bass project underway

[Geo]

Hey y'all.
At some point, I decided to build a bass and then a bass amp. I'm not much of a bass player (right now!), and I want to practice my guitar-building skills. To keep things ultra-low-budget, I'm winding a pickup myself since I already have the wire and magnets from cheapo single-coil PU's. The pickup will be basically P90 style, but with 8 polepieces.
The winder: as you can see, I've clamped the hand drill to the table. The roll of wire is supported on a broken drumstick from my brother. Tube shields sitting on long woodscrews guide the wire as it goes onto the bobbin. I set the drill trigger as low as possible so that it won't go much faster than 3 or 4 rotations per second. I try to keep it at about 60-120 RPM. The wire broke early on, so I soldered it back together and prayed that it was conductive. I won't find out if it worked until the bobbin is wound all the way...  :-/
Anyway, there's some ramblings for ya. Here's some pictures.

http://s134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/

[bigsbybender]

There's some ingenuity!

[adamasd]

The wire broke early on, so I soldered it back together and prayed that it was conductive.

When you solder a splice in a winding it is good to put a piece of tape down on the coil where the splice sits and a piece on top as well. The edges of the solder can be sharp and scrape at the winding especially if the is not nice and tight (loose coils sound better anyways). You should be fine though, especaily since it happened early in the coil on a coil with alot of windings. A short here is not going to have to much of an effect on the end sound.

Most of my pickups have a splice or two in them. I only worry about being splice free when I wind for other people, and I only worry about that because I become an anal professional when working on other peoples stuff.

It looks good so far, lets see some pictures of the pickup itself.

What is the bobbin made out of? Wood? I make wood bobbins occasionally, but be aware that wood moves, and coils do not like moving. If you wind the pickup in a humid time like it is now in most parts you will have a more microphonic pickup come dry weather when the wood shrinks and the coil does not sit so tightly. I have only had one wood bobbin fail, I wound it in the middle of winter when everything is really dry, when the wood swelled come summer humidity it must have stretched the coil enough to snap some of the winding. It was a nice pickup too, a sort of P-90ish thing in a humbucker size.
RIP


Microphonics in pickups are also good, to an extent. If it is a wood bobbin and you want to pot it just dunk it in a bath of shellac for awhile, works great and you get a nice finish on the wood at the same time!.

If you start winding pickups more often you can make a really nice winder out of an old sewing machine. Find one that is dead because of mechanical problems, all you need is the motor to work. Grab the motor, the control board for the motor and the foot pedal, get a nice variable speed winding with foot control! you may want to gear the speed up abit, but unless you are going into production most sewing machine motors should spin more then fast enough.

I still owe you some tubes don't I. I have been quite the slacker lately!. I will get going on that for you!

[sjfirebird]

Geo,
I have hand wound about 6 strat pickups that way. they come out great. I want to do a few P-90's for my Les Paul Deluxe.
To help keep the wire from breaking, turn the spool 90 deg. so the wire pulls off the end of the spool instead of spinning the spool. After I got the feel for the wire tension with my fingers I havn't had a problem with the wire breaking.
I don't use a wire guide and instead guide the wire back and forth with my fingers and control the drill speed with my other hand. It takes about 30 min. to wind a strat pickup. The only problem I have is I can't count the amount of turns, so I wind as much wire as can fit and adjust as needed with the ohm meter and remove wire as needed to get within ballpark.
stewmac.com has instructions that are helpfull.

[adamasd]

To help keep the wire from breaking, turn the spool 90 deg. so the wire pulls off the end of the spool instead of spinning the spool.

Are the StewMac spools actually wound that way? I always assumed they were wound the cheap old way to uncoil like the average person would suspect. If the spool is wound to be taken off the top and you go from the side you cause the wire to twist as it goes on the bobbin increasing the chance of breaks, same is true if you take the wire from the top and it was wound to be taken from the side. All spools are wound these days to be taken off the top, it makes winding equipment much cheaper and easier to design since they do not have to worry about spinning that 60pound spool of copper at the same speed and what ever is being wound. When I saw those spools in their catalog I figured they bought an old cheap winding machine to wind their spools to make more money.

