Wire gauge issues

[ArtisFallen]

I'm trying to make my own pickups and after searching fruitlessly for hours on end to try and find the answer to these two questions i figured I'd ask some people who would probably know.

question 1: what gague wire is most commonly used in bass pickups? where can i get it for a reasonable price?

question 2: if i use 40 AWG instead of the common 42, will i be killing my much loved mid-tones? how thick can i go before i lose them all together?

thanks

 

[Tim__x]

1: 42-44 AWG. I too have been looking into this and Stewmac.com is the only place I've found.

2: Why do you think thick wire would cut mids? Thick wire will make it hard to get the same number of windings resulting in lower output (and lower inductance), and it will increase inductance per a wind slightly cuting highs (high-highs) and lowering the resonant frequency. The thicker gauge will also result in lower resistance meaning a little bit less noise and a sharper resonant peak.

P.S. when I get chance I simulate it and post some graphs

 

[ArtisFallen]

thanks for the info, that's exactly what i wanted to know.