Pickups: BL 910 vs. Emmons stock

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

I just dropped a BL-910 in my '66 Emmons S-10. The stock Emmons pickup was wound to 15.5 KOhm. I also have experience with the BL 912 from my Mullen U-12. I agree the BL 910/912 sounds quite single coil-ish but the tone is radically different than the stock Emmons. All that sweet top-end nuance of the picks releasing the strings was lost with the 910, especially above the 15th fret. What was gained was humbucking and a very thick and meaty tone. I like the 910/912 a lot but it's got a whole different voice to it than the Emmons single coil. I agree with what people say about the guitar really being the tone source and the pickup is merely a microphone picking up the guitar's tone, BUT I felt like I was really missing the top end that the Emmons single coil does so well. Maybe it's because it's a '66 and the pickup is wound so bright at 15.5KOhm. As I understand it, the more winds, the higher the DC resistance, the hotter the output, and less highs.

The 910 is wound way hot, like 30 KOhm. What would it sound like if Mr. Lawrence wound the 910 to about 18KOhm? Wouldn't that sweeten up the top end? You gotta hand it to Bill for designing the 910/912 sidewinder. It's a very cool idea; one row of pole pieces so it's picking up the strings at one point, just like a single coil. Then he puts two coils, one one either side, and runs them sideways, hence Sidewinder. Theoretically it's THE answer to the humbucking dilemma, but the tone may need some tweaking. Since Bill has the patent on the sidewinder design, it's up to him....

Brad Sarno

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

Comparing the DC resistance of a single coil to a humbucker doesn't make sense. The resistance will only correlate to frequency response if all other design factors are identical.

If you're using a passive volume pedal, you'll probably get a better sound with the 710.

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Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic) Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6)

jerry wallace · From: Artesia , NM (deceased)

Brad, I agree with Bobby..Trying to compare DC resistance between a two coil humbucker and a single coil pickup just wont work..

Its like comparing apples to oranges..

15K on a humbucker would not sound good at all & 30K on a single coil would not either.

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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

Larry Behm · From: Mt Angel, Or 97362

Spend your money on a noise gate and leave the pickups alone.

Larry Behm

Herb Steiner · From: Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064

If you have a spare couple of hours to spend, do as I did; call Bill Lawrence and tell him you are unhappy with your single coil pickup wound to 15.5 Kohms.

Bill will then launch into a lecture on (1) how DC resistence means "less than nothing" to how a pickup sounds, (2) how your ohm meter is worthless ("throw it in the garbage"), (3) how MANY other factors (Eddy currents, etc.) enter into the equation regarding a tone characteristic delivered by a pickup, and (4) the mathematical formulae used to decipher what he's discussing.

I literally only asked one question of Bill: what pickup would best replicate the sound of a 15.5 kohm Emmons single coil? After an amazing 45 minute lecture, he suggested to me that I "read books by Albert Einstein."

I love Bill Lawrence, since he's one of the most entertaining renaissance men on the planet. But I would have preferred a simple "put a 910 in there," or something a little easier to digest than Albert Einstein's view on man's relationship to his fellow man.

Ultimate outcome: I had Ronnie Jr. wind me two single coils at 17.5, though of course, the DC resistance means absolutely nothing!

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Herb's Steel Guitar Pages
Texas Steel Guitar Association

jerry wallace · From: Artesia , NM (deceased)

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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

thurlon hopper · From: Elizabethtown Pa. USA

Had Emmons wind a single coil to 18,750 for my 1972 P/P and love the sound of it. My
P/P has a wooden neck so the lows are more
dramatic now but overall i like this pickup. Good luck on finding the sound you are looking for. TJH

Brad Sarno · From: St. Louis, MO USA

Well I understand how comparing a humbucker's DC resistance to that of a single coil is perhaps apples and oranges. BUT, I've rewound dozens of strat and tele pickups, as well as some humbuckers. I know from that experience that winding a strat pickup to 5k and then winding that same pickup to 8k has a dramatic effect on tone. The underwound pickup was much more clean and "glassy". The hotter wound pickup had thicker midrange and less high highs. All due respect to Mr. Lawrence's genius, but I have to argue that DC resistance of a pickup coil DOES effect it. DC resistance, after all, is a factor of the number of winds, thus effecting output voltage and frequency response. So I just have to wonder what a 910 would sound like if it were wound to 20k and not 30k.....

BTW, I put my stock '66 pickup back in the Emmons and pulled the 910 back out. It'll probably stay that way for a while. I still like the 910, just not there. Hum schmum...

Brad Sarno

Larry Bell · From: Englewood, Florida

That's good, Brad
You're starting to sound more like a steel player and less like a recording engineer.

I GUESS that's a good thing . . .

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Larry Bell - email: larry@larrybell.org - gigs - Home Page
2000 Fessenden S-12 8x8, 1969 Emmons S-12 6x6, 1971 Emmons D-10 9x9, 1971 Dobro

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