The only problem I have is I can't count the amount of turns, so I wind as much wire as can fit and adjust as needed with the ohm meter and remove wire as needed to get within ballpark.

I just fill the bobbin, wire it up and play it for awhile. After I have played it abit I will unwind some if I need more highs or such. For P90s, resistance and turns are not needed information, they just went until the bobbin was full over at Gibson, winding to such and such resistance or X number of turns is a later thing over there.

[Geo]

What is the bobbin made out of? Wood? I make wood bobbins occasionally, but be aware that wood moves, and coils do not like moving.  ....  I still owe you some tubes don't I. I have been quite the slacker lately!. I will get going on that for you!

Yeah, the bobbin is poplar (which I ripped to 1/16" or so on my table saw... scary....). I put two coats of a finish mixture on it before I started winding, cuz I figured it would do better sealed. I know it will still change shape, but oh well.
As to the tube(s), no rush, you don't owe me anything.  :)

"To help keep the wire from breaking, turn the spool 90 deg. so the wire pulls off the end of the spool instead of spinning the spool."

Well, when I wound my first pickup (a humbucker--that was a poorly planned project... ;D), I put the spool on end about ten inches under the bobbin. It always seemed like the wire wanted to catch on the edge of the spool, so I thought I'd try it this way. If I keep the speed down to 120 RPM or so, it's fine. The break happened early because I didn't yet know how fast was too fast with this setup. Also, I've found that I can wind faster when the wire is coming off the middle of the spool. When the wire is moving smoothly, I figure it isn't going to break. It was "jumpy" when it broke.

"takes about 30 min. to wind a strat pickup. "

Whoa, how fast are you winding them? I've probably spent two hours on this pickup, and it's about halfway wound, I think (depending on how much more I feel like doing).

I s'pose I could take some pictures of the pickup. I thought you could see it in those pics, but maybe not.

[sjfirebird]

adamasd,

Yes I do believe the spools are to be taken off the top, this is how I use them and have had no problems with wire breakage. They also recomend this method in their instructions.
Keeping count of the amount of turns really is not that big of a problem as they usually end up within the res. specs for the old fenders 5.6K to 6.2K and I am not looking for a pinpointed type of guitar players sound. I do wax pot the PUPs to keep down on microphonics.
Do you have a source for P-90 parts?

[adamasd]

(which I ripped to 1/16" or so on my table saw... scary....).

Next time just rip a 1/4 dado out of the center from both edges leaving 1/4" of wood left if the middle, then cut the dado in the edges with a handsaw and chisel. Its alot safer for the finger tips and also seems to be the most stable way of making wood bobbins. Winding directly on the magnets caused my only wood bobbin failure and also caused some others to get very microphonic in the winter.

I do wax pot the PUPs to keep down on microphonics.

Once you get your winding technique and tension nice and consistent you will find that any microphonic noise will be acceptable even without potting. Unpotted pickups sound really nice.

Do you have a source for P-90 parts?  

I make mine, I use 1/4 PVC sheet material to make the 1/4x1/4x2.5" spacer then use vulcanized fibreboard for the top and bottom plates, glue them with some 5 minutes epoxy. Standard humbucker bar magnets will work fine for the magnets. Originally they used plexiglass for the spacer and celluloid for the top and bottom. The PVC is much easier to work with then the plexi. I just buy the covers if needed.

It always seemed like the wire wanted to catch on the edge of the spool, so I thought I'd try it this way.

you need something to hold the spool so it does not move, Lindy used tupperware.


Whoa, how fast are you winding them? I've probably spent two hours on this pickup, and it's about halfway wound, I think (depending on how much more I feel like doing).  

P-90s are one of the hardest to wind, the strats he is doing are one of the easiest. That deep bobbin that is only 1/4" wide is a pain, I probably spend around 2 hours to make the bobbin and wind a P90.

[Geo]

1/4", eh? Mine is 1/2" high, and 3/8" wide on each side! Maybe I can stop winding soon!  ;D I'd only ever seen a P90 from above (on a guitar)--didn't know they were THAT flat. As it is now, this pickup is probably equivalent to a Strat (in height and coil width). I'll take some pictures soon, maybe next to a ruler.  :)

Actually, to make the bobbin, I cut two plates about 1/16" thick and glued them to a block of poplar about 3/8"x1/2"x2" (don't remember the exact dimensions).

