Re: Tribute to MJ wound Alnico II pro from 1986 to 2013
DIY Vintage Seymour Duncan APH1BJ restoration project (Pic heavy)
Got this APH1BJ a couple of days ago.
Nice 1986 Zebra APH1BJ with some wear and tear.
But it also had lots of updated parts and service potential.
There is only 2 ways to restore a vintage Maricela JuareZ (MJ)
1: Send it to her.
2: Respect the vintage value but do it yourself with all original parts and make it a fun DIY for the Duncan forum.
And I had all 1986 all original parts in stock so this would make a great DIY project for the archives.
1: Check your supply of vintage parts.
Old APH1BJ base plate from a “short leg” converted pickup.
Clean it up due to the wax will mess up the soldering later on.
All original 1986 braided wire. Yellow and black cloth.
I’m serious... 1986 all original tape
80s A2 magnet
80s Bobbin screws
2: This particular had a 4 conductor conversion and hockey tape.
I added all original 1986 braided wire. Yellow and black cloth.
Scrape the surface on the braided wire with a razor blade.
Old dirt and oxide is not good for soldering later on. Just clean a one inch for ground connection and soldering spot.
Use a clamp or similar for easy hustle free soldering.
3: Check magnet strength and polarity if you have the equipment. Mine was very weak so I charged it with 2 BIG neo´s.
4: Add original re-charged 1986 Alnico 2 magnet, maple spacer and other parts to the base plate.
5: Add the bobbins. Cut and solder the wires. Keep it clean! Cover the solder joints with proper tape to avoid shorting issues later on.
The vintage Duncan’s seem to use bobbin tape for covering the solder joints.
Now is a good time to check ground connection and total resistance.
This read a healthy 7,95K (modern reads 8,1k at same temperature)
6: This particular unit had some updates with Asian aftermarket round dome screws and not the typical “flatter” Duncan 80s screw.
Added some 80s all original Duncan’s!
7: Re-pot the pickup!
I use some home brew secret wax mix for this to get it as close as possible to the 80s .
Old aftermarket parts removed and the good old Duncan parts mounted.
8: Ok, time to clean it up!
I use home brew gunk for butyrate and other similar materials.
Double check polarity, mount it in one of your guitars.
9: Tell your wife to go shopping or similar.
Bring out the old Marshall 100w amp with all knobs on 7 and connect to 4x12 with celestions, stand in front of the mirror with mouth semi open pseudo orgasm style and legs 45* apart.
Strike favourite chord as hard as you can...done!
