DIY Pickups

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kelly Holdridge
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Kelly Holdridge

Kelly Holdridge

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You have 6 nails and a shitload of wire. You're going to nail these into a 2x4, and then turn it upside down to pickup from the top of the strings.

Now: do you wrap the bass or tenor more?

do you wrap the nails in series, or parallel (meeting at the main circuit)?

I want to try this, but only once or twice. Any comments?
 
Are you making electro-magnets?

Sorry, couldn't quite picture what you were trying to acheive.

- gaffa
 
Well, kind of. Pickups are coiled metal--magnets--that produce electricity when another magnetic field moves across them. Each string creates it's own moving magnetic field (or disrupts each pickups' magnetic field), creating a small electric current in the same frequency as the string vibration.

I just figured, hell, I'll make a couple and see exactly how much "gump" it really takes to make a pickup.

I'd like to try the phonograph needle thing, too, but I don't have six phonograph heads. Next best thing.
 
Seems to me you are trying to recreate the "slab board" guitar. Have fun. Experimenting won't do any harm. But as for your pickup design:

You will need a magnet in the scheme--the way a pick up works is that the poles (nails) and the magnet create magnetic fields which the vibrating strings "break" causing a small elictric charge or field. The wire wrapped around the pickup then carries the charge away from the pickup .

You will need one continuous wire. It needs to be very thin and non insulated.

I would try to pick up (no pun intended) a book on the subject to help me along if I were you. If you are going to give this a try it might as well have the best chance of success.

Peace, Jim
 
When I was a kid I made a little telegraph machine like that and it actually worked.

---...---
 
Yeah, I'm making a "slab-board" pickup, not a guitar. I just want to see how picking up magnetic disturbances is different from picking up pressure disturbances. Plus, I thought it'd be neat to try using it to record a piece.

(I know what's coming..."Yeah, a piece of &$$#!")
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Kelly Holdridge:
Yeah, I'm making a "slab-board" pickup, not a guitar. I just want to see how picking up magnetic disturbances is different from picking up pressure disturbances. Plus, I thought it'd be neat to try using it to record a piece.

(I know what's coming..."Yeah, a piece of &$$#!")<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You know, this reminds my of my Friend Rob Armstrong!

He made this "Thing" out of a metal Crutch. He put guitar strings on it, and a pickup, and had some weird tuning scheme worked out-and my friend Marty named it (In the Tradition of Dr. Suess) a "Phinthuzalur".

Of course, Rob got pissed at us all about it-but it was funny man! hahah
So, go ahead. try it.
but what you have to do is wrap the wire around all six nails.
Or wire them 3 nails at a time as two distinct pickups (one for highs, one for lows)

one thing that might help is this.
Put a Bolt through the bottom of the wood, and mount the bolt into the Chuck of a HAND POWERED Drill(The kind that looks like an Eggbeater) Mount the hand drill in a vise, and turn with one hand, and feed the motor wire with the other hand.
you don't just use anykind of wire for a pick-up as far as I know-you need Magnetic Motor Wire.
That's how we used to wrap pickups at home; I've messed around with pickups some.
It might just work for you.
Then again-it might shoot the nails right out of it!

I dub your instrument the Phinthuzalur II.


Tim



[This message has been edited by Tim Brown (edited 06-28-2000).]
 
One very important thing that wasn't mentioned: USE INSULATED WIRE!!!!! If you do not use insulated wire, your coil of wire, electricaly speaking, will not be a coil but a chunk of copper. I would use a small gauge wire that is readily availible such a #24 telephone wire. The smaller gauge wire will allow you to have more turns around your pole pieces. You can also use a solid piece of metal in place a individual poles. Make sure that what ever you use as the core of your pick ups must have lots of iron. Brass, aluminum, tin, pot metal (zinc alloy) will not work. But I'm sure you know that. Sounds like a fun project. A friend of mine is making a lap steel out of a wooden fence post. Cool. P.S. Don't forget the magnetic part of your project....
 
I've read your post again and I realized I didn't answer you questions the fist time.
The nails will not be wired or electricaly conected together at all.
1. put nails into the wood
2. wrap thin insulated wire around the nails
Do not go between nails or wrap them
individualy and do not cross the wire
over itself. wrap the wire side by side
and in even layers.
3. magnetize the nails.

If you want to have more volume for specific srings, place the nails closer to the strings or use larger nails or use a larger magnetic field for those strings.

For ultimate control over specific srting volumes, Make six individaul pick ups and then connect the coils in parallel. Connecting in series will increase the internal resistence of the wire and cut the signal. Then wire a pot in series for master volume
 
I think that once the nails are wrapped, I'll run a good deal of current through the wire overnight or "overweek." This should magnetize the nails pretty well.

Anybody know how much current a #24 wire can stand without damage?
 
Some where close 3.4 Amp continous load - maybe

By the way, magnetizing the nails with an inductive current will only be temporary. How temporary depends on the iron content and the amount of current used. You would get the same effect by striking the nails against stone in order to make the iron molecules line up end to end. To magnetize the nails inductively will require a larger wire and a continous load of about 30 amps depending on your voltage. The voltage MUST be D.C. Your power suply must be regulated and your wire size must be able to conduct the highest curent potential( 30amps ).#10 gauge wire is rated by the National Electrical Code for 30amps but a #12 can handle that amount saftley. Wire that size will difficult to wrap around the nails and a regulated DC power suply rated for 30 amps is VERY EXPENSIVE. I hope that you were not planning to wrap some wire around a few nails and plug it into a 120 VAC household circuit. YIKES! THE BEST thing would be to buy some earth magnets from your local hardware or science hobby store. They are cheap and easy to find. Or use a magnet fron an old car or stereo speaker. In most all standard pickups, the pole pieces are attached to a magnet or they are magnets themselves.
 
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