Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

[Ridgeback]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

Not at the moment, but me or another member could easily make you one. I have quite a bit on my plate right now at work, but if as soon as I get some spare time I will make you one.

Thanks Christoper! No rush...

[jeremy]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

the 0038 is alnico 3 with #43 wire unless donzo has changed his recipe. its a great pup and fatter than a twangy 6k a5 pups for sure. fat for a vintage tele type pup but that doesnt make it fat in the over all scheme of things. you could swap an a3 or a4 magent into the antiquity which would give it a bit less bottom but similar tonality or a flatter eq response with more high end. youd want to adjust the neck pup height if you swapped in an a4

[Ridgeback]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

Here you see a commented schematic by Joe Gore.

http://tonefiend.com/pickups/a-new-l...itar-makeover/

Thanks hamerfan! This article nicely addresses the questions here about why you'd "waste" position 3 for the blender option. I would love position 3 if I was a jazz player. It would be perfect for that but I'm not so I don't use it.

Unless I missed something, the author doesn't cover the volume drop when you use a HB in the neck position as he's using all single coils. But love the article for the overall blender discussion.

[Zombiwoof]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

Doesn't Micawber have a lap steel pickup for the bridge?. Is that considerably hotter than the Tele pickups being discussed here?.
Al

[Ridgeback]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

Doesn't Micawber have a lap steel pickup for the bridge?. Is that considerably hotter than the Tele pickups being discussed here?.
Al

I guess only Johnny Starbuck and/or Pierre De Beauport know for sure?

From Guitar World:
"The bridge pickup has been up to debate. For years it was believed that Richards used an original Broadcaster bridge pickup, an exceedingly rare single-coil of which few were made. Others have suggested it’s a lap-steel pickup (the fact that the pickup is held on by just two screws seems to support this), though some former Fender employees who apparently worked with the guitar say it’s actually an early Telecaster bridge pickup that is wound extra hot.

The guitar’s wiring is the real question. Richards almost always has the pickup selector in the bridge position (position 1), but the humbucker’s tone seems to be evident, which suggests something has been altered in its electronics. In their standard configuration, Telecasters are wired with the master volume closest to the pickup selector; the second knob is the tone control. But some have suggested that Richards has the guitar wired in Fender’s early Broadcaster/Nocaster/Telecaster configuration, which includes a master volume and a blend control. If so, in position 1 the bridge pickup would be active, and the blend control would allow him to dial in the amount of the humbucker neck pickup he desires. Position 2 would be neck pickup only, with the blend deactivated, and position 3 would activate the neck pickup and a tone capacitor that would reduce treble response for a dark tone."


In any case I think the 0038 is Don's "Keefer" pickup modeled after an overwound '50/'51 bridge. Isn't an authentic Champion Lap-Steel more around the 6.5-7K range?

Having said that, and I'm sure Jeremy knows 100x more than I do on this, but I'm coming to understand the "K#" range of a pup doesn't necessarily tell the whole story. The type wire used / turns / etc. plays a role in actual output. In other words, a 7K pup with thicker gauge wire might have more actual output than a 10K pup with thinner? Jeremy?

[Zombiwoof]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

I guess only Johnny Starbuck and/or Pierre De Beauport know for sure?

From Guitar World:
"The bridge pickup has been up to debate. For years it was believed that Richards used an original Broadcaster bridge pickup, an exceedingly rare single-coil of which few were made. Others have suggested it’s a lap-steel pickup (the fact that the pickup is held on by just two screws seems to support this), though some former Fender employees who apparently worked with the guitar say it’s actually an early Telecaster bridge pickup that is wound extra hot.

The guitar’s wiring is the real question. Richards almost always has the pickup selector in the bridge position (position 1), but the humbucker’s tone seems to be evident, which suggests something has been altered in its electronics. In their standard configuration, Telecasters are wired with the master volume closest to the pickup selector; the second knob is the tone control. But some have suggested that Richards has the guitar wired in Fender’s early Broadcaster/Nocaster/Telecaster configuration, which includes a master volume and a blend control. If so, in position 1 the bridge pickup would be active, and the blend control would allow him to dial in the amount of the humbucker neck pickup he desires. Position 2 would be neck pickup only, with the blend deactivated, and position 3 would activate the neck pickup and a tone capacitor that would reduce treble response for a dark tone."


