Bare copper wire?

Posted by Hayden A Butler on May 13, 2011 at 1:08pm

Hi all,

i have recently decided to have a go at making my own pickup.

There are dosens of pages on how to do this but none say where to get the "bare" (no plastic surround) copper wire in the UK. I have tried electrical wholesalers near by but no luck.

 

Does anyone know of any places that might sell them (preferably Herefordshire/Worcestershire or West Midlands).

 

Thanks

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Replies

  • Stewart Corlett February 16, 2012 at 11:29am

    I think this is the wire your on about:

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/500G-GUITAR-PICKUP-WIRE-MAGNET-WIRE-42-AW...

    This is 42AWG wire similar to the stuff on the Stewmac website.

    I also found a website selling Alnico 5 Rods for guitar pickups here:

    http://www.guysmagnets.com/view-product/0195-x-067-alnico-5-rod-unm...

    They are supplied unmagnetised to make them easier to work with.

  • Hayden A Butler January 7, 2012 at 11:01am

    Thanks David,  hadn't thought to look on eBay so we bought some from an online whole saler

  • bouydog 8-9-8 January 6, 2012 at 1:44pm

    Hey Hayden don't know if you have seen them but there is a company called brocotts selling winding wire on ebay.

  • Hayden A Butler January 4, 2012 at 2:43pm

    Yes Gary it has worked on the Boxtock built guitar and on the "Biddley Bow" but when we make one it seems that it breaks before we get to use it - either the wires snap as we scratch off the enamel or the thing just falls apart but when it does work it works well.  We purchased a roll of wire that has barley been touched from making about four 'pups that we hook over a tent peg trapped in the vice and use the 'pups magnetism to attach it to an electric screwdriver (drill was too fast) to spin as we unravel the wire. Hope my explanation of our technique has helped anyone, but probably caused more confusion than knowledge to be spread.

  • Gary Williams January 4, 2012 at 9:58am

    PENFOOT

    How did the pickup making go was it successful

    Gary

  • Hayden A Butler November 19, 2011 at 6:35am

    Just remembered my (rather poor) video of me playing my Boxstock guitar also shows one of the 'pups in action.  T had fitted it as a seperate out put on the guitar, and had used a 2 pence coin as the cover.  To our suprise it sounded quite good.

    It was made by attaching (by magnetism AND glue) the 2p coin and a washer to the ends of a small cilinder-shaped magnet.  The washer was slightly smaller that the coin so that it was easy to drop it ino place.  Then using magnectim, I put the unfinished 'pup onto the end of an electric screw deiver so that it could spin at a steady pace.  The wire was tied around the magnet and them taped into place so it dind't slip. and "Voilà!" one pickup ready to roll.

  • jabes November 11, 2011 at 2:38pm

    yes, i tried it ,thinnest wire on a desk lamp transformer, no where near enough wire, but it did work a bit.if i had been inventing the pickup i would definitely have carried on..i haven't bothered since with the right stuff as chinese pups are cheap and work ok.

    i was wondering if it's poss to rewind a pup i.e. use the wire,poles etc to make your own,they're wax potted??? anyone tried that

    Sean Laffey said:

    I've seen somewhere on the web a bloke making pickup from the coils of wire in transformers. He said a 12V transformer akes a good pickup... I mean to gett round to having ago over the  next couple of weeks. I'm thinking of getting some magnets from an old hard drive to see if I can  use the coui from a transformer as a pickup.

     

    Anyone tried it?

     

    see this You Tube clip  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQkRVgLDgho

  • Michael Fred Johnson July 5, 2011 at 9:19am
    Congratulations ...must be like giving birth !
  • Hayden A Butler July 4, 2011 at 3:15pm

    hurray IT LIVES

    stupidly i forgot to scratch off the enamel coating at the ends of the coil to make a connection

    doh!

  • Hayden A Butler July 3, 2011 at 8:22am

    Crap - my first attempt at winding a pickup just went horribly wrong. :(

     

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