Tri-Sonic Pickups: The Facts, Brian May Red Special Pickups, Coil Winding and Assembly by dsgb

In this video I discuss Tri-Sonic pickups in depth. Join me as I take a look inside an early 1960s vintage pot magnet style Burns Tri-Sonic pickup and compare and contrast vintage and modern variants. I discuss the characteristics of the specific set fitted to Brian May’s Red Special guitar with reference to a replica set made by Ade Turner of Adeson Pickups.

I demonstrate two methods for engraving the chrome plated brass cover then wind a bobbinless Tri-Sonic style coil on my Stepcraft 2/840 CNC machine using a custom made former to my own unique design. Finally, I assemble all the component parts of a Tri-Sonic pickup and measure its DC resistance and inductance using a Peak Atlas LCR45 meter.

Please also check out part 1 of this two part video series in which I discuss and make a replica of the home made pickups that Brian May originally fitted to his Red Special guitar before he changed them to the Burns Tri-Sonic pickups used in all Queen recordings and stage performances:

   • Brian May Red Special Original Guitar...  

For further information on all my Brian May Red Special related projects, guitars and equipment, please visit my website:

https://dsgb.net

00:00 – Introduction
01:41 – Video contents discussion
02:29 – Comparison of Tri-Sonic pickup variants
05:52 – Brian May Red Special Tri-Sonic pickups
08:44 – Magnet polarity check of Brian May Red Special Tri-Sonic pickups
09:10 – Cover engraving with a diamond engraving point
10:05 – Cover engraving with a 90 degree V-groove CNC cutter
11:00 – Coil former design discussion
13:14 – Pre-winding discussion
14:47 – Coil winding sequences
15:52 – Removal of the former from the spindle
16:33 – Tying off the wound coil
18:12 – Wrapping the outside of the tied coil with tape
18:50 – Disassembling the coil former to free the coil
20:19 – Wrapping the tied coil with glass fibre armature winding tape
20:53 – Assembling the Tri-Sonic pickup
22:06 – Measuring the DC resistance and inductance of the Tri-Sonic pickup
22:30 – Closing remarks

Please check out my other YouTube videos and website, dsgb.net for a wealth of information about Brian May's guitars and musical equipment.

#BrianMay #RedSpecial #TriSonic #pickups #dsgb #DougShortGuitarBlog