Post by antigua on May 22, 2017 0:44:09 GMT -5
www.aliexpress.com/store/204043
"Donlis Musical Instruments Limited" is a Chinese company that makes and sells a variety of electric guitar parts. Because it's China, the prices are dirt cheap. Whereas Tonerider pickups are Chinese pickups that are assured to use the best materials, such as AlNiCo magnets and nickel silver covers, Donlis' inventory includes a mix of "premium" and "budget" spec parts. Aside from Tonerider, it appears they pay closer attention to detail than just about any other pickup maker in China.
The main shortcoming of Donlis' pickups is their use of brass cover and base plates, which is common of low priced pickups. The real question to be asked is whether or not brass metal negatively effects the performance of the pickup. Brass covers do have a negative effect, because the higher conductivity brass causes greater eddy currents than the nickel silver used in vintage PAF's, or premium priced pickups. American Fender Tele neck pickup used nickel silver, but their Mexican and Japan made models have brass covers. They're plated in chrome, so they all look the same from the outside, but the brass substrate causes treble to be lost, due to overall attenuation as well as by diminishing the LC resonance of the coil.
Donlis does sell some nickel silver parts, and they make some pickups with nickel silver parts, where noted. I've previously determined that brass base plates have a minimal effect on the tone of a pickup, so in cases where a pickup has a brass base plate, it's a fine pickup, so long as there is not also a brass cover.
Donlis makes a few pickups that are spec for spec, similar, if not identical to, premium domestic version. This includes details such as cloth hook up wire, fiber flat work, AlNiCo magnets, chamfered pole pieces, cloth tape around the copper coils, as well as correct measurements and dimensions, all of which is generally uncommon for OEM and low priced import pickups. These Tele pickups tested below are three such pickups, and if you're into Strats, the DS53 is also an amazing pickup set, $40 for all three pickups.
The only real quality issue with these three Telecaster pickups presented here are the brass cover over the neck pickup, though there's nothing to stop anyone from just replacing the cover or base plate with nickel silver replacements. In fact, a Donlis neck pickup can be had at this moment for $17.40, or $15 if you buy three or more, and a nickel silver cover be acquired on Ebay for around $15, for a total cost of $32. The next lowest priced option for a similar pickup is probably from Tonerider, can be had for arounf $50, if you're lucky.
Saving for the brass cover on the neck, all three pickups are incredible quality. All of the other materials used are common to premium examples; fiber flat work, cloth wire, etc.
The DTB23 hot bridge has a loaded peak of 3.0kHz, which according to my records , puts in the tonal area of the Fender Blackguard or Twisted Tele Bridge. The DTB52 moderate output bridge has a loaded peak of 3.5kHz, nearly the same as the Fender Nocaster bridge. Both have steel base plates, but the "hot" version appears to be chromed while the "vintage" output pickup's base is copper plated. As seen from the resonant elevation, the steel base plates cause negligible losses, and probably several hundred millihenries worth of increased induictance.
The neck pickup, the DTN51, has a very high loaded resonant peak of 4.5kHz The only neck pickup I've seen that comes close if the BL Keystone neck, with 4.6kHz. The neck pickup might therefore be a bit bright for most people, and the brass cover, which causes a diminished treble, might be desirable, but the low inductance of only 1.8 henry means this pickup will have a fairly low voltage output. This doesn't mean it's a bad pickup, it's extremely similar to a Bill Lawrence Keystone, and a lot of people claim to like them. Interestingly, the neck pickup also have beveled, or chamfered pole piece under the cover (see the picture down below), theoretically unnecessary since theoretically they've never seen, but this means should you choose the remove the cover in order to turn these into a Keystone-like neck pickup, it looks reasonably attractive.
It should also be noted that original Fender neck pickups had brass covers. Nickel-silver Tele neck covers came later. So while we see it as a negative, cheap detail today, a brass cover is technically "vintage correct".
