Low Z bass pickups

Basvarken · December 05, 2011, 05:35:01 AM

Quote from: Mungi on December 04, 2011, 02:57:07 PM
DarkStar/bisonic clones made by a Swedish pickup wizard.

Did you consider Hanson Chi-Sonics?
Fellow Outposter PeterB has good connections with Hanson.
Peter puts them in any bass he can get his hands on

Mungi · December 05, 2011, 06:08:07 AM

Quote from: Basvarken on December 05, 2011, 05:35:01 AM
Did you consider Hanson Chi-Sonics?
Fellow Outposter PeterB has good connections with Hanson.
Peter puts them in any bass he can get his hands on

I did consider that. I had some contact with Bo at Hanson Pickups about a year ago. He told me Hanson Guitars will launch a short scale hollowbody bass with chi-sonics. I am more interested in that one than to build my own with chi-sonics. Also, I have been helping this Swedish pickup maker to develop his version of Darkstar/bisonics. I sent him my bisonics to study. He also got some help from people connected to Hagström in the Swedish village of Älvdalen (the company that first developed the bisonic pickup that Darkstars are a clone of). It will be possible to custom order from him so that's very exciting.

Mungi · December 16, 2011, 02:25:13 AM

Anyone knows what kind of magnets are used in the Triumph pickups?

exiledarchangel · December 16, 2011, 03:14:40 AM

I think they used big cobalt steel magnets like those used on original Charlie Christian pickups.

SGD Lutherie · December 16, 2011, 06:36:19 AM

It uses 2 Alnico V magnets, one in the top coil, and one in the bottom.

The cobalt steel magnets are weak and discharge after a while. That's why everyone stopped using them. They are also huge. The Charlie Cristian magnets were bigger than the pickup.

When I examined Mungi's pickup, the magnet read about 1,000 Gauss, so that puts it in the Alnico V range.

Mungi · December 16, 2011, 07:34:57 AM

It would have to be strong magnets, wouldn't it, to get that wide range sound. I wonder how it would sound with neos.

SGD Lutherie · December 16, 2011, 07:50:07 AM

Quote from: Mungi on December 16, 2011, 07:34:57 AM
It would have to be strong magnets, wouldn't it, to get that wide range sound. I wonder how it would sound with neos.

I was making low impedance pickups for several years. They were very similar to the original Les Paul Signature pickups, but I used JFET buffers to boost the level up instead of a transformer. Initially I was using ceramic magnets. I felt alnicos sounded too soft and mushy for the tone I like. Before I discontinued those pickups for the current hi-z passive neos I make I tried one with neos and I thought it sounded very good.

This recording was made with those pickups. The neck pickup has a ceramic magnet, and the bridge has a neo. I start off the tune with the neck pickup, then both and then the bridge.

I might start making these pickups again. They came with a small two channel preamp, so they were active, but the preamp wasn't in the pickup. They would probably work well with a transformer too.

Mungi · December 16, 2011, 08:01:28 AM

Nice! I like the neck pickup best but I am not sure if it's because of the magnet or that it is at the neck, or both.

SGD Lutherie · December 16, 2011, 08:14:01 AM

Quote from: Mungi on December 16, 2011, 08:01:28 AM
Nice! I like the neck pickup best but I am not sure if it's because of the magnet or that it is at the neck, or both.

Thanks! I like the neck pickup as well. Normally the bass had a ceramic at the bridge too, but as I said I wanted to see how a neo sounded. It gave it a lot of bite. It's the bass in my avatar.

They were very natural sounding pickups with a very extended top end.