I am falling in love with sidewinders! Last time, I wrote about this nice double-coil monophonic side-wound pickup design. Now how about a multichannel (polyphonic) version? Each channel has two side-wound coils wired series phase-opposing (humbucking).
You get double the signal strength while still maintaining the full frequency range of the original Neos. Each coil pair has its own extremely low-noise, low-power preamplifier. This time I’m using a discrete design using ultra low-noise transistors. Tests show that the broadband noise performance is comparable to the OPA209 which has an impressive 2.2 nV/√Hz (1kHz) noise figure. In english: audiophile quality.
The poles are adjustable. That way, you can fine tune the string to string balance, without having to mess with the mixer every time. Also, it is now possible to move the poles closer to the strings because there’s less string pull. That should give you better signal strength and less cross-talk. Instead of having multiple versions (Neo1, Neo2 and Neo6), this time there will only be a single version (similar to Neo1). This modular design can be grouped into sets of 6, 7 and 8 or more strings, placed on a base board with different base-boards for different number of strings and configurations.
Joel,
I like the modular sidewinder but please, please at least spec and/or make parts for the monophonic sidewinder without a preamp.
Not everyone wants to do hex, and the cost of the system would be much less for a 2 or 3 pickup guitar if only a single external preamp were used for all the pickups.
Thanks again for all your work and it is much appreciated.
-Charlie
Hello Charlie, We will release both monophonic and polyphonic versions of the sidewinders. However, each pickup is designed to have a monophonic preamp. That way, the pickup can be a direct replacement for any active pickup such as the EMG. Rest assured, the pickups will be very reasonably priced.
Having said that, I will definitely explore the possibility of a passive version. The design is very modular anyway and there’s a chance that we can accommodate your suggestion.