Got an interesting email from Curtis Novak ...

dbirchett

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Curtis Novak is making his version of the Fender Wide Range Humbuckers that were designed for Fender by Seth Lover. These pickups are brighter than the traditional humbuckers and featured threaded CuNiFe (Copper-Nickel-Iron) magnets instead of the typical screws/slugs. CuNiFe magnets are basically unavailable these days so I emailed Curtis to ask him what magnets he used and got an interesting reply. This is what he said:

Hi Don, I use threaded rod magnets the the alloy I use is FeCrCo. The thing is an old pal of mine who was an engineer at Gibson, and was pals with Seth said that Fender had contracted with Seth to design a humbucker, that would compete with Gibson's but still sound like Fender's sound. Their whole goal was to have a humbucker, with adjustable pole pieces that still sounded like a Fender pickup with AlNiCo magnets. They choose CuNiFe, NOT b/c it had any mystical sonic properties, but rather b/c it sounded closest to AlNiCo AND could be machined into a screw. In my former life I spent 16 years working at one of our National Laboratories, and was pals and worked with a number world renowned metallurgists, and physicists. They all confirmed that in a sensor such as a guitar pickup, there is NO special sonic characteristic that the alloy CuniFe would have over AlNiCo, or FeCrCo other than their grade strength, and their orientation to the coil. All 3 alloys being equal in strength, shape and orientation to the coil would give the same sonic results. Outside of factual data there is much hype that starts putting this pickup in the same category as the Loch Ness Monster, and Bigfoot designed to create an artificial fervor and demand for it and to attempt justify an astronomical price. In my personal experience working both in high level research science and my many years with pickups, I have seen when people get way too wrapped up in their data, assumptions, goals, desires, and their egos. In the end they are only researching and accepting results that confirm their desires. They tend to lose focus and get way off track of their original goal and with pickups they start listening with their eyes, and stop using their ears.

Glad you like them. Curtis

Maybe some will find this interesting.
 

Quantum Strummer

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I imagine Curtis is right. I wasn't even aware that anyone was ascribing special properties to CuNiFe other than its ability to be threaded and slotted without crumbling. The thing with the Wide Ranges is the polepieces are also the magnets. And they're inside the coil rather than underneath or alongside. So they can be wound pretty hot and still sound bright and snappy. It's a really great sound!

-Dave-
 

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Which makes me wonder how close the Fenderbuckers in Guilds are to the wide ranges. Maybe I could move the pole pieces to the same coil and they would fit under the Guild cover.
 

bluesypicky

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I worked with a number world renowned metallurgists, and physicists. They all confirmed that in a sensor such as a guitar pickup, there is NO special sonic characteristic that the alloy CuniFe would have over AlNiCo, or FeCrCo other than their grade strength, and their orientation to the coil. All 3 alloys being equal in strength, shape and orientation to the coil would give the same sonic results.

Yes, interesting.
What THAT makes me wonder even more though, is why has every attempt to reproduce a vintage p/up sound on a new one has been a failure, despite the effort put into replicating the original specs? (Yes, I'm thinking about the HB1's "replicas" here)..... :)
 

dbirchett

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Which makes me wonder how close the Fenderbuckers in Guilds are to the wide ranges. Maybe I could move the pole pieces to the same coil and they would fit under the Guild cover.

I assume that you are talking about the Fender Designed HB-1s used at about the turn of the century. They are not similar at all. the HB-1s (as I understand it) use screws/slugs that go from the magnets through the coils while the wide range ones, as well as fender single coils, DeArmonds and the Gibson vintage AlNiCo pickups (aka staples) use the magnets themselves as the pole pieces. Lindy Fralin has several designs of pickups that also use the magnets as pole pieces.
 

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I assume that you are talking about the Fender Designed HB-1s used at about the turn of the century. They are not similar at all. the HB-1s (as I understand it) use screws/slugs that go from the magnets through the coils while the wide range ones, as well as fender single coils, DeArmonds and the Gibson vintage AlNiCo pickups (aka staples) use the magnets themselves as the pole pieces. Lindy Fralin has several designs of pickups that also use the magnets as pole pieces.
As in "would the Curtis Novak wide ranges fit under the Guild humbucker covers"?
 

Zelja

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As in "would the Curtis Novak wide ranges fit under the Guild humbucker covers"?
No, as the the adjustable magnets/pole pieces are 3 a side:
hum-WR.jpg


He makes 2 types - standard humbucker size and mounting (as above) and the larger original WRHB size with the different mounting tabs:
wrhb-3.jpg
 

gilded

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....CuNiFe magnets are basically unavailable these days....

You could get CuNiFe mags, but nobody wants to pay the price. It's one of those deals that might be cheap on an industrial scale, but not on an individual scale.
 

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No, as the the adjustable magnets/pole pieces are 3 a side:
hum-WR.jpg


He makes 2 types - standard humbucker size and mounting (as above) and the larger original WRHB size with the different mounting tabs:
wrhb-3.jpg

Looks possible. Take the threaded slugs out and put the polepieces from the other coil in their place. solder the Guild cover on top.
 

Zelja

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Looks possible. Take the threaded slugs out and put the polepieces from the other coil in their place. solder the Guild cover on top.
I guess. The screw heads on the Novak pickup could be bigger than the hole in the Fender HB-1s but that can be solved pretty easily I suppose.

Actually emailed Curtis Novak about these today. The screw holes on the standard humbucker sized one are Gibson spacing though I was actually hoping they come in F spacing. There's a guitar I would have liked to try them out on.
 
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