Watching with interest and envy.
Got a new race car (Fisher Fury) to finish before the next guitar.
This looks great - nice job on a tasty amber...
If you don't mind me asking - where'd you source the rod magnets, and what was the cost?
Here's the ebay listing - Philadelphia luthier also has them on their website to buy direct. One of the guys on the TDPRI Tele board actually reconstructed the bobbins and rods, it cost a packet because he had to get a whole heap of Cunife magnets made up. They sold out a few years ago. He experimentally had some different rods made up, and said Alnico 2 has very similar characteristics to Cunife.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Threaded...72.m2749.l2649
Here's the humbucker knockoffs. I expect to have to pot them, but that's no biggie. They have to come apart to remove the bar magnets.
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Les-Paul...72.m2749.l2649
My next project after this one, I have the body on order from PBG, is a Firebird VII which will have a Maestro long vibrola. Those pickups are tricky - but I found a mob selling a FB clone with 7.2 kohm wind, with ceramic blades. I'm getting some Alnico 2 blades from Stewmac to replace them with. Hopefully they'll end up somewhere in the ballpark. The originals were 6,6kohm. The alnico blade inside the bobbin is what gives them their unique sound.
The new Firebird pickups are nothing like the old shrill but warm sound.
Last edited by Dacious; 01-08-2020 at 08:56 AM.
You realise now that loads of people out there are going to be unable to unsee that...
It wasn't until a few months ago it occurred to me that a Fender heastock shape is really a highly simplified violin head scroll tuned 90 degrees...
Build #1, failed solid body 6 string using neck from a scrapped acoustic (45+ odd years ago as a teenager!)
Build #2, ugly parlour semi with scratch built body and ex Peavey neck
Build #3, Appalachian Dulcimer from EMS kit
Build #4, pre-owned PB ESB-4
Build #5, Lockdown Mandolin
Build #6, Sixty six body for Squier
Build #7, Mini Midi Bass