[caption id=”attachment_945” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Custom Handwound Tele-90 Pickup - A P90 design in a Tele Bridge”][/caption]

A P90 design to fit a Tele Bridge Pickup

Fat, grittier tones from your Tele Bridge position whilst still keeping some of that classic Tele twang

Magnet: Custom Alnico 5
Poles: Steel Slug Screws
Polarity: South Up
Coil Wire: 44AWG Plain Enamel
Lead Wire: Vintage Cloth Pushback
Output: 10.4k
Baseplate: Copper Plated Steel

Telecaster Sized P90 Bridge Pickup

A P90 design in a standard Telecaster Bridge size. The Creamery Telecaster sized P90 pickup houses two unpolished custom Alnico 5 magnets, wider steel slug screws and a short, fat 44AWG coil. Huge, fat single-coil tones still with clarity, presence & a defined voice. Get the grit of a P90 in a standard Telecaster Bridge size. Great fat, rounded clean tones - turn up the gain and let the pickup scream.

The geometry of the standard Tele Bridge Pickup size as opposed to a standard P90 means there will always be a slight difference in tone between the two pickups as the coil will be slightly narower - Its for this reason I don’t call it a “true” P90 although I’ve voiced this pickup as a balance between the classic P90 tone with the unique twang of the Telecaster bridge.

A higher output, fat single-coil tone in a standard Tele Bridge sized pickup. The higher output balances with the narrower, lower strength magnets for a much rounder bridge tone.

For more details, you can visit my Creamery Custom Handwound Telecaster Pickups page here

Original Article

[caption id=”attachment_940” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Custom Classic ‘71 Wide Range Humbucker Reproduction Pickups”][/caption]

New Repro Wide Range Tele / Thinline Humbuckers

With true individual threaded pole magnets and internal reflector plate. Custom nickel silver / nickel plated covers and available in separate pole spacing for bridge & neck.

[caption id=”attachment_938” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Classic ‘71 Wide Range Tele/Thinline Humbucker”][/caption]

Finally, after working on these for well over 18mths they’re finally ready - my true spec take on the original Seth Lover designed Wide Range Humbuckers.

Magnets: Threaded Pole or Optional Alnico 2
Coil Wire: 42AWG
Lead Wire: Vintage Braided
Bridge Output: 10.7k
Neck Output: 9.8k

The vintage Wide Range Humbucker sound

A true replacement for the modern Wide Range Tele / Thinline Humbucker reissue pickups. Classic fat “Doubled Up” single coil tones - Great clarity and string definition with a bright warmth. Individual threaded pole magnets charged to around 2/3rds capacity allow you to dial in each string. A warmer mid-range than standard single coils and with a higher output, they’re great for breaking up an amp. With a great fat bridge tone sounding akin to a “doubled-up” Tele and a neck with a warm, sweet brightness. Vintage nickel-silver baseplate, ferrous internal reflector plate, full-size custom bobbins with medium scatterwound coils - The Creamery Wide Range Tele / Thinline Humbucker, a direct replacement for those modern reissues.

Pole spacing for Bridge & Neck position

Unlike the originals & reissues, I’ve made the Classic ‘71 Wide Range Humbuckers with 53mm Bridge pole spacing & 50mm pole spacing for better string definition in the neck position.

Calibrated Outputs

I’ve also lowered the neck output a little to give much better volume balance between bridge & neck pickup.

Vintage style threaded magnets

My vintage take on the original pickups have either 12 threaded magnets or a combination of 6 threaded magnets and 6 x hidden Alnico 2 rod magnets. With the threaded & Alnico 2 rod magnets together the tone is ever so rounder, warmer with a few less highs - Great if you want to take a little ‘spank’ out of the bridge position.

Covers

I’ve had custom covers manufactured especially for these pickups. VIntage nickel/silver material, plated in nickel fitted to vintage nickel/silver baseplates.

PLEASE NOTE: These pickups are a direct drop-in replacement to fit the modern Fender® reissue Wide Range Humbuckers.

You can find more details & order a set of my Classic ‘71 Wide Range Humbuckers here.

[caption id=”attachment_936” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Wide Range Humbucker - Standard Humbucker Size”][/caption]

Standard Humbucker Version

Recently reviewed in Total Guitar magazine where they received a “5 Star/Best-Buy award”, you can now get my standard humbucker versions in new custom nickel covers. More rounded than a standard humbucker cover, they’ve a great retro look.