Donlis Telecaster Pickups
Hot Bridge, DTB23, zinc plated steel base $20
- DC Resistance: 11.07K ohms
- Measured L: 3.852H
- Calculated C: 138pF (148- 10)
- Gauss: 750G (A2)
Bridge unloaded: dV: 10.4dB f: 6.66kHz (black)
Bridge loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 4.3ddB f: 3.03kHz (red)
Standard Bridge, DTB52, copper plated steel base $20
- DC Resistance: 7.36K ohms
- Measured L: 3.273H
- Calculated C: 120pF (130- 10)
- Gauss: 1050G (A5)
Bridge unloaded: dV: 13.1dB f: 7.72kHz (green)
Bridge loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 5.6dB f: 3.51kHz (gray)
Neck, DTN51 $17
- DC Resistance: 8.07K ohms
- Measured L: 1.824H
- Calculated C: 138pF (148 - 10)
- Gauss: 850G (A5)
Neck unloaded: dV: -3.9dB f: 9.70kHz (pink)
Neck loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 0.0dB f: 4.52kHz (black)
Bode plot:
Two things of note: the bridge pickups both have a good loaded resonant peak of 4dB and 5dB, showing that the steel base plates have no adverse effect. If you want to decrease the output of either pickup for a brighter tone, the baseplates can simply be removed.
Notice that the neck pickup, the lower pink and black lines are waaay below the lines of the bridge pickups. This means the volume differences between them is likely to be extreme. Also notice that the neck pickup' plot lines have no "peak", they merely "roll off" at some frequency. That's the eddy currents of the brass cover at work.
Pickup slot-cut experiment
Ken Willmott did some research on the effects of eddy current losses in the context of an electric guitar pickup, and found that eddy current losses can be almost entirely eliminated by making cuts in the cover that bisect the circular pattern that the eddy currents take when the electric current moves around in the conductive metal in response to the magnetic field. There are various cut patterns that can be employed, all which would result in similar results.
Since the Tele neck pickup came with a brass cover that induced a high degree of attenuation, it was a good time to try this mod out, so using a jeweler's saw, I put one cut over each pole piece, as well as one cut that extends all the way to the bottom of the cover, as seen below. It is necessary for both cuts to exist; the cuts over the pole pieces impede eddy swirls over the pole pieces, while the longer cut impedes swirls that move around the circumference of the cover. Again, thank to Ken Willmott for making this discovery and documenting it well.
I then tested the pickup again, without the cuts, with the cuts, and with no cover at all:
Stock cover, unloaded: dV: -3.9dB f: 9.70 (black)
Stock cover, loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 0.0dB f: 4.52 (red)
Slotted, unloaded: dV: 12.0dB f: 10.4kHz (green)
Slotted, loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 7.2dB f: 4.78kHz (gray)
No cover, unloaded: dV: 13.0dB f: 9.26kHz (pink)
No cover, loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 6.5dB f: 4.41kHz (black)
The results show that the slot cuts increase the resonant peak (green line) to nearly the same elevation as if you had no cover at all (pink line). The lower two lines, the black and the red, are the plots of the brass covered pickup, and it's plain to see that they fall far below the other sets, with the cuts and without a cover. This proves Ken Willmott's research correct, that strategic cuts in a pickup cover can nearly eliminated the associated eddy current losses.
The 0.8dB difference between the slot cut and no-cover plots is insignificant by itself, but if you look closely, you'll notice that the "slot cut" plot line (green) is different than the coverless plot line (pink) in two ways, 1) the peak frequency is a little higher, because the cover decreases the inductance slightly, and 2) the downward slope of the slotted cover (gray) is not as steep as the drop off of the uncovered plot (black), and this is true for both the loaded and unloaded plot lines. This means that the slotted cover probably makes the pickup sound a bit brighter, compared to having no cover at all.
The slotted cut pattern appeals to me, because the cut lines run parallel with the guitar strings, and are therefore less visible.
All this being said, it's probably a lot easier to buy a nickel silver cover, which causes much less resonance loss than a brass cover, because making these cuts with the jewelers saw was not a trivial task, and I broke several blades in the process. But, if you happen to have a capable saw, and you want a $0 solution, this works very well.
The ironic thing is that these cuts more effectively reduce eddy current losses than the "open" Tele covers, such as that seen on the Lollar Royal T, while being far less visually obstructive. The problem with the "open" style cover is that there is still electrical continuity around the periphery of the cover, meanwhile the top of the cover has removed far more metal than is necessary.
