Common Myths of Scatterwinding
Myth 1. Scatterwinding is just a bunch of hype
Is good tone just hype? Scatterwinding is putting the most space between each consecutive wind as possible, thereby lowering the capacitance of the pickup. This is achieved by the winding pattern and the tension of the wire, which is usually done by hand, and takes years of experience. This is, in my opinion, the most important aspect in pickup making next to resistance and magnetism.
Myth 2. Scatterwinding can only be done by hand
Nope. Although hand-guiding the wire onto the bobbin is probably the best and easiest way, you could get the same results from a machine. I have heard that when Jason Lollar was starting out pickup winding, he made his own machine that would turn the bobbin and guide the wire automatically. A pickup can be scatterwound in this way as long as the motion and wire tension are calibrated. The problem is that machines are consistent and the point of scatterwinding is to be inconsistent, it is hard to replicate the motion of the human hand.
Myth 3. All handwound pickups are scatterwound
Not really. The winding pattern and the tension are still dependent of a number of variables: machine type, speed, wire type, and most importantly, who is winding the pickup. All will make a pickup sound different.
Myth 4. Scatterwinding just means randomly guiding the wire onto the bobbin
Wrong, it almost has more to do with wire tension, which takes a lot of time to perfect by hand. If the pickup is too loose, you won't get the correct number of turns and the pickup will sound thin. Too tight and it will sound dead. Here is a useful tool for figuring out the proper tension.
Myth 5. Scatterwound pickups need to be wax potted
Not always. Microphonics are screeching sounds coming from winds of wire and little parts of the pickup vibrating together. This can be a big problem when playing at a high volume on stage. A lot of it has to do with the quality of the parts used, the age of the pickup, and how it was wound. If you use a pickup that has been made with quality parts that fit together tightly and that has been carefully scatterwound, you do not need wax potting, and that gives your sound extra openness and clarity. I have been testing this myself for years.
Myth 6. Single coils are scatterwound and humbuckers are not
Traditionally this is the case as most humbuckers are wound on a machine. Personally, I prefer all pickups to be scatterwound. Anywone who plays a with a humbucker in the neck position knows that it doesn't really cut through the mix as well as the bridge in a band situation, try using a scatterwound humbucker!
Is good tone just hype? Scatterwinding is putting the most space between each consecutive wind as possible, thereby lowering the capacitance of the pickup. This is achieved by the winding pattern and the tension of the wire, which is usually done by hand, and takes years of experience. This is, in my opinion, the most important aspect in pickup making next to resistance and magnetism.
scatterwinding a single coil
Myth 2. Scatterwinding can only be done by hand
Nope. Although hand-guiding the wire onto the bobbin is probably the best and easiest way, you could get the same results from a machine. I have heard that when Jason Lollar was starting out pickup winding, he made his own machine that would turn the bobbin and guide the wire automatically. A pickup can be scatterwound in this way as long as the motion and wire tension are calibrated. The problem is that machines are consistent and the point of scatterwinding is to be inconsistent, it is hard to replicate the motion of the human hand.
Myth 3. All handwound pickups are scatterwound
Not really. The winding pattern and the tension are still dependent of a number of variables: machine type, speed, wire type, and most importantly, who is winding the pickup. All will make a pickup sound different.
Myth 4. Scatterwinding just means randomly guiding the wire onto the bobbin
Wrong, it almost has more to do with wire tension, which takes a lot of time to perfect by hand. If the pickup is too loose, you won't get the correct number of turns and the pickup will sound thin. Too tight and it will sound dead. Here is a useful tool for figuring out the proper tension.
Myth 5. Scatterwound pickups need to be wax potted
Not always. Microphonics are screeching sounds coming from winds of wire and little parts of the pickup vibrating together. This can be a big problem when playing at a high volume on stage. A lot of it has to do with the quality of the parts used, the age of the pickup, and how it was wound. If you use a pickup that has been made with quality parts that fit together tightly and that has been carefully scatterwound, you do not need wax potting, and that gives your sound extra openness and clarity. I have been testing this myself for years.
Myth 6. Single coils are scatterwound and humbuckers are not
Traditionally this is the case as most humbuckers are wound on a machine. Personally, I prefer all pickups to be scatterwound. Anywone who plays a with a humbucker in the neck position knows that it doesn't really cut through the mix as well as the bridge in a band situation, try using a scatterwound humbucker!