More details of my Wide Range Humbucker - standard humbucker sized versions can be found here.

Original Article

[caption id=”attachment_918” align=”aligncenter” width=”450” caption=”The Creamery - New Gift Vouchers”][/caption]

Just a quick note to let you know the gift vouchers are back up online. Available in values from £10 all the way up to £100. You can just order them through the site and I’ll email you back the unique voucher code to use against any of the pickup sets.

You can find them here

Original Article

[caption id=”attachment_907” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Custom Radius Stratocaster (Strat) Pickups”][/caption]

Pickups to Match the radius of your neck/fingerboard

I’m often asked to make a custom set of Strat pickups with the old vintage stagger, by that I mean, the pole magnets follow the stagger pattern of the old, early Fender® pickups. This vintage stagger usually poses no problems with tighter radius necks (7.25”, 9.5”) but does create issues with the more modern radius necks.

[caption id=”attachment_908” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Stratocaster (Strat) Vintage Neck Radius & Pole Height”][/caption]

Why do some Stratocaster guitar pickups have staggered polepieces?

Simply put, staggered polepiece magnets help to balance the output/volume of each string. If you have a flat pole set of pickups with a 7.25” radius neck then you’d get more perceived volume from the high & low ‘E’ strings as they would be closer to the magnets whereas with a vintage stagger, the poles follow the radius of the neck to give good volume balance. Conversely, a vintage staggered set on a modern 10” or 12” neck will over emphasise the middle ‘D’ & ‘G’ strings as they will be closer to the strings.

Pickups staggered to suit your neck radius

I often chat with customers about the radius of their guitar neck when I wind them a set of Strat pickups. The pic at the top of this blog article shows a custom 10” staggered set of my Sweet ‘74 Stratocaster Pickups. The customer wanted a good, rounded tone with balanced output across the strings.

Coming Soon - The “Sonic-Six” adjustable pole Strat pickup

[caption id=”attachment_912” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery “Sonic-Six” Custom Adjustable Pole Strat Pickup”][/caption]

Its with this in mind I’ve designed the new Sonic-Six, adjustable pole Strat pickup. The individual threaded magnets allow you to find the right balance for each string. They’ll be launched in early December.

If you’re after a good rounded balance to your strat pickups I can custom make a set to suit your guitar. Have a look at my range of Handwound Strat pickups, and let me know the radius of your fingerboard. If you don’t know, just let me know the make & model of your guitar and I can research it.

Original Article

[caption id=”attachment_889” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Custom ‘Double Track’ Handwound Blade Humbucker Pickup”][/caption]

Design your own Humbucker Pickup

Fully Custom Handwound Humbucker Blade Pickups

Magnet:Alnico 2,3,4,5 or Alnico 8

Coil Wire: 42 or 43AWG Plain Enamel

Lead Wire: Vintage Braided Pushback or 4way

Bridge Output: Low, Mid or High

Neck Output: Low, Mid or High

Here it is, the totally custom blade humbucker from The Creamery. You chose the magnets & the output for a pickup or set unique for your sound. Blade pickups are great for string bending as, unlike polepiece pickups, there’s no audio drop off when pushing/pulling the string. They also have a slightlier smoother, rounder tone as the string is always over the magnetised rail, great for clarity & definition.

Choose from my:

• Hollow-Body Humbucker output: 7.3k Bridge, 6.4k Neck
• ‘57 Humbucker output: 7.8k Bridge, 7.0k Neck
• ‘59 Humbucker outout: 8.3k Bridge, 7.3k Neck
• Dirty Shirt Humbucker output: 13.6k Bridge, 9.7k Neck
• Double Six Humbucker output: 14.5k Bridge, 11.7k Neck
• or your own choice of output: x.xk Bridge, x.xk Neck

Also, with a complete choice of magnets ranging from Alnico 2, through Alnico 3, 4, 5 up to Alnico 8 you can truly have a custom blade humbucker pickup. There’s also an option to have a trio of Alnico 5 & Alnico 8 magnets for a truly powerful, attacking pickup especially designed for high gain playing.

Available naked or with chrome or gold H-Covers & closed covers for a classic look, the Creamery Double Track Humbucker gives you the opportunity to have a truly customised hand-wound pickup or set for your guitar. Have a read through the reviews to see what people are saying about my work.