In any case I think the 0038 is Don's "Keefer" pickup modeled after an overwound '50/'51 bridge. Isn't an authentic Champion Lap-Steel more around the 6.5-7K range?

Having said that, and I'm sure Jeremy knows 100x more than I do on this, but I'm coming to understand the "K#" range of a pup doesn't necessarily tell the whole story. The type wire used / turns / etc. plays a role in actual output. In other words, a 7K pup with thicker gauge wire might have more actual output than a 10K pup with thinner? Jeremy?

I'm pretty sure his guitar tech said it's a lap-steel pickup, I think they were similar to a Tele pickup but the mounting was a little different, requiring some modification to install it(?).
Al

[Ridgeback]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

Perhaps if I forego the blender option I could try Fender's "Fat Tele" wiring?

It uses 2 500K pots and a 270 resistor.

[Ridgeback]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

Never mind, that has a 5-way switch and a tapped HB I think...

[jeremy]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

if it were my guitar, id wire it with a 3way. neck/both/bridge and ditch the dark setting. id ditch the blend pot and put the tone control only on the bridge pup and use 250k controls. if you want to keep the blend pot then using 500k for the volume and a resistor for the the bridge is another option.

i have a 6.6k alnico 2 tele bridge pup and into the right amp, it sounds huge. classic keef is fender tweed amps which tend to sound fat even with a bright pup

[AlexR]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

^ +1 on the setup advice. The only time I've had any use for the 'dark' setting is in an Esquire with the Eldred mod.....a .001 cap which gives a cocked way type tone, like a fuller OOP type effect.

[jeremy]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

i have a dark setting on my esquire as well and its either a .001 or .0015 cap. cant recall off the top of my head. ive never do it on anything with a neck pup though

[Ridgeback]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

I'm pretty sure his guitar tech said it's a lap-steel pickup, I think they were similar to a Tele pickup but the mounting was a little different, requiring some modification to install it(?).
Al

Another quote from Don on this matter:
"Keefs pickup is a 10k wire 43[PE]... good reliable inside skinny on that one. SD's Broadcaster is 43 wire - he likes 8k reads on those - thats his take..
my normal 0038 for Broadcaster is 11.5 that's my take.."

According to some sources, some of the first Champion Lap Steels had the thinner 43PE wire while most after had 42PE. So in theory, it's possible the earliest Champs sounded very similar to the broadcasters? The myth and history of early Fender is not to be fully known I'm sure at this point are we sniffing corks?

Anyway, I feel I'm getting this off-topic to the balance question.

Ultimately, to my knowledge, Keith rarely (never?) is seen with Micawber in anything but the first position. So whether that is just the single coil (champ or broadcaster) OR it's a blend of the HB and single coil, he doesn't have to worry about a volume increase switching to just the HB because he never takes it out of first position. My personal feeling is the later. It sounds like there's a HB in there and why would he bother putting a HB in Micawber if it served no purpose?

[Ridgeback]

Re: Micawber wiring--balancing HB to Bridge output

if it were my guitar, id wire it with a 3way. neck/both/bridge and ditch the dark setting. id ditch the blend pot and put the tone control only on the bridge pup and use 250k controls. if you want to keep the blend pot then using 500k for the volume and a resistor for the the bridge is another option.

i have a 6.6k alnico 2 tele bridge pup and into the right amp, it sounds huge. classic keef is fender tweed amps which tend to sound fat even with a bright pup

I hear ya Jeremy and appreciate your experience. If anything, I'd prolly do the 500K volume / resistor for the bridge blend option. If you have that diagram I'd love to see it.

I have a question out to Don on this but I don't know the current status of his well-being. Seems he's not always tip top health-wise and it can't be easy trying to stay above water on his builds so he might not have a ton of time to bother with guys like me...