Raised G poles / wound G strings?

[Rigby]

Years ago I bought a crappy homemade guitar with some old, dead Burns Tri-Sonic pickups on. I threw out the guitar and stuck the pickups into a drawer and forgot about them. Then a couple of weeks ago I discovered that there's a guy here in the UK who rewinds old Burns pickups at reasonable prices. So they are currently on their way back from him to me in working order, and I'm keen to try them out.

The slight fly in the ointment is that as they date, apparently, from circa 1961, they have raised G poles suitable for a wound G string. The guy who rewound them says it's not a good idea to try and lower the G poles as this will almost certainly shatter the magnets.

So the question is -- If I do fit these pickups to one of my guitars, will I need to seek out a set of strings with a wound G? Anyone had similar experiences? Are these things actually any good?

[sjtalon]

I wouldn't worrie about that minor detail and I use wound G stings anyway.


A wound G stings goes......."RING"


and the plain ones go.........thud


Any way you go there are a lot ( Tele's and Strats) of vintage made pickups now a days that folks use with whatever strings. With height adjustment you can compensate for most anything..................unless the person is a purest.........or in other words, stubborn, obstinate, or unlikely to accept something different for no reason at all.

[chezdeluxe]

I tried an unwound G on my Burns with Rezomatik pickups and the G string does jump out at you.

I use wound G on all my guitars apart from a Tele with Keystones and must say the wound G sounds better IMHO.A wound G with the non staggered polepieces on the Keystones has noticeably lower output.

I am currently using Gibson L5 pure nickel 10-46 with wound G and think I have finally found my Holy Grail.

[Roli]

Most of the regular strat pickups are staggered for a wound G, yet most people play unwound Gs. So it won't be a major problem.

[Rigby]

Thanks for the advice. Got the pickups back at the weekend. The guy did a beautiful job and in quick time too. Just waiting to get a new scratchplate for my dodgy Strat copy and I'll fit them. (Obviously I would put them on a Tele, but there are three pickups, and they aren't a standard size, so it would be difficult to get one in the ashtray...) Might look out for a set of strings with a wound G anyway, I've never tried it on electric guitar.

[jefrs]

One trick is to use a thinner plain G than normal i.e. a 15 instead of the 16 in a 10-46 set.

[sjtalon]

I use .018 wound. D'Addario has them separate ( pack of 5)
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ing?sku=120801

or they make a set with a wound G:

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.c...ngs?sku=100190

[Scott S]

I love wound thirds myself -- plain G's always seem to overpower the neighboring strings, and never seem to play in tune with the rest. Plus, the sound is a little more solid, but chimey with wound thirds.

I don't know what bobbin was used for the Tri-Sonics, but it seems like there should be some way to lower the magnet. My first guitar had the magnet under the polepieces, so I actually ground down the G poles. The pickups still worked fine and the balance was better, but when I went back to wound thirds, I deeply regretted that move. Maybe I'll get some new pickups...

- Scott

[Rigby]

The magnets have corroded themselves onto the bobbins and are very fragile, apparently. I'm happy enough that they can be made to work at all, given that the pickups date from 1961 or thereabouts!

[jefrs]

Used to be able to get wound down to 16-thou, still got one somewhere, Picato Ultra-light set (9-thou top?). You can still get sets with a wound 3rd but they tend to be heavy. An 18W should suit a 10-46 set, also look at ball-end banjo strings.

[Rigby]

I like heavy strings anyway, so that's not a problem. Might even go the whole hog and get some flatwounds. That is assuming I ever manage to cut this blasted scratchplate to the right shape...

[chezdeluxe]

Originally Posted by Scott S

I love wound thirds myself -- plain G's always seem to overpower the neighboring strings, and never seem to play in tune with the rest. Plus, the sound is a little more solid, but chimey with wound thirds.

I don't know what bobbin was used for the Tri-Sonics, but it seems like there should be some way to lower the magnet. My first guitar had the magnet under the polepieces, so I actually ground down the G poles. The pickups still worked fine and the balance was better, but when I went back to wound thirds, I deeply regretted that move. Maybe I'll get some new pickups...

- Scott

CAUTION WILL ROBINSON!!!
Grinding alnico pickup slugs can cause them to overheat and lose magnetism.( Source Bill Lawrence)
You may get away with grinding a polepiece on pickups with steel polepieces and a ceramic bar magnet on the base of the pickup.

[Rigby]

Finally managed to get the things on a guitar yesterday. Interesting sound -- much darker than any other single-coils I've heard, maybe the magnets have weakened after such a long time. I'll definitely need a wound G. Looks like I'll also need to lower the low E, as for some reason its pole is a good eighth of an inch down compared to the A, and the output is low on that string.

[jujucaster]

sjtalon, thanks for the links!
I just found out that the solution to my problems might be using wound G strings. These 017's which is the same gauge as the G in the strings I use(heavy bottoms).
My G string doesn't resonate and even if my G string and it's harmonic at the 12th fret are perfectly in tune, my A at the 2nd fret is way too hight.
I hope this will solve my problem, along with some chapstick or oil on the nut.
Gracias!