Modular single-coil pickup

Abstract

A modular single-coil electromagnetic stringed-instrument pickup, made to mount in replacement of a standard single-coil pickup, using the similar mounting screws and springs, has a replaceable base, core, blade pole and cover. The core unit has two flat coil forms glued to a bar magnet, which together form a trough for the coil. The outsides of the coil forms have printed circuits which form the coil end contacts and an integral electrostatic shield, with interconnect fixed after the coil is wound, so that the core unit can be flipped to change the magnetic polarity of the pickup, and thus the string vibration signal, while maintaining a humbucking pair circuit with equivalent pickup. The base, which can be either non-magnetic or ferro-magnetic material in different shapes and configurations to shape the magnetic field, contains three conductive index pins, which both make contact with the core unit contacts, and transmit string signals to any circuit or electrical contacts on the bottom of the base. The bottom of the base can be endowed with printed circuits, either on the base itself, or in flexible printed circuit soldered to the index pins. An elastomer shim sits between the core unit and base to give support to the core and microphonic damping. The vertical blade pole sits on top of the core unit, embedded in a non-conductive, non-magnetic horizontal support plate, is held in place by the cover, and separate elastomer shims. The shim between the blade and core unit has a section directly under the blade filled with magnetic material to transmit the magnetic field from the magnet to the blade. The blade pole can be formed, ground or filed to different heights and shapes under the strings, so as to correct for signal strength or to affect the harmonic content of the string signal directly. By trading out the core, base and blade for different types, a wide variety of tonal characters can result, imitating several other types of pickups, as well as providing upgrades from passive pickups to those with active circuits on the base.