How to Build an Electric Guitar Pickup
An electric guitar pickup amplifies the sound of the guitar’s steel strings. To do this, it uses the electromagnet principle of induction. The vibrating steel strings change the field of the magnets underneath, which causes an electrical current to flow in a coil of wire. This turns the sound of the electric guitar strings into an electrical signal. You can actually build an electric guitar pickup on your own, instead of buying one. If you are going to do so, just remember it may take some time and patience, since there are a lot of turns needed in the wire coil. Once it is done, you can enjoy practicing on your electric guitar, knowing you’ve successfully built the pickup.
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Things You'll Need
- Electric guitar
- Guitar amplifier
- Guitar cable
- Popsicle sticks
- #42 AWG or #43 AWG solderable magnet wire–4,000 feet for an 8,000-turn pickup or 5,000 feet for a 10,000-turn pickup
- 12 small magnets, two for each string, about a quarter inch in diameter and 3/16 inch tall, made of Neodymium, aluminum nickel cobalt or ceramic
- Gorilla glue
- Paraffin wax
- Double boiler
- Tongs
- Screwdriver
- Soldering iron
- Wire cutter/stripper
- Electrical tape
- Pencil
Instructions
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1
Center one of the popsicle sticks above the strings. With a pencil, lightly mark the place where each string comes in contact with the stick. These marks will be a guide for placing the center of the magnets.
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2
Glue six magnets to the popsicle stick using the gorilla glue. The other six magnets can be placed temporarily on the opposite side of the stick. This will hold the first set in place until the glue dries.
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3
Remove the second six magnets from the other side of the stick. Glue them to the first set of magnets. Make sure that each magnet has the same positive or negative pole facing up. You can hold another popsicle stick on top of the magnets until they dry.
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4
Wrap the wire around the magnets. This seems simple enough, but most electric guitar pickups have from 8,000 to 10,000 wire turns, so this step will take a while. Be careful not to break the thin wire while doing this, because you will have to start the whole thing over again if you do. Also remember to leave about one to two feet of wire unraveled for connecting to the guitar’s electronics.
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5
Melt the paraffin wax using a double boiler. With the tongs, place the pickup in the liquid wax for about a minute. Remove it with the tongs, but hold the pickup on the edge so the wax is covering the coil. Place the pickup on a flat surface until the wax is dry. Once the wax is dry, trim the edges of the lower popsicle stick and remove the top one.
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6
Connect the pickup to the guitar. Remove the strings. With the screwdriver, unscrew the screws to remove the pickguard. Clip the wires of the old guitar pickup with a wire cutter and remove the pickup.
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7
Strip the ends of the wires inside the guitar. Do the same for the two leads of magnet wire on the pickup coil.
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8
Place your pickup where the original guitar pickup was. Solder the leads from the coil to the wires in the guitar. Cover the wires with electrical tape where you soldered them. Now you can put the pickguard and strings back on the guitar. Plug it into an amplifier with a cable and see if your homemade pickup works.
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Tips & Warnings
Be careful when using wire cutting and soldering tools to avoid injury.
Make sure not to touch the hot wax when it first covers the pickup coil to avoid burn injuries.
Guitar strings have sharp ends. Be sure not to hold them too close to the ends so you don't stick yourself. When stringing the guitar, always hold it away from your face in case the string breaks.
