Interesting new sidewinder for an old Rivoli

[Dave W]

Take a look at this thread from the MIMF.

His friend bought a vintage Rivoli which had an added bridge pickup that was thin and weak. He was inspired by the mudbucker to make his own sidewinder for the bridge. Simple yet effective design and it fits a standard guitar humbucker rout.

There's an mp3 linked at post #10 and a description of what it contains in the last paragraph in post #7.

He calls the switch a bass boost, but that's a common misunderstanding.

Please, let's not repost any of the pics here, don't want to use them without permission.

[MARICOPAA]

If you have had experiences with EB-2D's you will know how the discrepancy between the mudbucker and the bridge mini cause considerable problems with regard to a simple balanced sound when the toggle is in the 'middle' position. To utilize both pickups on an EB-2 you have to dial back the volume of the mini a very small bit to bring out the mudbucker effectively. You get very good at moving the volume knob for the mini humbucker very small increments! One would think the opposite to be true because the mudbucker is soooo much stronger than the mini but in the middle position the sound is thin and fairly anemic.

Somewhere in the past I had a stereo jack installed on an EB-2D and a couple fairly expensive (at the time) cables made with a stereo 1/4" on one end and a after a 25 foot run a pair of 1/4" mono jack...one for the mudbucker and one for the mini. I could dial in the mudbucker to optimumin one channel of my amp (Dual Showman?) and then add just the right amount and tone of the mini from the other channel to give the overall sound some point and definition...the ratio depended on the session, song, style of music etc. It dealt with the output discrepancy letting each pick be all it could be without having to interact directly with each other. The stereo cabling was a pain in the rear though...had to guard them like they were gold.

Definitely very interesting. makes me want to create an infinitely variable choke knob on my Rivoli.

[uwe]

"If you have had experiences with EB-2D's you will know how the discrepancy between the mudbucker and the bridge mini cause considerable problems with regard to a simple balanced sound when the toggle is in the 'middle' position. To utilize both pickups on an EB-2 you have to dial back the volume of the mini a very small bit to bring out the mudbucker effectively. You get very good at moving the volume knob for the mini humbucker very small increments! One would think the opposite to be true because the mudbucker is soooo much stronger than the mini but in the middle position the sound is thin and fairly anemic."

Very, very true. My experience both on my 67 EB-2D and on my SG-Z with after market implanted mudbucker. Now the Z pups of the SG-Z are anything but strong, but they drown the mudbucker out unless you dial them down a little.

[doombass]

Same thing on my Mel Schacher Jazz Bass copy. I have to dial back some of the Jazz bridge pup to make a beefy sound. Otherwise it sounds more like a normal Jazz Bass (well actually the sound is close to my old Alder bodied Grabber).

[Dave W]

It's the old Fletcher-Munson curve at work. A moderate output pickup with a lot of highs can sound louder than a mudbucker. At least up close. Well away, back in the audience, the effect can be just the opposite.

In this particular case, the aftermarket pickup wasn't just weak, it was right smack at the bridge. I just posted it because it's a vintage Epi and the new pickup he made was a sidewinder. It sounds good despite being right down by the bridge, and that's what matters.

[bostonguitarrepair]

wow - nice drawings too !!  We should have THIS guy build Bachbird pickups !  Very slick work.

I wonder how one of his mini-sidewinders would sound at the neck position.

krishna

[MARICOPAA]

My curiosity was going that way as well...what would a neck version of is pickup sound like? Was that CGI he was using for the drawings?

[Dave W]

I suspect it would sound very good in the neck position or at any position.

This design looks a lot more efficient than any Gibson sidewinder, it has more steel in the right places -- the keystock on the ends and the middle to direct the magnetic field, instead of just 4 screws in the middle. And it has J-type bobbin/magnet construction instead of a steel blade through the coils connecting to magnets on the ends.