Thank you for busting these stupid audiophile myths and generally inspiring people to make gear with their own hands. I've had some battles with the elitists about what is acceptable (everything that works) and what is not (huge price markups on musical equipment), and built my fair share of homemade pickups and guitar bodies... I do not plan on stopping. It is great that I have discovered one more of our kind. Maybe we could talk one day, you look like an interesting person to share some stories with.
Thank you for watching and for taking the time to write such a kind and thoughtful comment Corvus. Yes, it is pretty crazy the amount of myths and associated snobbery in the guitar/music gear world. It seems like you don't tend to see it as much in people that do DIY, its hardly there at all in the synth world because of the extreme amount of nerdery there LOL. It just seems like once you learn how things actually work and get hands on, magic or "mojo" kinda just looks like a wasted $$$. though I do find old stuff with a story cool i wont starve for it and I don't feel inadequate without it or like I just need to get that one more expensive piece of gear and Ill suddenly become great and famous. Hey if you like my channel you should check out my friend Petey hes always doing some awesome DIY stuff He's my secret weapon info resource: czcams.com/users/peteytwofinger
@@heavymetalATC I'm new to electric guitars. I was a bit shocked at the craziness of routed out wood plank prices. Also the liberal use of the words: 'custom', 'vintage tone' etc. Had the chance to listen a much heavier LP jr from 25yrs ago compared to my new one a couple of years ago. I couldn't detect anything in the tones that I didn't think I could manipulate or affect with pickup design. Simply, I could not see anything in (solid body) 'tonewood' output that would not be swamped by the pickup response, amp distortions (I've not seen a hifi guitar circuit even for the design levels of their era, even though an apparent preference for clear tones was sought. 50s-60s was the height of valve technology.) and driver distortion. Looked it up in the forum's and the amount of 'cognescenti' commenting that DIY could not match a big makers offering with the same spec... Absolute idiocy. I've seen basic 1930s level single ended valve amp circuits built in to fancy wood plinths go for thousands (Hammond SE tx opt...). A high school kid can build the exact same with better output tx and do better than the pro manufacturer's version... I can rant on but there are parallels to audiophiles and guitar gear sluts. The loudest voices are those regurgitating 'facts'. It's easier than working things out, calculating and reading engineering textbooks. Imagine the other way around and an engineer describing music in waveforms instead of playing the instrument. What we have are musicians describing the laws of physics with emotion and sentiments...
Thank you so much Sal. I always feel lucky to find like minds. If one can handle this unorthodox type of content they gotta be cool or crazy and all the coolest people are. Thanks again
It always sounds better when you've made it yourself. I built an EL84 amp, and I thought it sounded brilliant. No doubt other people wouldn't love it an a blind test, but just knowing that I had done my first soldering on it I thought it sang. DIY is the way to go.
I think that the copper part resembles a short circuit terminated transmission line, which you can manipulate it's dimensions to get either a coil or a cap with different output phases and impedences
Thanks Tom. I just gotta do my due diligence to testify against the power of the almighty dollar bill. LOL Pickups are just so simple even the complicated ones and I can see why companies would want to use advertising tactics to make the product seem new and exiting but Lace stated things like aluminum was MORE conductive than copper and that is straight BS. Thank you again.
@@heavymetalATCWell, actually they just twisted physics a bit, LOL. Conductivity is only 61 percent of that of copper - BUT, that's how they can easily twist it, aluminum is only 30% of weight. So, depending on use-case, aluminum can have advantages, when weight plays a role. But of course, the whole idea is BS in this case with the pickup, LOL. Re-defining physical units just to justify some silly mojo myth is really, really lame. But they at least could say, that they did not straight-out lie. Yeah, these pickups are as simple as it gets, and even if they would not use the cheapest china transformer, that can be found, even a small, brand audio transformer that might be suitable might maybe cost 20 bucks, and that might be already quite expensive. A pickup is not a micpre, LOL. Marketing is insane, prices are insane, bulls*t factor is insane.
I built a standard coil style pickup using some cobalt drill bits, some small round neodymium magnets and some magnet wire, with some plexiglass to hold the cobalt rods in place. It did work but my magnet wire was too heavy with too few wraps so it wasn’t very sensitive.
Thank you for sharing this!👍 I used a flattened copper pipe, 12 volt coil, shielded wires, and a Strong neodymium. I can't believe how full and solid it sounds. I just wish the coil would fit in the guitar;)
Your sustain comments and then test/demonstration around 4:50 had me rolling. First time on your channel, but won't be the last. I've made a bass, and a guitar, but want to make my own pickups, and this video helped. Thanks
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment Squabee. I hope you decided to make some pickups and I also hope it went well. Its a bit of a learning curve but once you get 1-2 working you'll be off to the races. The ideas and questions will flow in and it becomes an addiction of sorts... If you have tried some experiments let me know how the went and if you have any questions dont be afraid to ask... ill try to get to them in less than 8 months this time LOL
Thank you so much Dug. I appreciate the interest and interaction. I'm not really trying to be SRV or Stevie T when playing in the videos. I just want everyone to have a good idea about how the experiments have worked and the results... Thanks again.
Thanks Clementine! I wedged a horseshoe of copper wire into a strat pickup cover, placed a 60mm neodymium underneath a layer of plastic, and used a 12v wall wart. It sounds great so far. Super clean! Now to see if I can get it to work with a 5v transformer. This pickup style is def now going into my homemade lap steel.
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know how it worked out Rico. I'm glad you were able to get such a good result. That is great to hear. Awesome!
I'd be interested to hear if you had any luck. Of the 5 or 6 wall warts I've busted apart I've only gotten 2 to work.... & The two 5v ones had circuit boards inside with little mini coils on them so I was kind of hoping there'd be a way to get those to work since they're lighter & look cooler....
Thank you for all the time you have spent watching the videos and writing comments Guitfidle. I am so glad to hear that you are finding the info on the channel to be of use and are feeling inspired to do some experiments. That is Awesome! Thats why I do this stuff.
@@heavymetalATC I really do enjoy this kind of stuff, and truly appreciate you sharing your experience. I'm a hobby luthier- part of a local builder group and a couple online groups, I love sharing ideas and helping out others. I really need to start filming my own adventures 😁
Great work! I'm really inspired to make some pickups again, made one for my bass long ago also using those bad neodymium magnets. I watched several of your videos and I just love your no nonsense style and the humor. Keep doing your thing, there's never enough unorthodox minds in the world!
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment Lars. Yeah I have come to think that maybe because guitar people think ceramic=cheap and alnico=vintage and good and ceramic is stronger than alnico well neodymium is stronger than ceramic it must suck twice as much. So the magnet cant be the source of more power so "overwound" becomes a flashy trending term... so what you end up with is people wayyy waaayy over winding a pickup and putting a weak magnet in it and that really really sucks too much capacitance=dark and muffled. Thanks again Lars I hope you find the videos useful and entertaining.
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write such a kind comment Luis. I am so glad this information was useful to you. Ahh yes this might sound pretty cool on a bass I'm thinking that since the guitar had a very acoustic sound maybe the bass would sound kinda like a stand-up bass or a bass-uke.
I was thinking the same thing. That midrange twang would probably be rad on a Bass VI. And the acoustic character might be cool on something like a Hofner fiddle bass.
The resistence difference between the different coil materials does have different frequency responses to the primary side and does "voice" the coil differently. Lace says that aluminum sounds better (different) than copper.
