Trapizoid Pickups?

Billy Gilbert · Post by **Billy Gilbert** » 21 Aug 2005 1:20 pm

I just bought an old D-8 Fender with Trapizoid pickups. Are they "string-through" horse-shoe type or is that just a coverplate on top? A friend says he prefers these to the Stringmaster pickups. Your experience???

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 21 Aug 2005 1:28 pm

The strings run through the magnetic field produced by the top steel cover plate and the bottom steel mounting plate ... "yolking" the alnico block magnets on either side of the coil ...

(N) to (N) and (S) to (S).

They do tend to degauss more rapidly because of this configuration ... but they have to be oriented this way to function.

A very similar set-up (magnet wise) is found in Supro/Valco/National pickups ...

Its similar to a horseshoe pickup too ... as far as magnets go ...

But very, very different from either of these types ... in terms of the coil itself.

These are very "tasty" pickups ...

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Aiello's House of Gauss


My wife and I don't think alike. She donates money to the homeless and I donate money to the topless! ... R. Dangerfield

[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 21 August 2005 at 02:38 PM.]

Billy Gilbert · Post by **Billy Gilbert** » 21 Aug 2005 1:36 pm

Thanks Rick. These work good and sound good to my ear.

John Dahms · Post by **John Dahms** » 21 Aug 2005 2:46 pm

I've got old Fenders with "boxcars," and with trapezoid pickups. The traps are more civilized (balanced?) than the earlier boxcars, not as spikey. In fact I like them for their grainyness to the point where I have sold 2 1956 dual 8 Stringmasters (a 22.5 & a 24") and kept the Dual Pro with the traps. I know this sounds like sacrilege but to my ears the Stringmasters are cold ( now I'm expecting to be burned as a heretic for that comment).

Kerry Wood · Post by **Kerry Wood** » 21 Aug 2005 3:15 pm

Hey Rick, I've been meaning to ask this for a while: I know you have your own version of the "Boxcar" that you've built. Have you experimented with using any of your magic magnet material in an original "Direct Contact" pickup in place of the alnico? If it worked, it sure seems like it would take care of the whole degaussing issue.

Kerry

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 21 Aug 2005 4:45 pm

It evolved ...

MRI ...

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Aiello's House of Gauss


My wife and I don't think alike. She donates money to the homeless and I donate money to the topless! ... R. Dangerfield

[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 21 August 2005 at 05:57 PM.]

John Dahms · Post by **John Dahms** » 21 Aug 2005 5:09 pm

Rick,
That's almost guitar porn--(aural sex?)

Kerry Wood · Post by **Kerry Wood** » 21 Aug 2005 5:27 pm

Rick, I'm probably gonna come off sounding like a hillbilly (which I am), but what I was thinking was would it be possible to replace the existing weaker magnets in the Direct Contact pickups of say a 1950 Dual Pro with the new magnetic material, and preserve the look of the instrument, but still blow the socks off your friends and neighbors?

Kerry

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 21 Aug 2005 6:33 pm

I made those a few years ago ... and more recently the little Supro magnets.

I still have the molds somewhere. Even made the bass side stronger ... to emulate the traps.

In fact I have the neodymium-iron-boron block magnets in my Dual Pro ... been in there for two years.

Mine has a "Boxcar" and a "Trap" ... and the NIBs are in the Boxcar. The Traps are fully charged ... and the "Cars" blast the traps outta the room.

But the MRI ... is a much more advanced application of these prinicples.

When Jason sent me that prototype "pole-piecless" bobbin ... I knew I needed something to compliment it better than just a reproduction of a Boxcar.

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Aiello's House of Gauss


My wife and I don't think alike. She donates money to the homeless and I donate money to the topless! ... R. Dangerfield

Kerry Wood · Post by **Kerry Wood** » 22 Aug 2005 4:47 am

Rick, do you think you might one day offer NIB magnet replacements/upgrades for Fender "Trap" pickups as an alternative to recharging the old degaussed alnico magnets?

Kerry

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 22 Aug 2005 9:00 am

While we're mentioning re-gaussing, Rick did his trick on the pickups from my '54 dual pro, and it sounds way better than it used to. Warm, fat, and full, and most of all the pickups match much better in output volume and tone. Sweet! Thanks again, Rick!

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Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com
[This message was edited by Mark van Allen on 22 August 2005 at 10:01 AM.]

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 22 Aug 2005 10:19 am

Thanks Mark ...

I bettcha I've remag-ed more Fender Traps than Horseshoes now.

Kerry ... sure .. I gotta make molds for the Trap magnets first ...

I made molds for the Boxcars and Supros.

I've sent out a few Supro sets of NIBs to some folks ... and they have been very pleased.

 Which reminds me ... gotta send two sets of NIB Supros to Guam 

The are relatively easy to do ... compared to horseshoes and MRIs ...

Let me work up a bass side and treble side mold ... put together a set ... and send them your way for a test.

I'll email you when I get underway ... I'm knee deep in "pans" right now ...

... tis the season ...

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Aiello's House of Gauss


My wife and I don't think alike. She donates money to the homeless and I donate money to the topless! ... R. Dangerfield