[adamasd]

1/4", eh? Mine is 1/2" high, and 3/8" wide on each side! Maybe I can stop winding soon!

Strat is just shy 1/2", 7/16" to be exact. You are going to have alot of output on that pickup and not alot of highs, but this is a bass so you can get away with a pickup with a high DC resistance and high capacitance. I would just fill the bobbin and then unwind for the sound you want. It is alot easier to remove windings then it is to add them. Just dont pot it until you have the sound you want, or atleast a sound you can live with. You will probably want to go with 1Meg pots on this thing. I am curious as to what your DC resistance will end up as.

A very thin shellac (if you mix your own) might be a good way to go with potting on this, thats a big coil and getting it fully potted may be a must.

Maybe I will get all my vintage pickup specs into the computer for everyone. I have all the big classic pickups, and some of the not so big classics.

[Geo]

Well, a family member accidentally broke the wire going from the spool to the bobbin. It measures at 5.8k right now, so I'm tempted to leave it at that. So... it's more like a J-bass coil on a tall P90-style bobbin. ?! :) There's a lot of extra space between the coil and the edges of the bobbin.

I have another problem. I did a little test, holding the magnets in position under the bobbin and touching a piece of steel to the polepieces--the magnetism is very weak. I think it needs to be pretty strong since bass strings travel farther and this pickup can't be too close to the strings. Any pointers on a source for magnets?

edit: what do you think about this magnet? Maybe too powerful?
http://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=BZ082

[adamasd]

Well, a family member accidentally broke the wire going from the spool to the bobbin. It measures at 5.8k right now, so I'm tempted to leave it at that.

For a bass pickup I would put another 2 or 3k on it, but that is just my preference in bass. Will help your output worries as well.

So... it's more like a J-bass coil on a tall P90-style bobbin. ?!

Why not just call it your own?

I have another problem. I did a little test, holding the magnets in position under the bobbin and touching a piece of steel to the polepieces

I assume you are using two alnico bar magnets here or such, two bar magnets either way. They need to show the same polarity towards the poles, so South and South facing inwards and the Norths facing outwards. they will want to repel each other off the bobbin and will need some glue to stay there for any real amount of time. Its a fight between their attraction towards the soft iron poles and opposition to each other.

I think it needs to be pretty strong since bass strings travel farther and this pickup can't be too close to the strings.

Nah, you can be fine with weak magnets. If you already do have your polarities correct just wait and try it out before you worry about magnets. There are plenty of good pickups out there with weak magnets, they just do not say Fender or Gibson. Remember your bass strings have alot more mass then a guitar string so the magnetic field they throw about is much larger, they also have a larger effect on the pickups field, this all means more output. I highly recommend you hold off on new magnets, play it for a few weeks before you worry about changes, you may find out that other then the low output it is a fantastic sounding pickup and some active electronics will solve all the problems. Why can't you get the pickup near the strings?

Don't worry so much about the outcome.

Any pointers on a source for magnets?  

I pretty much stick with Alnico 5 at this time. It is the easiest to find in a variety of sizes and it removes a variable, makes it alot easier to see how changes in the bobbin, coil or magnet structure/circuit effect sound. So I do not have much to say on magnet types at this time, but, if your pole pieces are removable you can always change them to suit the magnets installed. If it is to strong you can use a harder iron pole that will not transmit the field as well as the traditional soft iron. Or you could always go with magnetic poles and dump the bars. If you dump the bars you can replace them with soft iron bars of roughly the same size, this will keep the magnetic field in roughly the same shape as it does with the bar magnets, flat and wide, but stronger. Or remove them and have a taller and more narrow field, and anything in between and lots further out. Plenty you can do with the magnetic circuit.

This is what Leo was doing with the telecaster bridge pickups base plate. It was a copper plated steel plate that besides adding shielding also changed the shape of the magnetic field and makes those pole pieces act abit more like a single magnet instead of six separate magnets. Whole lot of stuff to experiment withere here.

[sjfirebird]

This is a good thread, Thanks adamased for all the info.