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such kind words NAGC. I really appreciate it and I hope you have had fun tinkering with doodads HAHAHA
Everyone that says that the Alumitones must be cheap to build is ignoring the fact that a conventional single coil pickup typically uses less than $2 worth of copper wire (at U.S. retail prices) and is very simple to manufacture. The wire is wound around a bobbin, often by automated machinery. Even if you're hand scatter winding, like with my Mojotone pickup winder, it just takes minutes to wind a pickup. The magnets are then pressed into the middle of the bobbin or attached below the coil, and the coil is soldered to the leads. That's about it. Lace Alumitones are more than just a loop of aluminum, some magnets and an off-the-shelf transformer, and the manufacturing process has a lot more steps. The aluminum is waterjet cut, formed, and then finished with anodizing or plating. The coils are wound on tiny, custom bobbins whose injection molds likely cost tens of thousands of dollars to have made. Assembly is more complicated than with a conventional pickup as well. The steel cores that inductively link the aluminum to the coils need to be glued in, attaching the coils as well, and the coils need to be soldered to the leads. The technology behind single coil current transformer pickups isn't complicated, I've made a DIY version myself, but none of the homebrew Alumitones that I've seen are very practical. All of them use off the shelf transformers that are pretty bulky and won't fit into a standard pickup rout. Not only did Lace spend time and money developing something that worked, they came up with an elegant, compact solution that will just drop into an existing rout. I don't quite get it. Lace comes up with one of the few original pickup designs of the last 60 years that saves resources (and reduces the weight of pickups significantly) and sounds great and people rag on them because they think, mistakenly, that they are cheap to build.
Thank you for the kind words Pablo. I'm glad you get the point of what I'm trying to do here. We must all be just a little different from the rest. Thanks
I tried to make a pickup with a fridge magnet and copper tubing years ago. I didn't have the right solder or soldering gun. It worked when the solder stuck for a little bit and tested it on a frieds amp.
Thank you for watching and taking he time to write a comment Mea. I really dont know what the difference in sound would be from flat copper to tube... or even from copper to aluminum. I do think it would definitely work very well, using full pile with elbows and sweated solder joints like plumbing could be a very cool look though. Thanks again i will put this in my suggestions and may come back to it someday and if so Ill definitely give you a shout-out.
This is freaking awesome! I've got loads of walwarts, two of which are variable voltage output, all the way down to 3v, I never considered there being transformers inside of them(not sure how I thought they worked!). Thanks so very much for sharing this, dude!
Well I'll tell you what Benjamin, I'll plan on buying some supplies and Ill wind up a few different kinds of pickups that will fit into factory guitars and see about maybe offering them for sale as well as doing a few giveaways.
Thank you so much Rod. I try to keep it accessible, no reason for me to spout a bunch of big words and leave half of the theory of operation out to try to seem cool or smart. My goal is to get everyday people tinkering and building things they may otherwise not have access to. As well I think knowing too much about a subject will sniffle creativity and stop that new magical accident = invention from ever happening. It seems knowledge and schooling make people just say ohhh my professor or my textbook or that keyboard ninja on a forum said that will never work... No reason to try. If that were the case we would still be using rocks to make arrow heads...If you ever get any exiting result from an experiment or get stuck or have further questions feel free to comment and I will try to help. Thanks again.
@@heavymetalATC thank you very much, I love your way of thinking, and I will give you a shout when I start tinkering, love your videos, your awesome way of presentation, it all makes for an enjoyable learning experience!!
Loved it. I saw your video on using a cassette machine to create vintage sound processing. I hack tape machines, build a few audio fx, mixers and PA. I'm turning my attention to electro acoustic instruments and this is gold. I've subscribed and I'm going to check the other pick up vids. Top work. Keep me coming.
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment Stuart. I hope you find all the vids to be of use and entertainment value. I will be returning to my upload schedule soon.
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write a suggestion evil turtle. I may end up doing this in the future for a guitar build or maybe a lap steel or something. I am putting this in my notes and if/when I do Ill give you a shout-out in the video. Thanks again.
The basic concept is correct, but the actual alumitones are made in such a way that the aluminum body is actually the entire closed loop of wire for the primary of the transformer, and the secondary is hidden under/inside the pickup structure. That means there's almost no loss of signal in the primary, and it can be grounded at any point without issues. It's a very clever piece of tech.
Oh yeah, this is just a little experiment. The humbucker alumitones are slick with the way the connect together but I didn't discuss it in the video. I'll definitely have to use one of their pickups in a future build and be like "alumitone redemption" in reality I have no issue with lace electronics in any waym quite a slick design. 👍
Great work, the real wonder to me is that such a crude device is working. The downside of such a cheap pickup is the transformer, I have seen you used an audio transformer and not one of an old power supply. BTW.: Twisting the cables from the 'pickup' to the transformer might help suppressing the hum.
I have made a search on the internet and I have found that there is a very small adapter. It is the Innergie Power Travel Kit USB Wall Mains adapter. This brings the voltage from 240 to 5. This could be used as a transformer and it is really small. Give it a try.
Thank you for taking the time to watch and write a comment Rodanthos. I hadn't considered a travel adapter as I am in the US I was thinking a 240 mains transformer was out of the question. If I return to this project I will defiantly try that, As well as a homemade one and compare the results. Someone had mentioned building a low impedance 201Jfet pre-amp to make it active. I may have to try all those things. Thanks again for the suggestion I put it in the notepad.
Yeah.just a small Ш transformer iron like from old radio telephone 220/9 volts AC might be useful .30x20x40mm ,or so for demitions:-).fits well into a guitar body.
Hey Clementine! I've been following your experiments and builds for awhile now. This experiment is amazing! I'm inspired to have a go myself - different metals/thicknesses, magnets etc. I'm having so many ideas! Thanks and keep on doing what you do.
Thank you Peter. I appreciate the views and interest. I'm so glad you have decided to do some experiments with this info. When you get started send me a comment and let me know how it went and what your findings were. That is Awesome! thanks again.
This would be so much fun to combine with my other odd experiments... Especially a baritone/semi hollow. Might be nutty as an acoustic sim type thing in a SH
Hi! I put neodimiun pole pieces into a chinese made Wilkinson P-Bass pick up in my Bass Guitar. Easy mode got more punch, no problem. Here in buenos aires there is a small magnet maker, the pole pieces fit perfectly in diametre butbare more longer than a fender standard. So, im note afraid of neodimiun myths! Thanks for debunkin...i learned a lot today,
What a day. In the morning i build my first cassete delay. Midified. Then i decided to start that platereverb, got all the parts kikin round. Was thinking about doing something with that broken powerdrill and those tiny neomags on my desklamp… but it sounds so nothing like alnico 9,35, and the winding… dude. Your channel feels like quiting scientology after having almost sold my last kidney for that last final woo-titaneth0antest. Thank you. The spell of my luthier is broken. Would be great if you could make a vid with all those pickups through som nice amp simulation. Just get some neural dsp for trial 30 days… go against some emgs… invader… custom aged scatterwound pafcrap. Got some ambers myself. Their sweet. Came with the guitar. More power to you sir!
Awesome BRO! That is a funny @ss comment dude Hell I think I might be making me some custom aged scatter wound paf crap... not a joke... im gonna go to the dark side but dont worry im still a child of light... only infiltratin the tone lawyers cult.. im there undercover for the good of zenophobe for the kleptons have lept from my skin. Yeah ima build a whole toan lawing guy rig outta trash if I can... so far its coming along well but its all way more expensive that i thought it'd be even using reclaimed materials and doing all the work myself. I gotta get back to some experiments soon.
Thank you so much Flutecart. I appreciate your interest and kind words. I was surprised at how clear it sounded especially considering I just used a random amp transformer.
What is amazing is how wide the frequency response is with just one loop of wire. All the pickup myths are gone. And Les Paul liw impedance pickup were the same design in the late 50s
I never really considered that but I think then that capacitance falls on the windings of the transformer if you ground it? Maybe really I never thought about that 1 coil would be infinitely high pitched according to popular theory?
