Fred Stuart discusses the art of hand-winding pickups

Fred Stuart shows the step-by-step process of hand-winding pickups

[@colonelbrando]

A really generous video. Not many people would be willing to let you get such a close look. I love my lap-wrap set. Thanks!

[@loressadunn1985]

Wow! I'm impressed and I don't even understand what magic my brother, Fred is performing in this video. If only Dad had lived long enough to see Fred at work in his own shop; builds nice instruments too.

[@workshop_storytime]

I own and love one of your Blackguard pickups. Thank you for generously showing us how it is done!

[@Dad-Gad]

Take my hat off to any pickup builder who does all this by hand 👏

[@olliewalker6406]

this is the best pu winding video I have seen. This is the most I have learned in as quick as possible.

[@bugsbny28]

I think the criticisms for this video are utterly hilarious. I tell you what, when you have made this kind of product, at this kind of quality as long as this man you can call him down. Till people are dropping a couple hundred dollars on your pickups why don't you sit down shut up and appreciate that he's sharing his process.

[@ancelrick5396]

@ Luke , You are one seriously confused fellow.

[@reginaldbowls7180]

Dena you're a dummy.

[@justinpaquette224]

They sound like a bunch of children that think they know everything because they read something from a guitar forum, that some other child wrote, that they read from someone else who doesn't know what they are talking about in the first place

[@OFR]

Simple, clear, informative. A great video of the process.... thanks!

[@guitarsofvintage4422]

Brilliant video in showing process step-by-step of pickup winding. Looking to try this myself, so a great lesson in how to do it!

[@Fuktupratbag]

coupling - that make sense how the elec flows. I didn't know that but it makes sense.I copy/pasted this from JConline- direct wound : " some pickups are microphonic by nature, take your guitar and talk or yell into the pickup on some guitars you can hear your voice come out the amp. It only makes sense that a direct mechanical coupling could have some effect on the tone. " this is from Seymour-Duncan : scatter-wound - The effect is to create more air space in the coil. This lowers the distributed capacitance. The best way to think of distributed capacitance is like a little tone control in the pickup. When the capacitance is lowered, the result is that more treble will come through and the resonant peak of the pickup will increase slightly. Secondly, each scatter-wound pickup will sound slightly unique. You can scatter-wind ten pickups with the same wire and number of turns, but each will sound different. Unique - very cool.... Thanks Fred.

[@kularbkeawkrajng6497]

Thank you very much I like🎉🎉🎉🎉❤❤❤

[@patrickfiore7067]

Love this vid! Fred knows the biz. Just ordered his tele blackguard pickups

[@joeyramonelookalike]

Great video!! thanks for posting. Would love to hear more from Stuart and other types of pickups.

[@spkay31]

Awesome video. I love watching craftsman with years of experience and a deep love for their craft creating high quality products by hand.

[@Sandstroem82]

Such a interesting demonstration, thanks for sharing!

[@rockyrichards2]

Thank you for sharing sir, enjoyed that thoroughly. Very educational and fun to watch. Wish you success and good health. Hope to buy some of your pickups.

[@petedazer3381]

Excellent, extremely informative. Thanks for posting!

[@ejoey64]

Very good pickups maker..All in detail..Thanks for the video!

[@ozzie-sk9dh]

Master craftsman at work. Thanks for the insight

[@martywright1829]

Awesome love a detailed explanation of how things are made

[@pentachronic]

Great video. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, I love seeing skills like this. :-)

[@FunkyStugatz]

Artistry At Its Finest. Thanks for sharing a part of the magic.

[@CraigHollabaugh]

Thanks, very informative and entertaining. Now I have to get back to work.

[@BennyHeflinger]

Awesome video, thanks for sharing !

[@wesmatron]

You have inspired me to attempt making my own pickups.

[@franciscoyaque6938]

beautiful job, thanks for sharing

[@sleekitwan]

Thanks for the demonstration...there is one undeniable aspect of this video, which people focused on how it's not advantageous to hand-build versus machine build etc: this way, we get to see what's going on, and the ongoing discussions with interviewer etc, make sense. If they just showed us a factory line...well, it's all going to be a bit obscure. I thought it was a good educational piece. Love the bit about the eyesight - you get to a certain age, magically, lights everywhere seem dimmer than they used to be! Your life is spent going in search of higher lumens.

[@MrJeegzee]

Great! Thanks for the knowledge.

[@alizarincrimson123]

Awesome. Very interesting and informative.

[@iharter]

A great video - thanks!

[@edwardmakazich6548]

master at work

[@danogle9927]

Very interesting,thanks for the info.

[@BioStuff415]

Thanks for the post....