You can buy a single pickup or set of Creamery Custom ‘Double-Track’ Humbucker Pickups here

Or you can view my Handwound Humbucker Pickup range here

Original Article

[caption id=”attachment_879” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Classic ‘71 Wide Range Humbucker Cover - Prototype Sample”][/caption]

Its on its way, just in time for Christmas …

The final prototype covers are on their way and providing all the measurements are correct, the new true spec Creamery Classic ‘71 Wide Range Humbucker pickups will be available on the site start of December.

A Direct Replacement for Fender® reissue pickups

The prototype above is made from brass but the final commercial covers will be nickel with nickel plating. Baseplates are nickel as well.

Still working out pricing but here are some specs:

Magnets: Threaded Pole or Optional Alnico 2
Coil Wire: 42AWG Plain Enamel
Lead Wire: Vintage Braided or 4-way
Bridge Output: 10.7k
Neck Output: 9.8k

The vintage Wide-Range Humbucker tone

A true replacement for the Fender® Wide Range / Thinline Humbucker reissue pickups. Classic fat single coil tones - Great clarity and string definition with a bright warmth. Individual threaded pole magnets charged to around 2/3rds or full capacity allow you to dial in each string. A warmer mid-range than standard single coils and with a higher output, they’re great for breaking up an amp. With a great fat bridge tone sounding akin to a “doubled-up” Tele and a neck with a warm, sweet brightness.

Custom nickel baseplate & ferrous internal reflector plate, full-size bobbins with handwound coils - The Creamery Wide Range / Thinline Humbucker, a direct vintage spec replacement for those modern reissues.

My vintage take on the original pickups have either 12 threaded magnets or a combination of 6 threaded magnets and 6 Alnico 2 rod magnets. With the threaded & Alnico 2 rod magnets the tone is ever so rounder, warmer with a few less highs - Great if you want to take a little ‘spank’ out of the bridge.

Available in both standard humbucker and true spec Wide Range Humbucker sizes with pole spacing unique to bridge & neck for better strings definition.

Only available in Nickel covers (Nickel plated, Nickel Silver material).

You can read more about my Vintage, Modern & Wide Range Humbucker Upgrades here

Original Article

[caption id=”attachment_845” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Custom Jazzmaster & Fender® Jazzmaster Japan Reissue Pickup”][/caption]

Vintage Jazzmaster Pickups

One of my favourite pickups, the original Jazzmaster pickup, unlike the modern CIJ reissues, had short & wide coils around 1/8” high. Its this unique design that helps to give the pickup that classic darker, warmer single coil tone. The larger surface area of coil ‘senses’ more of the string, resulting in that fatter, warmer tone. The individual pole piece magnets help keep clarity & string definition and when combined with the shape of coil, gives that unique tone.

Modern ‘Crafted in Japan’ Reissue Jazzmaster Pickups

Unlike the high-end American versions, Fender® CIJ Jazzmaster guitars have what on the surface looks much like a true Jazzmaster pickup design but underneath its something entirely different.

[caption id=”attachment_942” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Modern CIJ Jazzmaster Reissue Pickups”][/caption]

As you can see from the picture above, the CIJ reissue Jazzmaster pickups are more akin to a Strat pickup, with a much narrower, taller coil giving a brighter tone. When you consider the Jazzmaster has 1Mb pots then you can see why some say the CIJ Jazzmaster are too bright, maybe even shrill with much less in the bass & mid-range.

Creamery Vintage & Custom Jazzmaster Pickups

As shown in the image above, I make all my Vintage, Custom & ‘Extra-Width’ Jazzmaster pickups to the original coil size to give simple variations on that classic warm, darker tone. Recently I’ve been balancing the original design with slightly taller magnets, narrower coil wire for higher output and other variations to give a few modern twists on the original.

What the Guitarist said:

The reissue pickup in the picture belonged to a guitarist who got in touch wanting something more from his Jazzmaster. The neck pickup was ok for him but the bridge was just too bright. We talked about vintage Jazzmaster pickups and I explained the differences. Once I’d fitted my vintage style Jazzmaster pickups to his guitar this is what he had to say:

“What a brilliant difference. My Jazzmaster now has that real tasty classic sound. My Musicman amp has found a good friend. Awesome clean tones. I would never change now. I’ll be requesting some strat pickups now as I had no idea the vintage tone would sound so idyllic with my amp. I have had an education. Thank you.”