Another GREAT project. You've been listening to Bill Kirchen & Hot Rod Lincoln - good choice for the "Tele" sound. I'm super pumped to get out some copper foil, and maybe take a little speaker transformer out of a broken radio sitting in the Work-Mess. It's an impedance transformer, but a rough guess is that the # of winds on each side will do the same as what you've got there. Small enough to tuck into a control cavity, too. I'm thinking that maybe a piece cut from an aluminum can might also be something to try. Another way to connect wires might be to use a nut & bolt with a star washer (the pointy kind) between the wire and the Aluminum. They coat the inside of pop cans with a plastic film, so that would have to be sanded off. It's pretty thin. Thanks for all your videos. I'd actually made some Strat pickups that used Neodymium rod magnets in place of the Alnico slugs (had to wrap some tape around them for fit, but that's OK) and they sounded really good. Put a blank cover over it so the tape-roll magnets aren't visible - people said "it sounds great." And I chuckled to myself with an evil grin. Another thing that just occurred to me is that somewhere around 2010-2011, I saw an article about using a little low-noise JFET transistor (J201 maybe?) for boosting very small signals. The beauty of that one was that the output side was high impedance, just like a regular pickup. I forget what the original use in a guitar was, but I'm willing to bet it would work here. Very low power - a small battery would probably run it for months. I'll just have to find the article again (might have been in Premier Guitar - not sure). I wish I could remember what the "original" use was. The thing only had about 5 parts, 2 resistors, 2 cheap caps, and one 50-cent JFet. I wired it up by taking a piece of cereal box cardboard, poking pin-holes through, then pushing the wires from the parts through those and soldering on the 'underside.' Wasn't pretty, but it worked. I'm just not remembering what it was originally for - if I do, I'll add a note here so you can have a look. Thanks for another very entertaining project and video!
I apologize for the delay in response I have been feverishly working frets while being trapped inside by snow and a 1 inch sheet of ice on everything. I love me some commander Cody, Bill is the man. I have the vinyl 45 of hotrod lincoln and I've worn it out. If you use that transformer I would say unwind the primary down to just a few winds like 10, Or just cut it off and put a few wraps of coated speaker wire in there. The one I used is 4 ohm to 7k ohm and I really think it could use a much higher ratio. The fasteners on the aluminum would be the way to go. I've never had much problem soldering to aluminum or using aluminum wire but I've always heard its a NO-NO. I'm happy to hear that you have done some experiments and had success in doing so. I think that if people would listen with their ears and not their eyes or with the notions of what they have read or been told they may all be surprised by what they really like. It might be a sea of ceramic bar pickups and digital effects units going through class d solid state PA amps with full range monitors LOL. If I try a FET boost I will post the results and it may also be the ticket for an upcoming experiment project but Im also thinking about building a 1/4 to 1 watt tube preamp and putting it visible in the guitar cavity to be "cooler" to all the "guitar dudes" lol it aint click bait if its really working right LOL Thanks again brother I have appreciated all the genuine interest and great information and ideas.
thank you for making (imo) the best DIY audio/guitar(eventhoIdontplayguitarIstillloveandfindursplaininguseful)/infotaining/soulreviving videos ive ever witnessed this year(today)
Recognized the little red flux pot on yr bench is the same one I got with a HF soldering gun 30 yrs ago, I'm still using lol. Uber-cool channel. Now I know what I'm going to do with these faulty chargers I've been saving too.
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment Jeff. I love that flux it'll solder a popsicle stick to a mushroom hahaha 🤣 it really is super helpful for large solder connections.
Grat video, you should have wayyy more subs, planning on building a guitar soon to make my own music sound unique even though im just an intermediate, this video is going to save me loads of money, and help me have a great tone, thanks!
Oh also .. I'd love it if you'd make a video about different pots and capacitors and how they change the tone of the same pickup. Thanks a lot bro. Again, love your stuff.
Thank you for the suggestion Tamer. I do have something that may help its not 100% experiments but it does show an example of the change. In general higher value volume pots increase gain and high end and higher value tone caps increase the amount of high end that is cut in the tone knob sweep but it is a good idea to do a full video with an experiment. Heres what I got for now. If you have any questions feel free to comment under. Hey as a bonus brad the guitologist said he liked the video in the comments: czcams.com/video/M0guk_R1E-4/video.html thanks again.
Thank you for this! Would it be possible to put just the sheet and wire strand over the top of any existing (unconnected) pickup, using the magnet and polepieces instead? Would it also be possible to wind an unwound pickup to act as a transformer? Or is that what a pickup does naturally?
Well that was just about damnedest thins I’ve ever seen!! And totally killer!! Here I am trying to rewire a friends Jackson Guitar when all I really need to do is build him some new pick ups LOL. Once again Clementine, very impressive!!! Shhhhh I’m kinda need in’ help with my rewire!! A tone pot, a volume and its 3 position switch!! I start on it tomorrow morning!! By the way you do play really well!!
Thank you so much for watching and leaving such kind words Marlon. Regular wound pickups are actually quite simple and easy to make. I think the companies and custom winders just want people to think its hard so they don't try it and find out. When you say Jackson I assume it a 2 humbucker guitar so this wiring diagram should work: diagramweb.net/img/wiring-diagram-2-gibson-humbuckers-with-3-way-toggle-switch-5.jpg This is basically identical to a telecaster wiring... If it has 4 wire humbuckers the 2 wires in the middle of each lead need to be connected to make them 2 wire, They are often red and white and you hook up the bare wire and the green wire as the pickup leads. If its HSS or HSH you can look up a diagram for a single tone pot strat and just wire the humbucker(s) as if they are the single coils. Thanks again and If you run into a problem or have a question feel free to shoot me a comment.
.....it is two humbuckers!! Your brief description said more than all the diagrams I’ve been looking at??? Wish you were here in Oklahoma...we’d jam lol. I’m 61 yrs old. My parents bought me a 5 pc Ludwig when I was 10. 2 years later I decide to go guitar. Rock on!!
Thank you Avi. I have not tried that yet and it's a good suggestion. I might even have an idea for a cool twist of sorts. I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment.
I'm not entirely sure how to get the harmonic octave effect of the sustainiac, but one of the absolute laziest ways to build a sustainer is actually to gut one of these First Act kids guitars with the speaker and amp in 'em. You just replace the speaker with a guitar pickup that measures 8 ohms and adjust the height until it feeds back on itself.
This is awesome! How do Alumitones work without a transformer? Does the thicker chunk of Aluminium give them more resistance or something? Please explain as you would to a small child...
I tried making one myself using 5 magnets from cheapo strat pickups in my junk bin then wrapped one turn of a copper magnet wire and connected it to a filament transformer. I connected it to the 6.3 volt and center tap wires instead of using the full 12.6 volt winding in hopes of a better ratio and then connected the 120 winding to my interface with an amp sim. Unfortunately it had extremely weak output, on a preset that should've been a chugging metal to it was super clean and quiet. I'm not sure if I need a different transformer or maybe I could try doing more turns of wire or different magnets maybe? I would've thought 5 magnets would be more than enough and 6.3 to 120 I thought would be a decent ratio so maybe I'll try adding turns?
Very inspiring - thanks! I was thinking of buying an Alumitone, but now I'm going to try your method. Which way is the magnet orientated : NtoS lengthways, widthways or though thickness? Or doesn't it matter?!
Hahahaha I got a tuner I just almost always forget to use it and even when I do that flimsy little black guitar bends around about a half note depending how you hold it... I chopped that B**** up for a reason LOL
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment Thomas O'Tracy is that yuuu baihh ??? Hahaha Hows about yee surr, is she cuttin aight there lad? thanks for the kind words bro. Grettings from the deeeep south (distant reverb banjo) ;)
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such kind words Robert. But... I'm no genius I just grew up really poor and really into music and this is the result. If I wanted something I had to find it at a thrift store or build it. Thanks again.
@@heavymetalATC I see we grew up the same way... except the transistor radios I played with broke. Now I'm trying to make a Guitar Pickup Diven Sustainer _ like the Sustainiac or Fetzer... ... I'm close
@@RobertLongM I did a sustainiac experiment on the channel and I have to say it was one of the fiddliest hardest to fine tune experiment I have ever done on the guitar. Its kind of like balancing a huge boulder on top of a golf ball you know it can be done but it takes some real thinking and doing to make it happen. I had to do it in a very weird unconventional way. Let me know how it goes and how you did it. I would love to hear another persons take on the project. Thanks again.
@@heavymetalATC well I have a FB group with it .. it's how I found you one of my members posted this video. Over 350 members .. only fundamental mode working .. harmonic is semi working
Thank you for watching and taking the time to write such kind words Aaron... and that is a Fantastic suggestion. I will do some research and maybe talk to some pickup guys and see if I can find out enough about it to make a decent analog of one and explain the construction. I am putting this in my notes and If/when I manage to make one and do a video I will give you a shout-out. Thanks again that was a great idea.
