STL-1B Vintage Broadcaster Question

[Butch Snyder]

So, the original 1950 Fender Broadcaster came with a bridge pickup with 43 gauge wire and alnico 3 magnets. Seymour Duncan's Vintage Broadcaster bridge pickup (STL-1B) uses Alnico 5 magnets that are slightly larger in diameter. I don't know what gauge wiring was used. I'm going to assume 42 gauge. Someone can correct me if needed.

I'm wondering why, if Seymour says it's a "faithful tribute", and I ask this respectfully, why not use Alnico 3 magnets and 43 gauge wire like the originals?

[beaubrummels]

"Faithful tribute" is not the same as "faithful reproduction." Duncan tends to side with getting the right sound over just using particular materials. For an A3 broadcaster to sound right, you would also need a solid 1-piece ash tele body with nitro lacquer finish (when have you seen one of those for sale?). Most teles these days are multi-piece alder with polyurethane finish. Even ash teles are multi-piece. To get the correct broadcaster sound out of a recent model tele that the pickups are likely to be installed in, it seems this is the recipe Duncan came up with to get there. I've had the broadcaster in my ash Highway 1 tele for almost 20 years and it's never leaving. It sounds like several decades worth of million-dollar records, starting from the 50's. I've been able to do everything from chicken pickin to surf to pop to funk to rock to hard rock to blues with it.

[Butch Snyder]

Duncan tends to side with getting the right sound over just using particular materials.

That's certainly plausible.

For an A3 broadcaster to sound right, you would also need a solid 1-piece ash tele body with nitro lacquer finish (when have you seen one of those for sale?)

2020, when Fender released the 70th Anniversary Broadcaster. I have one; but mine is actually a two-piece ash body. The neck is one-piece maple.

[ToneFiddler]

wow, as if you could hear the difference between a one piece and a two piece body. every guitar is different for sure. also applies for those early guitars.
duncan doesn’t ‘t know what guitar this goes in so this argument is false.

i guess the duncan broadcaster is 43 AWG because of the skinny coil. the JD has a smaller resistance and a bulkier coil with AWG 42.
i have resent production models, they might have changed the specs over the years…