1972 Maxon Pickup from an Electra Les Paul Copy...Can We Fix This?

[@TheGuitologist]

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[@paul2602]

Man, I was holding my breath during most of that. You ARE the man.

[@Bonedadyo]

You cut that tape with the finesse of a surgeon.👍

[@robertfoster1339]

Electra did have some good sounding pups in them.. I had a 1979 Avenger that out Strated all my favorite strats

[@fiddlix]

I’ll be damned, I didn’t think there was much of a chance on getting this pickup going. You proved me wrong Brad. Your patience was astounding.

[@TheGuitologist]

Maybe it's astounding, but it does run out eventually. ;)

[@MattMonk]

When the dremel fired up, I thought Rob Chapman released a new song for a second there.

[@tonibarski4283]

Youve got more patience than me ,you did really well to get that going, persistence over resistance.

[@HOLOCULT]

The tension while you wired that winding... Chair creeks, breathe out as the solder flows... Man... Not even kidding this is epic!

[@mikesyria1787]

Maxon made the original tube screamer that would become ibanez

[@vapidwind1014]

I have a newer maxon 808 and love it Great tube screamer Use it mostly for a cleaner boost than distortion or clipping per say And it’s green

[@MarcCarriage121]

I bought a Ibanez ts9dx almost 20 years ago. I still keep it in the book with the power supply I purchased with it . I barely use the thing . I do love it though.

[@mikesyria1787]

I bought the Ibanez tube screamer in the early '80s cuz it was cheap

[@curtiseverett1671]

hahahaha like the pre CBS Mustang that I bought in the early 80s @@mikesyria1787

[@Twobarpsi]

Yes!🤘

[@rbr2c]

Brad, that was the most interesting video I've seen on the internals of a pickup. You are the master of guitars, the Guitologist !! Love this channel and I'm a keyboard player that fixes everybody's stuff in the band. Awesome, awesome video.

[@TheGuitologist]

Glad you enjoyed it! I'd rather fix it than throw it away, that's my motto.

[@MikeGervasi]

I needed to get the cover off mine. Went to melt the 2 solder blobs and the potting started melting out of it. So now I have to repot it.

[@geckobaldy]

Amazing work and great video. I was mesmerised throughout. Thank you.

[@Mr3DBob]

Holy crap! You managed to open and repair that pickup! I did not think you would be able to do that. I was all, "Cathy can scar you up some pickups". I admire your perseverance, and I always admire people who retrieve, repair or repurpose already made items from the trash bin.

[@pualdupvandoff8199]

Those old Maxons always sounded real sweet, dark and warm, with some "edge", in the neck position, but were a little "quancky" and "brittle", at the bridge position for me. Nice to see someone appreciate what they were enough to take the time to save one. Thanks..

[@curtiseverett1671]

I still can't get over that video you did with the necklace/pendant made from the Gibson broken headstock...... THAT was so cool!!! hahaha

[@BigTrouble324]

True excitement! Who needs movies?

[@keithosterberg]

You have more patience than me. I’d have just trashed it.

[@jasonbates2687]

That's some incredibly fiddley work there Brad, I would have needed an electron microscope. Good job.

[@louman235]

I caught myself holding my breath several times throughout this video. I wouldn't even attempt with my shaky a$$ sausage fingers

[@bluevd12]

ive done this with no success thanks for reconfirming ...success i life

[@jayguitar]

Hey Brad, hows it going? That’s very cool that you resurrected that pickup! I have one of those too which I bought last year - it’s a 1973. I bought it because it was the same age as me! Ha! It’s a pretty good sounding pickup! I a scratching my head trying to remember which guitar I put it in now 🤔 I’ll have to check in the studio. Anyways, enjoy playing it. Fixing pickups like that that is fiddly! Great job dude. Have an awesome day!

[@davidflamee]

Those thin lacquered wires are a real test of ones patience. Well done.

[@timscarrow9151]

I was getting the Ear Wax removal video vibes when you were peeling that layer of tape.

[@cantyouhearmeknocking1961]

One tiny, little piece of tape resists, and it has to be right where the tiny, little wire come out of the inside of the winding! You have the patience of Job.

[@blkjckgtr3075]

Nice job Brad,soldering those hairs are a pain,Cheers!

[@yonitznkc]

Thank-you for this, my first actual view of what the inside of a humbucker is like. 👍🏼

[@bigbasil1908]

The inside of that humbucker. PAF style humbuckers are a bit different to that, as you might have seen with open humbuckers which are the same sort of thing as PAF but without the pickup cover

[@TheGuitologist]

Yeah, this one really relies on the cover to keep everything together.

