Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

F

flieger67

New member
I've been very intrigued by the '78 and have listened to a good number of clips. I'm looking at getting a guitar built in the near future and the '78 is a leading candidate in my mind for the bridge position. I'm a fan of A2 pickups that aren't too hot but have more drive than traditional PAF's.

From what I've been learning about pickups, it sounds like handwound pickups that get some scatter in the uniformity of their windings sometimes have a complexity or character in their tone that often isn't present in machine-wound pickups. So I was wondering if the '78 is handwound in the custom shop or is it a machine-wound pickup?

Thank you for the assistance.
 
Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

Only available Handwound from the custom shop. There has never been a production run of this pickup, nor has it ever been used in a large scale by any manufacturer (only one I can think of off the top of my head is Charvel for the 25th anniversary Stratheads a few years back)
 
Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

Thanks, Zeberus. I had forgotten that about the '78 being used on the 25th Anniversary's.

I appreciate the info.
 
Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

I really should let Evan handle this but if I recall right, he said NOTHING Duncan makes is scatterwound. (Evan, naturally please correct me if I'm wrong.)
 
Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

I had one, I'm pretty sure it was NOT scatterwound.

I believe, a handful of the smaller boutique winders are the only ones doing scatterwound.
 
Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

claytonc said:
'78s are machine wound on the Leesona.
Click to expand...

This is a VERY misleading statement the way it´s written.

If using a Leesona makes a pickup machine wound, then the only people making handwound pickups are those affixing the pickup to a table and walking around the table with the wire. ;)

I would definitely like to hear Evan´s input on this in addition to the scatterwound issue...
 
Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

The '78s are not hand wound. No Seymour Duncan humbuckers are.

The only pickups Seymour hand winds are single coils.

Vintage Gibson pickups weren't hand wound. That's why Seymour doesn't hand wind humbuckers. Vintage Fender pickups were. That's why Seymour hand winds custom shop single coils.
 
Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

^^ Ah, ok, that´s not quite the answer that anybody expected I think... :omg:

For me "handwound" denotes a machine spinning the bobbin and an operator actively guiding the wire so as to achieve the desired coil shape and wind pattern. I always thought this was the way it was done in the CS....

Seriously, I´m trying to clarify this for myself as I´ve never been to the factory. The way Evan said it makes it sound (to me) like both production humbuckers and cs humbuckers are simply programmed, loaded, and then pulled out 5 minutes later for the rest of the process... but I can´t wrap my head around how that´s supposed to work on a custom one off pickup ...
 
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Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

Evan Skopp said:
The '78s are not hand wound. No Seymour Duncan humbuckers are.

The only pickups Seymour hand winds are single coils.

Vintage Gibson pickups weren't hand wound. That's why Seymour doesn't hand wind humbuckers. Vintage Fender pickups were. That's why Seymour hand winds custom shop single coils.
Click to expand...


Wow. Thank you so much for clarifying that. That is the singular best piece of information i have ever read here, and i've read some great stuff.

It also gives me hope now for a set of Antiquity Surfers for a Strat, if i can get flat poles.

Thanks again Evan. :1:
 
Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

Evan says no. But it's my favorite Duncan bridge bucker.
 
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Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

Don't buy into the internet hype or BS...

A complex tone doesn't come from handwinding or scatter winding or whatever...

Like Evan said vintage Gibson pickups are all wound using a Leesona machine...the same Leesona machine that nowsits at SD and is used to wind several Duncan humbckers!

Those old PAF's are plenty complex enough to command 5k a pair and IMHO plenty of Duncan pickups offer the same 3D depth, woody character and complex tones of those same PAF's at a much smaller price tag.

If you wat a slightly hotter Alnico II PAF tone then the 78 will get you there...and still would even if it was wound on a toilet paper roll!
 
Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

Evan Skopp said:
The '78s are not hand wound. No Seymour Duncan humbuckers are.

The only pickups Seymour hand winds are single coils.

Vintage Gibson pickups weren't hand wound. That's why Seymour doesn't hand wind humbuckers. Vintage Fender pickups were. That's why Seymour hand winds custom shop single coils.
Click to expand...

Evan - thank you very much for the clear and informative answer. I really appreciate it.
 
Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

the guy who invented fire said:
Don't buy into the internet hype or BS...

A complex tone doesn't come from handwinding or scatter winding or whatever...

Like Evan said vintage Gibson pickups are all wound using a Leesona machine...the same Leesona machine that nowsits at SD and is used to wind several Duncan humbckers!
Click to expand...

On the other hand, Tom Holmes had this to say in the January 2009 Tonequest: "I have a really nice $6000 automatic winding machine that has never been used. I think most of us started out scatterwinding because we couldn't afford an automatic machine. I built the winding machine I use for less than $1000 and it's all I have ever used. Most of my customers want their pickups scatterwound. I'm not sure it makes a big difference in tone but it likely does something."

Tom's humbucking pickups are now selling for $800 or more per set and I've never heard a better humbucker - not even the vintage 50's paf's I've owned. And I feel the same way about the Duncan '78. I've never heard a better humbucker than the '78.
 
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Re: Is the '78 a handwound/scatterwound pickup?

I've said it before, and I say it again: winding p'ups is just like making music.

There are twelve notes. It's HOW you put those notes together that makes or breaks the outcome. So, it's the PLAYER (WINDER) the one who makes the difference.

Long live Maricela Juarez, aka "The MOJO Queen"!!! :notworthy :notworthy :notworthy
 
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