Guitar Pickup Winding - using a cordless drill

You can wind a pickup with very simple gear.

[@rafsza]

And in this way, a new vintage pickup was born.

[@Landeros2286]

It is exactly what I thought. Regards!

[@wholewheaties]

You just saved me a few hundred bucks. You're the best teacher.

[@peterm3533]

Brilliantly simple - inspirational, thank you Fabian!

[@vikingsofvintageaudio7470]

Thanks! I love that you played Johnny and Santos the first thing you did!

[@solarismoon3046]

I'm impressed! Very simple yet effective! Thank you for showing how to do this in an emergency without a lot of fuss.

[@KevinCoop1]

I recently rewound a"Hershey Bar" pick up for a 1963 Silvertone. Since nobody wants to wind this, I did it myself. There is no center hole to mount on a winding machine or drill. The point is, if you want to count your turns, get an old five desk calculator that works by hitting 1 then +++ and it adds a 1 with each +. Get magnetic door contacts and wire it to the solder points of the + button. Set it up so the magnet activates the switch with each pass. Works great for cheap counter.

[@chenks54]

You say there's no center hole on the bobbin, did you end up doing what I would have done, which would be to use double-sided sticky tape?

[@KevinCoop1]

chenks54 I have a Shopsmith, so I put a piece of wood on it as a lathe, flattened it and mounted the base plate and magnetic on it. Since the Shopsmith starts at 700 rpm, it would break the 42 gauge wire instantly, so I removed the belt on the motor, and spun it with my battery drill. Since I am inexperienced at this, it took a few tries, but I did finally get it done. I had to do 4000 winds and the ohms came out perfectly. My old guitar came back to life! If this doesn't make sense, let me know.

[@KevinCoop1]

chenks54 I forgot to tell you that the pickup has two holes. I used the screws that wew on the guitar to fasten it to the wood disc. Sorry.

[@hurdygurdyguy1]

@@KevinCoop1 Shopsmiths RULE!!! Got one myself I inherited from an uncle!!!

[@KevinCoop1]

hurdygurdyguy1 Agreed! I bought an upgrade kit that I have to put in. It will then run from 50 rpm to I believe 8,000 rpm. Forward and reverse.

[@FBGOODIE]

Just super and clever, and the Puck up sounds good too, very smart, tx for sharing

[@grahamleathwood8505]

Thank you Fabian, it's not the first time you've helped me out fella. Just straight forward no frills information. Good stuff indeed!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you! Appreciate it! 🙂

[@shyshadeofwater]

Great informative video but also, you are so in tune! I really appreciate that lol.

[@chriss2452]

Refreshing to see this and not being told to buy stuff! Thank you!

[@fransvenrooy4760]

Awesome job man! Absolutely great work!!

[@fenderstratguy]

5:13 I like that compressed tone you start getting right here.

[@ScrapwoodCity]

Awesome job, really useful video, thanks for sharing!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you! I truly appreciate that! :)

[@rakun-raccoon1907]

Your guitar was great man.

[@maurosilva1392]

Nice job! And so simply. Thanks from Aveiro

[@bryanhillebrandt]

You are my personal hero today.

[@PeteBeardsley]

Fascinating! That was really interesting to watch, thanks for sharing the process dude!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Glad you like it :)

[@zensational.]

The pickup you wound sounds wayy better!! If i were you, I'd rewrap the others! Great job

[@mc4kvb]

Ahhhh...the sweet sound of a wonderful guitar.....with a new update!!

[@dakotaking9549]

where are you in texas? do you have a shop?

[@frostyupnorth]

What a great video. You've got me wanting to try this.

[@blumoe59]

Excellent how-to video my friend! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!!! :)

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you! I truly appreciate that! :)

[@74dartman13]

I just made a small 3 pole pickup from scratch for a cigar box guitar. It's really rewarding when you hear it for the first time. So cool! Yours sounds great! Nice job!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you! A cigar box guitar is definitely on my to-do list ;-)

[@74dartman13]

Fabian's Tiny Workshop yep...they are cool. Made a license plate guitar too with a rusty old 1966 Virginia license plate. Used parts from a cheap guitar. Had a good neck and bridge. Also a decent humbucker. The sound is really good with that metal plate. Almost like a resonator! Was a fun project too! Good luck with yours!

[@user-cn9dp7xr8o]

Thank you Fabian for this video. I am going to try this so that am also officially happy.

[@PatrickEmMartin]

Good job, and sounds very good.

[@nickwilkins9299]

Great job, Fabian!

[@robertfields1964]

Simply brilliant.

[@RetroPlus]

I'm definitely going to try making my own pickups now, maybe a 3 string pickup.

[@JoelPerez-le2jc]

I did not expect you to play Sleepwalk! Great job!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

thanks :)

[@Fernando.Canal2]

Great job, thanks for sharing

[@y2ksierra]

Awesome. I'm trying this since the stratosphere sold me a hand wound custom shop pickup that has a broken lead on it.

[@shredhead5566]

Awesome, thanks for this video.

[@craigkierulff]

That was flipping killer dude 😂💀👌✌️👍!!

