Five-Two + Stag Mag

[The Mighty Giawulf]

This was a weird idea I was thinking of. For those unfamiliar with it, The Stag Mag is a Duncan humbucker that uses 12 Alnico 2 rods (6 for each coil) instead of a the traditional 1 or 2 bar magnets. I was just wondering what would happen if you swapped out the 3 rods for the low strings on the upper coil with A5 rods, and replaced the 3 rods for the high strings on the lower coil with A5 as well, henceforth similar to a five-two (strat pickup with A5 rods for bass strings, A2 for treble).

What would it sound like? Would it be similar to a Wide Range? A5 (to my understanding atleast) is naturally stronger than A2. Thus having A5 rods for the low strings on the upper coil and A5 high strings on the lower coil would accent the lows and highs, right?

What do you guys think? Has anyone tried it?

All responses are appreciated, Ciao!

[jtougas]

Re: Five-Two + Stag Mag

You need to go back and edit... you keep saying A5 under both bass and treble strings... I get what you're sayin', though.

I have no idea what it would sound like.

[The Mighty Giawulf]

Re: Five-Two + Stag Mag

Does that help

I'm really curious about this. Definetly an experiment worth trying, though I lack both the funds and expertise to do it myself lol.

[jtougas]

Re: Five-Two + Stag Mag

You missed one.

I'm curious, too. I haven't had a chance to really compare mags in a pickup, so it'd be interesting to hear.

[Jocelyn]

Re: Five-Two + Stag Mag

It may sound good. But it wont be possible to swap it out without damaging the coils. Ever tried swapping pole magnets in a Single coil. The coil is swapped around the magnet poles. A five two magnet poles would of course be easily done as a custom shop order if you want one IMO.

[Mincer]

Re: Five-Two + Stag Mag

I know I really like the Five-Two.

[GoldenVulture]

Re: Five-Two + Stag Mag

It may sound good. But it wont be possible to swap it out without damaging the coils. Ever tried swapping pole magnets in a Single coil. The coil is wRapped around the magnet poles. A five two magnet poles would of course be easily done as a custom shop order if you want one IMO.

Not if he's doing this to a Stag Mag. There is bobbin wall between the coil and the magnet. They're rather easy pickups to remove/replace the magnets from/to.

[Kam]

Re: Five-Two + Stag Mag

Could be cool. I've been planning to replace all the rods in one coil with A5 and then put it in a Triple Shot. So I would be able to switch between an A5 single coil, an A2 single coil and a combination of both.

I should really get off my ass and do that. Lemme know how your experiment goes.

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: Five-Two + Stag Mag

I've been wondering about a Five-Two version of a tapped SSL5/6. I rather like the middle & neck Five-Twos I've got on my Lonestar.

[The Mighty Giawulf]

Re: Five-Two + Stag Mag

This is definetly something someone needs to do. I unfortunately dont have the dough for the Custom Shop otherwise I would hop right on this hahaha. Kam's idea of having one coil of the stag mag all A5 sounds equally cool.

[ItsaBass]

Re: Five-Two + Stag Mag

Whether or not this is safely achievable depends on the bobbins that S.D. uses for their Stag-Mags. If they are old-style bobbins (i.e. two-pieces held together by the magnets, which touch the coil windings), then you run the risk of breaking the wire when you swap the mags. It can be done successfully, but the risk of damage is high (and even higher if you are not using beveled magnets). If, however, the Stag-Mag uses molded bobbins (i.e. one-piece bobbins, in which the coil wire does not touch the magnets), then you can do all kinds of crazy mag swaps as many times as you want without risking damage to the pickup.

While you are in there, you might as well swap out the 3rd string magnets for shorter ones too. The 3rd string magnet being the highest one is a holdover from the days when wound 3rd strings were the norm. In those days, the tiny wound G was the quietest string, so it needed the highest magnet in order to match the other strings in volume. Nowadays, with a plain G being the norm, the 3rd string is the loudest string on the guitar – annoyingly loud IMHO. So it should have the shortest magnet in the pickup to my thinking.

[SoundAt11]

Re: Five-Two + Stag Mag

They're one-piece molded bobbins and have three maple spacers filling up the space between the bobbins and baseplate. I hated the stagger and tone on my Stag Mag and opened it up, used a dowel and mallet, tapped all the magnets out, and rearranged them with a gradual taper to match the fingerboard radius. You'll need Alnico 5 Rod Magnets. 187 size. It's hard to find anything shorter than 5/8" tall ones. If you can find 1/2" or less height, that would be great. I picked up 6 with the plan to make one coil all Alnico 5 rods and the other coil all Alnico 2 rods.
Seymour really made a poor choice in switching from the flat Alnico 5 rods of the "The Mag" model to the staggered Alnico 2 rods of the Stag Mag. The tone is big, clear, and open with flat Alnico 5 mags. The Stag Mag is muddy and dull from the Alnico 2 mags and the volume is uneven from the staggered poles.