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Author	Topic: Question about boxcar & trap pickups
Ron Victoria Member From: Metuchen, New Jersey, USA	posted 29 November 2005 03:33 PM profile send email edit Are there any difference in the sound between the Fender trapeziodal and boxcar pickups? Do the strings pass thru them like the Supro/Valco laps? If this produces a better sound, why don't you see this arrangement on other guitars? Is this the same concept as the Ricky horseshoe type? Who was the pioneer? Ron
Rick Aiello Member From: Berryville, VA USA	posted 30 November 2005 05:04 AM profile send email edit quote: Are there any difference in the sound between the Fender trapeziodal and boxcar pickups? The traps have their coil "angled" and have larger bass side magnets ... quote: Do the strings pass thru them like the Supro/Valco laps? Yes ... but the magnets are much stronger on the Fenders than the stock Supro type. quote: If this produces a better sound, why don't you see this arrangement on other guitars? You do ... Dustpans & Boobpans ... quote: Is this the same concept as the Ricky horseshoe type? The "Around the Strings" field is similar ... But in Rickys , the strongest part of the field lies in the middle of the unit (at the edges of the horseshoes) ... at the gap. The middle strings receive more "juice" In Fenders ... the field is strongest at ends of the unit ... where the magnets are. The outer strings receive more "juice". The bobbins are completely different though ... Ricky and Supro types ... have their coil(s) wound around steel slug pole pieces. The Fenders Trap/Boxcar ... have no pole pieces ... the coil wraps around the strings themselves. quote: Who was the pioneer? I would imagine that would be Leo Fender ... ------------------ Aiello's Cast Steel Guitars My wife and I don't think alike. She donates money to the homeless and I donate money to the topless! ... R. Dangerfield [This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 30 November 2005 at 08:47 AM.]
Andy Zynda Member From: Wisconsin	posted 30 November 2005 06:17 AM profile send email edit It gets hard to keep count of all the things in the music biz that Saint Leo is directly responsible for. God rest ye well Mr. Fender. -andy-
Roy Ayres Member From: Starke, Florida, USA	posted 30 November 2005 07:14 AM profile send email edit I may be jumping in here where I really don't belong, because I'm not an expert in the intricate design of pickups being discussed here. This may be a topic shift -- but, with regard to the question of how many design features Leo Fender is directly responsible for, I can possibly shed a little light. I worked for the Fender Company for a couple of years soon after Leo sold the company to CBS. I was hired as "Director of String Instrument Development" because of my 30+ year of experience on guitar and steel, 17 of which were at the professional level, and my B.S. and M.S. degrees in physics -- acoustics having been my specialty and the subject of my Master's thesis. Leo had taken a two-year contract as a consultant to the CBS staff, and I was assigned as liaison between Leo and the string-instrument development lab. The one important thing I learned about Leo in working daily with him was that, with regard to design, he did all of the right things but for the wrong reasons. None of his theories of why certain design features were good held water as far as physics is concerned. Leo would try something new on a prototype instrument, have several professionals try the instrument and make suggestions. From that, he would finalize the design of that particular feature -- then figure out his "theory" of why that way was the best. Also, there were a number of true design experts who worked for and with Leo and who came up with a lot of the design ideas; guys like Gene Fields, Freddy Tavares, Jody Carver, Roger Rossmeisel, Emil Dopiera, Ray Renfro amd others. The thing for which Leo deserves the most credit is his willingness to listen to his experts and the professionals. Leo probably did the world of string instruments a bigger favor than anyone else in history, and he is truly responsible for everything that Fender guitars turned out to be -- but he didn't do it without a lot of other brainpower and experience backing him up. ------------------ Visit my Web Site at RoysFootprints.com Browse my Photo Album and be sure to sign my Guest Book.
Bill Creller Member From: Saginaw, Michigan, USA	posted 30 November 2005 02:50 PM profile send email edit Sounds like the old idea that a good boss surrounds himself with good people to get the best brain power and get the job done.

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