Pics:
"Donlis Musical Instruments Limited" is a Chinese company that makes and sells a variety of electric guitar parts. Because it's China, the prices are dirt cheap. Whereas Tonerider pickups are Chinese pickups that are assured to use the best materials, such as AlNiCo magnets and nickel silver covers, Donlis' inventory includes a mix of "premium" and "budget" spec parts. Aside from Tonerider, it appears they pay closer attention to detail than just about any other pickup maker in China.
The main shortcoming of Donlis' pickups is their use of brass cover and base plates, which is common of low priced pickups. The real question to be asked is whether or not brass metal negatively effects the performance of the pickup. Brass covers do have a negative effect, because the higher conductivity brass causes greater eddy currents than the nickel silver used in vintage PAF's, or premium priced pickups. American Fender Tele neck pickup used nickel silver, but their Mexican and Japan made models have brass covers. They're plated in chrome, so they all look the same from the outside, but the brass substrate causes treble to be lost, due to overall attenuation as well as by diminishing the LC resonance of the coil.
Donlis does sell some nickel silver parts, and they make some pickups with nickel silver parts, where noted. I've previously determined that brass base plates have a minimal effect on the tone of a pickup, so in cases where a pickup has a brass base plate, it's a fine pickup, so long as there is not also a brass cover.
Donlis makes a few pickups that are spec for spec, similar, if not identical to, premium domestic version. This includes details such as cloth hook up wire, fiber flat work, AlNiCo magnets, chamfered pole pieces, cloth tape around the copper coils, as well as correct measurements and dimensions, all of which is generally uncommon for OEM and low priced import pickups. These Tele pickups tested below are three such pickups, and if you're into Strats, the DS53 is also an amazing pickup set, $40 for all three pickups.
The only real quality issue with these three Telecaster pickups presented here are the brass cover over the neck pickup, though there's nothing to stop anyone from just replacing the cover or base plate with nickel silver replacements. In fact, a Donlis neck pickup can be had at this moment for $17.40, or $15 if you buy three or more, and a nickel silver cover be acquired on Ebay for around $15, for a total cost of $32. The next lowest priced option for a similar pickup is probably from Tonerider, can be had for arounf $50, if you're lucky.
Saving for the brass cover on the neck, all three pickups are incredible quality. All of the other materials used are common to premium examples; fiber flat work, cloth wire, etc.
The DTB23 hot bridge has a loaded peak of 3.0kHz, which according to my records , puts in the tonal area of the Fender Blackguard or Twisted Tele Bridge. The DTB52 moderate output bridge has a loaded peak of 3.5kHz, nearly the same as the Fender Nocaster bridge. Both have steel base plates, but the "hot" version appears to be chromed while the "vintage" output pickup's base is copper plated. As seen from the resonant elevation, the steel base plates cause negligible losses, and probably several hundred millihenries worth of increased induictance.
The neck pickup, the DTN51, has a very high loaded resonant peak of 4.5kHz The only neck pickup I've seen that comes close if the BL Keystone neck, with 4.6kHz. The neck pickup might therefore be a bit bright for most people, and the brass cover, which causes a diminished treble, might be desirable, but the low inductance of only 1.8 henry means this pickup will have a fairly low voltage output. This doesn't mean it's a bad pickup, it's extremely similar to a Bill Lawrence Keystone, and a lot of people claim to like them. Interestingly, the neck pickup also have beveled, or chamfered pole piece under the cover (see the picture down below), theoretically unnecessary since theoretically they've never seen, but this means should you choose the remove the cover in order to turn these into a Keystone-like neck pickup, it looks reasonably attractive.
It should also be noted that original Fender neck pickups had brass covers. Nickel-silver Tele neck covers came later. So while we see it as a negative, cheap detail today, a brass cover is technically "vintage correct".
