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Hey all,
I recently took one of my Les Paul guitars into Sweetwater to have my "sales engineer" critique it. He liked the workmanship, but said that the pickups did not measure up to Gibsons. I have Stew-Macs Golden Age humbuckers in it now (Alnico 2 magnets). He said they didn't have high enough output, and not enough "headroom".

Now, I've started winding my own pickups. Today I tried out my first humbucker in a guitar, and it sounded just like Stew-Macs. I used Stew_Mac parts, and wound them to Gibson specs. (about 8k ohms for the neck).

So, my question is: how do you increase output? I'm thinking the answer may be stronger magnets. If so, who sells the best magnets?
What other factors affect output?

Thanks,

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Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com

Higher output needs more winds.Higher DCR ,within reason, means more output. Alnico8 or ceramic magnets will also increase output, but may add to the harshness.

I think the lower impedance pickups sound better - especially the highs.
Just my opinion. Go with what sounds best to you, not some salesman.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

+1

That guy sounds like an idiot. Brighter pickups are more versatile. You can always send your guitar through a bunch of crappy gain, or just turn up the volume. What you can't do is make an over wound pickup sound nice and bright.

Edit: More winds will increase your volume, and like said, decrease the brightness. If you like the sound, don't change anything, just turn up the volume on your amp.

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http://www.tinyhouseandland.com

I agree with the low output giving more brightness. I like to get as much brightness from the wood and pickups as possible because there is always the tone knob.

Truthfully, a lot of "real golden age" pickups i.e. paf humbuckers sound anemic. It seems most players like a pickup with a little more output. Just raising the height closer to the strings can make a tremendous difference.

Good luck with your winding, I am sure you will learn a lot. There are a lot of suppliers other than Stew Mac. I believe the Golden Age Humbuckers from SM are machine wound in asia. You can get parts from MOJO and other places for good prices.

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Ken