[@davidhigginbotham5451]

This is so good... so carefully 'splained.

[@cast390]

The traffic noise on the left speaker is soothing to listen to.

[@emmanuelmeyermeyer1083]

Thank you sir for sharing your skill and craftsmanship with all of us viewers. It was a joy to see a true craftsman working with his hands. In these days of automation its wonderful to see a person taking pride in their product. 🎸👍

[@michaelchristianson7743]

Thanks for the butterscotch tele!!!

[@drewthestu]

Love this video, where did you get the clear plastic "pulley halves" that you are working with at the 9:30 mark of the video? They look like a great thing to have.

[@PeterBalletta]

cool informative video...thanks!

[@iplayloud2]

"..as random as we can" that the key!

[@jimidee100]

Scatter winding coils goes back to the early days of radio. You could google this if you want for info.

[@edadpops1709]

My dad loved his video eye magnifier.

[@jpphelps3663]

Great video. How are you feeding your wire off the spool?

[@LoganCartwright]

Wow, Thanks.

[@PLINKER]

Hi Fred, I'm in the process of making a winder. I would like to make some telecasters. I wonder if you might give me some suggestions on winding pick-ups to get the Luther Perkins sound. Winds and wire size, etc. Thanks Tom

[@edadpops1709]

Thanks.so there must be a chart that shows gauss = a certain magnet? Thanks forthe info.

[@alastairscott4042]

Thanks for this Fred, how can I get a reasonably low cost string winder that works similar to yours?

[@markmccornack7983]

Very cool! I am curious though, why do you magnetize the poles prior to winding rather than after?

[@fliski666]

Very cool video. Your jig for pressing in the pole pieces is also very cool, makes my wooden one look like junk! I wanted to ask if you thought the nitro is going to be enough protection for the start of the coil? I usually dip in nitro and use tape afterwards, probably overkill thinking about it now!

[@MyestroEntertainment]

bravo bravo!! i just had my first thanks

[@johnnychan9245]

Hi Fred, Could you let me know where I can buy those vulcanised plastic .

[@jamesdickinson5173]

Can you still buy the black guard tele pickups ? There use to be a site that sold them , Vintage Guitars , or something like that , but it seems to be gone , and is there a way to contact Fred Stuart ? Thanks .

[@baronsting]

I was thinking about trying different gauges of wire and different magnet strengths to see what effect I get. Do you have any advice about going down or up in gauge? How about unusual configurations on winding pickups in regards to direction and looping and their effect on sound. Have you ever tried different patterns? Thanks for any advice!!!

[@alexm66]

I would measure the capacitance too, and then calculate the LC resonance frequency of the pickup.

[@dbq_custom_pickups]

where can i buy abs stratocaster pickups cover??

[@fate2022]

Great video, thanks for sharing this wealth of knowledge. Would you mind if I emailed you with any questions I might have. I am just getting started in winding my own pickups,and any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[@Andluth]

Great video! Can you tell me the name of the machine you use to magnetize the pole pieces? Thanks!

[@joelbennett9014]

pulse magnetizer. i believe you could also use a powerful neodymium magnet too - they're strong enough to recharge alnico/ceramic magnets.

[@charlesdespres]

Great video! But I wonder how long you let the pickup cool after potting it because temperature affects DC resistance big time. I found out after being puzzled by why a pickup I had wound to a certain resistance had lower resistance the next day. I had used a lamp close by so I could see better and had heated the pickup unwittingly. Handwound pickups are great!

[@justinpaquette224]

That's why I check the set of pickups I wind all at once, and then put them in my log. I realized that even a slight temp change would make the ohm readings jump around

[@connorarens8462]

Does anyone know what that machine is called that partially charges the pickups?

[@kennydial78]

Do you have a website where we can buy your pickups?

[@runrabbitrun4342]

Thanks

[@bobkelley9761]

Great video thanks. If I may ask... what type of winder are you using?

[@JohnOakwest]

i need 88 alnico 5 single pole pickups for my piano :)

[@farazzaidi944]

How did you prevent the wire from burning your fingers at 10:26 ?

[@Cleopatra542]

Does magnet polarity come in to play when charging. Does it matter?

[@yetanotherjohn]

42 AWG wire, hence: The Meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything!

[@Tunkkis]

*Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, Three Universe, and Everything.

[@juanokita4401]

Idea Can i use mi old scaner and instal the laser on it Its worked??

[@FarrahnsMom]

very cool

[@MAPIOH]

I just did hand winding about 10 minutes ago..I broke the wire at round 17th..😌😌😌

[@tonysinatra5128]

I have always wondered about the 'physics' involved in pup winding. The linear acceleration and deccelaration as the wire is wound from the outside of the bobbin to the center with each revolution seems like it would be impossible to deal with at that wind speed....someone please explain.

