1.1dBV f: 7.72kHz (black), Bridge unloaded: V: 4.0dBV f: 6.58kHz (black), Bridge unloaded: V: 4.5dBV f: 7.29kHz (black), Bridge unloaded: V: 1.6dBV f: 9.48kHz (black), Bridge unloaded: V: 3.5dBV f: 6.43kHz (black), Bridge unloaded: V:-0.7dBV f: 5.67kHz (black), Bridge unloaded: V:-0.9dBV f: 7.72kHz (black), Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound for Tele Set, Bridge full unloaded: V: 6.7dBV f: 4.27kHz (black), Neck full unloaded: V:-7.7dBV f: 4.89kHz (black), http://gravitastech.weebly.com/spin-doctor-er.html. And they also used nitrocellulose finishes that were applied very thin. The Antiquity II Tele vintage Telecaster bridge pickup is built with specially calibrated, hand-ground Alnico 5 rod magnets, with the period-correct pole stagger. I go back and forth with a CC neck and QP bridge, and Ant's set. ).The following table shows Stratocaster pickup specs from 1954 to 1967. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. 1954 to 1967 Fender Stratocaster Pickup Specs. The Alnico 2 rods positioned under the G, B, and E strings provide a sweetened treble response, while the Alnico 5 rods under the low E, A, and D strings contribute a bright, snappy tone with enhanced midrange and articulation. These vintage Telecaster pickups are our tribute to the time-honored 1960s classics. recommendations for a tele bridge pickup hot enough to pair with fender atomic humbuckers? The Antiquity Tele Lead will give you that early-50s Tele tone, but with the high end sweetened by the custom-calibrated, hand-ground Alnico 2 rod magnets. The words Fender, Telecaster, Stratocaster and the associated headstock designs are registered trademarks of the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Even Gibson pickups from the 1930s dont die like Fender pickups from the 1950s. WARNING: be careful! Powiadamiaj mnie o nowych wpisach poprzez e-mail. If you are having problems with a pickup being microphonic or feedbacking, sometimes you can fix this. There are several different type of baked-on insulation: Formvar, Plain Enamel, or Poly. This causes many 1965 and later Fender pickups to warp, where the flatwork will actually buckle and curve. Warm enough for most types of rhythm playing, but percussive enough for chicken pickin as well. Finally, as time goes on older magnets lose some of their power. Please check your items carefully and confirm they are correct for color, position, etc. In order for the wax to penetrate the coil, the entire pickup first has to be as hot as the waxs melting point. There are probably a lot of little factors that make the older Fender pickups sound so good. The thinner the wire, the higher the resistance (ohms). But prior to Hendrix, most players did. Seymour wound the rhythm pickup as the perfect match for the unique picking style and intricate bends he used on his mid-60s Tele. Based on measurement, the Tele Keystone bridge is AlNiCo 5. Newer Fender pickups have been able to avoid both of these problems. This makes it a rhythm beast with huge sounding chords, and full, fat lead tones. the Guitar itself:older instruments have older and harder finishes. Youll still feel the Tele snap and twang, but with a nice, round warmth added in. The following table shows the difference in pickups by Fender model. Interesting stuffexcept many believe that Bill Lawrence developed the first rail pickups, which were copied hardcore by Barden, then everyone else. They are sand cast, and hence have a crude, rough look with pitting left from the sand cast. Great for full sounding chords and sweet solo work. This is very dangerous. There is plenty of snap and bounce to the low strings, and the high strings give you that classic Tele twang, but with none of the dreaded ice pick harshness. As the gauge number increases, the OD of the wire decreases (42 gauge wire is thicker than 43 gauge wire). The two Humbucking pickups are combined in parallel (even though the two coils of each pickup are in series), thus giving the average of the two pickups divided by two. The neck is AlNiCo 2, 3 or 4. This happened at about the same time they switched from black flatwork to light gray flatwork. For Telecaster players seeking a straight forward approach to the bridge tone that helped define rock, blues, and country, we offer the Vintage 54 Tele Lead vintage-output Tele pickup. Wire Outside Diameter (OD):this is the outside diameter of the winding wire, not including the insulation. Santa Barbara, California. Now, after the magnets are installed in the flatwork, lacquer is sprayed over the magnets and flatwork. you can ruin a perfectly good pickup trying to pot it. Reversing the poles of a pickup will also reverse the phase of the