really old duncan distortion

G

guppypuppy2

New member
I bought this waaaaaayyyy back in the 80's I beleave??? This dam thing always sounded soooo *****en.. I was told it was a pickup that was wound by some chick that worked there way back and people actualy seek out the ones she wound. I guess she have the magic touch??? could this old wifes tale actualy be true????
 

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Re: really old duncan distortion

The "chick" would be Maricella Juarez, pickup winder extraordinaire. I believe she's currently head of the custom shop. She's a legend in rock-'n-roll circles.
 
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Re: really old duncan distortion

HI. So it is true!!!.. I had a feeling it was. So that's what the J stands for?? And what was it she would do that's sooo good and different? And they cant reproduce how she did it now? or do you mean she can still do it on custom order pickups? ron
 
Re: really old duncan distortion

Someone else can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe she still does the DD's. And I believe they still sound the same as your "old" one. You may have a touch of magnet aging, but all else should be the same.
 
Re: really old duncan distortion

Hi artietoo. So if that is true. do you mean she still winds them by hand? If that's how they did it back then. And if so. what is it she does to make them so special and sought after? ron
P.s. Is magunet aging a good thing or bad?
 
Re: really old duncan distortion

"By hand" is a somewhat ambiguous term. The bobbin is spun by a winding machine. But I believe that MJ still guides the wire by hand. Again, someone closer to the inner circle needs to confirm this. Magnet aging is good if you want it.

I wire 'em up. I don't wind 'em. :D

Wait for someone else to chime in. ;)
 
Re: really old duncan distortion

Nice. I have a bunch of Distortions and JB's from the 80's wound by MJ. I have white, black, double cream, reverse zebra, etc.
 
Re: really old duncan distortion

Hey Guppy, as Artie said that was wound by MJ head of the CS. She will still wind any pickup that you want, but for her to do it you pay the CS price of $160 for a humbucker. MJ does little things that set her CS models apart such as different color (not material, color only) wire, calibrated magnets, and on the old ones she would thread the baseplate. Also all CS buckers (from my understanding) are wound on the winding Leesona which primarily is used for PAF style pickups because it was Gibson's original PAF winder.

Luke
 
Re: really old duncan distortion

So many untruths are being put forward here....

The Customshop does use the Leesona, but not for EVERYTHING because that would be extremely, extremely unpractical.

For MJ to wind the DD, she'd be doing nothing but the DD or at least, she'd have to spend a lot of her time doing nothing but the DD. If you look through the factory tours of Seymour Duncan's, you'll see a lot of automated winders. Those are being used for winding pickups. An engineer puts on the bobbin, lays down the first thread or so and the machine will do it all, just to keep the pickups as close to each other spec wise as possible.

The Leesona is indeed the original winding machine for the PAF in 'the old days' (and others, too) and now SD uses that machine for their PAF style pickups (59, seth, pearly, alnico2pro and I also believe the Jazz is wound on that machine as well).

The wires aren't guided by hand on the regular production line pickups. At least, not anymore.
 
Re: really old duncan distortion

So many untruths are being put forward here....

The Customshop does use the Leesona, but not for EVERYTHING because that would be extremely, extremely unpractical.

For MJ to wind the DD, she'd be doing nothing but the DD or at least, she'd have to spend a lot of her time doing nothing but the DD. If you look through the factory tours of Seymour Duncan's, you'll see a lot of automated winders. Those are being used for winding pickups. An engineer puts on the bobbin, lays down the first thread or so and the machine will do it all, just to keep the pickups as close to each other spec wise as possible.

The Leesona is indeed the original winding machine for the PAF in 'the old days' (and others, too) and now SD uses that machine for their PAF style pickups (59, seth, pearly, alnico2pro and I also believe the Jazz is wound on that machine as well).

The wires aren't guided by hand on the regular production line pickups. At least, not anymore.
 
Re: really old duncan distortion

hi there. wow. Great info. I was actualy thinking next time I was in santa Barbara stopping in other there. Well. Im not sure if they are ok with that or like it. Im only 2 hours away. Maybe someone here knows how they feel about that. and about my pick up. Well. I guess I will hold on to it. Maybe it will be worth something to someone one day. :) I was going to put a gold cover on it but I think i'll leave it as is. ron
 
Re: really old duncan distortion

guppypuppy2 said:
hi there. wow. Great info. I was actualy thinking next time I was in santa Barbara stopping in other there. Well. Im not sure if they are ok with that or like it. Im only 2 hours away. Maybe someone here knows how they feel about that. and about my pick up. Well. I guess I will hold on to it. Maybe it will be worth something to someone one day. :) I was going to put a gold cover on it but I think i'll leave it as is. ron
Click to expand...

If you call ahead you might get a tour, saying they aren't super busy of course.

Dbl Black Bobbins?
 
Re: really old duncan distortion

I was talking about current production DD's. I read a statement somewhere here claiming she makes all of them which isn't true... (post #4 by Artie :) )

just call them. Just ask for a tour. Those guys there are super-cool. just ask. Who knows. you might get lucky.
 
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