Donlis Telecaster Pickups
Hot Bridge, DTB23, zinc plated steel base $20
- DC Resistance: 11.07K ohms
- Measured L: 3.852H
- Calculated C: 138pF (148- 10)
- Gauss: 750G (A2)
Bridge unloaded: dV: 10.4dB f: 6.66kHz (black)
Bridge loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 4.3ddB f: 3.03kHz (red)
Standard Bridge, DTB52, copper plated steel base $20
- DC Resistance: 7.36K ohms
- Measured L: 3.273H
- Calculated C: 120pF (130- 10)
- Gauss: 1050G (A5)
Bridge unloaded: dV: 13.1dB f: 7.72kHz (green)
Bridge loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 5.6dB f: 3.51kHz (gray)
Neck, DTN51 $17
- DC Resistance: 8.07K ohms
- Measured L: 1.824H
- Calculated C: 138pF (148 - 10)
- Gauss: 850G (A5)
Neck unloaded: dV: -3.9dB f: 9.70kHz (pink)
Neck loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 0.0dB f: 4.52kHz (black)
Bode plot:
Two things of note: the bridge pickups both have a good loaded resonant peak of 4dB and 5dB, showing that the steel base plates have no adverse effect. If you want to decrease the output of either pickup for a brighter tone, the baseplates can simply be removed.
Notice that the neck pickup, the lower pink and black lines are waaay below the lines of the bridge pickups. This means the volume differences between them is likely to be extreme. Also notice that the neck pickup' plot lines have no "peak", they merely "roll off" at some frequency. That's the eddy currents of the brass cover at work.
Pickup slot-cut experiment
Ken Willmott did some research on the effects of eddy current losses in the context of an electric guitar pickup, and found that eddy current losses can be almost entirely eliminated by making cuts in the cover that bisect the circular pattern that the eddy currents take when the electric current moves around in the conductive metal in response to the magnetic field. There are various cut patterns that can be employed, all which would result in similar results.
Since the Tele neck pickup came with a brass cover that induced a high degree of attenuation, it was a good time to try this mod out, so using a jeweler's saw, I put one cut over each pole piece, as well as one cut that extends all the way to the bottom of the cover, as seen below. It is necessary for both cuts to exist; the cuts over the pole pieces impede eddy swirls over the pole pieces, while the longer cut impedes swirls that move around the circumference of the cover. Again, thank to Ken Willmott for making this discovery and documenting it well.
I then tested the pickup again, without the cuts, with the cuts, and with no cover at all:
Stock cover, unloaded: dV: -3.9dB f: 9.70 (black)
Stock cover, loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 0.0dB f: 4.52 (red)
Slotted, unloaded: dV: 12.0dB f: 10.4kHz (green)
Slotted, loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 7.2dB f: 4.78kHz (gray)
No cover, unloaded: dV: 13.0dB f: 9.26kHz (pink)
No cover, loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 6.5dB f: 4.41kHz (black)
The results show that the slot cuts increase the resonant peak (green line) to nearly the same elevation as if you had no cover at all (pink line). The lower two lines, the black and the red, are the plots of the brass covered pickup, and it's plain to see that they fall far below the other sets, with the cuts and without a cover. This proves Ken Willmott's research correct, that strategic cuts in a pickup cover can nearly eliminated the associated eddy current losses.
The 0.8dB difference between the slot cut and no-cover plots is insignificant by itself, but if you look closely, you'll notice that the "slot cut" plot line (green) is different than the coverless plot line (pink) in two ways, 1) the peak frequency is a little higher, because the cover decreases the inductance slightly, and 2) the downward slope of the slotted cover (gray) is not as steep as the drop off of the uncovered plot (black), and this is true for both the loaded and unloaded plot lines. This means that the slotted cover probably makes the pickup sound a bit brighter, compared to having no cover at all.
The slotted cut pattern appeals to me, because the cut lines run parallel with the guitar strings, and are therefore less visible.
All this being said, it's probably a lot easier to buy a nickel silver cover, which causes much less resonance loss than a brass cover, because making these cuts with the jewelers saw was not a trivial task, and I broke several blades in the process. But, if you happen to have a capable saw, and you want a $0 solution, this works very well.
The ironic thing is that these cuts more effectively reduce eddy current losses than the "open" Tele covers, such as that seen on the Lollar Royal T, while being far less visually obstructive. The problem with the "open" style cover is that there is still electrical continuity around the periphery of the cover, meanwhile the top of the cover has removed far more metal than is necessary.
Pics: