Post by antigua on Jul 17, 2017 20:24:53 GMT -5
www.byoguitar.com/Guitars/Blizzard-of-59----Vintage-Humbucker-Set__BYO-BLIZZARD-SET.aspx
There's some evidence out there that BYO's pickups are closely related to, or possibly the same as, Tonerider's pickups. If that's true, this pickup would be the AlNiCo II Classic www.tonerider.com/alnico-ii . The DC resistance figures don't match precisely, but then again the DC resistance value I recorded didn't match the BYO specs, as these value can change with the ambient temperature. The Tonerider humbuckers have a stamped logo on the underside, while the BYO is blank.
There is a very significant difference though; a set of Tonerider AlNiCo II Classics goes for about $130, and this nearly identical looking BYO set is going for only $80. The Toneriders were already a good deal to begin with, the BYO set is an even better deal than that, saving another $50, for what appears to be the same product.
A set of Seymour Duncan '59's would cost $200, and the boutiques only go up from there, all for the same stuff: nickel silver cover, nickel silver base plate, wood spacer, minimal wax potting, a neck pickup wound to 7k, and bridge pickup would to 8k, vintage braded hookup wire.
The only details I can find that is not apparently "vintage correct", aside from the short legs, is that this uses a light colored wire, as seen through the little peep hole in the bobbin in the picture below. The BYO product page claims it's plain enamel, but plain enamel is usually red. The clear copper color suggests that its poly or formvar insulated. I haven't seen any cause to believe the insulator matters, but it's like the wood spacer; it's the thought that counts.
The other detail, as can be seen in the pic below, which is also seen in the Tonerider AlNiCo IV Classic, is an unnecessary oval shape home in the base plate, opposite the corner where the braided cloth hookup wire enters the underside. This also supports the idea that these are Tonerider OEM, but I don't know how these business arrangements work.
So I would assume these are made in China. Most Eastern import humbuckers in this price range feature brass covers and base plates, use plastic spacers and plastic insulated hookup wire. This BYO set is by far the cheapest vintage correct-ish PAF set I've come across yet.
To find ways in which this pickup is not vintage correct, aside from the magnet wire insulation and the extra hole, you have to look at whether the bobbins are butyrate or a modern poly- plastic, or the particular grade of low carbon steel used for the screws and pole pieces, things which are not apparent to the naked eye, require lab equipment to authenticate, and are exceedingly unlikely to alter the tone in any way that matters, even a little. Sounds good, looks good, even under the hood. To think that some vendors are selling largely the same thing for $500, and staying in business, should give pause for thought.
Measurements:
BYO Blizzard of '59
Bridge
- DC Resistance: 8.48K ohms
- Measured L: 5.347H
- Calculated C: 117pF (127 - 10)
- Gauss: 250G screw, 200G slug
Bridge unloaded: dV: 4.0dB f: 6.73kHz (black)
Bridge loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 1.2dB f: 2.52kHz (red)
Neck
- DC Resistance: 7.56K ohms
- Measured L: 4.201H
- Calculated C: 123pF (133 - 10)
- Gauss: 250G screw, 200G slug
Neck unloaded: dV: 3.9dB f: 6.89kHz (green)
Neck loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 1.6dB f: 2.93kHz (gray)
Bode plot:
These electrical values, DC resistance and inductance, make this set very close to the Seymour Duncan '59 set, which seems to be the ideal for a lot of PAF knock-offs. Assuming you don't have a brass cover, which these do not, there's nothing that makes the magnetic circuit, nor the RLC filtering any different from the '59 set. The magnets are AlNiCo 2, not AlNiCo 5, though. That increases the inductance and decreases the string pull a bit.
The high capacitance is mostly due to the braided hookup wire. I measured one foot to result in about 75pF capacitance, so the actual capacitance of the pickups is the measured value, minus 75pF, give or take.
Pics:
There's some evidence out there that BYO's pickups are closely related to, or possibly the same as, Tonerider's pickups. If that's true, this pickup would be the AlNiCo II Classic www.tonerider.com/alnico-ii . The DC resistance figures don't match precisely, but then again the DC resistance value I recorded didn't match the BYO specs, as these value can change with the ambient temperature. The Tonerider humbuckers have a stamped logo on the underside, while the BYO is blank.
There is a very significant difference though; a set of Tonerider AlNiCo II Classics goes for about $130, and this nearly identical looking BYO set is going for only $80. The Toneriders were already a good deal to begin with, the BYO set is an even better deal than that, saving another $50, for what appears to be the same product.
A set of Seymour Duncan '59's would cost $200, and the boutiques only go up from there, all for the same stuff: nickel silver cover, nickel silver base plate, wood spacer, minimal wax potting, a neck pickup wound to 7k, and bridge pickup would to 8k, vintage braded hookup wire.
The only details I can find that is not apparently "vintage correct", aside from the short legs, is that this uses a light colored wire, as seen through the little peep hole in the bobbin in the picture below. The BYO product page claims it's plain enamel, but plain enamel is usually red. The clear copper color suggests that its poly or formvar insulated. I haven't seen any cause to believe the insulator matters, but it's like the wood spacer; it's the thought that counts.
The other detail, as can be seen in the pic below, which is also seen in the Tonerider AlNiCo IV Classic, is an unnecessary oval shape home in the base plate, opposite the corner where the braided cloth hookup wire enters the underside. This also supports the idea that these are Tonerider OEM, but I don't know how these business arrangements work.
So I would assume these are made in China. Most Eastern import humbuckers in this price range feature brass covers and base plates, use plastic spacers and plastic insulated hookup wire. This BYO set is by far the cheapest vintage correct-ish PAF set I've come across yet.
To find ways in which this pickup is not vintage correct, aside from the magnet wire insulation and the extra hole, you have to look at whether the bobbins are butyrate or a modern poly- plastic, or the particular grade of low carbon steel used for the screws and pole pieces, things which are not apparent to the naked eye, require lab equipment to authenticate, and are exceedingly unlikely to alter the tone in any way that matters, even a little. Sounds good, looks good, even under the hood. To think that some vendors are selling largely the same thing for $500, and staying in business, should give pause for thought.
Measurements:
BYO Blizzard of '59
Bridge
- DC Resistance: 8.48K ohms
- Measured L: 5.347H
- Calculated C: 117pF (127 - 10)
- Gauss: 250G screw, 200G slug
Bridge unloaded: dV: 4.0dB f: 6.73kHz (black)
Bridge loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 1.2dB f: 2.52kHz (red)
Neck
- DC Resistance: 7.56K ohms
- Measured L: 4.201H
- Calculated C: 123pF (133 - 10)
- Gauss: 250G screw, 200G slug
Neck unloaded: dV: 3.9dB f: 6.89kHz (green)
Neck loaded (200k & 470pF): dV: 1.6dB f: 2.93kHz (gray)
Bode plot:
These electrical values, DC resistance and inductance, make this set very close to the Seymour Duncan '59 set, which seems to be the ideal for a lot of PAF knock-offs. Assuming you don't have a brass cover, which these do not, there's nothing that makes the magnetic circuit, nor the RLC filtering any different from the '59 set. The magnets are AlNiCo 2, not AlNiCo 5, though. That increases the inductance and decreases the string pull a bit.
The high capacitance is mostly due to the braided hookup wire. I measured one foot to result in about 75pF capacitance, so the actual capacitance of the pickups is the measured value, minus 75pF, give or take.
Pics:
