Pickup swap (again) and a big surprise...

I'm constantly trying out different pickups, it's become a habit, but I always end up preferring the MFDs. Last week I received a set of Bill Lawrence's new Micro-coil pickups. They're made with Neodymium magnets in an very unconventional way, with few turns of wire for a very low resistance but normal output. From what I gather, less wire allows more of the actual sound of the guitar through. Whatever the theory behind it, these things are amazing. They have a more life like sound, more 3D (if that makes sense) than any others I've tried.


I always thought the guitar I put them in, my Classic S, was ash. This sticker was underneath the pick guard - turns out it's alder




These pickups are staying in. I've spent the last few days switching between guitars, comparing them to the MFDs in my other Classics, and I honestly like the BLs better. Best $80 I've ever spent on guitar modding. Now I have to get a single one to replace the middle pickup...

Great Blarg. You just can't beat tinkering on guitars. It is good for the mind and especially if you get great results. Yes, that even looks like an Alder grain. There are a lot of Tobacco Burst Alders out there as I believe it is a standard color. I was surprised when I discovered that the Bluesboy I recently had was Alder because it was so heavy and I thought it was too heavy to be Alder. Glad you like the mod.-- Darwin

Darwin - this one is heavy too, hence my thinking that it was ash. When I bought it it was advertised as an ash body. I couldn't care less either way because it is a great sounding guitar

That's great news Jamie, I had read about those pups about a year or so ago, glad to see they are finally out and that they sound good. Now I'm gassing for a set but I have nothing to put them in, as both guitars I own are large MFD asats. Money is real tight right now so no projects on the horizon.

-Dave

How low do you have to run the Neodium magnet pickups and how is the string pull?

Interesting to see a pickup with even less winding, as MFD's already have less winding and a strong magnet. Less winding is beneficial primarily as more winding = darker pickups, and more winding = more RFI. So you loose less of the frequency range with an underwound pickup, but need strong magnets to make up the difference. Neodium as I recall are very strong magnets. Shame they might be jumping in price very shortly. China is cutting neodium export heavily.

How low do you have to run the Neodium magnet pickups and how is the string pull?

Interesting to see a pickup with even less winding, as MFD's already have less winding and a strong magnet. Less winding is beneficial primarily as more winding = darker pickups, and more winding = more RFI. So you loose less of the frequency range with an underwound pickup, but need strong magnets to make up the difference. Neodium as I recall are very strong magnets. Shame they might be jumping in price very shortly. China is cutting neodium export heavily.

Good info there, Sirmy. I have them up near the strings, where I set all my pickups. I have never experienced string pull from a pickup and don't know what the symptoms are.

As for the frequency range, these things have the best bass response I've heard. It's incredibly full bodied but not overpowering or muddy in the case of the neck pickup. The treble is also very sweet, so I guess the magnets are indeed making up for the fewer turns of wire.


Dave - I've been lucky in the last few weeks on a money level as I've had some very good paying gigs, hence my all too regular project threads! Hope things get better for you financially soon buddy (or is there a child on the way???? )

(or is there a child on the way???? )

LOL, she arrived 7 months ago!

needless to say new hobby related projects have been temporarily (at least in my mind) shut down. I still have a few unfinished ones to work on, like putting a covering on that speaker cab I built, finishing that fuzz pedal (if I ever find it), and fixing the vibrato on my amp, oh yeah and that damn Shure PA amp. So plenty to keep me busy...if I ever find the time to work on them.

Congrats on the gigs! it's always a good feeling to get paid for playing out

-Dave

I know exactly what you mean by that 3D effect. That was my first impression of the Legacy compared to my other guitars. Those Bill Lawrence pups are intriguing. Perhaps a set would be in order for the Korean Squier I bought as a project.

Dave - A belated congrats on your child. I'll smoke a cigar for you



CGT - Those Korean Squiers are nice, I learnt on one of them. Crap electronics, but a nice feeling and playing guitar, I wish I still had mine. As for the BL pickups, out of all the pickups I've tried not only are they my favourite but they're the least expensive!

Thanks Jamie!

