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MAGNE-TONE® Wire for Guitar Pickups

Check out the new ELECTRI-TONE® product page for more guitar wire and cable products.

General Properties of Formvar

Formvar is a synthetic enamel composed of polyvinyl acetal and phenolic resins. Formvar’s hot oil resistance sets it apart from all other magnet wire insulations. The flexibility, adhesion and abrasion scrape resistance of Formvar film is excellent. Its electrical properties are very good and it is resistant to common solvents.

Guitar Pickup Winding Wire for Warmth and Note Definition…

Formvar serves as an excellent choice of winding wire for pickup manufacturing companies and it is chosen for it’s resistance to common solvents (including sweat and other liquids that can find its way into a guitar’s pickup cavity). Heavy Formvar is used where top end brightness and note definition and clarity are desired attributes, since fewer turns are possible due to the thickness of the insulation. A certain famous guitar maker used Heavy Formvar in their single coil pickup windings throughout the early 1950’s and 1960’s. This is the best choice for period-correct, authentic single coil pickup winding wire.

General Properties of Plain Enamel

Plain Enamel magnet wire is insulated with a synthetic resin enamel. It is the oldest of the film insulations and all basic properties are good. Relatively easy removal of film by mechanical or chemical means. Good moisture resistance.

Excellent Windability…

Heavy Poly Nylon Round Magnet Wire
HPN combines the magnet wire insulation characteristics of Heavy Poly with the advantages of a nylon topcoat. With the nylon, HPN is still readily solderable, yet the solvent resistance and thermal stability of the insulation is excellent. In addition, the nylon provides improvement in the windability and tolerates more severe winding operations. HPN is an excellent choice for automatic winding machines. Heavy Poly Nylon’s heavy coating is an excellent choice for vintage-voiced pickup wire.

Vintage Tone…

Plain Enamel is a magnet wire insulation type used in vintage pickup windings and today is used in vintage reissue guitar pickups. Plain Enamel is often defined visually by it’s dark purple / brown-ish tint. Don’t be fooled by companies that tint and dye other insulation types as a substitution for the real deal; supply is limited for plain enamel since it is mostly used in smaller quantities by pickup winding companies in vintage-spec’d guitar pickups.

Product # Material Type AWG Size Nom. Bare Wire Diameter Min. Increase in Diameter Due to Film Coating Max. Overall Diameter of Film-Coated Wire
MWRD44SPNPolyurethane Nylon Normal Magnet Wire 44 0.002 in
0.051 mm		0.0002 in
0.005 mm		0.0024 in
0.0610 mm
MWRD45SPNPolyurethane Nylon Normal Magnet Wire 45 0.00176 in
0.0447 mm		0.0002 in
0.005 mm		0.00220 in
0.0559 mm
MWRD46SPNPolyurethane Nylon Normal Magnet Wire 46 0.00176 in
0.0399 mm		0.0002 in
0.005 mm		0.00200 in
0.0508 mm
MWRD43PEPlain Enamel Vintage Magnet Wire 43 0.0022 in
0.056 mm		0.0002 in
0.005 mm		0.0026 in
0.066 mm
MWRD405SPNPolyurethane Nylon Normal Magnet Wire 40-1/2 0.003 in
0.076 mm		0.0003 in
0.008 mm		0.0035 in
0.090 mm
MWRD41SPNPolyurethane Nylon Normal Magnet Wire 41 0.0028 in
0.071 mm		0.0002 in
0.005 mm		0.0033 in
0.084 mm
MWRD42HFFormvar Vintage Magnet Wire 42 0.0025 in
0.064 mm		0.0004 in
0.010 mm		0.0032 in
0.081 mm
MWRD43HFFormvar Vintage Magnet Wire 43 0.0022 in
0.056 mm		0.0004 in
0.010 mm		0.0029 in
0.074 mm
MWRD42SPNPolyurethane Nylon Normal Magnet Wire 42 0.0025 in
0.064 mm		0.0002 in
0.005 mm		0.0030 in
0.076 mm
MWRD43SPNPolyurethane Nylon Normal Magnet Wire 43 0.0022 in
0.056 mm		0.0002 in
0.005 mm		0.0026 in
0.066 mm
MWRD40SPNPolyurethane Nylon Normal Magnet Wire 40 0.0031 in
0.079 mm		0.0003 in
0.008 mm		0.0037 in
0.094 mm
MWRD42PEPlain Enamel Vintage Magnet Wire 42 0.0025 in
0.064 mm		0.0002 in
0.005 mm		0.0030 in
0.076 mm

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