Upgrade your Jazzmaster Pickups

If you’d like to upgrade your Jazzmaster with handwound pickups, take a look at the Jazzmaster pickups page on the site here. I don’t have a shelf full of pickups all boxed up and ready to send, each order is custom wound so if you have a spec in mind, just get in touch.

Available in Black, White or Vintage Aged White covers with vintage cloth push-back wire, have a read through the reviews to see what customers are saying about my handwound Jazzmaster pickups.

Original Article

[caption id=”attachment_789” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Converting a P90 Dogear pickup to P90 Soapbar”][/caption]

When you want to keep your P90 pickups but use them in another guitar.

This is a very simple switch, and great if you want to use your P90 pickups in a new guitar but need to change the covers and baseplates from a dogear style P90 to the alternative soapbar version. This can also work the other way around as well.

[caption id=”attachment_790” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Converting a P90 Dogear pickup to P90 Soapbar - Underneath”][/caption]

While essentially the same pickup, the Dogear style differs from the Soapbar version not only through the cover, but also the baseplate underneath. Whereas the Dogear pickup is attached to the body of the guitar through the two lugs “ears” either side of the pickup, the Soapbar is fixed to the guitar via two centre screws with foam pads and/or springs underneath the pickup for height adjustment.

[caption id=”attachment_791” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Classic Handwound ‘53 P90 Soapbar Pickup”][/caption]

As you can see from my Classic Handwound ‘53 P90 Soapbar Pickup above, the two centre holes are utilised to attach the pickup to the body of the guitar. If you look at the Dogear style in the firs picture, you’ll see the lugs “ears” which are used to screw the pickup down.

Removing the P90 baseplate

Its as simple as removing the fixing screws and noting where & whether the ground wire and braided hookup wires are soldered to the existing baseplate.

[caption id=”attachment_793” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery - Converting a P90 Dogear Pickup to a P90 Soapbar style - Removing the baseplate”][/caption]

Usually attached with a couple of screws plus a film of wax from the potting process, the baseplate can be easily removed with very little danger of damage to the pickup coil.

A word of caution though, many P90 pickups will have a ground wire from the coil and the braided hookup wire soldered to the existing baseplate. Take a note of this and simply replicate the process with the new Soapbar style baseplate.

The new Soapbar style baseplate attaches in the same manner, screwed directly to the centre section of the coil bobbin.

Once the baseplate is attached, the new cover can be positioned over the coil and with a quick wax-potting to keep everything in place, the pickup is ready to be installed.

Converting a Dogear style P90 to a Soapbar can be a very simple way to re-use loved pickups even though you may want to change your guitar. The switch is just as simple the other way around. Of course, make sure the new cover has the same pole spacing as your existing pickups. A simple check with the ruler can confirm this.

——————————————————————————————-

You can find more details of my handwound P90 pickups here, and for details of my custom pickup upgrades, repairs & rewinds, just head to the main site here

Original Article

Upgrading the modern Fender® reissue Wide Range Tele Humbuckers to vintage spec

You can find more details of my modern, vintage Wide Range Humbucker pickups & upgrades on the main site. Below is a blog post on the actual upgrade of both a modern & older Japanese Fender® reissue Wide Range Humbucker.

Old vs New

As you can see from the picture, the modern Wide Range / Thinline Humbucker Reissues are simply standard Humbucker sized coils encased in wax to fit the larger Wide Range Cover. As with standard Humbuckers they feature a bar magnet underneath, the difference being the use of threaded slugs to mimic the threaded magnets of the original late ’60s-70s pickups. Having a bar magnet underneath the slugs means these pickups will have a different voice to the clarity, definition and fat brighter tone associated with the original, vintage versions.

[caption id=”attachment_732” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Original Fender® reissue Wide Range Humbucker - Inside”][/caption]

Removing the cover

Using a sharp blade I carefully slice through the old solder. Rather than desoldering, I cut through so later I can simply let the solder flow when reattaching the cover once the upgrade has been completed.

