The Guitar Gallery Forums - The Guitar Legacy of Matsumoku

After testing quite a few pickups and collating a stack of posts I am confident on what the numbers mean.

MMK45 - 11.8K coils with ceramic magnets
MMK53 - 11.8K coils with alnico magnets
MMK61 - 8.4K coils with Alnico ?? magnets
MMK75 - 8.4K coils with Alnico ?? magnets
No marking - Protomatic 1's 15.8K coils ceramic magnets
No marking - Protomatic 2's 8.4K coils Alnico magnets

The actual coil tolerances will vary due to manufacturing tolerances and the lead pickups are generally a bit hotter but the above values are close working values.

The bobbin colours, cover type, slug type (ie cosmetics), wiring configuration (ie. 3 conductor , 4 conductor etc) have no relevance to the MMK numbers. It makes sense with the assembler being able to see what coils strength and magnet type are from the MMK pickup marking. He has no need to have a code to tell him what the bobbin colours are or what wiring it has......he's got eyes to do that.


Rationalising MMK numbers to names I get:

MMK45 - Smooth Crash, Protomatic 4's and 5's. (I think Proto 4's and 5's are the same pickups......with the more expensive guitars having the 5 pickups.....very good marketing )
MMK53 - Protomatic 3's
MMK61 - Possibly AL-5's or AL-7's.....inconclusive
MMK75 - Classic Powers
MMK75 with chrome or gold covers - Classic Power 2's

If anyone has any info that shoots this down in flames.....please flame on.
Any info on Classic power 3's, AL-5's, Proto 7's appreciated.

Cheers
PeteRH
ps. I have a few (?) MMK-45's to trade for MMK53's, 61's, 75's if anyone is interested.

Greate Pete!

We should continue with this Stuff. As you already know I will agree with your conclusions on the MMK45. But I'm not sure if the Protomatic IV is really the same as Proto-V and Smooth crash. But as long as I have not such a PU for analysis...

Here is some additional stuff:

1. Protomatik II out of a PE-460 available at my desk:



Bridge-PU has 3-Conductor for out of phase purpose.

Magnets: No clou, there is no sticker on it and the magnet itself is quiet.

Electrical Data: R=8.45kOhm, L=4.88H, C=109pF (assumption due to missing tester)

Compared with the spec data of a Classic Power I and II Resistance and Inductance is nearly the same

2. AL-VII out of my ES-700

Elecrical data : R=12,6kOhm L not yet measured, will be done at the next string change.

No Marking on the backplate. Slugs are running through the backplate as known from Gibsons PAFs

3. MMK53

I've got only this picture:



4. Pickups from my YS-350



Data not yet measured. Will be done at the next string change.

Hope this helps!

Ulf

Thanks Ulf!

I have edited the Protomatic 2 resistance to match yours. It makes a lot more sense for Aria to keep with the 8.4K nominal coil resistance.
Can you please confirm they are Alnico magnets next time you have a chance?

I wasnt expecting to see such a high resistance for the AL-VII's. It is also strange to see such a high output pickup in a semi-acoustic style guitar. Do they sound hot? This info is contradictory to the limited MMK61 I have but it is what it is. Perhaps the earlier ones were different. Wish I had some MMK61 or AL7's laying around. More data required to make an assessment.

The YS-350 pickups are different again!! I have never seen those F stamps before.

Can I add your L and C values onto the opening thread? I have some of the Aria figures at home and will throw them on tonight.

This is a work in progress and I expect some changes.

Cheers
PeteRH

Hi- Did you ever run across pickups with the letters KSSC stamped on the underside?Wondering if they could be Matsumoku?

That is probably unlikely. Hondos were made by a number of manufacturers, a few Japanese, and the rest Korean. A few members here have Hondos that were made by Matsumoku and they are equipped with MMK pickups, not KSSC. ALL these models are the DC style much like the Vantage.

Thanks for compiling this, and thanks even more for posting it. This is exactly what makes this site such a unique and valuable resource, and I salute your efforts.

I've got two 45s (Avengers), two 61s (a VSH-445), and two unknown MMKs (in a VS-695-12, they look like all-black versions of the 53s shown above) here, when I've got 'em out I'll let you know what I find.

je

I have two MMK45 equiped guitars, an APII TS350 and an Electra X290 Workingman (Uncle Matt made according to the good folks at the Electra page).

It is interesting how different they sound. The TS350 has a maple neck and body center, longer scale (about 25 1/4") and is strung through the body. The Electra has a mahogany sandwich body with, I am guessing, a mahogany neck, and a stop type tail piece.

The TS350 will sustain untill the sun comes up and sounds very distinct and clear. You can hear every mistake I make.

The Electra is warmer sounding with more bass responce. I can get away with more fret fudging.

Anyone else have two or more guitars with the same pickups? If so what do you think?

I have editted the first post to show the Proto 2's as having Alnico magnets. I never noticed this catalog slick before stating Proto 1 and 2 specs before. It also confirm Ulfs DC resistance for his Proto 2's.

http://www.matsumoku.org/models/ariapro ... e.jpg.html

I have two PE-1000AB's with the same pickups, the same weight, both made of maple (which is a very consistent timber) and they sound like completely different guitars. I have built a few guitars and it totally baffles me how two guitars so identical can sound acoustically so different. Although the pickups are the same it reproduces the acoustic differences.

Hey dudes i know this an old post but i have to revive it. Can any of you tell me where the literature is in the guitar gallery where it says that protomatic 3's have alnico magnets or any specs at all? I can't seem to find it anywhere . Thanks Josh