3
Step 4
After unscrewing the bobbins individually and removing their
protective ribbons, screw them back on the pickup backing
plates, sans the felt strip. If you haven’t broken any coil windings,
congratulations. Note how Fender used a different wire stock on
each pickup; the neck pickup has a shiny, clear insulation, and the
bridge pickup has a dark red insulation.
4
Step 3
Carefully unscrew the bobbins one at a time from the pickup base
plate, making sure not to break the coil wires that run from the
bobbin to the base plate. Carefully unwrap the fabric ribbon that
protects the coils, and set it aside for safe keeping—you’ll need it
later. The ribbon is covered with a sticky adhesive, and it will want
to yank at the thin wire coils, so proceed slowly. Snap the coil wire
at any time, and it’s game over.
7
Step 7
The last thing to do before re-installing the pickups is to unscrew the
bobbins and re-wrap them with the protective ribbon. Before screwing
the second bobbin back on the backing plate, jam the wax-impregnated
felt damper back between the bobbins. As you tighten the second
bobbin to the baseplate, it will pinch it in place. Place the chrome cover
back over the pickup and solder it back in place. You may want to add
some dampening material, like a thin piece of rubber, between the cover
and the pickup to help reduce microphonics from the cover.
Stuff You’ll Need
Potting your own pickups isn’t very high on the
difficulty scale, but you’ll need some basic tools:
Set of jeweler’s screwdrivers Razor blade
Soldering iron Desoldering bulb
Rosin-core solder Heat-shrink insulation
Needle-nose pliers Old sauce pan
Wire cutters/strippers Old candles
