slowburnaz
Commercial User
@MPU is right, and @Freekmagnet, your assumption is mostly correct. The cover I had 3d printed are the same same dimensions as a standard 4 string MM cover, in width and length, but the depth is about .3" deeper.
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Magnets & Copper Wire: A Pickup Building Thread
- Thread starter Freekmagnet
- Start date
@MPU is right, and @Freekmagnet, your assumption is mostly correct. The cover I had 3d printed are the same same dimensions as a standard 4 string MM cover, in width and length, but the depth is about .3" deeper.
I really like the series sound! Fuller thicker sound without any mud!
Parallel sounded a little anemic to my ears, but would probably work in some contexts or with a bit of a bass bump at the amp.
I'd be curious about neck series + bridge parallel.
Stumbled on this thread and haven't had much time to read thru it yet, but I see some stuff about casting so I thought I'd post some pickups I made for a recent project:
The was not my original plan...
I wanted to just cast the coil assembly in a block of white polyurethane and glue a nice, nickel silver cap on it and call it a day. But no, that didn’t happen.
I initially tried the method that @dwizum suggested, and that helped with the pitting somewhat. I got better results this time, but I think the resin cured too fast, and whatever bubbles were in there formed and just weren’t going to float up to the top because the resin was already beginning to harden.
The next obstacle was that whatever tooling had to be done, would leave its mark in the white plastic. In conclusion, I’m not sure if casting the whole pickup in white is the best approach. Perhaps it would be better to use a 3D printed white shell and pour the resin into that.
So, I bound and capped it in nickel silver. I had better luck with the softer adhesives like E6000 or Gorilla Glue. For some reason, CA or epoxy wouldn’t hold the metal down. I’ve never had that problem - usually epoxy will do it.
After gluing, I soldered the cap to the binding with my soldering iron. In another life, I used to solder little structures like this all day long. Back then, I used a propane or oxy-acetylene torch. This was the first time I’ve done it with a soldering iron. It wasn’t too bad. The nickel-silver is really forgiving; I had a sand-through that I patched with a blob of solder (it’s really thin metal). Once you sand it, the patch is barely perceptible. At the very least, my cap and binding job will provide some shielding.
The wood skirt is cosmetic. The white polyurethane was stained and it just looked terrible. I know that part won’t be visible but it would of driven me crazy looking at the picture.
For now, I’m going to leave it sanded to 600. I may change my mind later.
Ultimately, I will not be taking this approach with this pickup again. I just did this because I was out of magnets, and I had these materials on hand. I want to get this pickup into a bass and start testing it in the field. I’m going to have to come up with another way to attack this. I’m not ruling out the possibility that I will have to come up with a way to make the poles adjustable. I’m not sure how I’ll do that because much of the assembly process up until this point has been an effort to keep the pickup itself from imploding. (It actually does implode.)
I really do want to make a white pickup.
I wanted to just cast the coil assembly in a block of white polyurethane and glue a nice, nickel silver cap on it and call it a day. But no, that didn’t happen.
I initially tried the method that @dwizum suggested, and that helped with the pitting somewhat. I got better results this time, but I think the resin cured too fast, and whatever bubbles were in there formed and just weren’t going to float up to the top because the resin was already beginning to harden.
The next obstacle was that whatever tooling had to be done, would leave its mark in the white plastic. In conclusion, I’m not sure if casting the whole pickup in white is the best approach. Perhaps it would be better to use a 3D printed white shell and pour the resin into that.
So, I bound and capped it in nickel silver. I had better luck with the softer adhesives like E6000 or Gorilla Glue. For some reason, CA or epoxy wouldn’t hold the metal down. I’ve never had that problem - usually epoxy will do it.
After gluing, I soldered the cap to the binding with my soldering iron. In another life, I used to solder little structures like this all day long. Back then, I used a propane or oxy-acetylene torch. This was the first time I’ve done it with a soldering iron. It wasn’t too bad. The nickel-silver is really forgiving; I had a sand-through that I patched with a blob of solder (it’s really thin metal). Once you sand it, the patch is barely perceptible. At the very least, my cap and binding job will provide some shielding.
The wood skirt is cosmetic. The white polyurethane was stained and it just looked terrible. I know that part won’t be visible but it would of driven me crazy looking at the picture.
For now, I’m going to leave it sanded to 600. I may change my mind later.
Ultimately, I will not be taking this approach with this pickup again. I just did this because I was out of magnets, and I had these materials on hand. I want to get this pickup into a bass and start testing it in the field. I’m going to have to come up with another way to attack this. I’m not ruling out the possibility that I will have to come up with a way to make the poles adjustable. I’m not sure how I’ll do that because much of the assembly process up until this point has been an effort to keep the pickup itself from imploding. (It actually does implode.)
I really do want to make a white pickup.
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Well, I decided to polish it.
I have a few scratches I gotta go back and hit with 220, but there ain’t nuthin’ like the look of polished nickel. I’ll prolly do it before I install it in the bass - it’ll get scratched just laying around my shop.
I have a few scratches I gotta go back and hit with 220, but there ain’t nuthin’ like the look of polished nickel. I’ll prolly do it before I install it in the bass - it’ll get scratched just laying around my shop.
Another example of the basic rule of pickups: If the pickup looks classy and cool, then by definition it sounds classy and cool.
slowburnaz
Commercial User
So, I decided to try my hand at making a mold for a pickup cover. I won't have that chance to use it tonight, so hopefully tomorrow I'll see what kind of mess I can make trying to cast one.
slowburnaz
Commercial User
slowburnaz
Commercial User
Well... success? Maybe, maybe not.
The cover came out still sorta wet, long after the stated cure time. Could be that the mix was off a bit (hard to do, since it's a 1:1 by volume), or it was a bit too cold outside.
The plastic is also a little too flexible. Gonna let it sit overnight and see what happens.
slowburnaz
Commercial User
I used Smooth-On's Onyx Black: Smooth-Cast® ONYX™ SLOW Product Information
Yeah, the mix must have been off, or I didn't stir the constituent parts enough before mixing them. I'll be trying again.
I've had good results with the ONYX Black with very thin walled pickup cover castings. Give it another go. I mix by weight using a small digital kitchen scale with (supposed) 0.1g resolution. You can get them off Amazon for pretty cheap. I've never had bits stick to the mold like what I see in those pics. Evey bit cures, and yes I leave it in the mold longer than they state because it is flexible for a bit and can deform.
slowburnaz
Commercial User
Interesting... I have a scale as well, but it says to mix 1:1 by volume. You do yours by weight? So, I think that would be something like 1.2:1, right?
Usually that stuff mixes 1:1 pretty well. I’d give it another go before you start messing with your ratios.
One thing I’ve noticed with polyurethane resin is that the stirring technique is crucial. You gotta make sure you scrape the sides and the bottom, etc.
Is there any chance that there was even a tiny bit of moisture in your mold? Even the smallest amount will make your casting go haywire.
One thing I’ve noticed with polyurethane resin is that the stirring technique is crucial. You gotta make sure you scrape the sides and the bottom, etc.
Is there any chance that there was even a tiny bit of moisture in your mold? Even the smallest amount will make your casting go haywire.
slowburnaz
Commercial User
Pretty sure there wasn't any moisture. The more I think about it, the more I think I didn't stir thoroughly enough.
That's very likely the cause. I measure and mix in one cup, then pour in another cup and mix some more. That way there's no unmixed corners in the cup.
slowburnaz
Commercial User