Great job! 😆👍 Here's an idea or two for you. Is it workable to just wind a strip of copper tape of appropriate thickness around a bobbin once or twice (keeping the backing, or else also adding electrical tape), stick a magnet in, add a transformer, and get something similar? Also, I happen to like the sound of parallel HB coils, so I'd be curious as to what your flashing mockup (or my idea, if it's workable) sounds like in that configuration. And also also, what would a difference in the size of the flashing piece make on the sound? For example, could one that's massive, like between the neck and bridge, or two that add up to that size, get interesting sounds? I'm sharing these with you (and the rest of the internet) cuz you (or y'all) are far more likely to get to do them than I am. That said, this looks super-easy to make, and all I'd need to do is find a small enough transformer for the job, kinda like the tiny ones on the Alumitones. Last thought: did you see the Dylan Talks Tone video on Alumitones?
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write a great comment with so many good suggestions Rob! I think the copper tape thing would work very well I also think it could be done with aluminum shielding tape. I bet it would have a more punchier higher output but the only real way to know is to build it. I had another viewer ask for the humbucker Idea and it is always a good Idea to try them in series and parallel. I dont really know what effect the bigger plates would have on the sound or output but my gut tells me it would be a louder more defined sound and if it or 2 reached from the bridge to the neck I bet that would give a super hi-fi sound with more range in the lows and highs. I will put this comment and your name in my notes and if/when I get around to these ideas I will give you a shout-out in the videos. I did see the Dylan talks tone video a long while back and It was great! I pretty much like everything that Dylan does he has good solid info and explains things to people using science even if it spits in the face of what everybody says is true... Thats the way to do it. Thanks again for all the communication and suggestions.
Ahhh about the tiny transformers a viewer on the channel had an excellent Idea to get the small usb travel adapters for Europe so they will have a 240v to 4.5v winding ratio which would be pretty workable for this... a lot of adapters now days have like a buck converter in it instead of a transformer but I bet the cheapest ones still have them.
Thank you brother. Yes I think this idea could be used to make some cool pickups maybe using a brass door knocker plate or something decorative like that, inlaid directly into a guitar top with the magnet and transformer hidden inside. One viewer had a great Idea. Skip the transformer and use a Jfet circuit to boost the signal and fix the low impedance issue.
This is great :D Tried to build this but I think whatever circuit I got out of my power adapter was not a step up transformer or it entailed one but it was soldered on a circuit board and I couldn't get it off. And I used a normal magnet, but ordered a neodymium magnet to test this out. Also it seems like I have to destroy some more power adapters
Great video, i'm definatly gonna build one of these, if you cant hook them up in series like a standard humbucker, could you hook another coil in paraellel? Just wondering if you had tried that? Thanks for the video!
Hey Clementine- awesome channel man, I love this MacGyver stuff. Thanks for such interesting and informative content- instant Sub! 😊👍 I was going to start experimenting with winding pickups for a frankenBass I’ve built from recycled pine pallets and this video got me thinking - could you use the same transformer trick with a traditional single coil pickup design that has fewer turns (eg 100-300) to boost the output to a usable level? Coiling wire long enough to do the thousands of turns needed for guitar pickups is a lot more expensive and harder to find where I live and I’m not going for a specific tone given I’ve already got a set of J-Bass pickups installed. From what I can make out in the video you’re using an audio transformer with 4ohm/7K ohm windings? Any comments on how a transformer scavenged from a wall wart affects the output- I assume they’re designed for 50/60hz so I’m guessing you might lose some high end? Anyway, keep up the great work and thanks again 🤘
Thank you for watching and taking the time to leave this awesome comment drb, Too bad Im only 10 months late answering it but... YOu are correct that could totally be done. That would be a very clear sounding pickup. You could use a lower ratio transformer and realy get that thing barking, Yes the one I used was 4/7 I think, its the one from a 5f1 fender champ output for 4 ohm speaker. I have a video on this channel of audio running through a wallwart transformer and it didnt cut highs from what I remember but it did seem to add bass and more of a booming sound when driven and saturated. You have some great Ideas man, I hope you did something with this it sounds like an awesome direction... Heres the video of using a wallwart to pass audio in the studio: czcams.com/video/FOpUvnXJ-ug/video.html
I'm currently having a play around with this idea, I have a 230v to 6v transformer a copper u shape and some neodymium magnets and I'm getting very little output, but it is working, I'm going to try and unwind some of the coils to increase the ratio I hope it works
Thank you for watching and taking the time to write a comment Anthony. Awesome! I hope you find that magic combo. That wind cound is pretty good but if you could do just a few winds on the low side im sure you could get it putting out some volume. You could also try a bigger copper coil or more magnet and also different magnet orientations. If all else fails try a boost pedal Hahaha That'll get her rockin. ;)
Thank you so much Tom. Feel free to binge watch the back catalog. I appreciate the support and kind words. I'm always happy when someone can handle my unorthodox attitude and understand the point of what I'm doing. Welcome to the channel. Apparently we're all a little skewed here. Lol
Thank you for busting these stupid audiophile myths and generally inspiring people to make gear with their own hands. I've had some battles with the elitists about what is acceptable (everything that works) and what is not (huge price markups on musical equipment), and built my fair share of homemade pickups and guitar bodies... I do not plan on stopping. It is great that I have discovered one more of our kind. Maybe we could talk one day, you look like an interesting person to share some stories with.
Thank you for watching and for taking the time to write such a kind and thoughtful comment Corvus. Yes, it is pretty crazy the amount of myths and associated snobbery in the guitar/music gear world. It seems like you don't tend to see it as much in people that do DIY, its hardly there at all in the synth world because of the extreme amount of nerdery there LOL. It just seems like once you learn how things actually work and get hands on, magic or "mojo" kinda just looks like a wasted $$$. though I do find old stuff with a story cool i wont starve for it and I don't feel inadequate without it or like I just need to get that one more expensive piece of gear and Ill suddenly become great and famous. Hey if you like my channel you should check out my friend Petey hes always doing some awesome DIY stuff He's my secret weapon info resource: czcams.com/users/peteytwofinger
@@heavymetalATC I'm new to electric guitars. I was a bit shocked at the craziness of routed out wood plank prices. Also the liberal use of the words: 'custom', 'vintage tone' etc. Had the chance to listen a much heavier LP jr from 25yrs ago compared to my new one a couple of years ago. I couldn't detect anything in the tones that I didn't think I could manipulate or affect with pickup design. Simply, I could not see anything in (solid body) 'tonewood' output that would not be swamped by the pickup response, amp distortions (I've not seen a hifi guitar circuit even for the design levels of their era, even though an apparent preference for clear tones was sought. 50s-60s was the height of valve technology.) and driver distortion. Looked it up in the forum's and the amount of 'cognescenti' commenting that DIY could not match a big makers offering with the same spec... Absolute idiocy. I've seen basic 1930s level single ended valve amp circuits built in to fancy wood plinths go for thousands (Hammond SE tx opt...). A high school kid can build the exact same with better output tx and do better than the pro manufacturer's version... I can rant on but there are parallels to audiophiles and guitar gear sluts. The loudest voices are those regurgitating 'facts'. It's easier than working things out, calculating and reading engineering textbooks. Imagine the other way around and an engineer describing music in waveforms instead of playing the instrument. What we have are musicians describing the laws of physics with emotion and sentiments...
@@ememe1412 wow..... how inspiring
@@ememe1412 so how was it that u said a HS student could build a good amp?
This is the perfect blend of interesting content and entertaining content. Great work dude, great channel.
Thank you so much Sal. I always feel lucky to find like minds. If one can handle this unorthodox type of content they gotta be cool or crazy and all the coolest people are. Thanks again
@@heavymetalATC yes tbh I was kinda surprised at how easy it was to watch this video lol. Feels like it flew by
It always sounds better when you've made it yourself. I built an EL84 amp, and I thought it sounded brilliant. No doubt other people wouldn't love it an a blind test, but just knowing that I had done my first soldering on it I thought it sang. DIY is the way to go.
