Coil wire,which to use?

[nextlespaulhero]

Hey guys am her today to ask if it's a good idea mix coil wire types or kinds for example,am thinking in make a P,A,F with mixed coil wire bobbins, one bobbin with 42-gauge heavy build(62 Strat coil wire) wire and the other bobbin with 42-gauge plain enamel(55/60s Les Paul coil wire) wire and then add coil SPLITTING for the coil with 42 heavy build wire and get strat funky sound is that possible ?

 

[captcoolaid]

Are you talking .about Heavy form var ala the 62 strat? I would not mix the 2. Completely 2 different beasts tonally. And you will find That the dc of each per wind will be very different as well.

 

[bill m]

Hey guys am her today to ask if it's a good idea mix coil wire types or kinds for example,am thinking in make a P,A,F with mixed coil wire bobbins, one bobbin with 42-gauge heavy build(62 Strat coil wire) wire and the other bobbin with 42-gauge plain enamel(55/60s Les Paul coil wire) wire and then add coil SPLITTING for the coil with 42 heavy build wire and get strat funky sound is that possible ?

If you are using standard 1 15/16" paf bobbins you won't fit enough heavy build 42 awg wire to sound like a strat. I wouldn't imagine you would get more than about 4 k ohms or so of wire on that bobbin. I don't think it would sound very stratty and would be very weak and bright.

 

[captcoolaid]

Yes while the dc will be low the output may be more than you would think. We just did a Tele pup with some heavy old Belden wire it reads 1k at about 5000 turns and sounds like a 9k tele pup. try it.

 

[bill m]

What gauge wire did you use? Sounds like about 35awg or 38.

With regards to the OP he is using 42 heavy build, and it won't sound very powerful split on a PAF spec bobbin.

 

[nextlespaulhero]

What gauge wire did you use? Sounds like about 35awg or 38.

With regards to the OP he is using 42 heavy build, and it won't sound very powerful split on a PAF spec bobbin.

But it can works right?

 

[bill m]

Sure it will work. You can also try 43 awg on that coil and should be able to easily fit 7k ohms worth of wire.

 

[captcoolaid]

Yeah 43 if you want to get a strat sound out of splitting it This is about the most you can get, Although I did do one just a little hotter.

With the 42 heavy you will most likely only get around 4.6-5.5k on a single bobbin.

Oh and Bill it was 40 gauge old stock green Belden and it actually sounded good. We were very surprised at the actual output vs DC rating on it.

 

[bill m]

Yea, I mentioned the 43 awg because the OP seemed to want to get a stratty sound out of the split coil.

I would have expected to get more of around 1.75k to 2k ohms out of 40awg wire, thats unless it was a heavy or even triple build wire.

 

[captcoolaid]

Edit wrong thread. Yeah it was real heavy. But The tone was rather nice. Spanky but smooth. Very surprised.

 

[nextlespaulhero]

Could you guys recommend me a wire that is funky,my idea is a coil with 42 plain enamel ,and the other bobbin with the one that you guys recommend me,sorry if am stubborn

 

[SKATTERBRANE]

Could you guys recommend me a wire that is funky,my idea is a coil with 42 plain enamel ,and the other bobbin with the one that you guys recommend me,sorry if am stubborn

It is my position that you have to do a lot of trial and error and get experience. Take some of your good ideas and try them.

 

[captcoolaid]

It has been my experience that mixing wire types on an individual pickup is not a good idea. For some reason what sounds good in a Strat does not always and in most cases sound good in a Les Paul. IE: plain enamel and poly or Form Var. If you are trying to get that Strat, Tele kinda vibe wind the screw side hotter this will give you more of a Quack. If you want a more rounded then wind the slug side hotter. usually x amount of turns. I can not give you specifics as this will give up a secret to my winds. Trial and error will usually only take a few tries if you are looking for a specific tone. If the pup is to Quaky turn it around and see if you like that tone better, this will tell you which side you want hotter.