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Leaving pickup leads long

garywright

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Aug 17, 2002
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15,582
I had a pair of pups just arrive from Croatia to try in my r9 and want to leave the leads long ...what do you guys do with the extra length ?..pix would help
 

latestarter

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Nov 9, 2009
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4,173
I had a pair of pups just arrive from Croatia to try in my r9 and want to leave the leads long ...what do you guys do with the extra length ?..pix would help

I have in the past just wound the wire into a little circle and used a small cable tie to keep the loop. No pix sorry - those pickups long gone!
 

garywright

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Aug 17, 2002
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Thanks Grant ..I’m assuming you meant the loop went inside the control cavity ? ...would it be possible to make a wrap around the pickup feet and keep the length in the pickup cavity
 

garywright

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Aug 17, 2002
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I bought Wizz premium clone pafs ..overwound w/long A5s double-whites
 

latestarter

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Nov 9, 2009
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4,173
Thanks Grant ..I’m assuming you meant the loop went inside the control cavity ? ...would it be possible to make a wrap around the pickup feet and keep the length in the pickup cavity

Correct. I used a little piece of plastic sheet to isolate also.

I don't think trying to have them in the pickup feet/base area is a good idea. Not enough room, springs and things....would get messy potentially.
 

J.D.

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May 24, 2006
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10,030
If they're dressed a little long I coil the wire under the pickup (inside of the pickup feet) instead of the control cavity.
 

garywright

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Aug 17, 2002
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Thanks guys ..I’ll give it a shot this weekend ..just trying to get some ideas before diggin in
 

JR.Deluxe

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May 4, 2003
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I thought about coiling up the wire on a lollar p90 install. I decided against it. I was worried the the shield being coiled up might allow the signal to skip accross the coil. Probably really wouldnt make a difference but i opted to cut to size.
 

garywright

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Aug 17, 2002
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I thought about coiling up the wire on a lollar p90 install. I decided against it. I was worried the the shield being coiled up might allow the signal to skip accross the coil. Probably really wouldnt make a difference but i opted to cut to size.

I’m probably just being slooow here ...are you saying you were considering coiling the lead and keeping it inside the pup cavities rather than the control cavity ? ..for that matter, is it possible that a lead inside the pup cavity could interfere with the pups performance ?
 

duaneflowers

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Aug 13, 2013
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2,522
I generally cut the rhythm lead to fit and leave the treble long enough to use in the rhythm position should I want to swap them at some point... that extra length can easily be tucked away under the pot and since I will never be using them in anything but a Les Paul I see no need to keep them any longer than necessary. I have done so in the past and don't really notice much of a sonic difference, so I mainly clip them for aesthetic purposes in case someone needs to examine my cavity... :##
 

JR.Deluxe

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May 4, 2003
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570
I’m probably just being slooow here ...are you saying you were considering coiling the lead and keeping it inside the pup cavities rather than the control cavity ? ..for that matter, is it possible that a lead inside the pup cavity could interfere with the pups performance ?

I m just talking about coiling up the lead. It doesnt matter where its tucked away. Im also worried about making an antennae to pick up RF. Its likely that all my worries are unfounded but less wire , in a straight line means less noise and more signal power.
 

PaulD

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Jun 25, 2007
Messages
672
I m just talking about coiling up the lead. It doesnt matter where its tucked away. Im also worried about making an antennae to pick up RF. Its likely that all my worries are unfounded but less wire , in a straight line means less noise and more signal power.

Your worries are indeed unfounded :) Having a few extra inches of wire coiled either in the pickup cavity or the control cavity will have no adverse effect, the wire is shielded so any RF picked up will be picked up by the shield and shunted to ground. In any case you probably already have 15 - 20ft of shielded cable connecting your guitar to the amp - an extra couple of inches of cable inside the guitar is of no consequence whatsoever.
 
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