ASK-HBS: Building a Rare Earth Blend Fishman Replica Pickup

Question

Hi there,

I would like to build something similar to my Rare Earth Blend Fishman replica magnetic pickup, but with a very compact size so I can install it right in the fretboard/neck body.

I was recommended to use a very interesting version of a Humbucker-type pickup made out of a single coil. The idea is all about dividing the pickup between the lower and higher 3 strings, and actually we can describe this as a combination of 2 pickups with opposite windings wired in series… in other words, these are two individual pickups, one under the lower 3 strings and another under the higher 3 strings, BUT they have an opposite windings, so in series wiring offer us a doubled coil resistance and a total hum-cancellation.

Using a tiny 2-4mm neodymium disc I would be able to build such a small and low profile pickup with some 1-5k Ohm coil resistance and building it into the neck’s body where it ends at the sound-hole.

Have you ever experimented with such a method of wiring/dividing magnetic pickups? Do you think this might work fine without any issues related to phase-cancellation between the 2 parts (3+3 strings) of a single pickup?

Thank you for your time and consideration!

With kindest regards,

Misha

Answer

Hello Misha, and thank you for the great question. I think it is great that you are thinking about winding these coils yourself. I have made a few, and they are easily my favorite just because of the work that went into them, and no matter how yours turn out, I think you will be glad you did it. I did not try to wind my coils in the way you are talking about, nor have I ever played a pickup like that. However, I have heard a lot of people talk about it, and even a more complex version where you put a coil under every string. As long as you have an even number of coils with alternate windings, you technically will have a working “humbucker.” However, there’s more to consider.

The first thing to consider is that hand-winding results in a much larger coil than machine winding. If you buy or build a winder, you might get better results, but you can expect your coil to be larger than a store-bought brand with similar resistance, and it might be difficult to get them to sit side by side.

The length of a standard coil also helps keep the size down, and a coil only three strings wide will likely have a much rounder coil which might also make it hard to place next to the other in the allotted space.

You might not realize it, but you can see this type of pickup in action quite easily, as it’s a popular design for bass guitar pickups. If you check out almost any Fender Precision-style bass, they use them. If you take a close look at those pickups, you will notice there is quite a bit of overlap between the coil that covers the bottom two strings and the one that covers the top two, reinforcing my opinion that they won’t sit next to each other.

Fender Precision

If you take a look at the Fender Precision Deluxe, you will notice it has the split type we are discussing and a longer straight humbucker. This pickup stacks the two coils on top of each other, and each covers all four strings. You can also hand wind or purchase this type for guitar.

Fender Precision Deluxe

While your idea should work and is interesting, in my opinion, the Rare Earth Blend Fishman that you mentioned you are trying to emulate uses a stacked coil design (one coil wound one way on the bottom and one wound the other way on top), so I would start there. The longer coil will make the windings much easier to manage. Since the Fishman also has a built-in condenser mic, you might also consider adding a piezo mic under the saddle or hidden discreetly on the body for a more acoustic tone.

Anyway, the only problem I see with your idea is that the resulting coils might be much bulkier than you anticipate.

Thank you again for your question. I hope this answer helps. Let us know how it turns out, and thanks for reading Humbucker Soup.

Follow-Up Question

Thank you for your feedback!

Do I understand your message correctly that this coil wiring method might work within a single pickup? Actually, I do use only internal condenser mics in my acoustics, but with this magnetic model, I would like to fix the defect of the neck/fretboard which has an empty ~3cm space at the end… attached is my replica of the Fishman pickup, it’s a miniature mic on the gooseneck is Oktava MKE-5B lavalier microphone which works just great in the body of the instrument.

With kindest regards,

Misha

Answer

Hello, again, Misha. I would have loved to have that Fishman back in my open mic days, and I bet it’s great to record with. I used to use a Dean Markley pickup as electric acoustics were just starting to get more popular. Now, I have an Ovation that I love, which I believe has a Fishman, but you can’t see it. The guitar sounds absolutely amazing plugged in, but it does accent finger noise quite a bit.

Anyway, yes, you can put both coils in a single pickup because the wire has shielding (usually a lacquer), so you can place one coil right above the other.

Let me know if I didn’t answer your question, and have a great day!