4.52am Issue: 032 4th May 2017 The Little Triggers Issue
This week's Free 4.52am Features Little Triggers, The Cocteau Twins, Japan, Future Islands, Amber Arcades, Fletcher Pickups and Mad Dog Marshall Guitars
This week's Free 4.52am Features Little Triggers, The Cocteau Twins, Japan, Future Islands, Amber Arcades, Fletcher Pickups and Mad Dog Marshall Guitars
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FLETCHER PICKUPS<br />
How to Build a P90 Pickup<br />
Ben, from Fletcher Pickups, very kindly<br />
helped us with our Paisley Telemaster Jr<br />
build, by winding us a P90 Soapbar<br />
pickup that would work perfectly with our<br />
aim of using heavy strings (13-65) and<br />
tuning to A-A for a faux baritone kind of<br />
trip.<br />
Being somewhat opportunistic, we asked<br />
Ben to talk us through the process and<br />
take a few happy snaps along the way<br />
(I’ve always loved the old photostories<br />
from Jackie magazine (ahem)) and<br />
thankfully he did just that. We started by<br />
asking what a P90 was,<br />
“A p90 is a meaty, warm, (add<br />
adjectives here....) single coil. Its<br />
power is due to having approximately<br />
double the amount of wire wrapped<br />
around it than a strat single - increasing<br />
output and two bar magnets -<br />
increasing inductance. In essence it is<br />
a very simple device.”<br />
Step 1: Assemble Your Parts<br />
You can't make a pickup without pickup<br />
wire - in this case, AWG42 or 0.063mm<br />
insulated wire. <strong>The</strong> keeper bar<br />
(bottom) is drilled steel with tight pole<br />
hole diameter to ensure most efficient<br />
transfer of magnetic flux from the<br />
magnets to the screw poles. <strong>The</strong><br />
backplate is Nickel Silver and is<br />
completely non-magnetic. This metal is<br />
also used for good HB pickup covers<br />
due to its 'see through' magnetic<br />
properties - i.e. it doesn't colour the<br />
tone. Note also the brass fixing screws,<br />
again non-magnetic and used for least<br />
interference.