Yes those MFD pups are nice. I have a 1991-92 ASAT Classic Leo Fender Commemorative and it's great BUT I'd rather it sounded more like a Telecaster. The MFDs sound like (to me) a quiet P-90 which would have been great except I already have an Historic '56 Goldtop, noisy as hell but you learn to live with it (just turn it up !)
I have a set of custom made Mick Brierley harmony specials which were on a Telecaster but were removed before I sold her.
Normally the Tele Pups would already be on the ASAT but there's one problem; the pickguard on the ASAT doesn't have the mounting holes like the Telecaster does. I assume the MFD pup bolts onto the body of the ASAT but there's no way I'm a gonna drill holes into that lovely gold coloured metal pickguard on the ASAT. Does anybody know if a Telecaster neck pup will bolt onto the body of a ASAT same as the MFD ?
The bridge pup will bolt onto the ASAT without any trouble, maybe I could just swap that one and leave the neck pup as it is but I'd rather do a complete swap. The Brierley pickups are incredible and I reckon that they'll sound f@#$%$%#@ amazing bolted onto that big chunk of Swamp Ash.
Any ideas ?
By the way if you want a great set of custom Telecaster pickups, made to your specifications try the Brierley pickups they're half the price of SDs and Mick will listen to you and build a set of pickups exactly as you want them to sound. He'll redo them as many times as necessary until you're happy. In my case he got it right first time as I referred him to a sound bite on the Internet but what really surprised me was what he did when I ruined the pickup while I installed it. I must have caught one of the windings on something when I was installing the pup and there was a long piece of wire sticking out BINGO ! One stuffed up pickup. I rang him in South Australia (I'm in Sydney about 750 miles away) and admitted to busting the pup. Without a hesitation he told me to send it down and he'd rewind the pickup for nothing. What a guy ! He paid for the return freight too,amazing.
You'll understand why I'd like to keep this pup on a guitar after all that.

How low do you have to run the Neodium magnet pickups and how is the string pull?

Interesting to see a pickup with even less winding, as MFD's already have less winding and a strong magnet. Less winding is beneficial primarily as more winding = darker pickups, and more winding = more RFI. So you loose less of the frequency range with an underwound pickup, but need strong magnets to make up the difference. Neodium as I recall are very strong magnets. Shame they might be jumping in price very shortly. China is cutting neodium export heavily.

Good info there, Sirmy. I have them up near the strings, where I set all my pickups. I have never experienced string pull from a pickup and don't know what the symptoms are.

As for the frequency range, these things have the best bass response I've heard. It's incredibly full bodied but not overpowering or muddy in the case of the neck pickup. The treble is also very sweet, so I guess the magnets are indeed making up for the fewer turns of wire.


Dave - I've been lucky in the last few weeks on a money level as I've had some very good paying gigs, hence my all too regular project threads! Hope things get better for you financially soon buddy (or is there a child on the way???? )

if you don't know what the symptoms are, how can you know that you have never experienced them?

i have found that putting the pups farther from the strings actually improves tone and response, within reason of course. for many years i tried torun them close to the strings, but eventually realized the lack of sustain and the intonation problems it was causing.

[quote="felixq78"]Does anybody know if a Telecaster neck pup will bolt onto the body of a ASAT same as the MFD ?
/quote]

It will. Done it before. You might need to use different screws, depending on what fits. Don't go drilling any extra holes in that Commemorative ASAT, it's too valuable!

Louis, thanks for the advice. I like pickups close to the strings. Viva la difference. Certainly no lack of sustain on this guitar.

There is no string pull issue with Microcoils because the neodymium bar magnet doesn't charge the pole pieces directly -- there's a steel "moderator bar" sandwiched between the magnet and the internal ends of the pole pieces. It's a very sophisticated design, and very few of the common assumputions about pickups (e.g. turn count vs. magnat "strength") apply. I posted a fairly extensive (though never really completed) write-up about them here a while back -- it's in the thread entitled "Asat Classic pick-up and pickguard."

There is no string pull issue with Microcoils because the neodymium bar magnet doesn't charge the pole pieces directly -- there's a steel "moderator bar" sandwiched between the magnet and the internal ends of the pole pieces. It's a very sophisticated design, and very few of the common assumputions about pickups (e.g. turn count vs. magnat "strength") apply. I posted a fairly extensive (though never really completed) write-up about them here a while back -- it's in the thread entitled "Asat Classic pick-up and pickguard."

i remember that one. those microcoils are the next on my list for strat pups.

HI guys, I once had an asat classic s with the BL Microcoils, hands down the greatest guitar sound I ever had, I ended up selling it sadly but now i got an asat classic and want to relive my glory, what BL Microcoils should I buy, the strat ones or the tele ones and where is the best place to buy them,

thank you

Ron

I sold you that ASAT. It has the neodymium microcoils on it, a Tele set with a strat middle.

HI guys, I once had an asat classic s with the BL Microcoils, hands down the greatest guitar sound I ever had, I ended up selling it sadly but now i got an asat classic and want to relive my glory, what BL Microcoils should I buy, the strat ones or the tele ones and where is the best place to buy them,

thank you

Ron

I believe Bill Lawrence's widow, Becky, is still offering them: http://wildepickups.com/Wilde_Bill_s_MicroCoils.html.