I think that the copper part resembles a short circuit terminated transmission line, which you can manipulate it's dimensions to get either a coil or a cap with different output phases and impedences
interesting ----- has a nice subdued sound ---- subscribed
Dude, you're my new favorite guitar DIY channel. You're doing exactly the things I've always wanted to do but never could. Subscribed!
Great video 🙏
There you go again, man. Doing crazy stuff that proves the marketing world is CRAZY! Very very cool.
Thanks Tom. I just gotta do my due diligence to testify against the power of the almighty dollar bill. LOL Pickups are just so simple even the complicated ones and I can see why companies would want to use advertising tactics to make the product seem new and exiting but Lace stated things like aluminum was MORE conductive than copper and that is straight BS. Thank you again.
@@heavymetalATCWell, actually they just twisted physics a bit, LOL. Conductivity is only 61 percent of that of copper - BUT, that's how they can easily twist it, aluminum is only 30% of weight. So, depending on use-case, aluminum can have advantages, when weight plays a role.
But of course, the whole idea is BS in this case with the pickup, LOL. Re-defining physical units just to justify some silly mojo myth is really, really lame.
But they at least could say, that they did not straight-out lie.
Yeah, these pickups are as simple as it gets, and even if they would not use the cheapest china transformer, that can be found, even a small, brand audio transformer that might be suitable might maybe cost 20 bucks, and that might be already quite expensive. A pickup is not a micpre, LOL.
Marketing is insane, prices are insane, bulls*t factor is insane.
I built a standard coil style pickup using some cobalt drill bits, some small round neodymium magnets and some magnet wire, with some plexiglass to hold the cobalt rods in place. It did work but my magnet wire was too heavy with too few wraps so it wasn’t very sensitive.
I wasn’t expecting much, but that’s really cool………thanks for posting!
Thank you for sharing this!👍
I used a flattened copper pipe, 12 volt coil, shielded wires, and a Strong neodymium. I can't believe how full and solid it sounds.
I just wish the coil would fit in the guitar;)
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such kind words as well as an update. That is fantastic news.
Your sustain comments and then test/demonstration around 4:50 had me rolling. First time on your channel, but won't be the last. I've made a bass, and a guitar, but want to make my own pickups, and this video helped. Thanks
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment Squabee. I hope you decided to make some pickups and I also hope it went well. Its a bit of a learning curve but once you get 1-2 working you'll be off to the races. The ideas and questions will flow in and it becomes an addiction of sorts... If you have tried some experiments let me know how the went and if you have any questions dont be afraid to ask... ill try to get to them in less than 8 months this time LOL
I just love to hear what you play. Everything about this channel is awesome, but the playing is really cool.
Thank you so much Dug. I appreciate the interest and interaction. I'm not really trying to be SRV or Stevie T when playing in the videos. I just want everyone to have a good idea about how the experiments have worked and the results... Thanks again.
This is my new favorite channel! I COULD NOT SMASH SUBSCRIBE HARD ENOUGH!
Thanks Clementine! I wedged a horseshoe of copper wire into a strat pickup cover, placed a 60mm neodymium underneath a layer of plastic, and used a 12v wall wart. It sounds great so far. Super clean! Now to see if I can get it to work with a 5v transformer. This pickup style is def now going into my homemade lap steel.
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know how it worked out Rico. I'm glad you were able to get such a good result. That is great to hear. Awesome!
I'd be interested to hear if you had any luck. Of the 5 or 6 wall warts I've busted apart I've only gotten 2 to work.... & The two 5v ones had circuit boards inside with little mini coils on them so I was kind of hoping there'd be a way to get those to work since they're lighter & look cooler....
Wow, I knew they were a relatively simple design, but that is ridiculously easy!! Thanks for sharing, I will definitely be experimenting with this
Thank you for all the time you have spent watching the videos and writing comments Guitfidle. I am so glad to hear that you are finding the info on the channel to be of use and are feeling inspired to do some experiments. That is Awesome! Thats why I do this stuff.
@@heavymetalATC I really do enjoy this kind of stuff, and truly appreciate you sharing your experience. I'm a hobby luthier- part of a local builder group and a couple online groups, I love sharing ideas and helping out others. I really need to start filming my own adventures 😁
Great work! I'm really inspired to make some pickups again, made one for my bass long ago also using those bad neodymium magnets. I watched several of your videos and I just love your no nonsense style and the humor. Keep doing your thing, there's never enough unorthodox minds in the world!
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment Lars. Yeah I have come to think that maybe because guitar people think ceramic=cheap and alnico=vintage and good and ceramic is stronger than alnico well neodymium is stronger than ceramic it must suck twice as much. So the magnet cant be the source of more power so "overwound" becomes a flashy trending term... so what you end up with is people wayyy waaayy over winding a pickup and putting a weak magnet in it and that really really sucks too much capacitance=dark and muffled. Thanks again Lars I hope you find the videos useful and entertaining.
I've learned more from you about pickups in a couple of days than I had my whole life.
I wonder how would this sound on a bass guitar.
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write such a kind comment Luis. I am so glad this information was useful to you. Ahh yes this might sound pretty cool on a bass I'm thinking that since the guitar had a very acoustic sound maybe the bass would sound kinda like a stand-up bass or a bass-uke.
@@heavymetalATC I,ll give it a try. Do You have any suggestions on the transformer?
I was thinking the same thing. That midrange twang would probably be rad on a Bass VI. And the acoustic character might be cool on something like a Hofner fiddle bass.
This channel is awesome
I'm starting my own diy guitar journey and your videos have been so incredibly helpful!
The resistence difference between the different coil materials does have different frequency responses to the primary side and does "voice" the coil differently. Lace says that aluminum sounds better (different) than copper.
You're an absolute champ for doing this. You inspire me to tinker.
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such kind words NAGC. I really appreciate it and I hope you have had fun tinkering with doodads HAHAHA
Wow, that sounds really good. Cool cool video. Thanks!
Everyone that says that the Alumitones must be cheap to build is ignoring the fact that a conventional single coil pickup typically uses less than $2 worth of copper wire (at U.S. retail prices) and is very simple to manufacture. The wire is wound around a bobbin, often by automated machinery. Even if you're hand scatter winding, like with my Mojotone pickup winder, it just takes minutes to wind a pickup. The magnets are then pressed into the middle of the bobbin or attached below the coil, and the coil is soldered to the leads. That's about it. Lace Alumitones are more than just a loop of aluminum, some magnets and an off-the-shelf transformer, and the manufacturing process has a lot more steps. The aluminum is waterjet cut, formed, and then finished with anodizing or plating. The coils are wound on tiny, custom bobbins whose injection molds likely cost tens of thousands of dollars to have made. Assembly is more complicated than with a conventional pickup as well. The steel cores that inductively link the aluminum to the coils need to be glued in, attaching the coils as well, and the coils need to be soldered to the leads. The technology behind single coil current transformer pickups isn't complicated, I've made a DIY version myself, but none of the homebrew Alumitones that I've seen are very practical. All of them use off the shelf transformers that are pretty bulky and won't fit into a standard pickup rout. Not only did Lace spend time and money developing something that worked, they came up with an elegant, compact solution that will just drop into an existing rout. I don't quite get it. Lace comes up with one of the few original pickup designs of the last 60 years that saves resources (and reduces the weight of pickups significantly) and sounds great and people rag on them because they think, mistakenly, that they are cheap to build.
Sounds like it would make a great steel guitar.
Dude your awesome and saving me hundreds on pickups for my bass and fender .
Can’t get away from copper winds, this just moves them. 😂
Interesting video, but I really like the sound of Alumitone pickups.
Gomer Pyle would be proud of you
Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen !!!! Good one !
Shared to a friend and subbed.
This video and channel are great! Keep’em coming!
Thank you for the kind words Pablo. I'm glad you get the point of what I'm trying to do here. We must all be just a little different from the rest. Thanks
Great channel. ! I'm an experimenter too and it's wonderful to see these kind of things.
I wonder what a bent copper pipe in place of the copper sheet would sound like.
I tried to make a pickup with a fridge magnet and copper tubing years ago. I didn't have the right solder or soldering gun. It worked when the solder stuck for a little bit and tested it on a frieds amp.
