School me on the Springy Sound pickups

[Russian Vadim]

Read here that E-stamped pickups were hotter than U-stamped ones. In the very same thread the other poster says U's are hotter than E's.

Where's the truth?

 

[chrisheyes]

E pickups are lower in resistance that U pickups - Fact

 

[Russian Vadim]

E pickups are lower in resistance that U pickups - Fact

So which are clearer and more vintage sounding?

 

[chrisheyes]

E pickups are lower in resistance that U pickups - Fact

So which are clearer and more vintage sounding?

The E Series pickups are based on 50's Pre CBS sounding, lowest output pickups. U Series more 60's pre CBS sounding. So both are vintage sounding !!

 

[Len]

Cliff had some sort of american `spec sheet`or catalogue coming with his beautiful ST-100
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=20475&start=0&sid=2fa1153a0190e03a0e29c83bda7565ab

The photos of it are offline now.

But it said, that the ST-A ( = E pickup) is a "handmade exact alloy reproduction of a 1954 single coil unit". ST-B ( = U pickup) is a "production model of the same pickup".

 

[chrisheyes]

Cliff had some sort of american `spec sheet`or catalogue coming with his beautiful ST-100
http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=20475&start=0&sid=2fa1153a0190e03a0e29c83bda7565ab

The photos of it are offline now.

But it said, that the ST-A ( = E pickup) is a "handmade exact alloy reproduction of a 1954 single coil unit". ST-B ( = U pickup) is a "production model of the same pickup".

Hmmmmmm that info is correct for that specific years production of ST-100's. Tokai's spec changed over time.

I have a set of both U and E pickups at home, I'll test them with a multimeter to prove their resistance figures are not the same

 

[Len]

I didn?t say their resistance is the same.
The catalog just implies that they are both a copy of the same type of Fender pickup.
How they actually sound is a different thing

my E pickups are around 5,9 kOhm - U pickups are said to be slightly hotter

so, different production methods = different resistance of the pickups ?

 

[marcusnieman]

so, different production methods = different resistance of the pickups ?

Wire used, number of winds, magnets, etc..... all contribute to resistance and output

 

[JVsearch]

so, different production methods = different resistance of the pickups ?

Wire used, number of winds, magnets, etc..... all contribute to resistance and output

Yeah, the production method is pretty much the same - wind some wire around a bobbin with 6 magnets in the middle of it.

Back in the 50s I can easily accept that Fender may have decided to make their Strat pickups a little hotter as time went by in response to their perception of the market. Music was changing, and maybe somebody from the amp department suggested that getting a bit more at the input of Fender amps would make the amps work better in a technical sense. The difference was that it probably wasn't used as a marketing spiel like it is today.

Check out this page: http://home.provide.net/~cfh/pickups.html

There's a gradual increase in resistance/output from 54 to when CBS took over and went back to near 54 levels. There are other variables such as stagger pattern and magnet strength, although I expect there's a pretty narrow range of magnetism you can use on a single coil pickup with magnetised pole pieces close to the strings.

That statement about the E and U pickups, handmade and production, seems like it didn't totally survive the translation. They are both copies of vintage Fender pickups and should be made in the same way. Maybe they are referring to coil wire that is fed by hand vs fed by a machine, as that seems to be about the only tonally important part of making a pickup that can be done by a machine?

 

[brokentoes]

I've got a set of "U"'s that I haven't put into a guitar yet, they measure

Neck - 6.0
Middle - 6.2
Bridge - 6.1

Hope that helps you somehow.

 

[mirrorboy]

I have thought about the E and U designations for ages and think it might possibly have something to do with the winding pattern. My theory is that the E's could be stagger wound as they are generally 5.6 to 5.9 k ohms which corresponds roughly to the Fender 50's spec. The U's could be machine wound as they are usually over 6 k ohms and that would correspond more closely to Fender 60's spec.

It's possible that E stands for 'erratic' and U stands for 'uniform'.

 

[marcusnieman]

It's possible that E stands for 'erratic' and U stands for 'uniform'.

I'd heard it was for "excellent" and "unbelievable" :wink:

 

[JVsearch]

I have thought about the E and U designations for ages and think it might possibly have something to do with the winding pattern. My theory is that the E's could be stagger wound as they are generally 5.6 to 5.9 k ohms which corresponds roughly to the Fender 50's spec. The U's could be machine wound as they are usually over 6 k ohms and that would correspond more closely to Fender 60's spec.

It's possible that E stands for 'erratic' and U stands for 'uniform'.

Not bad!

I think you mean scatter wound though - stagger usually refers to the magnet heights, that is, the heights of the pole pieces.

 

[bluesyrat]

I'd stick on Marcus' case...

 

[CliffsGuitarWorld]

Spec Sheet

 

[Len]

^^ thanks Cliff!