[@dermpath101]

Great video. Thank you!

[@whatskraken3886]

I like how the new pickup is nice and warm

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

I am happy to hear that you liked it :-)

[@DavidLee-rx6uo]

Very inspiring thank you fabian!!!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Appreciate you checking it out :)

[@Delcides_Kurscheidt]

Great work!

[@MediaBelajarKita]

Very good video tutorial. Easy to follow...

[@marcobalducci4789]

awesome Fabian! thank you

[@AddyAdderson]

You remind me of Ehrich Klapton. Nice Video and nice job on the pickup. Thank You.

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you! I really appreciate that!

[@rafsza]

Nice vintage sound

[@michaelolz]

That was awesome!

[@todayintheshopbanksy5904]

Great video, thanks for sharing

[@kiivje]

I really enjoyed your video!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Glad you liked it :)

[@willford8475]

Great job, it sounds good.

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you :)

[@haideralkabi4728]

Nice work man

[@andrewaustin6941]

I could listen to you play for hours lol

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you :)

[@soulvaccination8679]

Wow..They sound mint..Got that Beatles sound.

[@SH-gr1bc]

That's amazing

[@Epiphanywoodworks]

Sounds great, Fabian! I'm gonna have to try to make one for a three string cigar box guitar ASAP!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you :) Do it! 'ts not magic ;-)

[@andrewmuelleranantababaji8073]

That took alot of mystery out of it now I'm ready wind my own rather spend $200 set! Thxs

[@Wolf_K]

This is cool. I’m planning on doing two I have that are dead. One is an original 1965 mustang pickup, onee is fine so I have a comparison to use. The other is a jaguar pickup.

[@jakeisjake112]

This is a very good video thanks

[@jazzbassist]

Great video. Thanks!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thanks for checking it out :)

[@bobless5517]

Cool! Master! 👍

[@benjoplayerchintanbairai1590]

A good weekend 👍thanks to shar this video

[@Diego-nz5qq]

Amazing!

[@guitarsouth]

You are a genious!

[@stevelitt]

awesome, thanks for sharing

[@KE4YAL]

Amazing very nicely done Thanks for sharing

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thanks for watching :)

[@pynthymmepale]

I'm happy too thank you so much

[@AlonsoSalinas1]

I dont know why, but it sounds like a tele bridge pickup to me. I like it.

[@howardbent5437]

Yes! I think so too

[@rikirex2162]

Smart...for a sweaty hand a bit of talc powder will help keep the friction lower...you deserve a beer!.

[@PeterJRadomski]

Very helpful. Danke.

[@theworkshed1253]

I used a fishing line spoiler as this distributed the line evenly

[@TheWoodYogi]

Nice job Fabian :) Thank you :) ॐ

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Glad you liked it :)

[@Indobiker61]

Goodjob with simple tools....The sound seems to be allright. Let it rock on 😅😊

[@rhllnm]

Very cool.

[@VBVTV]

Nice vid. Still relevant 5 years later.

[@MegaGuitman]

Holy shit awesome vid bro

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you! Glad you like it!

[@Lutzboater]

Hints of Santo and Johnny,,nice!!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Exactly ;-) Thanks for checking it out!

[@gergemall]

Brilliant

[@LockStoppageSandwich]

Nice job

[@ayechanmyintmay294]

Ok, i like your pickup making videos brother

[@DreidMusicalX]

Sounds good to me!

[@rzsdad1]

Nice!

[@jimmygrant3151]

Wow! this was cool to watch. You make it seem so simple. To bad you can't count the wraps though.

[@fransvenrooy4760]

Ahaa, you've got a drill clamping device! 😂👌👌😀

[@ericdenton6664]

Bravo sir.

[@charlesdegaulle7558]

Brian Setzer's take on Sleepwalk. Beautiful playing, man.

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you :)

[@charlesdegaulle7558]

@@FabiansTinyWorkshop No problem. Forgot to ask- what's the make and model of that guitar? The finish is gorgeous.

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thanks. It started out as a cheap Strat copy (can't remember the brand). I did the finish like shown in this video (even though the guitar in this video does not look very goode): kzbin.info/www/bejne/npO2aGSEpLV9j7M As a clear coat I did a french polish and I changed pretty much all the hardware and I had to level the frets. So it was a complete make over.

[@tedrowland7800]

Very nice

[@kellypeterson2625]

I love the can do attitude. Who needs a counter?😀

[@nickdryad]

I’ve read and heard that early Fender pickups were wound without counting. The girls in the factory just wound till the bobbin looked right.

[@elcochipit]

mmmm....good idea! I´m going to rescue the polar pices from that old trashed guitar that was keeping for projects, thanks

[@dispersemedia]

You can estimate the number of turns by counting the number of rotations in a second. Then with the help of an ohm meter, you can adjust the winding until you come up with the desired DC resistance.

[@RetroPlus]

I found an even simpler way to do this, if you use a fishing reel you can do this just as fast without electricity

[@CinnamonVisionProjects]

sangat mantab idenya. terima kasih untuk tutorialnya. sukses!

[@Larry-Art179]

good stuff

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you!!