[@daverice2426]

@@bigbasil1908Yeah, that's a new one to me, with the bar instead of slugs and those cool fathead polepiece screws; would really like to hear it, microphonic or not

[@1thess523]

I believe Maxon made Greco labeled pick ups, my son has U2000 in his 1979 Greco RG 750 Standard and they sound fantastic

[@rustyrobinson8027]

Hit the like button Brad deserves it 👍🇺🇸

[@moonboogien8908]

I'd hit it a dozen times if i could... most genuine guitar youtuber on the platform. 🇺🇸 🎸

[@bernhardnizynski4403]

Unfortunately, I don't have enough strands of hair to be able to compare with the pickup winding wire!

[@keithrevst692]

I love watching Brad with that solder iron

[@Ogma3bandcamp]

My first ever live pickup autopsy. Absorbing! How was it for you guys?

[@RealGengarTV]

About poting pickups. Can you just melt some candle on the stove and pore it in there?

[@DR._PAUL]

You need to get you some jewelers glasses with lights. That would be the trick. Do you think that they just taped the leads to the wires when manufactured???

[@TheGuitologist]

I don't know. I think maybe the original solder joint was weak and deteriorated the tiny wire through some kind of chemical reaction, maybe with the tape? I don't know. Just speculating. I can't imagine they didn't solder them on.

[@JamesSClapperton]

I have t finished the video but I’m guessing they didn’t make a solder connection at all and just relied on the tape and adhesive to make the connection. Is that what’s going on here?

[@christopherball7937]

Maxon is still in business. They still make great pedals

[@ColinWatters]

Modern silicone covered wire is so much nicer to work with than the old plastic insulated. It's more flexible so doesn't transfer movement so much and the insulation doesn't melt when you solder it.

[@petermccarthy8263]

Thank you ! now I know way more than before, great job Sir Brad !

[@Sammywhat]

Always interesting! Thank you, sir!!

[@MegaTubescreamer]

great work brad,chapau! there`s good stress and... there is bad stress, this fix was damn good stress , 😇👌👍

[@eringabbybennett]

Awesome video! Love saving vintage music equipment etc….

[@TheGuitologist]

Me too! Thanks for watching!

[@farrellguitarrepair853]

I was expecting there to be only one coil!!! I was supperised and pleased!!

[@pvdguitars2951]

Yep, I have two sets with just one coil. They are the so called Fakebuckers

[@squidkid2]

A little bit of lacquer thinner on a Q-Tip should take that insulating coating right off. Or you might try a small piece of 400 grit sandpaper folded in half with the grit to the inside and draw the wire between the folds of the sandpaper. You also have to absolutely use flux when you solder the cover back on. Without flux the heat from the soldering gun immediately causes a layer of oxidation to form on the medal and the solder will not stick.

[@TheGuitologist]

Flux would have helped. The solder is rosin core, which helped.

[@squidkid2]

@@TheGuitologist I repair guitars myself and amplifiers so I really enjoy your repair videos I can't wait to see the video on the Strat

[@BlueberryStinkFinger62]

Should put Epiphone pro buckers in it the Pro buckers are highly acclaimed pickups when i bought a set last year they were $170,00 a set this year 2024 epiphone and Gibson have lowered the prices on the pro buckers and burst buckers both are made the same exact way and same exact materials..

[@TheGuitologist]

Good tip.

[@d.j.9961]

In 1991 or 1992 my father purchased a 1985 or 1986 Westone Spectrum LX (198mbk) for me. That guitar played so beautifully & sustained so well that it made me cough every time I played it. The local mall had a Guerros music or Gerrerros music store inside the Ohio Valley Mall & I would always escape to the music shop every time we went to the mall. Everyone knew where I was. I picked what I thought was the coolest looking guitar & a all black on black HSH Westone spectrum lx with a bendmaster vibrato/tremellow with lock downs on the headstock (out of the way) & fine tunning knobs on the original floyd rose trem which is better known as a bendmaster (a version of the bendmaster was also used on the Epiphone S-600 better known as a bender) I had that guitar in its original teardrop shaped hardshell case inside my father's house which was stolen along with everything we owned. I had 22 guitars, one of the 1st five Steinway & Son's pianos that all shipped out on the same truck in the 1890's after the passing of Mr. Steinway, when the name changed to Steinway & Son's. Along with a fortune! I beleive my Westy was a 1986? The output jack was on the rim of the guitar not on the face. Japanese guitars are top notch! At least mine was!!!

[@bayougtr]

That looks identical yo the humbuckers Hondo used in late 70’s-early 80’s.