[caption id=”attachment_735” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Original Fender® reissue Wide Range Humbucker - Inside”][/caption]

Inside its clear that the pickup is simply the standard humbucker design, and this accounts for the much darker tone. To achieve the output of the original Seth Lover ’70s pickups, Fender® overwind the coils on these modern Wide Range Humbuckers. The nature of overwinding pickups tend to create a darker pickup which when coupled with the bar magnet underneath can make these modern reissues difficult to brighten up and can often appear muddy in the neck position. A change of pots & caps can help but the tone would still be unlike the original.

The original design had 6 individual threaded pole magnets and a ferrous reflector plate (similar to the baseplate found on the underside of a Telecaster bridge pickup). This original design allowed a much higher output pickup that kept the clarity, string definition and higher frequencies.

As you can see from the picture above, this particular reissue had 2 magnet pieces waxed together underneath the coils.

Threaded Pole Magnet vs Standard Humbucker Bar Magnet

[caption id=”attachment_740” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Wide Range Thinline Tele Humbucker Upgrade - Custom Threaded Magnets”][/caption]

Like the original, my Wide Range Humbucker upgrades use threaded adjustable magnets. CuNiFe is prohibitively expensive now so I use FeCrCo which is very similar to Alnico but with more stable magnetic properties, threaded to enable adjustment of the poles. The individual magnets and custom scatterwound coils help give great clarity and string definition, with a ‘fat’ brightness unique to this design of pickup. The adjustable pole magnets allow you to emphasise certain strings and follow the radius of your guitar neck.

As the FeCrCo threaded magnets could be more aligned with Alnico 5 in terms of ‘colouring the sound’ I offer two options with these upgrades. One version with 12 threaded poles which keeps the brighter attack and another version with six adjustable threaded poles and six corresponding Alnico 2 rod magnets to give a slightly warmer tone.

[caption id=”attachment_741” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Wide Range Thinline Tele Humbucker Upgrade Custom Fullsize Bobbins”][/caption]

The reissues generally have standard humbucker sized bobbins which means the coils are shorter & narrower whereas both the original ’70s design and my new upgrades have full size bobbins that fill the length of the pickup. I custom make mine to be the same dimensions as the originals.

Upgrading the Pickup

[caption id=”attachment_744” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Wide Range Thinline Tele Humbucker Upgrade”][/caption]

The new full size coils are fixed to the baseplate on top of the new custom made ferrous reflector plate. This plate helps to increase the inductance of the coil (like increasing the number of turns of wire) giving a higher perceived output. The steel plate also offers Electrodynamic functions (eddy current interference). Eddy currents shift the resonances toward the lows, resulting in a fatter, more pleasant tone.This coupled with the individual threaded pole magnets offer a clarity, string definition & that “doubled up” tele-like tone unique to this design of pickup.

The coils and reflector plate are screwed down tight before the lead wires are connected. Another great thing about the design of the original Wide Range Humbucker that with 4-way wiring, the pickup can be split into a true single coil.

[caption id=”attachment_747” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Left: Creamery Reissue Upgrade - Right: Original Fender® Reissue”][/caption]

As you can see, the pickup looks pretty much exactly as it did before, the difference being that inside, its completely different - and now true to the original design. Listen to a video demo of the neck pickup upgrade for yourself:

Creamery Wide Range Humbucker (Neck) Upgrade Video Demo

[iframe_loader src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/24919259” width=”398” height=”224” click_words=”View the Wide Range Humbucker video on Vimeo” click_url=”http://vimeo.com/24919259” ]

Thanks to Sami Saarinen for playing on & recording this video.

[caption id=”attachment_770” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Wide Range Thinline Tele Humbucker Upgraded Reissues”][/caption]

As you can see from the picture above, the upgrades look just like the originals. So if you’re after that vintage Wide Range Humbucker tone and want to keep your Fender® covers, then my Creamery upgrades could well be for you. Available in three options, you can find details of them here.

Reviews of my Custom Wide Range / Thinline Humbucker Replacements / Upgrades

“Had my first gig with it last night - it sounded awesome! HUGE improvement in tone and clarity etc and was noticed by everyone. Really happy with the product and service Jaime!”

Dave Dixon

“Wow, what a great pickup! It’s just what I was looking for. A marvellous sounding pickup. Well done. Now my ‘72 Custom’s neck pickup sounds clear and twangy, with tight bottom. I believe that you got the original’s sound excactly right :-)”

Sami Saarinen

The Creamery Wide Range Humbucking Pick-ups are really amazing. I’ve played for a long time, have owned a vast number of guitars with single coils and humbuckers, but these are something special, indeed. They’re very dynamic, you can make them go from a whisper to a roar just by the touch of your fingers. The sound is clear and bright, but with a solid bottom, never thin or spiky. I’ve put them in my Japanese thinline copy and they do make the instrument come alive in a very special way. Very good if you don’t want to have to chose between mellowness and twang - here you have them both!

Tomas Blom

“What to say… I am really impressed by the sound definition of these PUs. The other Wide Range that I tested before (re-issue ones) were muddy, no precise string definition and the twang of my tele was gone. This is one is trully amazing, clean, soft and subtile. Your telecatser is suddenly beathing ! About the bridge PU, with clean sound it’s litterally smashing your face away ! Sounds powerfull and so precise, ready to roar ! Never heard such PUs combination before and really happy to play them today. Thanks so much Jaime for your beautiful work and patience. “

Fabz, from the band Lazarre

“It really is exactly what I was lookong for. All the twang and single note clarity my telecaster is supposed to have, but so much tighter when overdriven, like a humbucker is meant to be but with the added detail I would get from from my single coil. Thanks!”

Kyle Jernigan

“There is a real difference between these and the reissues - these are brighter/sharper and more tele like. The others were quite dark in comparison. I played it next to my single coil tele and it is now much more useable - it used to be like playing a cheap les paul at times!. Having scrutinised it all I am delighted with the sound”

Greg Dopson

“I’ve received the PUs yesterday and put them back in the guitar. I’m very very happy! With the CTS pots and PIO caps, the sound is great! The guitar now has that nice vintage, warm tone, no comparison with the original (crappy) reissue PUs. Thank you for your good job.”

Judicaël Guesné

“They sound really good; open, punchy and very dynamic - I have to get used to all those nuances! It’s like going from automatic gear to stick shift … Played the first concert with them this saturday. It was an outdoor gig with no soundcheck, so I didn’t get a chance to change the gain structure in my setup. It sounded great, and I guess it’ll be even better when I some time to dial everything in.”

Asger J. Steenholdt

Original Article

Introducing the Red ‘79 Strat Pickup Set

[caption id=”attachment_722” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Red ‘79 Handwound Stratocaster Pickup Set”][/caption]

Magnets: Alnico 5
Poles: Staggered or Flat
Coil Wire: 42AWG Plain Enamel
Lead Wire: Vintage Cloth Pushback
Bridge Output: 5.9k
Middle Output: 5.7k
Neck Output: 5.5k

Inspired by the New Wave/Post Punk era of the late ’70s & early ’80s, the Red ‘79 Stratocaster Pickup has that brittle, bright attack associated with much of the music of that era. The lower in output, 42AWG coil wrapped around Custom Alnico 5 magnets gives you that cutting tone great with effects (a little phase, a little chorus ;-). As with the Telecaster Red ’79s, I settled on the final designs (after many versions) to create a pickup that has that bright, brittle tone without the ice-pick shrillness of thin, lower wound pickups. To achieve this the coil is wound slightly shorter with a looser scatterwound pattern to achieve the balance I was looking for.

[caption id=”attachment_723” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Red ‘79 Handwound Strat Pickup”][/caption]

With staggered magnets the tone is concentrated more around the D & G strings for a spikier attack whereas with the flat pole version the tone is rounded a little more as the tone is spread evenly through all strings.

NOTE: If Red really isn’t your thing you can always order it in White or Black vintage String as well (or standard Strat covers) ;-)

The Middle Pickup can be RW/RP for hum cancelling in positions 2 & 4.

You can buy a single Red ‘79 Strat pickup or for a Bridge, Middle & Neck pickup as a complete Handwound Red ‘79 Stratocaster pickup set here.

They look great on a jet black Strat ;-)

Original Article

Humbucker sized Filtertrons from The Creamery

After looking at modern variants of the old Filtertron style pickups, and wanting something a little ‘brighter’ I came up with these - introducing the ‘Swing-O’ - Humbucker sized Filtertron style pickups. A reduced number of offset winds on each coil provide the extra brightness. The Alnico 5 magnets help keep the attack but being stronger due to their 1/4” height, the magnet boosts the output of the lower windings on each coil to give great volume & brightness. A real spank & twang to these Humbucker sized Filtertrons. The H-gate chrome covers give that ‘retro’ look.