pickup. As the wax penetrates the coil you will see air bubbles coming out of the pickup. We came up with a mixture of Alnico 2 and Alnico 5 rod magnets that delivers the best of both worlds. If you only have one or two pickups to pot, buying the wax will cost you more than having the job done professionally. Tele master Jerry Donahue needed a classic Tele pickup to make his touring guitars sound like his prized 52 Telecaster. Thanks for the detailed comments and analysis, they add a lot of value to the basic information. Insulation:this is the surface coating that is baked on to the wire that prevents the turns of the pickup from shorting out. But because the pots are in-circuit, an open pickup may read some bizarre high resistance, and the value may bounce up and down (again, due to the magnet properties of coils and the pots in the circuit). That was interesting to read. Fender had a mechanical counter attached to their winding machines that counted the turns. Also there is less chance of a chemical reaction between the magnets and windings as they are insulated from each other by the lacquer. Fender used Formvar insulation till about March 1964. Due to magnetic fields, the pickups may still work, but it will soundextremelythin and weak. Your pick attack will feel slightly mellower, and chords will have a spongy, bouncy quality. Its special high output coil, with hand polished diameter Alnico 5 rod magnets, delivers a huge sound with an almost P90-like growl. (Wyloguj/ Zmie). Neck Magnet Type: Alnico V // Bridge Magnet Type: Alnico II. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Seymour Duncans terminology best describes this: TL means the top of the pickup bobbin is facing left. The handwinding tonal difference may be due to a lack of distributed capacitance when scatter-wound. Its hard to say why, but the scatter-winding pattern and tension at which the wire was wound was apparently ideal on pre-1965 Fender pickups. The two coils are wired in series so the total resistance is additive, hence producing a hotter and quieter pickup (if the two coils were wired in parallel, the total resistance is half the sum of the resistances of each individual coil, assuming both coils are about the same resistance). The bass response is full and round, and will add richness to your chords, while the specially calibrated hand-ground Alnico 5 rod magnets and custom coil winding give the top end a smoother, more musical attack. Winding Direction (WD):This is the direction in which the pickup was wound. Pots:the older potentiometers used have wider tolerences than newer pots. Reversing the winding on a pickup will reverse the phase of the pickup. (Wyloguj/ Since the magnets are in direct contact with the windings, and the magnets are sand casted and have rough sides, this will easily tear a winding. Note the actually outside diameter (OD) varies slightly even though its the same gauge. Neck Magnet Type: Alnico II // Bridge Magnet Type: Alnico IV. In 1965, Fender changed to machine winding, as it is a completely automated process. After approximately March 1964, this changed to a light gray vulcanized fibre. Wprowad swoje dane lub kliknij jedn z tych ikon, aby si zalogowa: Komentujesz korzystajc z konta WordPress.com. Fender used Formvar till about March 1964, when they switched to Plain Enamel. Though this has less of an effect on resistance compared to the number of windings. Note vintage Fender pickup magnets are the Alnico type, consisting of Aluminum, Nickel and Cobalt. Seymour got this data from the thousands of Strat pickups he has fixed or rewound. Wire Insulation:the insulation on the windings of vintage Fender pickups have different chemical composition than newer wire. Together, these telecaster pickups deliver the snap and twang that Brad is known for, with a round top end and full but tight lows. These specs are thanks to Seymour Duncan. With its hand ground Alnico 5 rod magnets, this neck pickup will deliver big full sounding chords. Its vintage correct construction and hand-ground Alnico 5 rod magnets with a raised D and G, coupled with a lower output wind, yield a bright, well-defined treble response that is perfectly suited to plucky lead work and fast-moving chords from Chicago to Nashville. Maybe they sound better because they are just older. Pair with our Vintage Tele Rhythm for great vintage setup. Machine winding takes away much of the character of the pickup. That's a really good survey. He does excellent vintage reissue Fender pickups and Fender rewinds. Another thing that is different is the stagger pattern. Why do Vintage Fender Pickups Sound so Good? This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. Anything