Changing Magnets and Magnet Comparison

[kernelofwisdom]

This might be helpful to those contemplating doing a little work on their pickups. Any experts or those better informed please feel free to suggest better methods! If you choose to listen to the sound clips, I recognize they may not be valuable or also that if you are listening over a crap laptop speaker you couldn't tell anything worthwhile if it were there, so take it for what it is worth. Let's go.

This post illustrates switching a humbucker magnet. In this case, an original Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickup is switched from the original magnet to a ceramic to an Alnico 2 to an Alnico 5 and then back. You might change a magnet because the original breaks or lacks a charge on part or all of it, or because you want a different characteristic to change your pickup tone. For each switch, I did a recording to try to capture the differences between magnets. I didn't hear anything dramatic in the room while recording or otherwise, except I thought the ceramic was a bit brighter and the Alnico II a bit more mellow.

Here's the kit:





The guitar is a Gibson 1960 Reissue G0. The burstbuckers are leaving in favor of a Seymour Duncan Seth Lover in the neck and the Pearly Gates in the bridge. The extra magnets (two of each type) are pictured, and a compass that let's me check magnet orientation to make sure I put them all in the same, and put the original back as it came.

Here's the pickup:



The little gold screws on the bottom I loosen a bit when I'm ready to push the magnet out and then tighten them back after inserting the new one.

Here you can see the magnet beneath the bobbins (prior to this, I took off the black tape - if you have a pickup cover you'd need to remove that):



You could probably get by without removing the tape, just pushing it out of the way, but since I was going to swap it four times I figured I'd just retape it later.

Here are the actual implements to help the magnet begin its journey from the pickup:



Note you shouldn't need to beat the magnet out, just tap it gently or even just push with the screwdriver. It may be stuck on with wax, and if it is very stuck you may need to heat up the baseplate to help free it. In any event, here I made sure to tap on the side that had the coil wire connections so the magnet would come out the side that had no wire connections. Be careful not to break any of the wires!

Here is the magnet almost out of the pickup:



With the magnet out, I quickly check the pole orientation and mark it with a sharpie. In this case, I note the compass points North on the side of the magnet that is under the screws rather than pole pieces. The magnets are pole oriented on the long sides rather than the end. Any method will do as long as you can remember what is what.



First things first, I replaced the previously soldered to death original stuff with RS Guitarworks pots and caps. Good stuff.



New pickups are in!



How I switched them without disconnecting the pickup. Now two ways about it, it was a pain switching them. I was regretting the experiment by the third magnet.



The magnets that were used, and pickup without any protective armor.



Once it was over, the original magnet went back in and new tape was applied.



Good as new:



The sound samples are at the bottom of the page of the link below, if you're interested. You may be able to tell the difference between the ceramic and Alnico II particularly, but if not you should certainly be able to tell by the third that I'm ready to throw the guitar out the window and by the fourth I simply want to do nothing more than slide into a coma. It was all done, unfortunately, totally sober.

Magnet Changeout and Comparison

[Exluthier]

Thank you for your effort.

[jomo]

Very nice. That is the sweetest G0 I've ever seen. Where'd ya get that monster?
I listened to the clips, but couldn't really tell a difference on my laptop. If i have my laptop out in the garage tomorrow, I'll listen to it through my garage speakers.

[kernelofwisdom]

Originally Posted by jomo

Very nice. That is the sweetest G0 I've ever seen. Where'd ya get that monster?
I listened to the clips, but couldn't really tell a difference on my laptop. If i have my laptop out in the garage tomorrow, I'll listen to it through my garage speakers.

I probably wasn't cussing close enough to the mic for anyone to catch that. I even managed to drop the little spring into the pickup cavity where it made its way into the control cavity. The guitar fought me all the way.

Enjoying it though - it's a very nice player!

[Quill]

That is just an incredible amount of trouble you've gone through - and it's not the first time you've put yourself through part-swappin' hell for the pleasure and edification of the rest of us. Great thread, man.

[EEF13]

I have been thinking about putting in a Alnico 8 mag into a Duncan Full Shred. after this thread I am going to do it.

[Liam]

Wow. The A2 vs. A5 comparison wasn't what I was expecting... Quite subtle, going to have to dig out some decent headphones!

Great post and experiment, been planning to do similar myself and never find time. Thank you mate.

Liam

[5F6-A]

this is a fantastic thread... cheers!

[kernelofwisdom]

Originally Posted by Liam

Wow. The A2 vs. A5 comparison wasn't what I was expecting... Quite subtle, going to have to dig out some decent headphones!

Great post and experiment, been planning to do similar myself and never find time. Thank you mate.

Liam

Another guy proposed that perhaps I would have more dramatic results in all these things if I could drive the amp harder, so I've ordered a digital recorder to give that a go at the office where the sky is the limit. I'm maxing the neighborhood volume currently.

But in the room there was little difference, perhaps some between the ceramic and the II.

On the other hand, magnets are cheap experiments, more or less, though I should have added a bottle of Port to the budget.

Thanks by the way!

[cryptozoo]

Another interesting thing to throw in the mix is that magnets made by different manufacturers sound different, even if they're the same type. You could have three different A5s by three different manufacturers and each could have a different sound when fully charged. Some magnets hold charges better than others.

[Tuya Customs]

What about having half an alnico II mag (on the treble side) and an alnico V (bass side). Now THAT sounds interesting

[Chris]

The ceramic had more definition that could be heard at around 20sec.

[zoork_1]

Originally Posted by Tuya Customs

What about having half an alnico II mag (on the treble side) and an alnico V (bass side). Now THAT sounds interesting

Never thought of that, wonder If that would give rise to one or two magnetic fields.....????

[Barber]

two!
and they would repel each other