Give a listen to the quick audio files:

Humbucker sized Filtertrons - Bridge

Creamery “Swing-O” Humbucker sized Filtertrons - Bridge v1
Creamery “Swing-O” Humbucker sized Filtertrons - Bridge v2

Humbucker sized Filtertrons - Middle

Creamery “Swing-O” Humbucker sized Filtertronss - Bridge / Neck v1
Creamery “Swing-O” Humbucker sized Filtertrons - Bridge / Neck v2

Humbucker sized Filtertrons - Neck

Creamery “Swing-O” Humbucker sized Filtertrons - Neck v1
Creamery “Swing-O” Humbucker sized Filtertrons - Neck v2

Prices are £65 for a single Humbucker sized Filtertron Bridge or Neck pickup and £120 for the set - details here

Original Article

[caption id=”attachment_600” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Wide Range/Thinline Humbucker Pickup Replacement - Standard Humbucker Version”][/caption]

Coming very soon, a new replacement for those Fender Seth Lover Wide Range/Thinline Humbucker reissues.

Whereas the original Wide Range/Thinline Humbucker pickups had threaded CuNiFe magnets, the modern reissues are merely a standard humbucker with bar magnet and pole screws. With the right capacitors & potentiometers, they’re not a bad pickup at all - they just don’t have the dynamics of the original Wide Range/Thinline Humbucker.

My new versions will be true to the original with threaded, adjustable magnets and I’m creating two versions - a full sized version intended to be a direct drop-in replacement for the current Wide Range/Thinline Humbucker reissues. I’m looking to launch these in the next few weeks. The second option is scaled down version to fit standard humbucker size which will be launched in February.

[caption id=”attachment_654” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Wide Range / Thinline Humbucker Replacement Pickups - Comparison”][/caption]

So if you’ve a modern day Telecaster Thinline, Custom or Deluxe then in a few weeks you’ll be able to purchase a direct Wide Range/Thinline Humbucker replacement with dynamics true to the original pickup.

If you’d simply like a true Wide Range/Thinline Humbucker style pickup for your guitar to replace a standard humbucker, then now you can.

[caption id=”attachment_601” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Wide Range/Thinline Humbucker Pickup replacement with threaded magnets”][/caption]

As you can see from the final prototype picture above the new pickup has threaded magnets just like the original. CuNiFe is prohibitively expensive now so these new Wide Range/Thinline humbucker pickups use a form of Alnico, threaded to enable adjustment of the poles. The individual magnets and custom scatterwound coils give great clarity and string definition, with a ‘fat’ brightness unique to this design of pickup. The adjustable pole magnets allow you to emphasise certain strings.

[caption id=”attachment_607” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Creamery Wide Range/Thinline Humbucker Replacement with threaded magnets”][/caption]

Whereas the original Seth Lover designed Wide Range/Thinline Humbuckers had roughly the same output in both bridge & neck, I’ve voiced these new designs with differing outputs for better calibration, volume and tone. The bridge has an output of around 10.6k with the neck slightly lower at around 9.7k. Of course, if you’d like to keep output to the original specs, I can happily custom wind a set for you.

Both versions will be available in singles or sets. With the full-sized version, you’ll have the option to keep your original Fender embossed cover which I will fit to the new pickups for you. Your original pickup will be returned in full working condition, minus the cover of course ;-)

For the standard humbucker sized version I modify my classic humbucker bobbins & baseplate to create the pickup whilst crafting the reflector plate by hand. With the full-sized Wide Range/Thinline Humbucker replacements the full-size bobbins, reflector plate and baseplate are all made by hand here in my workshop.

I’m also looking into the idea of offering a modification service whereby I either remove the poles and bar magnet from your modern-day Fender reissue pickups and replace them with threaded magnets. Another idea is to offer a reduced price full-sized pickup by taking your reissue Wide-Range/Thinline humbucker and using the existing baseplate & cover to with the new wound coils & threaded magnets.

I’ll be updating this blog with audio & video demos, offering a direct comparison between the modern reissues and my new replacement versions - just wanted to let you know that they’re on their way.

If you’ve any questions, or just want to know more - just get in touch.

Thanks for reading.

Jaime
The Creamery - Custom Guitars & Handwound Pickups

UPDATE

The new standard Humbucker sized Wide Range / Thinline Humbucker styled pickups are now available.