Thank you for watching and taking he time to write a comment Mea. I really dont know what the difference in sound would be from flat copper to tube... or even from copper to aluminum. I do think it would definitely work very well, using full pile with elbows and sweated solder joints like plumbing could be a very cool look though. Thanks again i will put this in my suggestions and may come back to it someday and if so Ill definitely give you a shout-out.
Awesome ken... did it seem to sound different?
It actually sounds cool!
Very interesting.
That’s so cool! I really like your show.
Thank you for watching and taking the time to leave such kind words Goldey. I'm glad you enjoy all this strangeness and Tom foolery.
Thanks a lot!!! You did a great job, very interesting content, please continue👍 Спасибо🤘
This is freaking awesome! I've got loads of walwarts, two of which are variable voltage output, all the way down to 3v, I never considered there being transformers inside of them(not sure how I thought they worked!). Thanks so very much for sharing this, dude!
Man every pickup I've seen you make sounds really really good. I wish I could get one of your creations into one of my guitars.
Well I'll tell you what Benjamin, I'll plan on buying some supplies and Ill wind up a few different kinds of pickups that will fit into factory guitars and see about maybe offering them for sale as well as doing a few giveaways.
This is a marvellous video about a great experiment. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much!
Always impressed, I lovehow you take it to the beginning Fezzini, I need basic, now I can experiment too!
Thank you so much Rod. I try to keep it accessible, no reason for me to spout a bunch of big words and leave half of the theory of operation out to try to seem cool or smart. My goal is to get everyday people tinkering and building things they may otherwise not have access to. As well I think knowing too much about a subject will sniffle creativity and stop that new magical accident = invention from ever happening. It seems knowledge and schooling make people just say ohhh my professor or my textbook or that keyboard ninja on a forum said that will never work... No reason to try. If that were the case we would still be using rocks to make arrow heads...If you ever get any exiting result from an experiment or get stuck or have further questions feel free to comment and I will try to help. Thanks again.
@@heavymetalATC thank you very much, I love your way of thinking, and I will give you a shout when I start tinkering, love your videos, your awesome way of presentation, it all makes for an enjoyable learning experience!!
Loved it. I saw your video on using a cassette machine to create vintage sound processing. I hack tape machines, build a few audio fx, mixers and PA. I'm turning my attention to electro acoustic instruments and this is gold. I've subscribed and I'm going to check the other pick up vids. Top work. Keep me coming.
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment Stuart. I hope you find all the vids to be of use and entertainment value. I will be returning to my upload schedule soon.
Love your channel. Keep em coming.
Thanks again Avi.
Awesome would love to see you make another alumitone style pickup with the small transformer in the back of the pickup
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write a suggestion evil turtle. I may end up doing this in the future for a guitar build or maybe a lap steel or something. I am putting this in my notes and if/when I do Ill give you a shout-out in the video. Thanks again.
Very cool sound. Would probably be great in a Bass VI.
Interesting, and the usage of a transformer is OK but I'm curious if a opamp as a voltage follower would sound as good.
Brilliant! Newly subbed, currently bingeing all your uploads!!! 🇬🇧👍
Thanks again Alan I appreciate the sub and I will be back to making videos very soon.
@@heavymetalATC nice one brother-keep on riffing!! 🇬🇧 👍
The basic concept is correct, but the actual alumitones are made in such a way that the aluminum body is actually the entire closed loop of wire for the primary of the transformer, and the secondary is hidden under/inside the pickup structure. That means there's almost no loss of signal in the primary, and it can be grounded at any point without issues. It's a very clever piece of tech.
Oh yeah, this is just a little experiment. The humbucker alumitones are slick with the way the connect together but I didn't discuss it in the video. I'll definitely have to use one of their pickups in a future build and be like "alumitone redemption" in reality I have no issue with lace electronics in any waym quite a slick design. 👍
Keep it coming dude, all this is food for thought and cool to experiment with, you are "Unique".
Hahaha I got the feeling I just might start hacking stuff up again.
Great work, the real wonder to me is that such a crude device is working.
The downside of such a cheap pickup is the transformer, I have seen you used an audio transformer and not one of an old power supply.
BTW.: Twisting the cables from the 'pickup' to the transformer might help suppressing the hum.
I have made a search on the internet and I have found that there is a very small adapter. It is the Innergie Power Travel Kit USB Wall Mains adapter. This brings the voltage from 240 to 5. This could be used as a transformer and it is really small. Give it a try.
Thank you for taking the time to watch and write a comment Rodanthos. I hadn't considered a travel adapter as I am in the US I was thinking a 240 mains transformer was out of the question. If I return to this project I will defiantly try that, As well as a homemade one and compare the results. Someone had mentioned building a low impedance 201Jfet pre-amp to make it active. I may have to try all those things. Thanks again for the suggestion I put it in the notepad.
Yeah.just a small Ш transformer iron like from old radio telephone 220/9 volts AC might be useful .30x20x40mm ,or so for demitions:-).fits well into a guitar body.
@@heavymetalATCHi, a current to voltage converter stage is what is required. A search should show plenty of solutions. Cheers.
Hey Clementine! I've been following your experiments and builds for awhile now. This experiment is amazing! I'm inspired to have a go myself - different metals/thicknesses, magnets etc. I'm having so many ideas! Thanks and keep on doing what you do.
Thank you Peter. I appreciate the views and interest. I'm so glad you have decided to do some experiments with this info. When you get started send me a comment and let me know how it went and what your findings were. That is Awesome! thanks again.
@@heavymetalATC You really planted a seed with this one!!
Same thing .trying to make ""lace" pickup from 6mm alu wire and old transformer 220/16 volts from psu
Rock on dude.cannel is great :-)
Como se conecta el transformador..?? Como es el digrama de conexion...??
This thing is really interesting, i can think of some useful applications for this
Thank you for watching taking the time to comment Retro. I am glad you found this interesting.
This would be so much fun to combine with my other odd experiments... Especially a baritone/semi hollow. Might be nutty as an acoustic sim type thing in a SH
Hi! I put neodimiun pole pieces into a chinese made Wilkinson P-Bass pick up in my Bass Guitar. Easy mode got more punch, no problem. Here in buenos aires there is a small magnet maker, the pole pieces fit perfectly in diametre butbare more longer than a fender standard. So, im note afraid of neodimiun myths! Thanks for debunkin...i learned a lot today,
What a day. In the morning i build my first cassete delay. Midified. Then i decided to start that platereverb, got all the parts kikin round. Was thinking about doing something with that broken powerdrill and those tiny neomags on my desklamp… but it sounds so nothing like alnico 9,35, and the winding… dude. Your channel feels like quiting scientology after having almost sold my last kidney for that last final woo-titaneth0antest. Thank you. The spell of my luthier is broken. Would be great if you could make a vid with all those pickups through som nice amp simulation. Just get some neural dsp for trial 30 days… go against some emgs… invader… custom aged scatterwound pafcrap. Got some ambers myself. Their sweet. Came with the guitar. More power to you sir!
Awesome BRO! That is a funny @ss comment dude Hell I think I might be making me some custom aged scatter wound paf crap... not a joke... im gonna go to the dark side but dont worry im still a child of light... only infiltratin the tone lawyers cult.. im there undercover for the good of zenophobe for the kleptons have lept from my skin. Yeah ima build a whole toan lawing guy rig outta trash if I can... so far its coming along well but its all way more expensive that i thought it'd be even using reclaimed materials and doing all the work myself. I gotta get back to some experiments soon.
Nice job dude. Love this idea.
Thank you so much Flutecart. I appreciate your interest and kind words. I was surprised at how clear it sounded especially considering I just used a random amp transformer.
What is amazing is how wide the frequency response is with just one loop of wire. All the pickup myths are gone. And Les Paul liw impedance pickup were the same design in the late 50s
I never really considered that but I think then that capacitance falls on the windings of the transformer if you ground it? Maybe really I never thought about that 1 coil would be infinitely high pitched according to popular theory?
@@heavymetalATCI've used a 40 ohm input Mike transformer for low wind p ups. In center tap mode it gets rid of most hum.