[Geo]

I made sure the magnets were repelling each other. The magnetism at the top of the screw polepiece was a little stronger, but still very weak compared to touching the same nail to polepieces on a humbucker and on a P-bass pickup. But, I'll just try it like you say. The only reason I'm concerned about the output is I'd like it to be strong enough to get some distortion. One other thing... these magnets are from guitar pickups, so they aren't quite long enough to touch the outside polepieces.

"For a bass pickup I would put another 2 or 3k on it, but that is just my preference in bass."

Can you elaborate a little bit? Does it reduce highs, or...?

Thanks for all the info.

[adamasd]

One other thing... these magnets are from guitar pickups, so they aren't quite long enough to touch the outside polepieces.  

What exactly are your pole pieces and what exactly are your magnets? You can stagger the magnets so all the poles are in contact with at least one of the magnets. It is not optimal, it will certainly work.

Do you have a metal spacer between the magnets that the screws thread into or are the magnets just butted up against the screws?

Can you elaborate a little bit? Does it reduce highs, or...?  

Pretty much, I really like a nice deep bass sound and the high resistance coil does that well. Remember that the coil creates a filter of sorts with everything after it. Not only do you have the loading effect due to impedance but you also have the capacitance and inductance of the coil influencing things. It is alot different then just turning the treble down on the bass or the amp, so keep that in mind as you wind.

As I said before I just fill the bobbin and then unwind to the sound I want. It may take alot longer but you get alot more control over things, you get to play it, unwrap a few hundred turns and see how that affected the sound. It gives you a good idea how more turns will affect sound and really makes things easier down the road, you will be able to wind to the sound you want.

[Geo]

For polepieces I was going to use some wood screws. Perhaps that's not optimal? The spacer with holes is a good idea. I think I could fabricate that. I was going to have the magnets butt up against the screws, but maybe that's not transfering the magnetism very well.

I haven't paid attention to bass tone until recently, so I don't really have a "sound" I'm looking for. I do like old-school overdrive (e.g. Jack Bruce with Cream, or Chris Squire with Yes), but I'm not trying to copy a particular tone. I'm not even a bass player... which is why I'm doing this project, so I can have a bass to learn on.

I really appreciate you sharing all this info, Adam.  ;)

[adamasd]

For polepieces I was going to use some wood screws. Perhaps that's not optimal? The spacer with holes is a good idea. I think I could fabricate that. I was going to have the magnets butt up against the screws, but maybe that's not transfering the magnetism very well.  

Yeah wood screws are far from optimum. Either just order some from stew mac or take a magnet to the hardware store and find some machine screws that stick the best. The spacer will help alot assuming you tap it for the threading of your screws, taps are cheap, like $10 and you will be able to use it for all your pickups that use screws for pole pieces. If you local hardware store has them I find 1/4" diameter 3/4" long allen head set screws to work very well, they seem to always be made of a good soft iron that magnetic fields like. For your bass you will not want 1/4" diameter though, something more like 3/16" will be good since you have two poles per string.

[Geo]

Update time:
I got a router on eBay, so I was able to start the body. It's made of poplar (cheap @ Lowes!), semi-hollow, with a carved top. The neck will be maple. The fingerboard, headplate, and the top of the pickup cover will be bloodwood. The body will be stained black. I'm thinking it should be fairly dramatic with a black body, creamy maple neck, and reddish fingerboard etc.
Man, I really wish there was money in guitar-building... I LOVE doing this!!!

http://s134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/

[EKDENTON]

Hi Geo,
I looked at your photos, and was wondering what the photo that said angled ramp was, is that part of your bass project?

Also I was looking at how you chambered the body. Just remember that you are going to have alot of neck on a bass and if you make the body too light you may wind up having to support the weight of the neck while playing, if it is not balanced right,  which is a bummer.  Most times the body horn where your strap connects on a bass is directly above the 12th fret or in close vicinity of it. If it is neck heavy you could always add weight in the bridge area to counter balance.

Looks pretty cool though, did you make up the design yourself or try to copy another style?
Somday I want to make a gecko bass like the ones at warmoth
http://www.warmoth.com/gallery/images/gecko/tinotedesco.jpg from http://www.warmoth.com/gallery/galcontainer.cfm?id=618

[adamasd]

Nice, making it Rickenbacker style, good way to go.