[caption id=”attachment_649” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Comparison - Creamery Wide Range / Thinline Humbucker Replacements”][/caption]

Here’s a quick comparison between a couple of versions.

1. Fender® Modern MIM Full Size Wide Range / Thinline Humbucker Reissues

2. GFS Vintage Fender® Style Split Humbucker “faithful recreations”

3. Creamery Wide Range / Thinline Humbucker Replacements - Standard Humbucker Sized Version

[caption id=”attachment_650” align=”aligncenter” width=”600” caption=”Comparison - Creamery Wide Range / Thinline Humbucker Replacements”][/caption]

The modern Fender® pickups (1) are simply a standard humbucker with single bar magnet and ferrous pole pieces/screws, encased in a large volume of wax to fill out the cover. The GFS version (2) is again a standard humbucker design with underlying bar magnet but in their case, three of the poles on each coil are simply filled with wax rather than have a ferrous slug or screw. (3) is my standard humbucker sized version with threaded magnets and ferrous reflector plate as seen on the original Seth Lover design but not in the modern Fender® reissues.

As the originals were one of my favourite pickups I always had the intention to try and recreate them, and if not totally correct (as CuNiFe is now prohibitively expensive and pretty damn hard to get hole of) I’ve tried to stay true to the original design. The impetus to try and recreate them was down to the initial conversation that led to my “Wide-O” range of pickups - I just ran with it.

The Humbucker sized Wide Range / Thinline Humbucker styled pickups - Standard Humbucker Size are available from my main site now. Just follow the link.

The Full size direct drop-in replacements are coming in February 2011.

I’m also working on a slightly different design using threaded poles with small neodymium magnets under each pole for more perceived output whilst keeping the brightness & bloom. More details soon.

Thanks for reading.

Jaime
The Creamery - Custom Guitars & Handwound Pickups

Original Article

Named after a comment I overheard whilst climbing off the train at Manchester Piccadilly station, as a group of guys climbed on, eager to get back home south.

A tele take on the Les Paul Junior. Whilst waiting for a batch of parts to arrive so I could wind the single P90 needed, the guitar was wired up with an old Gibson P90 I had lying around. Eager to hear a P90 in the bridge position the old Gibson pickup was only ever meant to be temporary measure, especially as this was a neck pickup, the pole spacing too narrow for the wider telecaster bridge.

So the guitar was strung whilst waiting for the P90 magnets to arrive - plugged in and played. I never got round to replacing the pickup, it just sounded right. The weaker neck pickup really breaks up when pushed. The bite and snarl warmed up through the mahogany wood.

Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, one-piece mahogany body, custom cut stamped steel telecaster bridge, glove fit P90 rout and custom scratchplate and a single Gibson P90 wired to The Creamery’s own twist on the original Fender electronics with a .0047uf cap where the resistor should sit - this is essentially the same as the ‘Eldred Mod’ giving the out-of-phase or cocked-wah sound in the front position - a guitar to be played loud.

Original Article

The first in a series of 6 guitars carved from a 30yr old pine. Introducing No.1 - Based on the famous Jazzmaster shape. 2 Custom, scatterwound humbuckers with chrome plated nickel H-covers. Gotoh bridge & stoptail. 1 tone, 1 volume, 3 way switching. CTS pots & vintage capacitor. Body treated with nothing more then Danish oil.

Still got to brand the headstock and clip the strings but couldn’t resist tuning it up - The pickups are a touch overwound to balance the twang from the bone-dry wood, yet the coils are offset by  a few hundred turns to keep clarity.

More pics & soundfiles when the ste goes live.

Original Article

Custom made from a butcher’s block

There was just something about it. When tapped it had that ‘ring’, that sound that was far more than the usual dull thud you get with many woods. Maybe its the many blocks of birch laminated together under pressure. Maybe its the 40mm thickness. Maybe, maybe, maybe. One thing’s for sure - it sounds good.

Oiled pine birch, bolt-on maple neck with rosewood fingerboard to temper the bright sound from the birch wood, and a custom white pearl scratchplate, individual saddles on a stamped steel bridge - this guitar has a warm snap and growl when breaking up.

I’ll be recording the soundfiles this week ready for the new site though I just can’t part with this one.

Quick note on the pickups: They were originally GFS pickups but sounded a touch sterile for me so I stripped the wire and scatterwound them to different specs.

A few more pics can be found here.

Original Article