[@alexchet2574]

Please tell us more about the magnets for charging. What power these magnets?

[@Giovcii]

Yes please.. I wanna know too

[@enlaondalive2720]

How does he attach the white string on the wire? Glue?

[@jeffreymckeown]

Where do you get the bubbin material?

[@dalgguitars]

Is that winder turning clockwise?

[@delllee8365]

How do you have the spool of Wire set up ? Is it on the floor by your feet?

[@Giovcii]

good question

[@biroesustainer573]

Nice

[@edadpops1709]

I was given a baggie full og humbucker magnets,all un marked.how can i tell if they are A23457 or ceramic? Anyone know?

[@cgavin1]

The gauss will tell you what they are. Every grade of alnico has a different gauss. A cheap gauss meter on amazon is about $20.

[@jillybabesno1]

OK 1 question when can u do mine!?

[@Gypsymojo]

Which eyelet is used as the earth? is it where the winding started or finished. Cheers

[@RobMods]

Ideally, the start of the coil is at earth. That way, you get much less buzz when you touch the pole pieces. Weirdly though, Fender often still don't do this, especially on Jazz basses. Not sure why. This is also why the middle strat pickup is reverse wound.

[@technovan1133]

i have question, what is determine the Ohm of humbucker? for example what to make a humbucker 7.6 ohm

[@nautical_mile_sailing]

How are you pulling the wire off the bobbin . My wire keeps breaking

[@Earlvis]

Shaun Nickels I found that I have to wind in climate controlled conditions (low humidity) because my hands were sticky. Go slow and don’t put too much tension on the wire when feeding it.

[@Giovcii]

So you wouldn't get a consistent sound outcome for every finish product? If the shape of the coil affects the sound.

[@rickclark4112]

When one says "The Art of The Pickup" They are talking about this kind of pickup... No machine can do this.... Absolutely Beautiful Man!!!

[@PLINKER]

Also for an Esquire !

[@GibsonLesPaul2273]

I dlike to know what the difference is between a crap sounding cheap pickup and a good one, cheap coil wire?

[@Earlvis]

GibsonLesPaul2273 The materials, the magnet selection, the wire, number of wire turns on a bobbin, the winding technique, and the wisdom to put it all together correctly to create a magical sounding pickup. I’m a hobbyist winder and every Gibson owner that has my pickups says they are way better than ANY Gibson pickup made today. It’s a lot of work to make a set of humbuckers and they are definitely worth the asking price.

[@173guitarman]

It took my an hour and a 1/2 to do what you did in about 20 seconds. (install magnets) Did you make that magnet jig ?

[@guybuddy1]

he's a professional, he has done this for years.

[@timhitt8956]

he explained for a vintage sound you want some vibration.

[@1cleandude]

Approximate cost for strat is?? Thanks

[@dirkbonesteel]

10K that's some P-90 level stuff there. Going into a Telecaster should bring some power and a more mellow than standard. Interesting

[@Patrick_Garrett]

I have a set of fralin tele pickups that have 10k winds and something close to 12k DC resistance. Very P90 power and yes they are a bit more mellow however it's not dark. It twangs and spits and spanks just like any tele because of the shape of the coil and scale length, but you dont have any of the shrillness that you get from standard pickups. They drive an amp hard, and keep it warm all in a good way. I think over winding is the future of pickup sounds for thinner sounding guitars like strats and teles. P90 power in a tele is absolutely insane and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

[@Selzman10]

What’s the black pigment in the wax??

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Lampblack--greasy carbon

[@nakedlunch72]

what kind of lacquer do you use for dipping the bobbins in? would a spray on quick dry lacquer work just as well?

[@SquierStrat72]

+nakedlunch72 I've wound several of my own pickups, with more on the way. A spray on, quick dry lacquer works just fine for me. Once I have the magnets in, I just give the bobbins a few good passes and let it dry a bit.

[@Satchmoeddie]

I really like the spray lacquers myself. You get a much more uniform coating, no drips or blobs, and it's way more consistent for making multiple pickups with the same parameters.

[@RobMods]

Having wire shorted to the magnets is really not ideal. Alnico is ferrous and corrosion will eventually creep down into the coil. This is the main reason vintage pickups need rewinding. This demonstration is very faithful to Fender's earliest methods, but most companies will actually tape the magnets before winding. Chris Kinman uses a plastic sleeve on the outer magnets.

[@justinpaquette224]

@@RobMods Do you know what kind of tape is most often used for insulating the magnets from the coil?