[@nocturnalferalguitarist]

My first in 78ish was a Hondo 2 LP with a triple hump open book HS. I've never seen one like it again.. Not a bad guitar , for it's looks and sounds.

[@TheGuitologist]

Probably is. Ibanez used these too on some models I think.

[@mobicus1]

Nicely done 👍

[@pvdguitars2951]

That puppy along with the salvaged Di Marzio would actually look real good in the Electra. And would turn it into a genuine vintage collectible. Bet ya the sound would be neat also!

[@watahyahknow]

guess you can dunk it in hot wax for a while and get it a little less microphonic

[@theofficialdiamondlou2418]

I had a 73’ Cherry burst LP . And in those days at least on that guitar . The covers were NOT soldered. But made to be removed if you wanted. Don’t know if it was a fluke , or what.

[@HouseOfCouplePuffs]

I wanna hear it in anger

[@bobperu1]

Kicking its ass once again...

[@Nizodizo]

I have a Shecter guitar that had the bridge pickup fail. My tech just replaced the Dunken Designed with a used one that he had. It sounds different than the one that he took out but it was a cheap fix. I was young then so cheap was the correct move.

[@bebop425]

I got a 67 Gibson ES 335 and the neck pickup was replaced with a 70s Maxon by a prior owner. What?!

[@vortexan9804]

If it's the same Maxon, they made some of the Radio Shack ham radios.

[@TheGuitologist]

I did not know that.

[@vortexan9804]

​@@TheGuitologistHave some, HW 202, HW 404 handhelds, 2m and 70cm. radios.

[@Twobarpsi]

Excellent craftsmanship Brad!

[@tankthelord1178]

Nice one Brad: Yet another I would have drop kicked out of the window.

[@what1864]

glad i'm not the only one who has trouble soldiering pickup covers on , guessing we need a bigger club to do it properly, those old maxon humbucker pickups can be quite spendy if you try to by one, sometimes cost more then most boutique pickups ...

[@TheGuitologist]

Yep. Which is one reason I wanted to preserve it.

[@robertduvall7392]

I messed around with a set of those well over a decade ago. They're hotter than hell.

[@TranceMasterJack]

For a second there I thought you had bought a set of those $1,000 Gibson pafs. 🤪

[@johnsmith-oh2xo]

$1,000 buck's yeah right they go for 10,000 or so I would buy 2 set's if they were 1,000 bucks a set...

[@TheGuitologist]

You know me, I'm all about "letting it rain" indiscriminately.

[@curtiseverett1671]

that solder smoke just went up my nose

[@carstenreeder8634]

If the tape glue made it get apart. Would it not have been a good idea to resolder the connections of the other coil as well before they are separated?

[@lesliefranklin1870]

When you have trouble making solder stick, flux is your friend.

[@armchairapologist7612]

I had one of these Electra Les Pauls as a kid and back in the 70s, the cool thing to do was to take the covers off your humbuckers to get a "Hotter" sound or whatever so I decided to do it with mine. Same thing happened with me that the coil part got stuck up in the cover so I got it out and reglued it back to the base and luckily no broken wires or any other damage. Worked fine but looked a little strange without the covers. I don't think I noticed any difference in tone though. Does not seem like a good design. The MMK-45s were definitely an improvement.

[@watahyahknow]

about desoldering the earth from the metal : sometimes it helps to get the solder to flow faster if you add some flux or more flux core solder , it causes the heat to transfer to the hardened solder faster

[@skullheadwater9839]

Wow, I have a Univox that is a few years earlier, I like the pickups, they are low output and kind of bass-y. But they have a vintage sound I like. They are quite microphonic, I guess much like an unpotted PAF. I wondered what they looked like inside. Weird!

[@TheGuitologist]

There's a video showing the inside of some Univox pickups here on KZbin. Saw it the other night, in fact!

[@skullheadwater9839]

@@TheGuitologist thanks Brad. Does that Electra have a plywood press molded arched top? The univox I have does and it was sagging so I had to make a wooden shim about a half inch thick which I knocked in from the neck pickup opening to correct the sinkage.

[@pvdguitars2951]

They also had the fakebucker version ( basically just 1 coil in a humbucker housing). About 4k ohm. I got two of those in the neck position of two of my guitars. Perhaps, I should make one humbucker out of them. They are very microphonic, so waxing is advisable. And their after market value is really high!

[@geckobaldy]

I have 2 the same in a 70s Japanese archtop

[@BeesWaxMinder]

I love the tiny bit of 'gold' life on the cover!! (Get well soon BT W)

[@farrellguitarrepair853]

I have done this so many times!!!! I was moan and growing and cringing as I watched you do this couse it is soooo easy to screw these up! BUT YOU DID IT!!!! Now. The Pottimg of it!!!! Fun. Be careful as the bobbins can not take much heat.