Red fingerboard too?

You get some Rickenbacker lust going on here? I certainly do.

Looks great. Try Fibbings Leather Dye, best way to dye wood black. That and a couple coats of shellac makes for a pretty finish. Or what ever lacquer you prefer if you want more protection.

You make me feel like a slacker.

I can't even get to the post office to send you those tubes! But I did get them packed up and ready to go finally!

Where did you end up with that pickup? Did you fill the bobbin or just call it good where the wire got broke?

[Geo]

Hey fellas,
Yes, I started the carve on the body by routing the part that would determine the neck angle. Really, the bridge I chose shouldn't have a neck angle (it's Fender-style), which is why the angle of the top had to come so far into the body. But the bridge was $16 from Allparts--boo-ya!
I considered the balance problem. The neck will be short; the whole guitar actually looks like a six-string in size. The top horn is lined up with the 12th fret, and the scale is 30". Good point though, if it doesn't balance, I can add weight at the bridge end. I'm pretty sure it will balance, though--at least better than my friend's P-bass, which is neck-heavy and a pain to wear on a strap.
Yes, this is basically my own design. I was thinking of the Rickenbacker upper horn when I drew it, which I think adam picked up on. If I build another guitar, I may reuse the body shape, as I think it will work great for 6-string too. But then again, my next dream-project is a Les Paul...
Yep, the fingerboard and headplate will be bloodwood.
Well, as to the pickup, I thought I was done. But I'm having trouble finding machine screws that transfer the magnetism strongly, so I may fill the bobbin after all. Or I may get some polepieces from Stewmac. We may be driving past Athens on the way to DC soon, so hopefully I can get some and skip the shipping. I would feel more confident with the pickup if the DC resistance was higher, but I don't want to set up to wind it again.
One annoying thing... I intentionally cut the top a few mm larger than the actual size, since I would have to cut the body out seperately. Now I have to get those extra few mm off. Grr!  >:(

[EKDENTON]

hey geo,
pretty cool. your doing great. I was thinking to tell you before but forgot, when you said you had bought a router, on my favorite guitar builds i always make a template of the body out of plexiglass, I have one for Fender P-bass, a Telecaster, and a Strat now.  I also have another piece of plexi with the pickup cavities and neck pockets all one one piece.  I always cutt my body and top wood larger, and it can be an ugly cutt doesn't matter. Then after I have the top glued on I put the body template on with double sided tape.(the kind they use on metal building insulation to tape the seams together). Then with a straight cutt router bit, I route the outer body and later use a roundover and hand cutt any beerbelly recesses and contours. The other piece of plexi, I use second and route the pickup cavities and neck pocket perfect every time. The rear control cavity, I have on the body templates.  I can have a body routed and final sanded ready for finish in a few hours.  Used to take me days of sanding, before I got wise and made a template.

Just thought it might be usefull info for you, the luthier books I bought never mentioned making a template , they picture a guy on a drum sander, sanding the body to the layout lines. Maybe some people find it relaxing to sand on wood forever but for me I can get a little impatient sanding. (Routers rule!!!!) 8-) 8-) 8-)

[Geo]

Ha ha, yes, I hate sanding. Thanks for sharing the info. I thought about using the router to cut the sides down to shape, but I don't have a long enough bit. (I would have flipped the guitar over and used the back as the template.) I actually got half of the side-cutting done this morning with a chisel. It will need cleanup, but the whole body is still pretty rough, so all of it will need it.
I'm thinking I may try leaving the edge of the top un-stained, ala PRS, to simulate binding. The poplar there has a maple-ish tint, which might look similar to the neck wood.
I'll definitely make some kind of template for the neck pocket. I'm thinking I should cut the pocket first and then cut the tenon on the neck to match, starting a mm or 2 large so I can get it exact. Any thoughts on that? Or... should I cut the neck tenon and then cut the template to match the tenon?
Thanks for the replies .

[EKDENTON]

I made the templates by using a bottom mounted bearing on a 3/8" bit and clamping or using the double sided tape to hold the template down on a body/neck pocket/pickup pocket that I alread had done the hard way, so that on the next guitar the template was made. You can use masonite but it may dull the bits faster than using plexiglass and besides you can see your line up lines through the plexi.