that can vibrate on a pickup can cause feedback: the covers, loose boobins, a loosely wound coil, a loose baseplate (Tele pickups), loose magnets, etc. Parallel is why the in-between setting used on a Stratocaster (combining the middle pickup with the neck or bridge pickup),does notproduce a Humbucking pickup sound. You don't get much string pull with 2, 3 or 4, as their flux densities are all pretty close. TDPRI, short for Telecaster Discussion Page Reissue, is the leading online community and marketplace for Telecaster guitars. You should do the Ohm test right at the pickup leads, and to do it right, have one lead disconnected from the circuit (but please dont desolder any vintage guitar pickup leads!) A faithful tribute to the 1950 original, our Vintage Broadcaster is the perfect choice for discerning players who demand something more from their Tele lead pickup. The Antiquity II Tele Rhythm pickup also uses hand-ground Alnico 5 rod magnets, as well as a special coil wind to deliver a clear, bright, and balanced Tele neck tone. The Quarter Pound for Tele Rhythms custom overwound coil provides a powerful midrange that cuts through any mix without sounding bright or brash. If you see the chart below, notice how consistent the Strat pickup specs get when machine wound (after 1964). But for the most part, they fit very tightly in the flatwork. He then averaged the data together by year, and came up with this table. Also this is why single coil pickups that are wound with tons of wire (to approach Humbucking ohms) dont sound very good. The treble response is still articulate, but it is smoothed out by the more aggressive low end. For example, today no one uses a wound third (G) string. But be aware, higher resistance comes at a cost: lose of treble frequencies. Pre-March 1964 Fender pickups used black vulcanized fibre flatwork. Then the wire is wound around the magnets. Then they switched to Plain Enamel insulation. The tape around the coils does not need to be removed, the wax will get in just fine. Wax that is heated too much without temperature monitoring can spontaneously combust like fuel. Powerful magnets can actually pull the strings towards the pickup, dampering the vibrations. So there ya go. Antigua does it againthanks for the quantitative data! Windings:handwound pickups (like pre-1965 Fenders) seem to sound better. Magnetic Polarity (MP):This is the magnetic polarity on the top side of the pickup. Anti-Spam Policy, DiMarzio Twang King Telecaster Pickups Set, Picks up the subtleties of picking technique, Straightforward installation on nearly all Telecaster models, Alnico 5 magnet strikes a nice balance between twang and warmth, Covered and uncovered neck versions available, Ideal for those that want the classic Tele tone with some added heaviness, Boutique company out of Virginia with great customer service, Midrange does a great job of cutting through without being too harsh, High-saturation even with slight distortion settings. Single coil pickups are easily influenced by outside noise. Nice job! In either case (parallel or series), the hum does cancel, hence the name Humbucking. Starting in 1965, the diameter seemed to get narrower by a few thousands of an inch. Note the magnet polarity was changed in 1960 (even though Seymour thought it was 1958, other data suggests its more like 1959/1960). Wire Gauge: this is the gauge of wire as advertised by the wire manufacturer. This pickup pairs perfectly with our Alnico II Pro Tele neck, which sports a deep drawn chrome-plated brass cover for a sweet, hollow tone that sounds great both clean and dirty. It may not display this or other websites correctly. The less power the magnets have, the better the strings can vibrate. The longer the pickup wire and more turns used, the higher the resistance. Pair with our Vintage Tele Rhythm for great vintage sounding setup. Hence the flatwork did not fit as tightly around the magnets. A double boiler is the best way to heat wax. I've performed electrical measurements on nearly all of my Telecaster pickups, only omitting the more obscure pickups, such as ceramic cheapos and those whose origins I'm unsure of. TC means the top of the bobbin is turn towards the winder. Interesting, huh? This involves putting the wax in a container, and then putting that container in a pot of hot water. The absence of a steel bottom-plate gives you a fat, full punch in both the low and mid-range frequencies, yet it retains the muscular twang of a vintage style lead pickup. The idea is to fill the space between the bobbins and the cover and secure everything in place. The raised D and G poles mirror the fretboard radius for nice even string response.