[@TheGuitologist]

I didn't want to pot it really because these are known to be unpotted from factory and people do actually seek these out.

[@garymallard4699]

When you Pot it? Do you prefer Maui Wowie or something Columbian ?? 🤔 🇨🇦🤓🤙

[@johntaylor7496]

That was impressive Dr. Guitologist. Ready to perform neurosurgery after that one.

[@TheGuitologist]

I believe I could pull off a lobotomy if anyone's interested... Lemme know.

[@cantyouhearmeknocking1961]

@@TheGuitologist As long as nurse Ratchet isn't your assistant!

[@rickya3877]

Would be great to see you do a video potting that pickup and hear a before/after in a guitar

[@dunki-dunki-dawg]

Little things like having such an old PU in a decent guitar really gets the juices flowing. I bet it would sound great in either neck or bridge in an older style guitar. I have a bunch of old PUs not quite as retro as this one which are really sweet sounding as they've lost a little poke through natural loss of PU strength. Love them through my old JMP1 preamp.

[@th-pl3nx]

I gotta hear it now!!! Great video!

[@williampolfus6975]

When I'm working on a broken pickup repair I have a fine pointed tweezers around, to help grab the ends of the coil tape wrap, and it also helps with winding the coil wire around the output leads to prepare them to solder. I use a real fine sandpaper to clean the coating off the coil wire ends before resoldering.

[@geckobaldy]

What grade sandpaper please?

[@williampolfus6975]

@@geckobaldy I usually use a piece of 250 grit sandpaper, it's enough to remove the enamel off the coil wire without breaking it. Plus, I keep some older used pieces of sandpaper around, it is more flexible and less likely to grab the wire to hard. Also I try to have a flat surface under the wire while sanding the coating off, that's what works for me.

[@geckobaldy]

Thanks​@@williampolfus6975

[@richardturk7162]

Maxon pick ups sound great the screw heads on the slugs look like a Maxon. I never had one apart so I'm learning along with you on that. Had an Aria pro that had those pick ups and best I remember they were around 9.5k for the bridge and 8,0k for the neck really smooth quiet pick ups.

[@TheGuitologist]

The microphonics on these old Japanese pickups can give them a special character that's hard to replicate.

[@richardturk7162]

@@TheGuitologist I'm working on a early 90s MIJ Fernandez Revival strat and it has an old Duncan hot rail in the bridge that has serious issues and I am about to tear into that to see whats wrong with it. The strat is damn cool and the guy that owns it is looking for a JB Jr for the bridge. Do you have an old one of those in good working order?

[@stevebirks9908]

Always a fiddler job after you start the job otherwise you wouldn’t touch them,but it’s great when you breathe life back into them. Useful tools are cocktail stick, ink rubber and acetone on an unfinished wood board, follow the grain with the wire helps to stop scraping wire apart. Good job though. I can hear the tension in your breathing.

[@georgemacdonald3087]

Acetone dissolves lacquer.

[@peterdavies5358]

It's been a while since I've seen the old soldering hammer get whacked out. Ah, my bad, it's Geejaw driver, looked like the venerable old soldering hammer there at first. It reminds me of a Fran Blanch Franslab video I watched a few weeks ago with my Mum. I was explaining how she was an ex-NASA engineer while she fixed a battery charger. It was particularly well built with plastic lugs and plastic welding forcing Fran to crack out the spoon and claw hammer to get into the case and my Mum was having a right old laugh at the specialist NASA techniques.

[@TheGuitologist]

I still have Big Bertha. She's around here somewhere.

[@cantyouhearmeknocking1961]

Could you use some kind of chemical to melt away the laquer to get to the wire?

[@TheGuitologist]

Probably. Some naptha or lacquer thinner might help dissolve it. Scraping or burning is my usual approach on coil wire. Can you imagine spilling a chemical on the rest of the coil though? It would destroy it.

[@cantyouhearmeknocking1961]

@@TheGuitologist Ohhh yeah, didn't think of that. That would not be good. One tiny drop, and....

[@williambock1821]

Hey looks like your recommitment to original Guitologist topics is paying off! Right on ,man! You’re a talented gear guy. Great video maker as well!

[@oldguy5381]

Got a complete series of fixing the lighting in your shop/studio, that could be interesting.

[@TheGuitologist]

I really need to order some different light fixtures.