[Geo]

Updates... I finished winding the pickup. It measures 12.35k now!  :o No more output worries. I also pulled two more magnets off of two single coil pickups, so there will be four magnets "staggered" beneath the bobbin. The magnetism is strong now at the tops of the polepieces.
I also cut and glued the scarf joint and cut out the headstock shape. When my truss rod comes, I'll route the channel and then carve the neck. This thing is looking better in person than it does on paper!  :)

http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/100_5131.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/100_5130.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/100_5139.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/100_5140.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/100_5138.jpg

[adamasd]

ophff, 12.35k! That is quite the pickup.

After you use it abit and know it is how you want it I would get some shellac flakes and mix up a very thin mixture, soak the pickup in there overnight so the shellac can really work its way deep into the coil, make sure to seal the container tightly or your thin mixture will evaporate away. That is if you did not already use wax, the thin shellac can flow abit deeper without going to fancy equipment. You can also just thin out store bought shellac with denatured alcohol if you do want to get raw shellac. Microphonics can be a real pain on the bigger coils, same with noise pickup. You are going to know it when your fingers are not touching a ground. It really should not be much worse then a standard P-90 though, if it is to much you could always shield it.

probably want to go with a 1Meg volume pot as well, but play about see what sounds best to you.

Its looking good, I like those f holes.

[Dynaflow]

 Thats looking real good. I concur, the F holes look fabulous, thats going to be a very nice looking bass.

Regards,

Dyna

[Geo]

ophff, 12.35k! That is quite the pickup.

probably want to go with a 1Meg volume pot as well, but play about see what sounds best to you.

Its looking good, I like those f holes.

Ha ha, I thought you might freak out.  ;D I may try shielding the bobbin before assembling the pickup. My guitars and amps hum anyways, so I'm kind of used to it. Plus with distortion, the hum disappears when you play because of the compression.

Do you suggest 1Meg because of the 12k size? I was thinking for bass, 250k might be better to cut some highs, but I don't know really--I've only read about the differences.

Thanks for the compliments fellas. I wish the stuff I ordered would come and I could work on it!  :'(

[adamasd]

Do you suggest 1Meg because of the 12k size? I was thinking for bass, 250k might be better to cut some highs, but I don't know really--I've only read about the differences.

Yes because of the 12K size. The higher the DC resistance the less highs you get. I suspect you wound alot of those highs away with that 12K so it might be a good idea to reclaim some of those highs by reducing the loading on the pickup.  Coil shape also has an effect on frequency response, and while I have never played around with a coil of this shape my past experiences make me think you are not going to have alot of highs. Like I said, play about, see what sound best. In the end I really have very little idea how this pickups is going to sound, I am just doing a best guess, but I certainly am curious to hear what it sounds like.

[EKDENTON]

Since it is a bass guitar it may not the highs like a guitar would. Well if you play alot of slap and pop you may need more highs but if you like the sound of pbass rather than jazz bass it may be okay with 500k pots. Or if you put only a volume and no tone (which looks like what you are doing) you will gain some highs since you are taking the tone pot resistance that would be parallel with the volume out of the circut

[adamasd]

Since it is a bass guitar it may not the highs like a guitar would.

To much high end is most likely not going to be a problem with this pickup whether he uses a 250k or 1M, two few highs is far more likely.

Or if you put only a volume and no tone (which looks like what you are doing) you will gain some highs since you are taking the tone pot resistance that would be parallel with the volume out of the circut

I do not think he will be having a tone control, I only see one hole for a pot. The volume control will never be out of circuit as far as the pickup is concerned, it sees the pots full resistance going to ground no matter where it is set. This will be the load of the pickup, higher the value of the pot the less the pickup is loaded down the more highs you get.

[Geo]

This will be the load of the pickup, higher the value of the pot the less the pickup is loaded down the more highs you get.

Should I try to find a pot higher than 1meg? Or if I weakened the magnetism, would that bring back some highs? I have no idea what it'll sound like... I'm just wondering now if it'll sound "wrong." But I don't know what would sound "wrong" to me.  :-?

