Disassembling a NS soapbar Franz repro and a dogear Franz from a 1958 T-100, the repro seems like they got most things right at least visually. Obviously there are things like material properties that I can't verify.
What are clearly not the same are the magnets. The vintage magnets are rough-cast and much weaker. The rough-cast might not matter much in this case because they do have the one edge that contacts the keeper ground smooth. That whole issue might sound silly, but experience has shown that it does matter. As for them being weaker, they might have started out strong or not, it really doesn't matter. If we want the new pickups to sound like the old pickups then we need them to match the properties of the old pickups today. Making the new pickups sound the way the old ones did when they were new is something different.
Another thing that's different is that the repros have more turns of wire. Maybe that's because most musicians today would be disappointed with the low output of vintage pickups? Whatever, nobody said you have to like what other people like.
So, I'm thinking it should be possible to bring the NS pickups closer to vintage sound in two simple steps. The first is replacing the magnets with something closer to vintage materials and strength. This is easy to do at home and doesn't even require unsoldering the pickup. Anyone that feels comfortable with a screwdriver can do it themselves. Where to get the magnets? They're the same size as those used by Gibson in their PAF and P-90 in the 40s and 50s, and every copy since then, so there are almost too many options available. You could even degauss the existing magnets with a strong neodymium magnet and put them back in.
It's both interesting and frustrating that Guild claims the repro Franz's use alnico 5 magnets in the dogear pups (X-175), and alnico 2 in the soapbar pickups (M-75). This might actually explain why (if?) NS X-175 owners are generally less satisfied than NS M-75 owners. I would expect the A5 magnets to result in a hotter pickup with a sharper top end. The A2 magnets by comparison should be smother and more vintage sounding. Not sure what's in my vintage Franz or why Guild chose to make them two different ways.
Anyway, the second way to bring NS pups closer to vintage would be to simply remove some of the windings. This is not for the faint of heart, but it doesn't require any special tools either. I've wound pickups, and unwound many of them before trying again. I know I can do it.
So, I have a 'spare' soapbar bridge pup intended for an M-75. I bought it on eBay a long time ago when they were really cheap. I will replace the magnets, or maybe just degauss them, and remove some windings to bring it closer to vintage. I'll then try it out in my NS Aristocrat. But I don't have enough real experience with vintage Franz's, especially in Aristocrats, so while I'm sure I will have changed it, maybe for the better (whatever that means) I won't be able to compare it to vintage. Is there anyone here that I could send the pickup to that could tell if it's a process worth carrying out?
I can try it on some dogear pups from a NS X-175 as well, but I'm not ready to pay $95 each for new ones. If someone has a pair that they've pulled and replaced with something else I might be willing to pay $80/pair for those. Or send them to me and I'll 'fix' them and send them back to you at no charge so long as you can provide a useful review and comparison to vintage for the communities sake.
