ThroBak Slug-101 Vintage Gibson Guitar Pickup Winder
ThroBak P.A.F. electric guitar pickup reproductions wound on the Slug-101 pickup winder:
Slug-101 Tonal Summary:
Due to the slug bobbin only capability of the Slug-101 machine, its unique traverse travel and turn per layer by default creates a P.A.F. with a mismatch in coil geometry and turn per layer when paired with any other P.A.F. screw coil. Tonally this creates a P.A.F. with a bit more low end clarity than a P.A.F. that has both slug and screw coils wound on the same machine. The fact that the Slug-101 machine has no auto stop means an offset between slug and screw coils in an assembled PAF is likely.
Due to the slug bobbin only capability of the Slug-101 machine, its unique traverse travel and turn per layer by default creates a P.A.F. with a mismatch in coil geometry and turn per layer when paired with any other P.A.F. screw coil. Tonally this creates a P.A.F. with a bit more low end clarity than a P.A.F. that has both slug and screw coils wound on the same machine. The fact that the Slug-101 machine has no auto stop means an offset between slug and screw coils in an assembled PAF is likely.
Slug-101 Pickup Winder History: Gibson’s first pickup winder?
I first ran across the Slug-101 pickup winder in 2008 at the Parson’s Street Gibson Kalamazoo factory building next to the old spray booth. Clearly not used for decades I managed to purchase the machine and proceeded to clean and repair the original frayed cloth wiring, to make it fit for daily use at ThroBak. While researching the machine I learned that the original hand winding mechanism likely dates from the 1930’s. Considering the age and large size of the winding mechanism I think it likely wound the large diagonal pickups found in some 1940 ES-300 guitars. It would also follow that this same machine also wound Charlie Christian pickups of the same era.
I first ran across the Slug-101 pickup winder in 2008 at the Parson’s Street Gibson Kalamazoo factory building next to the old spray booth. Clearly not used for decades I managed to purchase the machine and proceeded to clean and repair the original frayed cloth wiring, to make it fit for daily use at ThroBak. While researching the machine I learned that the original hand winding mechanism likely dates from the 1930’s. Considering the age and large size of the winding mechanism I think it likely wound the large diagonal pickups found in some 1940 ES-300 guitars. It would also follow that this same machine also wound Charlie Christian pickups of the same era.
In the 1950’s the Slug-101 machine was converted to an auto traverse pickup winder by the addition of a wooden wire guide and tension mechanism made by Gibson employee Glen Seybert. The design of the traverse incorporates Gibson parts of the day such as cream strap buttons for wire guides. Powered by a separate electric motor, the traverse mechanism of the Slug-101 winder has a unique hand-made drive that uses no cam but has similar action to a lobeless cam wire traverse. This one-of-a-kind mechanism creates a uniform hour glass shaped coil.
Made to wind 4 slug P.A.F. bobbins, the fixtures cannot accept screw coil P.A.F. bobbins. The machine was likely quickly converted as a means of increasing production of the new PAF pickup by retrofitting an existing machine that had fallen out of use. Interestingly the machine came with tailstock parts and a machined fixture for screw bobbins but the necessary tailstock was never mounted to the machine. Because of the machine’s ability to only wind slug coils, PAF’s made with these coils were matched with screw coils wound on the other PAF coil winding machines at Gibson. The Slug-101 machine is a marriage of practicality and precision but just how does it impact the tonal landscape of a vintage P.A.F.?
Made to wind 4 slug P.A.F. bobbins, the fixtures cannot accept screw coil P.A.F. bobbins. The machine was likely quickly converted as a means of increasing production of the new PAF pickup by retrofitting an existing machine that had fallen out of use. Interestingly the machine came with tailstock parts and a machined fixture for screw bobbins but the necessary tailstock was never mounted to the machine. Because of the machine’s ability to only wind slug coils, PAF’s made with these coils were matched with screw coils wound on the other PAF coil winding machines at Gibson. The Slug-101 machine is a marriage of practicality and precision but just how does it impact the tonal landscape of a vintage P.A.F.?
