Emmons pickups - tone - old and new

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 21 Feb 2003 2:21 pm

I've got a few Emmons single coil pickups. E9. One on my '69 is wound to 14.5kOhm DC. My '66 is wound to 15.5kOhm DC, and an Emmons rewind done in '89 reads 20.4kOhm DC. The 20.4k pickup seems meatier and less sparly on top. The 14.5k is the most sparkly of all, very sweet sounding. I hear that 20k or so is quite common on a single coil emmons pickup.

Why do newer pickups get wound hotter?

What's happened in the industry to make the hotter wound pickups more desirable/popular than the older bright sounding pickups?

Brad Sarno
St. Louis, MO

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 21 Feb 2003 4:29 pm

After the majority of big-name players (session players, as well) went to to humbuckers, they seemed to sway most of the run-of-the-mill players in the same direction. Big name players have a tremendous effect on the market. If Buddy was merely seen with a Model-T spark coil on his steel, tomorrow J.C. Whitney would be sold out!

Yes, the single-coil pickups were much lower (DC resistance) many years ago. You have to remember that back in the '60s, nobody but Curly was worried about lows...they just wanted them highs to "sing". During the '70s, though, things started to change ( probably because the music became more "pop-ish"). No longer was that old high-treble sound selling, so single coils gradually increased from 11.5-14K up to about 15-20k. That made them "hotter", as well. So then, they picked up more noise as well...enter the Humbuckers! When the variety of humbuckers available increased, most players just "forgot" about single-coils, along that clarity, and "bite", that they offered.

Nowadays, usually the only steels with low-res single coils are the real old ones. That "sound" hasn't come back yet, but it is getting more popular with a select group of players.

At least...that's my theory.

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 21 Feb 2003 4:48 pm

Donny nailed it.

carl

Keith Hilton · Post by **Keith Hilton** » 21 Feb 2003 5:41 pm

Hello Brad! A hotter fire burns bigger and a hotter race car goes faster. The same is not always true of a guitar pickup relating to sound quality. Hotter is not always the better sound in a pickup. DC resistance is only one thing, of many things, relating to pickup and sound quality. A pickup is actually a inductor. There is a thing called inductive reactance, which relates directly with frequency. The size and type of winding wire, the size type and placement of magnets, or magnet, all contribute to the tone quality. Then there are the losses of eddie currents, hystersis,and copper loss. The acid test is your ears Brad. Trust your ears!

jerry wallace · Post by **jerry wallace** » 22 Feb 2003 1:01 am

Brad , I think Donny did an excellent job of explaining why the changes in DC over the years.

Keith also has a very good point..There are numerous factors other than DC, involved in a pickup.. The bottom line is how does it sound to MY EAR..

------------------
Jerry Wallace-2001 Zum: D-10,8+6, "98 Zum: D-10,8+8,Nashville 1000,Session 500 ,Session 400 head only amp,Tubefex,ProfexII, Artesia, New Mexico
http://communities.msn.com/jerrywallacemusic http://www.jerrywallacemusic.com

Jay Ganz · Post by **Jay Ganz** » 22 Feb 2003 7:55 am

In addition to the difference in pickups,
the changes in construction on the later
Push/Pull's also affected their tone to
some degree.

------------------
Steelin' Video * * * <a href=http://home.hvc.rr.com/jsganz/Steelin'.mpg> Bolt-on</a>* * * *<a href=http://home.hvc.rr.com/jsganz/Wraparound.mpg> Wraparound</a>* * * *<a href=http://home.hvc.rr.com/jsganz/Fingertip ... ngertip</a>

Pete Burak · Post by **Pete Burak** » 22 Feb 2003 11:18 am

Why don't they make pickups that sound like the ol' Bigsby's?!

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 22 Feb 2003 12:03 pm

Pete
As has been explained many, many times elsewhere on the Forum, the sound of an instrument is the product of ALL elements of its construction, not simply the pickups.

The Bigsby guitar had a changer with large cast aluminum single fingers, sitting in a metal housing bolted directly to the metal (in most cases) neck, mounted on maple tops that were individually bolted to the endplates but not connected to each other. These fingers were operated by cable pulls, not rods. Additionally, the pickups were wound to approximately 3.5k ohms to 4.5k ohms (if I'm not mistaken... I'd have to check on my guitars). These pickups, IMHO, distorted quite easily, they were easy to overdrive. The pickups were also INCREDIBLY microphonic, and you could hear your feet touching the pedals, the cables moving, and the changer fingers squeeking on the axles. These pickups have a beautiful warmth to them, but are not the clear, bell-like sound that almost all modern steel players seek.

Anyway, that's this particular layman's answer/opinion.

------------------
Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

[This message was edited by Herb Steiner on 22 February 2003 at 12:05 PM.]

Jim Bob Sedgwick · Post by **Jim Bob Sedgwick** » 23 Feb 2003 8:48 pm

Right on Herb. My 1st guitar, a Sho-Bud Pro-I, Single neck had pickups that were wound to 10,000 ohms DC. Sounded great. Microphonic as all get out. You really had to work on technique so the "pedal clatter" wouldn't override the sound of the guitar. Also the pick up could be used as a microphone of sorts if you pushed the volume control wide open, and talked right into the pickup. AHHH the good old days

Jody Carver · Post by **Jody Carver** » 25 Feb 2003 6:21 pm

.[This message was edited by Jody Carver on 28 February 2003 at 03:41 PM.]

Buck Dilly · Post by **Buck Dilly** » 28 Feb 2003 10:06 am

Anyone have a 15.5 they would like to sell?
buckdilly@yahoo.com