[@QwikVidz]

Now that’s entertainment 👌

[@derekkennedy7346]

As always awesome job

[@TheGuitologist]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@scottdunn2178]

Would be interesting to see what this Electra sold for in 1972 and what that would be in todays dollars.

[@phil36135]

The suspense was killing me,but you came through and saved the patient. Very awesome save, I would have to use a pair of magnifying glasses like I use for inlay work and all the light I could get. I still would most likely break the inner lead winding. Like you said, it dont get anymore delicate in electronics than this. I am wandering why pickup windings sometime fail in the middle inside the winding?

[@TheGuitologist]

If the lacquer deteriorates on the winding, you can get shorted turns. If there are contaminates in the winding process or stuff like that adhesive that break down the actual copper, you can get breaks over time.

[@phil36135]

Thanks, that makes total sense. I have a hand crank winder and have been thinking about winding pickups. and would love to make some transformers for vintage guitar amps.But I cant find the schematics on the wire gauge or the amount of turns. If I was smart enough they are formulas that' give that' info. If I could do that' I would build some more amps. The transformers are so expensive I cant afford them.I think they kind of keep stuff like that a trade secret,and I cant really blame the companies. Anyway thanks man, I love your channel, I didn't know anything about electronics until I watched your channel and it inspired me. So I built a couple of hammond amps, and now Ive built 4 tweed deluxe s and 1 tremolux, all from scratch. The chassis and the cabinet. I love these simple amps and use them all the time. Thank you, If not for you I would have never did it.

[@Wildman9]

Diffinetly heart surgery right there. By the time I would fix that unit it would have been unraveled beyond repair . Great job .🎸✌

[@paulj0557tonehead]

Bravo on lowering about 18,000 heartbeats!

[@patreidcocolditzcastle632]

My fav pups I’ve got two guitars loaded with maxons they just work for me bit darker then paf

[@whssy]

Perhaps not in dimensions but this is essentially the same design as a mini humbucker as used on old Hofners. I also have an old Aria hollow body with a similarly constructed pickup. They are pretty microphonic but sound really hifi.

[@bencunningham8314]

Do you worry about ruining the magnets when applying heat?

[@TheGuitologist]

Not really with ceramic magnets. Maybe with AlNiCo you'd want to be more careful.

[@deanbartone8187]

Hey my man, I love how you take your time, patience and how meticulous you are to try to get things proper man after my own heart take your time do it slow measure twice cut once theory love watching you do your thing keep doing what you do brother I love it

[@deanbartone8187]

Thank you love this guy work

[@TheGuitologist]

I appreciate that!

[@deanbartone8187]

No, thank you I appreciate everything you try to explain you are excellent at what you do. I’ve picked up a couple of tricks from you.❤️

[@deanbartone8187]

@@TheGuitologist hey brother if you want to sell that old Dimarzio that you did on the last one reach out let me know

[@gsbguitarsgsb679]

I tried doing what you are doing and did not have any success at all. Ruined the damn pickup completely. Discussed with my self ever since. That was several years ago too. Now I feel confident I could ruin some more pickups as well. lol… thanks for the motivation to destroy some more of my stuff… lol… look out stuff here I come… lol

[@DavidRavenMoon]

If you’ve ever opened a Maxon pickup from that era, they are glued together with a brief glue. It’s not lacquer.

[@williammg9135]

You got to put it back now man😂

[@deandee8082]

some those old maxons can hang with the best gibby PAFs all day long.. the right ones of course . .

[@dale1289]

Pulling your hair out over that pickup 😂

[@TheGuitologist]

Literally.

[@derekkennedy7346]

You need to make more videos where you fix guitars you're very talented at what you do love to watch you mix it up and everything you do you pretty much kill it so you're awesome keep up the great work

[@TheGuitologist]

Thanks man. I try to keep things fresh around here and try different things.

[@derekkennedy7346]

Are you going to put the neck pickup back in the guitar I'd love to hear what it sounds like

[@nellayema2455]

That's delicate work! Good result. I'm wiring up a harness for a project guitar. What solder do you use for wiring up pots and switches, Brad? 60/40 rosin core?

[@TheGuitologist]

I use this right here: amzn.to/3TCfI6x .032" sn60pb40 2% rosin core

[@jonmcdonald6374]

I'd wait for Brad the expert to reply to make sure he shares the same opinion as me.... but I always go with the silver bearing, electronic solder for projects like this. A lil pricey.... but to me, if it's worth soldering, it's probably worth the cost difference. 🤷‍♂️

[@jonmcdonald6374]

Can I ask why you don't use silver solder?

[@jmormino5465]

Another excellent video.

[@Jeremyak]

Magnifico