[@RobMods]

@@justinpaquette224 I've rewound loads of pickups and they usually have a simple plastic tape. It looks similar to electricians tape but isn't as flexible. I've used several different tapes to rewrap. As long as it is not conductive and thin it will be fine. Although it's probably best to use one with an acid free adhesive if possible.

[@juliocavalera9293]

haii thanks for video, may i know how can i get data the number of windings high output pickup like bill lawrence L500xL or another that have output resistance 17k

[@willgroshong4837]

You can mathematically plan out the approximate resistance of a pickup. Voicing the pickup takes much more in depth analysis and mostly experimentation. Find what wire is being used. Most manufacturers start with 42awg and go down to 44awg (rarely going smaller) Most wire manufacturers include specs on their wire with how much resistance per meter or per km. Measure the bobbin with one full rotation to determine how far a single "turn" is Calculate it against the specs on the wire to determine an approximate resistance There are 2 flaws with this: 1) as the coil increases in size the distance for a "turn" changes minutely. This may not make a noticeable difference but it certainly warrants personal experimentation. 2) the coating of the wire affects how close the wires can be together. This affects how many "turns" you can get on a coil. 5300 turns of enamel coated 42awg wire does not take the same space as 5300 turns of heavy polysol 42awg wire. Designing a pickup based off resistance is ok but the resistance of the pickup doesn't tell you a ton about how it SOUNDS. My advice, if you're looking to make your own pickups, is to design around a sound rather than a resistance.

[@juliocavalera9293]

Will Groshong thank u somuch for the information, how hihg is the output pickup for load metal music?

[@juliocavalera9293]

hello, whats mean of awg

[@Rianmorgan]

American wire guage. Its a standardised measure the cross sectional area of the wire. Important information if you want to know about the electrical properties of the wire.

[@rumbachumba330]

Hey Will, any idea where I can do more research to learn more about what sound I can get with which process/wire etc? I'm really interested into winding my own pickups, eventually taylor them to specifically what I want. Thanks.

[@ResonanceConjurer]

Nah, if only i had those tools :D

[@rodrigomiller7011]

Hello! I was wondering about why at first he measures around 7 k and at the end of the whole process he meassures 10.5 k, is he meassuring the same parameter??

[@bbcored]

I was wondering the same thing. I know k stands for kilo-ohm, and that he is measuring the resistance before and after the potting process. I guess the wax changes the resistance value... There is a really interesting experiment regarding the effects potting will have on capacitance and microphonics if you’re interested!! guitarnuts2.proboards.com/thread/8739/wax-potting-experiment-capacitance-microphonics

[@rodrigomiller7011]

@@bbcored Thank you Aidan! Really interesting!

[@jhoskins5630]

The Strat PU was just under 7K. The Tele pickup was 10.5.

[@Thoracius]

Reading is temperature sensitive.

[@gtrehanu]

very much useful-Bulbul Tarang Hobby manufacturer

[@maxgrau9083]

where to hear

[@JayDee-bz2ge]

I worked with FRED for about 15 years & he's one of only a handful of builders that "BUILD". Everything other than cutting the tree down, Fred would take fin form sheet, create the templates, tooling & "build" his guitars without relying on a CNC etc... And being a real player, he knows when it's riiight....

[@tonysinatra5128]

....and the speed of that wire through your bare fingers....how the heck do you keep from getting 'sliced'??

[@Giovcii]

yeah i was wondering why he's not warning viewers to use proper gloves or cover for your fingers. Hahaha

[@11calman]

This is just brilliant I agree with Dena Crossland all the way, I would say that "Luke Faez" most probably sits on carrots for enjoyment

[@xXxiFvkxXx]

I believe its due to the treble strings being much less mass, and less magnetic pull in relativity to the thicker bass strings. If not hopefully someone will come along and correct me, cheers!

[@ben156]

What is the purpose of coating the pickup in lacquer before winding?

[@jesushammer5592]

Ben it makes it much more lacquery

[@Diy-fever]

probably to insulate pole pieces and reduce risk of shorts.

[@Satchmoeddie]

It is an attempt to better insulate the pole pieces so the thin enamel wire coating won't wear through & short to the pole piece. It helps some. Fender started using plain enamel, had issues with the wire shorting to the magnets, and went to "Heavy Formvar" coating. Then they discovered dipping the magnets in enamel or lacquer and buying plain enamel wire saved money, so they changed their design again.

[@ben156]

Thanks for the info!

[@ORDER4STU]

It also helps the pickup to be less microphonic. A non potted pickup can basically act as a microphone, and coating in lacquer helps to reduce the vibrations of the coils, causing less unwanted sound to be picked up

[@johnmicalizzi126]

CRAFTSMAN at their best! Awesome!