If you're going to distort it that much, it doesn't matter what pickup you use. A bit of rusty barbed wire wrapped round a fridge magnet would be just as good.
Sounds good, maybe if the coils were separated instead of pushed together with the spring there would be a wider magnetic field? Also agree with a bit hotter winding. Keep rocking Dude!
Thanks! You're right, that would widen it all up. But that's exactly the opposite to what I'm trying to achieve with this one. I want everything to be as compact as possible to get it sounding a bit closer to traditional single coils (I reckon it's going to end up in the minibucker sort of sound region).
Maybe a horseshoe magnet that over the top cut in half with a wood or rubber piece in the middle keeping the magnets separate. Neodymium magnet or adding a small step up transformer for output.
The horseshoe magnet is an intriguing one I'd like to play with. May be possible to make a makeshift magnet out of bar magnets under bobbins and a set of ferrous blades on either side and in the middle.
@@Alegree sounds interesting. I know that Seth Lover originally wanted only slugs as it had a more pleasing tone, but the adjustable coil was a selling feature. I personally want to make low gain bar magnet humbuckers, based on a firebird. You could also try the same concept you did with you humbucker sized p90s and thin out the bobbin but deepen it for a similar effect. Also use of mini-humbucker bobbins you may be able to fit 3 bobbins under a humbucker shell like you are doing.
Only 840 views? OMG, I really AM a pickup geek! An edit just to prove that - how about a P90 size p/u that could be noise-cancelling without being vertically stacked.....
The beginning of this video has some false info. The first "humbucker" was actually the filtertron. Seth Lover just had better financial backing (Gibson) and applied for the patent first
@@Alegree But it has a narrower field, just like your design, yes? And you've put the bar magnets laterally. I'd suggest your design sounds more like a Firebird pickup than a normal humbucker? Why not just go with the Firebird pickup design?
@@Iggytommy It does, as do Strat single coils, Tele single coils and P90s as well. The finished article isn't remotely like a Firebird pickup, in form or function. A firebird pickup is much closer in design to a standard humbucker than it is to my (now named) bentbucker pickups.
@@ProfTrout You're right, but in order to shrink it down they've also used much thinner wire (see the high resistance of them in comparison to a full sized humbucker of equivalent output level) and a ceramic magnet to imitate the full sized equivalents. The thin wire adds a lot of bass and compression, which is counter to what I was going for here. A lot of people do report them as being 'thinner' sounding than their full sized counterparts, due to the smaller string sensing area though.
@@Alegree Ah, I see what you're getting at, you were trying to redesign a humbucker to try and keep some of the desireable single coil quality whereas a Hot Rail is trying to fully embrace the humbucker vibe in a small single coil package. Interesting stuff. Would be interested to hear your take on Lace Sensors and active pickups.
Essentially what you have just made is called a "Sidewinder Pickup" or "Mudbucker Pickup." I have one on my EB-0 Bass from Epiphone, and the pickup was made back in the 60's. Technically, You did not re-invent Gibson's Humbucker Pickup, you just made the 6 string version of the 4 string Bass Pickup.
If you're going to distort it that much, it doesn't matter what pickup you use. A bit of rusty barbed wire wrapped round a fridge magnet would be just as good.
Love seeing innovative guitar pickups, not all of us want just another PAF lol. I'm thinking this became the bentbucker model?
Correct
Sounds good, maybe if the coils were separated instead of pushed together with the spring there would be a wider magnetic field? Also agree with a bit hotter winding. Keep rocking Dude!
Thanks! You're right, that would widen it all up. But that's exactly the opposite to what I'm trying to achieve with this one. I want everything to be as compact as possible to get it sounding a bit closer to traditional single coils (I reckon it's going to end up in the minibucker sort of sound region).
But he wants to achieve a narrow field, that's the entire point.
Maybe a horseshoe magnet that over the top cut in half with a wood or rubber piece in the middle keeping the magnets separate. Neodymium magnet or adding a small step up transformer for output.
The horseshoe magnet is an intriguing one I'd like to play with. May be possible to make a makeshift magnet out of bar magnets under bobbins and a set of ferrous blades on either side and in the middle.
@@Alegree sounds interesting. I know that Seth Lover originally wanted only slugs as it had a more pleasing tone, but the adjustable coil was a selling feature. I personally want to make low gain bar magnet humbuckers, based on a firebird. You could also try the same concept you did with you humbucker sized p90s and thin out the bobbin but deepen it for a similar effect. Also use of mini-humbucker bobbins you may be able to fit 3 bobbins under a humbucker shell like you are doing.
@@pastorkev777 Already done - my bentbucker low output set.
Only 840 views? OMG, I really AM a pickup geek!
An edit just to prove that - how about a P90 size p/u that could be noise-cancelling without being vertically stacked.....
I think the low output ones could work really well on an HH telecaster
They do, they also match very well with single coils for HSS strats and SH Teles.
Compare the construction and sensing area between a P90 and a humbucker, the difference is considerably less pronounced.
The beginning of this video has some false info. The first "humbucker" was actually the filtertron. Seth Lover just had better financial backing (Gibson) and applied for the patent first
Tonality is more focused but less rich.. doesn’t have the extra tone’s of the standard.
Isn't your concept essentially the same as a firebird style mini humbucker?
Not at all, a Firebird pickup is just a miniaturised humbucker with bar magnets inside the bobbins.
@@Alegree But it has a narrower field, just like your design, yes? And you've put the bar magnets laterally. I'd suggest your design sounds more like a Firebird pickup than a normal humbucker? Why not just go with the Firebird pickup design?
@@Iggytommy It does, as do Strat single coils, Tele single coils and P90s as well.
The finished article isn't remotely like a Firebird pickup, in form or function. A firebird pickup is much closer in design to a standard humbucker than it is to my (now named) bentbucker pickups.
Aren't SD Hot Rails a different solution to the same problem?
Not really, they're just a humbucker shrunk down to fit a Strat pickup slot (with blades instead of screws/slugs)
@@Alegree Understood, but in shrinking it down, doesn't that also narrowed the sensing area too or am I missing the point?
@@ProfTrout You're right, but in order to shrink it down they've also used much thinner wire (see the high resistance of them in comparison to a full sized humbucker of equivalent output level) and a ceramic magnet to imitate the full sized equivalents. The thin wire adds a lot of bass and compression, which is counter to what I was going for here. A lot of people do report them as being 'thinner' sounding than their full sized counterparts, due to the smaller string sensing area though.
@@Alegree Ah, I see what you're getting at, you were trying to redesign a humbucker to try and keep some of the desireable single coil quality whereas a Hot Rail is trying to fully embrace the humbucker vibe in a small single coil package. Interesting stuff. Would be interested to hear your take on Lace Sensors and active pickups.
If you've lost the iron cores, that's where most of the brighness has come from, with a corresponding loss of output.
Essentially what you have just made is called a "Sidewinder Pickup" or "Mudbucker Pickup." I have one on my EB-0 Bass from Epiphone, and the pickup was made back in the 60's. Technically, You did not re-invent Gibson's Humbucker Pickup, you just made the 6 string version of the 4 string Bass Pickup.
Good find, that's the closest thing to it. It is still pretty distinctively different in terms of the magnetic structure and coil geometry.