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Justin,

The CS54's sounded quite close to the vintage pickups and since Hank wanted to get a more vintage tone with his 3 CS Strats for the tour, we fitted them to all 3. For his last CD he wanted a modern sound again, so I put back his original Kinmans. More recently, Chris Kinman sent over some Impersonator 54's and Hank liked them (brighter top end than the originals), so they are now in his 3 Strats, though he hasn't used them very much as yet due to his Gypsy Jazz interests (a new CD is underway).

There is a review of the Impersonator 54' on SOS: https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/kinman-impersonator-54

Paul.

Having read the review, someone is going to have to sit me down and explain very slowly how changes in the insulation of the wire on a pickup over time, can make its sound change.

Uncle Fiesta wrote:Having read the review, someone is going to have to sit me down and explain very slowly how changes in the insulation of the wire on a pickup over time, can make its sound change.

Deterioration of the (very thin) varnish coating on pickup winding wire (or any winding wire*) will reduce its insulating properties, causing an effect similar to a short circuit by allowing a certain amount of leakage between adjacent turns in the coil. The number of turns wound onto the bobbin will have been "reduced" because some of them are no longer doing anything, or at least, not doing as much. If a coil is supposed to have (say) 1,000 turns**, reduction in the insulation properties of the varnish might have the effect of effectively reducing the number of turns around the magnets to (say) 900. That would change the tonal response and will reduce the output.

[* I served an apprenticeship rewinding electric motors. The memory of winding wire and its various types of insulation coating still gives me nightmares.]
[** I don't know how many turns are actually wound onto a pickup. I once watched Roberto Pistolesi re-wind an open-circuit early 1960s Fender Jazz Bass pickup, but definitely can't remember how many revolutions of the pickup were recorded on the digital read-out he had on the winding lathe.]

The dielectric properties of the insulation might also change as it ages, affecting the inter-winding capacitance. I don't know if it does, but it is a least another possibility.
Paul.

One learns something new every day. Thank you.

Well explained Jim. By the way, I believe that the number of turns on a 50s Strat pickup was 9,000.

It's a extended list


1954 to 1967 Fender Stratocaster Pickup Specs

Year Ohms Wire OD Insulation Turns WD MP Wound
1954 5.76k .0030" Formvar 7956 TL/TG North Hand
1955 5.89k .0029" Formvar 7844 TL/TG North Hand
1956 5.98k .0029" Formvar 8012 TL/TG North Hand
1957 6.02k .0029" Formvar 8105 TL/TG North Hand
1958 6.20k .0028" Formvar 8350 TL/TG North Hand
1959 5.95k .0030" Formvar 7925 TL/TG North Hand
1960 6.33k .0028" Formvar 8293 TL/TG South Hand
1961 6.19k .0029" Formvar 8119 TL/TG South Hand
1962 6.22k .0028" Formvar 8220 TL/TG South Hand
1963 6.37k .0028" Formvar 8319 TL/TG South Hand
1964 6.25k .0027" Formvar/Enamel 7980 TL/TG South Hand
January 4, 1965, CBS bought Fender Musical Instruments.
1965 5.80k .0026" Plain Enamel 7626 TL/TG South Machine
1966 5.76k .0026" Plain Enamel 7630 TL/TG South Machine
1967 5.88k .0027" Plain Enamel 7656 TL/TG South Machine
Year Ohms Wire OD Insulation Turns WD MP Wound

The following table shows the difference in pickups by Fender model. Wire specs (gauge, insulation) are for the earliest models produced.


Fender Pickup Specs by Model Model Wire Gauge Insulation Avg. Turns
1000 Pedal Steel 42 Formvar 8000
400 Pedal Steel 42 Formvar 8000
5 String Bass 42 Plain Enamel 12,000
Bass VI 42 Formvar 8550
Deluxe 6 LapSteel 42 Formvar 8350
Deluxe 8 LapSteel 42 Formvar 8550
Dual 6 Steel 42 Formvar 8350
DuoSonic 42 Formvar 8350
Electric 12 42 Plain Enamel 12,500
Electric Mandolin 42 Formvar 8000
Jaguar 42 Formvar 8550
Jazz Bass 42 Formvar 9000
JazzMaster 42 Formvar 8500
Mustang 42 Formvar 7600
Precision Bass 42 Formvar 10,000
Stratocaster 42 Formvar 8350 (1958)
Telecaster (lead pu) 42 Formvar 8000
Telecaster (neck pu) 43 Formvar 8000
Model Wire Gauge Insulation Avg. Turns

Cheers Rob

Hi Paul,

Very informative link....but if I'm not mistaken it's about the '54 MkIII and Hank use the Mk V.
They wrote 12 years ago the pu's of Kinman came on the market....well that was around 98, so the test is from about 2010...

Cheers Rob