Another GREAT project. You've been listening to Bill Kirchen & Hot Rod Lincoln - good choice for the "Tele" sound. I'm super pumped to get out some copper foil, and maybe take a little speaker transformer out of a broken radio sitting in the Work-Mess. It's an impedance transformer, but a rough guess is that the # of winds on each side will do the same as what you've got there. Small enough to tuck into a control cavity, too. I'm thinking that maybe a piece cut from an aluminum can might also be something to try. Another way to connect wires might be to use a nut & bolt with a star washer (the pointy kind) between the wire and the Aluminum. They coat the inside of pop cans with a plastic film, so that would have to be sanded off. It's pretty thin.
Thanks for all your videos. I'd actually made some Strat pickups that used Neodymium rod magnets in place of the Alnico slugs (had to wrap some tape around them for fit, but that's OK) and they sounded really good. Put a blank cover over it so the tape-roll magnets aren't visible - people said "it sounds great." And I chuckled to myself with an evil grin.
Another thing that just occurred to me is that somewhere around 2010-2011, I saw an article about using a little low-noise JFET transistor (J201 maybe?) for boosting very small signals. The beauty of that one was that the output side was high impedance, just like a regular pickup. I forget what the original use in a guitar was, but I'm willing to bet it would work here. Very low power - a small battery would probably run it for months. I'll just have to find the article again (might have been in Premier Guitar - not sure). I wish I could remember what the "original" use was. The thing only had about 5 parts, 2 resistors, 2 cheap caps, and one 50-cent JFet. I wired it up by taking a piece of cereal box cardboard, poking pin-holes through, then pushing the wires from the parts through those and soldering on the 'underside.' Wasn't pretty, but it worked. I'm just not remembering what it was originally for - if I do, I'll add a note here so you can have a look. Thanks for another very entertaining project and video!
I apologize for the delay in response I have been feverishly working frets while being trapped inside by snow and a 1 inch sheet of ice on everything. I love me some commander Cody, Bill is the man. I have the vinyl 45 of hotrod lincoln and I've worn it out. If you use that transformer I would say unwind the primary down to just a few winds like 10, Or just cut it off and put a few wraps of coated speaker wire in there. The one I used is 4 ohm to 7k ohm and I really think it could use a much higher ratio. The fasteners on the aluminum would be the way to go. I've never had much problem soldering to aluminum or using aluminum wire but I've always heard its a NO-NO.
I'm happy to hear that you have done some experiments and had success in doing so. I think that if people would listen with their ears and not their eyes or with the notions of what they have read or been told they may all be surprised by what they really like. It might be a sea of ceramic bar pickups and digital effects units going through class d solid state PA amps with full range monitors LOL.
If I try a FET boost I will post the results and it may also be the ticket for an upcoming experiment project but Im also thinking about building a 1/4 to 1 watt tube preamp and putting it visible in the guitar cavity to be "cooler" to all the "guitar dudes" lol it aint click bait if its really working right LOL
Thanks again brother I have appreciated all the genuine interest and great information and ideas.
I think it has a nice tone. The high frequency roll off sounds, hm, natural.
Agreed very natural very acoustic and microphonic.
thank you for making (imo) the best DIY audio/guitar(eventhoIdontplayguitarIstillloveandfindursplaininguseful)/infotaining/soulreviving videos ive ever witnessed this year(today)
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such an awesome and kind comment Russ.
Excellent video!
Thank you for watching and taking the time to write such kind words Stone Heavy.
😮 😍I love guys like you! I smashed that subscribe button.
Recognized the little red flux pot on yr bench is the same one I got with a HF soldering gun 30 yrs ago, I'm still using lol. Uber-cool channel. Now I know what I'm going to do with these faulty chargers I've been saving too.
Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment Jeff. I love that flux it'll solder a popsicle stick to a mushroom hahaha 🤣 it really is super helpful for large solder connections.
Que maravilla de pastilla
Que gran aporte a la sociedad de musicos con pocos recursos
Bendiciones para ti
Muchas gracias, hermano, me alegro de que esta información te haya resultado útil.
Merci beaucoup ! :)
Grat video, you should have wayyy more subs, planning on building a guitar soon to make my own music sound unique even though im just an intermediate, this video is going to save me loads of money, and help me have a great tone, thanks!
fantastic, thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such kind words Nikolac.
Oh also .. I'd love it if you'd make a video about different pots and capacitors and how they change the tone of the same pickup.
Thanks a lot bro. Again, love your stuff.
Thank you for the suggestion Tamer. I do have something that may help its not 100% experiments but it does show an example of the change. In general higher value volume pots increase gain and high end and higher value tone caps increase the amount of high end that is cut in the tone knob sweep but it is a good idea to do a full video with an experiment. Heres what I got for now. If you have any questions feel free to comment under. Hey as a bonus brad the guitologist said he liked the video in the comments: czcams.com/video/M0guk_R1E-4/video.html
thanks again.
Great video... subscribed!!!
Great stuff! As a fellow D.I.Y.'er, I love the ingenuity. Consider me subscribed.👍
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write such a kind comment FP. I appreciate the sub as well I will be back to making videos soon.
O miserável é um gênio!
Thank you for this!
Would it be possible to put just the sheet and wire strand over the top of any existing (unconnected) pickup, using the magnet and polepieces instead?
Would it also be possible to wind an unwound pickup to act as a transformer?
Or is that what a pickup does naturally?
Well that was just about damnedest thins I’ve ever seen!! And totally killer!! Here I am trying to rewire a friends Jackson Guitar when all I really need to do is build him some new pick ups LOL. Once again Clementine, very impressive!!! Shhhhh I’m kinda need in’ help with my rewire!! A tone pot, a volume and its 3 position switch!! I start on it tomorrow morning!! By the way you do play really well!!
Thank you so much for watching and leaving such kind words Marlon. Regular wound pickups are actually quite simple and easy to make. I think the companies and custom winders just want people to think its hard so they don't try it and find out. When you say Jackson I assume it a 2 humbucker guitar so this wiring diagram should work:
diagramweb.net/img/wiring-diagram-2-gibson-humbuckers-with-3-way-toggle-switch-5.jpg
This is basically identical to a telecaster wiring...
If it has 4 wire humbuckers the 2 wires in the middle of each lead need to be connected to make them 2 wire, They are often red and white and you hook up the bare wire and the green wire as the pickup leads.
If its HSS or HSH you can look up a diagram for a single tone pot strat and just wire the humbucker(s) as if they are the single coils.
Thanks again and If you run into a problem or have a question feel free to shoot me a comment.
.....it is two humbuckers!! Your brief description said more than all the diagrams I’ve been looking at??? Wish you were here in Oklahoma...we’d jam lol. I’m 61 yrs old. My parents bought me a 5 pc Ludwig when I was 10. 2 years later I decide to go guitar. Rock on!!
Can't remember if you've done a Sustainiac type thing yet. But that would be cool to see.
Thank you Avi. I have not tried that yet and it's a good suggestion. I might even have an idea for a cool twist of sorts. I appreciate you taking the time to watch and comment.
I'm not entirely sure how to get the harmonic octave effect of the sustainiac, but one of the absolute laziest ways to build a sustainer is actually to gut one of these First Act kids guitars with the speaker and amp in 'em. You just replace the speaker with a guitar pickup that measures 8 ohms and adjust the height until it feeds back on itself.
@@alaricpaley6865 maybe just cut off the speaker paper cone and crank up the volume? Dont know how much output those have.
This is awesome! How do Alumitones work without a transformer? Does the thicker chunk of Aluminium give them more resistance or something? Please explain as you would to a small child...
Greatest Invention since " The Va J-J " 🤣🤣🤣.
I tried making one myself using 5 magnets from cheapo strat pickups in my junk bin then wrapped one turn of a copper magnet wire and connected it to a filament transformer. I connected it to the 6.3 volt and center tap wires instead of using the full 12.6 volt winding in hopes of a better ratio and then connected the 120 winding to my interface with an amp sim. Unfortunately it had extremely weak output, on a preset that should've been a chugging metal to it was super clean and quiet. I'm not sure if I need a different transformer or maybe I could try doing more turns of wire or different magnets maybe? I would've thought 5 magnets would be more than enough and 6.3 to 120 I thought would be a decent ratio so maybe I'll try adding turns?
thanks what i really needed is a bunch more insane ideas for how to modify my working guitars into unholy audio messes
Great info! Thanks!
