Testing Vintage Fender Pickups

[@soulstart89]

Hey rob. Just found your channel and this video. I’m very close to considering purchasing a 1979 precision bass. I will ask about the readings of the pick ups. One question you stated when you did the overall reading of the pick-up that 11k-12k for 70’s bass is about right for readings. What are the average for late 50’s and 60’s basses (pre-cbs)?

[@RobMods]

I'm afraid I don't know. I'm really not much of a Fender historian with those sort of details. I would think that earlier pickups had lower windings, but that's just a guess.

[@soulstart89]

@@RobMods hey rob. Thanks for replying. I just wondered as I wanted to get a late 50’s pick up. Really like your channel mate.

[@nihilvoid4112]

FYI on the vintage Strat Pickup polarity, RWRP didn’t really become a thing until the late 80s from what I’ve found, but certainly all Strats from the 50s until the early 80s had three pickups that were basically the same, especially in the 70s where they just bulk built pickups and the builders would just grab a handful from the pile and chuck them into the guitar. The 5 way switch wasn’t a standard until the late 70s either, before that it was always a three way switch.

[@RobMods]

Wow, thanks mate. I've always just assumed it was some time in the 60's for Strats.

[@telecasterbear]

Thanks Rob. I just bought a 1975 precision. Giving it some attention. Cheers.

[@danielirvine7468]

Just subbed to you’re channel fellow bassist who after 30years playing learn the guts of the instrument Love you’re vids man From a wannabe nerd

[@Bassman1999]

Always an excellent video….thanks Rob. More people who watch that Canadian bolshy sweary guitar set up guy should tune in to you to see proper repairs!

[@RobMods]

Thanks mate. I'm glad you like my stuff!

[@thatbassguy]

Great Video! Just out of curiosity, what's that liquid that you apply with a brush on the pick-up?

[@RobMods]

It's shellac. It's known as "lacquer potting". Which is a bit misleading, but it does penetrate into the coil to a certain extent. It is just blackish because I was using up some tinted stuff I had left over. It gives the coil a little protection and locks in any loose outer windings, plus it seals and glues down the delicate lead-in and out wires. Water based varnish also works, but I'd avoid any quick drying solvent based stuff, since it may break down the insulation on the winding wire. For high gain guitar pickups, I'd recommend real potting - actually dipping in wax or epoxy. Cheers!

[@waynegram8907]

ROB, when you measure the resistances ohms from the pole piece to the picking up winding it will measure in the meg-ohms but you should of shown how to measure the "leakage current". The tape around the pole pieces prevent leakage current from the pole piece to the winding wire to have a coupling leakage current. Try to make a video showing how to measure the leakage current of guitar pickups

[@DavidRavenMoon]

You’d be surprised how many pickup makers that do Fender copies still don’t tape off the magnets. They’ve argued with me that if Fender didn’t do it then they don’t need to. I always ask if they dress like Leo too? Lol. But these people don’t actually know anything about pickups. They just copy other pickups without understanding it. They also think that dipping the bobbin in nitro lacquer is enough. But lacquer never fully hardens, and over time the wire will migrate though to the magnets. Leo actually patented wax potting under the pretense that it stops moisture from getting into the coil.

[@davidblankenship7985]

Leo was an innovator. If he was alive today, he wouldn't be doing things "the way Leo did it" either

[@RobMods]

Yeah, I think about that when I install new expensive "boutique" pickups that look exactly like the old ones, with cloth braided wire, fibreboard, solder eyelets etc. And I often wonder just how far the winder has gone for originality. I think Chris Kinman's pickups are a benchmark here. They look and sound amazing, but are made to very high engineering standards with modern materials.

[@DavidRavenMoon]

@@davidblankenship7985 A perfect example is the G&L MFD pickups. He loved trying new ideas. So many guitarists are stuck in the past. I don’t even own a Strat because I’m so sick of hearing everyone use that neck (or bridge) and middle pickup tone. My Parker P-38 was a HSS but I made new pickups for it. Now it’s a HH.

[@DavidRavenMoon]

@@RobMods Kinman has some great ideas. I’ve never seen one of his pickups in person in the States. It’s a shame Duncan and DiMarzio ripped off his idea. I will say that I worked at DiMarzio for a while. Even though their pickups look “normal” they have a lot of innovative stuff going on, and even little things like pole piece screws are custom made. I’ve been a pickup maker for about 20 years. Mostly bass pickups. I do very different designs and used neodymium magnets and stuff. I was one of the first using them along with Q-Tuner.

[@RobMods]

@@DavidRavenMoon Chris Kinman is from my home town. I used to hang out in his old guitar shop when I was a kid. And later, visited his old factory space in Moorooka several times. I doubt anyone else in the world has a deeper knowledge of how guitar pickups really work. His magnetic decoupling arrangements are really remarkable. I remember back in the 90's being stunned at the speed and precision of the automatic pickup winders he built. And FWIW, he is a bassist as well! I've messed around with neo mags on and off for years. Ferrites too. I bought Erno Zwann's wonderfully eccentric book years ago as well.

[@sebastianbisurgi9970]

Thank you Rob. I learned something nice today. If I ever find myself in that situation I guess I would replace the pickup and put the original on a safe place. Even better; Buy a new workhorse Bass and put your original bass on a museum.

[@RobMods]

Yes this is a dilemma for a lot of us. My Maton Bass is worth quite a lot of money these days, but I still take it to pub gigs etc. My mate still takes his 70's strat to the same sort of gigs, but he has swapped the pickups for modern reproductions, for reliability and also better hum-cancelling etc. I'm not sure why I didn't show it, but the other bobbin had significantly lower resistance readings, so I think the pickup is on thin ice...

[@Resopmirepus]

Hello Rob, can i ask you something probably out of topic? do you know a book or more to learn the basic of electronic for the bass? what i mean is, i know my way into electronic since school 30 years ago, but i don't know things like what impedance range a pickup need, what is the best way to manage the signals for tone, volume ecc. and specific stuff like this, maybe i am asking something without an answer or it doesn't make any sense, but i'm curious if there is anything to point me in the right direction and maybe experiment my own with the bass electronics thanks anyway

[@RobMods]

Hi mate. When I was getting into guitar wiring, I found books by Adrian Legg and Donald Brosnac all about customising guitar circuits. And there were books by Erno Zwann and Jason Lollar about pickup winding. But unfortunately I don't know of a specific book about bass pickups and wiring. I used to hang out on the TB pickups forum as well, and there's some knowledgeable people over there also...

[@stephenhookings1985]

Bully The Kids' earlier videos concentrate on upgrading cheap basses to make monster tone. Alas mostly for US parts - can't easily get some here in UK. Of course Daves World of Fun Stuff covers a lot of bass setups. On my channel I worked on modding cheap basses - I have settled on EMG pickups mainly because noiseless at rest and my specific environment is full of noise! No need to shield an EMG. Now I am concentrating on Zoom multi FX pedals - ie moving the tone shaping and noise cancelling outside of the bass so that almost any bass can be configured as I like without having to open anything up.