Dual Build: GSJ-1 and GSM-1

[Sonic Mountain]

Scored with that one piece body, these are going to be nice.

What ever happened to those semi hollows you were working on? Don't recall seeing them finished.

[Simon Barden]

Semis are still going. Neck of one is with JimC, and lockdown makes it awkward/expensive to get back. Mainly finish to do, and it's still a bit on the cold/windy side for spraying outside.

I have the one US pint Aqua Clear container, and it's done a bass (twice because I messed up the first time), a Strat body and these two kits so far. Still enough left to do at least another guitar. £31 here, so roughly the same cost.

[Simon Barden]

I decided to buy an LCR tester to help me compare pickups.

So I tried it on the GSJ-1's P-90 pickup and compared it against the Creaery P90s I've got for my ES-1/ES330 build.

I had a feeling that the kit P-90 would be a bit of a bruiser, but I was wrong.

The Creamery bridge pickup measured:
DCR 8.52 kohms
Capacitance 16.6nF
Inductance 7.07H

Whilst the kit P90 measured:
DCR 6.86 kohms
Capacitance 23.2nF
Inductance 3.49H

I used another pickup magnet to compare magnetic pull/resistance between the two pickups and they both seemed very similar. As I know the Creamery P-90 has Alnico 2 magnets, then I can only assume that the kit P-90 either has Alnico 2 or 4 magnets, and not ceramic ones, which are much more powerful.

Which leaves me wondering why the inductance of the Creamery is so much more than the kit pup. Assuming they both have 42AWG wire, the kit pup obviously has less turns, but using the ratios of the DCRs to multiply the inductance of the kit pup, that still only gets me to 4.3H, 2.7H short. So maybe the kit pup has 43AWG wire, and even less turns than the DCR suggests? Or maybe it's down to different magnet strengths that my very basic test isn't showing. The kit pup magnets are definitely both shorter than the Creamery ones, which would explain some of it.

I was thinking that the difference in capacitance was down to the Creamery one being hand wound, compared to a more regular machine wound winding of the kit pup. But it may also be down to different wire insulation as well.

One thing I did notice on both kits is that the supplied truss-rod covers are 2-screw standard Gibson types, whilst the kit needs the 3-screw type. Luckily I have a stock of G-style 3-hole truss rod covers!

[McCreed]

Thanks for the info on the AquaClear Simon.

Interesting info from the LCR readings too.
Just curious if you've played/heard the two pickups, and if there is a noticeable difference in tone between them?

My understanding, from a very general perspective, is that lower inductance favours higher frequencies, and higher inductance, lower frequencies. (effectively determining resonant peak)
Do you find this to be the case with those two pickups, with the Creamery being twice the H?

Cheers

[Simon Barden]

Never heard them yet I'm afraid. The Creamerys are for my yet to be completed ES-1/330, and the PBG P-90 is for the GSJ-1 that's one of these builds.

Certainly more inductance moves the resonant peak down the frequency range, so more mids and less highs, and also contributes to more output (along with the number of turns of wire). The capacitance also has an affect on the sound, as more capacitance = less treble, and affects size of the resonant peak.

I also measured the two kit humbuckers that came with the GSM-1, and they has less capacitance, and only slightly more inductance, than the kit P-90 (but a lot higher DCR at 11.89k (B) and 11.64k (N) ). But they only use one magnet, unlike a P-90 which has two, so you lose magnetic inductance but gain it back from having two coils with more total turns of wire. And despite having two coils, the capacitance is only slightly higher, presumably because the coils are physically smaller so less distance between the innermost and outermost winds on each coil.

Sanded the grain filler off the bodies so far today (2.30pm-ish here) and am halfway through one neck. Hopefully I'll finish sanding in time to stain them today. Just checking the computer to give my arms a rest!

[Simon Barden]

Finished sandinng the excess grain filler off, then stained the bodies and necks. Kept finding sanding scratches that needed more sanding after I stained the bodies, and still have a couple of areas that really need a bit more work on. Should just have enough stain to do it, but there's not that much left in the bottle.

About 10 hours solid work on the guitars today, and I'm really tired, so will edit and post a few pics tomorrow.

Next step is the headstock veneers with black fibreboard and some abalone inlay.

[McCreed]

About 10 hours solid work on the guitars today...

That is a big day. I'm generally stuffed after 5!

[Dan_B]

The kit pup magnets are definitely both shorter than the Creamery ones, which would explain some of it.

Not sure if it’s still the case with these Junior kits, but the one that I built had a smaller pickup cavity to suit the kit pickup. The base plate of the pickup I swapped it out for wouldn’t fit in the cavity. It may pay to future proof & enlarge the cavity now before finishing.

[fender3x]

Curious what you stained with? It looks like you are going with a fairly faithful build on the colors anyway. The lead guitarist in my band in high school had an SG that color. It's always been my favorite electric guitar. This will be fun to watch.

[jugglindan]

That is a big day. I'm generally stuffed after 5!

I am lucky to find one solid hour. Might be why my tele is taking so long.

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