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write a kind comment J.
You and Jim Lill taking down corporate shills and corks sniffers one video at a time
Guitar MacGyver. You are my hero
Very inspiring - thanks! I was thinking of buying an Alumitone, but now I'm going to try your method.
Which way is the magnet orientated : NtoS lengthways, widthways or though thickness? Or doesn't it matter?!
I sincerely enjoy your experiments. I would sincerely enjoy them even more if you bought a tuner tho.
Hahahaha I got a tuner I just almost always forget to use it and even when I do that flimsy little black guitar bends around about a half note depending how you hold it... I chopped that B**** up for a reason LOL
I love it! Its a real 🤘🤪👈 and it sounds excellent! Peace from Ireland mo chara, great stuff.
Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment Thomas O'Tracy is that yuuu baihh ??? Hahaha Hows about yee surr, is she cuttin aight there lad? thanks for the kind words bro. Grettings from the deeeep south (distant reverb banjo) ;)
Wow! Not only are you hysterical..l but a Genius
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave such kind words Robert. But... I'm no genius I just grew up really poor and really into music and this is the result. If I wanted something I had to find it at a thrift store or build it. Thanks again.
@@heavymetalATC I see we grew up the same way... except the transistor radios I played with broke.
Now I'm trying to make a Guitar Pickup Diven Sustainer _ like the Sustainiac or Fetzer...
... I'm close
@@RobertLongM I did a sustainiac experiment on the channel and I have to say it was one of the fiddliest hardest to fine tune experiment I have ever done on the guitar. Its kind of like balancing a huge boulder on top of a golf ball you know it can be done but it takes some real thinking and doing to make it happen. I had to do it in a very weird unconventional way. Let me know how it goes and how you did it. I would love to hear another persons take on the project. Thanks again.
@@heavymetalATC well I have a FB group with it .. it's how I found you one of my members posted this video.
Over 350 members .. only fundamental mode working .. harmonic is semi working
Great content! It’d be cool to see you break down the Charlie Christian pick up. That one is hard get info on. Either way, I always enjoy your vids!!
Thank you for watching and taking the time to write such kind words Aaron... and that is a Fantastic suggestion. I will do some research and maybe talk to some pickup guys and see if I can find out enough about it to make a decent analog of one and explain the construction. I am putting this in my notes and If/when I manage to make one and do a video I will give you a shout-out. Thanks again that was a great idea.
Super cool!
excellent!
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to leave kind a kind comment DALG.
Man I love this channel
Thanks again Razman, Im so glad you like it.
Extremely interesting video! Would a humbucker version require a second transformer to make it work?
Great job! 😆👍 Here's an idea or two for you.
Is it workable to just wind a strip of copper tape of appropriate thickness around a bobbin once or twice (keeping the backing, or else also adding electrical tape), stick a magnet in, add a transformer, and get something similar? Also, I happen to like the sound of parallel HB coils, so I'd be curious as to what your flashing mockup (or my idea, if it's workable) sounds like in that configuration.
And also also, what would a difference in the size of the flashing piece make on the sound? For example, could one that's massive, like between the neck and bridge, or two that add up to that size, get interesting sounds?
I'm sharing these with you (and the rest of the internet) cuz you (or y'all) are far more likely to get to do them than I am. That said, this looks super-easy to make, and all I'd need to do is find a small enough transformer for the job, kinda like the tiny ones on the Alumitones.
Last thought: did you see the Dylan Talks Tone video on Alumitones?
Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to write a great comment with so many good suggestions Rob! I think the copper tape thing would work very well I also think it could be done with aluminum shielding tape. I bet it would have a more punchier higher output but the only real way to know is to build it. I had another viewer ask for the humbucker Idea and it is always a good Idea to try them in series and parallel.
I dont really know what effect the bigger plates would have on the sound or output but my gut tells me it would be a louder more defined sound and if it or 2 reached from the bridge to the neck I bet that would give a super hi-fi sound with more range in the lows and highs.
I will put this comment and your name in my notes and if/when I get around to these ideas I will give you a shout-out in the videos.
I did see the Dylan talks tone video a long while back and It was great! I pretty much like everything that Dylan does he has good solid info and explains things to people using science even if it spits in the face of what everybody says is true... Thats the way to do it.
Thanks again for all the communication and suggestions.
Ahhh about the tiny transformers a viewer on the channel had an excellent Idea to get the small usb travel adapters for Europe so they will have a 240v to 4.5v winding ratio which would be pretty workable for this... a lot of adapters now days have like a buck converter in it instead of a transformer but I bet the cheapest ones still have them.
Nice for ideas
Thank you brother. Yes I think this idea could be used to make some cool pickups maybe using a brass door knocker plate or something decorative like that, inlaid directly into a guitar top with the magnet and transformer hidden inside. One viewer had a great Idea. Skip the transformer and use a Jfet circuit to boost the signal and fix the low impedance issue.
This is great :D Tried to build this but I think whatever circuit I got out of my power adapter was not a step up transformer or it entailed one but it was soldered on a circuit board and I couldn't get it off. And I used a normal magnet, but ordered a neodymium magnet to test this out. Also it seems like I have to destroy some more power adapters
hey bro did you ever get one going?
Great video, i'm definatly gonna build one of these, if you cant hook them up in series like a standard humbucker, could you hook another coil in paraellel? Just wondering if you had tried that? Thanks for the video!
Sounds good to Me!
Hey Clementine- awesome channel man, I love this MacGyver stuff. Thanks for such interesting and informative content- instant Sub! 😊👍
I was going to start experimenting with winding pickups for a frankenBass I’ve built from recycled pine pallets and this video got me thinking - could you use the same transformer trick with a traditional single coil pickup design that has fewer turns (eg 100-300) to boost the output to a usable level?
Coiling wire long enough to do the thousands of turns needed for guitar pickups is a lot more expensive and harder to find where I live and I’m not going for a specific tone given I’ve already got a set of J-Bass pickups installed.
From what I can make out in the video you’re using an audio transformer with 4ohm/7K ohm windings?
Any comments on how a transformer scavenged from a wall wart affects the output- I assume they’re designed for 50/60hz so I’m guessing you might lose some high end?
Anyway, keep up the great work and thanks again 🤘
Thank you for watching and taking the time to leave this awesome comment drb, Too bad Im only 10 months late answering it but... YOu are correct that could totally be done. That would be a very clear sounding pickup. You could use a lower ratio transformer and realy get that thing barking, Yes the one I used was 4/7 I think, its the one from a 5f1 fender champ output for 4 ohm speaker. I have a video on this channel of audio running through a wallwart transformer and it didnt cut highs from what I remember but it did seem to add bass and more of a booming sound when driven and saturated. You have some great Ideas man, I hope you did something with this it sounds like an awesome direction... Heres the video of using a wallwart to pass audio in the studio: czcams.com/video/FOpUvnXJ-ug/video.html
I'm currently having a play around with this idea, I have a 230v to 6v transformer a copper u shape and some neodymium magnets and I'm getting very little output, but it is working, I'm going to try and unwind some of the coils to increase the ratio I hope it works
Thank you for watching and taking the time to write a comment Anthony. Awesome! I hope you find that magic combo. That wind cound is pretty good but if you could do just a few winds on the low side im sure you could get it putting out some volume. You could also try a bigger copper coil or more magnet and also different magnet orientations. If all else fails try a boost pedal Hahaha That'll get her rockin. ;)
Why didn't i found this channel earlier 😳
Thank you so much Tom. Feel free to binge watch the back catalog. I appreciate the support and kind words. I'm always happy when someone can handle my unorthodox attitude and understand the point of what I'm doing. Welcome to the channel. Apparently we're all a little skewed here. Lol
Thank you. Nothing wrong with that pickup. Inspiring video.
Thank you John I appreciate the time and kind words.