[@theworkshed1253]

Cool

[@hizo64HH]

I've always wanted to hotrod my own pickups.

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

It's not so difficult ;-)

[@MattWhatsGoinOn]

👍👍👍

[@freddycookjr.2164]

LIKED IT SO MUCH IM OFFICALLY HAPPY TOO THX LOVE ME SOME HOMEMADE SHIT

[@alco9999]

damm good job

[@MarkMcCluney]

Great job as always Fabian, and something I hope to be doing in the coming year when I make a five-pole pickup (you'll just have to wait and see!) I think one of those little gadget s for recording the number of turns a bicycle wheel does could be used for counting the windings. Incidentally, do you or any FTW fans know how to measure the inductance of a wound coil? Thanks for sharing mate!

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thanks Mark! I used to messure the number of turnes with a reed switch soldered to a calculator untill I noticed that I always like my pickups a little overwound and with the 42 AWG wire that means I wind the coils as full as possible, so it's always somewere beteween 6.1k and 6.5k for Strat and around 6.5k - 7k on a Tele bridge ;-) Here is a link on how to mesure the inductance: www.wikihow.com/Measure-Inductance The question is: Why?

[@MarkMcCluney]

Fabian's Tiny Workshop on my way to bed but briefly I'd like to make a theramin from scratch one day but my understanding of electronics is limited. Also im interested in the pickup as part of an LC circuit appropriately tuned. Anyway, thanks for taking the time, I'll look at WikiHow in the morning. Nighty-night...

[@Gledii]

thanks for sharing, it seems a easy solution. i assume that the difficult part is to keep moving the wire left n right in a way to have a consistant winding right? thanks

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you. Oh it's not so difficult. If it is a little inconsistent it doesn't matter to much. Just call it a "Scatter wound pickup" ;-)

[@christisgod3354]

Really cool. A little bit of "Sleepwalk."

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you :)

[@LowT_jc]

I thought that's what song that was. Right off of the LaBamba soundtrack.

[@uff132]

Hello Fabian, great video, thanks for sharing your knowledge. Its my first time trying to build a pickup and Im watching a lot of videos but there is something nobody shows. Where do you place the copper spool in order to spin properly?

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Oh yes right. I always place the spool on the floor, right next to the chair or between my feet. The spool stands upright on one side so that the wire can be easily unwound upwards.

[@uff132]

@@FabiansTinyWorkshop Holy sh*t! Are you telling me the copper bobbin doesn't need to spin to be unwinded, it can just sit there while you gently take the wire out of it? Hahahahhahaha Man, I managed to wind my first pickup but in order to do that I made a homemade spool holder with a brush and a jar... Hahahahhahahah the spool was spining, sittin on the brush, sideways, at the same time with the drill hahahhahaha I needed 6 attempts to master it to make a 6.5k single coil, it was amazing the 44awg didnt break with that much tension even at full speed, that little thing can resist some tension, more than you spect. It is a Teisco Gold Foil repro now and it sounds surprisingly good and faithfull to the original. That thing it really can boogie with some gain and a slide. For the next one, Ill try you piece of advise. Thanks so much Fabian for taking your time on answering to a beginer on this world of makin your own pickups.

[@rzeka]

Sorry but what exactly did you do with the two woodworking clamps at 1:45? Is it to prevent you from moving the wire too far to the left and right?

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Yes exactly! I used the clamps as a "traverse limiter". You'll be moving the wire back and forth as it feeds onto the coil and the "traverse limiter" on a winder will keep the wire between the flatwork on both sides.

[@charlottemarceau8062]

Are you playing sleepwalk a bit at the end? :) (im so gonna do this, i was waiting for a sewing machine on ebay but this is way better, ive got a counter too!)

[@danteminardi9364]

even though you didn't use a counter of any sort was there a standard that you compared the pickup to or was it just mostly guesswork? I remember hearing something about the wire was not able to make the coil too thick but would that be an issue when using a different gauge wire. Also would you recommend this method for making other styles of pickups such a humbuckers or strictly just single coils?

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

I wouldn't call it guesswork, let's call it experience ;-) Only with a standard bobbin and 42AGW wire you can't really overwind the pickup simply because of the lack of space. But this would be an issue with a different gauge (for example 43AGW ) or longer magnets. I used to use a counter but over time you just know when the coil looks about right even though it's a little different every time. Also when winding a pickup by hand almost every pickup will sound slighly different because of flucuation in the tension and handmovement (scatterwound). But in general I would recommend to use a counter of some sorts to make sure you end up with the desired number of winds.

[@BogoEN]

This was excellent. I may try this soon. What kind of wax would you recommend? I’ve never made my own pickup before but this looked enticing

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

Thank you. Any kind of candle wax will do.

[@BogoEN]

Fabian's Tiny Workshop wow, great. Thank you for your reply

[@chenks54]

Great video .. however, I'm just wondering how many times you went to wind a bobbin but half way through the wire broke?

[@FabiansTinyWorkshop]

This used to happen to me in the past ;-) However if you use some kind of "traverse limiter", use the right tension and put the wire (coil) on the ground so that the wire will unwind without getting stuck. It will rarely break.