This project moves in leaps and bounds. I now have to wait again for stuff to arrive...

Thanks for the replies.

[adamasd]

magnets do not have much effect on frequency, coil has far far more influence on this.

1Meg will most likely be plenty, and you may want less highs, its hard to say, 1Meg would just be my starting point. Remember the input impedance of most amps is also 1Meg, so if you use a higher value pot then that you got pretty much the same load problem just moved slightly.

This is a bridge pickup right?

Sitting at the bridge you should be fine for highs. If it is not at the bridge or you just want more twang just unwind 500 turns or so and try it out again, repeat until you get closer to what you want. Just remember that along with regaining highs you also will lose volume and change the over all flavor, do not try for perfect and unwind to much. The coil can only do so much, if volume or something else starts to suffer stop where you are and call it good.

[Geo]

Thanks adam. Yeah, this will be more of a neck pickup than bridge or middle (mostly because I somehow spaced the polepieces wider than I meant to?!)
For bass, I think I would prefer a darker rather than twangy tone.

[Geo]

My custom truss rod from LMI came, along with some bloodwood. Wow, that stuff is hard and splintery. It's beautiful, though, and the smell reminds me of chocolate.  :-?

Since the truss rod arrived, I was able to cut the channel, after which I could start carving the neck.

neck carving:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/morestuff001.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/morestuff002.jpg
headstock:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/morestuff005.jpg
neck carve finished, some sanding done:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/morestuff006.jpg
mock-up of parts:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/morestuff004.jpg

[Dynaflow]

 That looks awesome man, gonna be sweet looking. I like the veneer on the headstock. Great work!

Regards,

Dyna

[Geo]

Thanks man. It's actually not a veneer, but solid bloodwood about 3/32 thick.

[Geo]

I finished the parts of the pickup. I only need to pot the coil and then the pickup will be complete.

Making the cover:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...t/pickup001.jpg

Cover finish-sanded:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...t/pickup002.jpg

Next to a Strat pickup to give you an idea of the size (it's HUGE):
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...t/pickup003.jpg

Parts laid together for looks:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...t/pickup004.jpg

Assembled pickup:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...t/pickup005.jpg

The color of the bloodwood (difficult to capture):
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Ge...t/pickup006.jpg

I finally figured out what bloodwood smells like. I make a black raspberry pie every summer... it smells like that baking!

[Geo]

Woohoo, I made a lot of progress.  
My tuners have 1/2" bushings, so I had to drill 3/8" holes and then add enough 1/2" depth for the bushings. That was a nightmare with my hand-held power drill.  The bloodwood headplate splintered and came away from the maple. A few fightin' words were uttered, but I was able to glue it back. Using a chisel to keep the depth even, I slowly drilled the half-inch holes.
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/progress001.jpg

Here's the pickup hole routed.
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/progress006.jpg

The body during staining.
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/progress008.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/progress009.jpg

After neck gluing, I put the parts together just to see what it will look like.
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/progress010.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/progress011.jpg

Now I'm applying the finish. Yuck, that blue masking tape ruins the aesthetic.  
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/progress012.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/progress013.jpg

[Geo]

Well, I finished it! I don't have a bass amp, but I did a soundclip with two guitar amps.
Soundclip:
http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?songs=590945&T=9237

Pictures:
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/finished003.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/finished002.jpg
http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q119/Georder/bass%20project/finished001.jpg

I played it in church today, and it sounded like a "real" bass  ;D thru the SS PA.

I'm already envisioning a new project... it will be very challenging for me. Semi-hollow, maple set-neck, maybe Lollar P90's, some kind of carved top, binding around the body.

[2twang2]

Very cool! I admire your ability to do everything from the pickup to the neck and body. I enjoyed the sound clip, too.

[Geo]

Very cool! I admire your ability to do everything from the pickup to the neck and body. I enjoyed the sound clip, too.

Thanks, dude. Practice, practice, practice! I made several horrible, nasty "guitars" before I built my first decent one. I've made loads of mistakes and learned a ton of stuff. I just wish the tools weren't so expensive. A router is a must. I made my spruce guitar without a router... wow, I'm never going back.  ;D