two small ceramic versus 'regular' mags

[orpheo]

Guys,

I have a hybrid I made a couple of years ago. It's a PATB2/JB hybrid with hex polepieces and 2 small ceramic magnets next to the JB coil. The idea was to get a p90-ish tone but with a slightly tighter low end and less bark. It worked. It worked really, really well, but the pickup is a bit too weak for my taste. Also, the highs are a bit harsh. I've been thinking about three scenario's.

1: change the hex polepieces for regular length polepieces.
2: change the hex for regular and give it a normal alnico5 magnet.
3: change the hex for regular and give it an alnico 5 and leave in the most outer of the 2 small ceramics.

Ideas? Any insight or second opinion is welcome

[orpheo]

Re: two small ceramic versus 'regular' mags

let's bump this...

[freefrog]

Re: two small ceramic versus 'regular' mags

let's bump this...

AFAIK, changing the hex poles for regular ones should increase the inductance by increasing the metallic mass of the magnetic circuit. Using alnico instead of ceramic should do the same for the same reason.

Increased inductance should give a warmer tone.

Now, how the whole assembly will deal with Eddy currents? Which one is musically the better solution among those listed above? Honestly, I've no clue...

Apparently, you'll have to experiment and to let us know. :-)

I'd just avoid to mix alnico with ceramic, personally (because ceramic mags might drain the alnico one without letting it define the tone)... but that's just my subjective opinion based on my own limited experience with such things.

Good luck in your attempts!

[koshikas]

Re: two small ceramic versus 'regular' mags

I'd just avoid to mix alnico with ceramic, personally (because ceramic mags might drain the alnico one without letting it define the tone)... but that's just my subjective opinion based on my own limited experience with such things.

well not say u are wrong, but it is times like this my friend where so many here are in a magnet frenzy doin the unthinkable of yesterday. to cut the cr@p ppl have signature pickups with both alnico and ceramic in them. i was more or less as worried, but then it is already at work, besides i dont consider tiny ceramic mags to be as powerful as full sized mags or ever double-sized ones. best example is those mags in single-coil sized rail humbuckers, while being ceramic they are so weak. so i dont think ceramic spacer magnets are not to be worried about degaussing larger sized alnico mags

[freefrog]

Re: two small ceramic versus 'regular' mags

well not say u are wrong, but it is times like this my friend where so many here are in a magnet frenzy doin the unthinkable of yesterday. to cut the cr@p ppl have signature pickups with both alnico and ceramic in them. i was more or less as worried, but then it is already at work, besides i dont consider tiny ceramic mags to be as powerful as full sized mags or ever double-sized ones. best example is those mags in single-coil sized rail humbuckers, while being ceramic they are so weak. so i dont think ceramic spacer magnets are not to be worried about degaussing larger sized alnico mags

You don't say that I'm wrong and I've never claimed to be "right". :-)

I know that people mix alnico & ceramic. Actually, I've tried it too, a while back (more than 10 years ago, for sure). When I've done that, I've been somehow shocked by the tendency of the ceramic to "rob" the tonal features of alnico. The sound was just "ceramized", so to speak.

Now, that's just MY subjective feeling & related opinion, as mentioned above. If people want to mix alnico & ceramic, then if it makes them happy, I'm simply glad for them. :-))

[LtKojak]

Re: two small ceramic versus 'regular' mags

Guys,

I have a hybrid I made a couple of years ago. It's a PATB2/JB hybrid with hex polepieces and 2 small ceramic magnets next to the JB coil. The idea was to get a p90-ish tone but with a slightly tighter low end and less bark. It worked. It worked really, really well, but the pickup is a bit too weak for my taste. Also, the highs are a bit harsh. I've been thinking about three scenario's.

1: change the hex polepieces for regular length polepieces.
2: change the hex for regular and give it a normal alnico5 magnet.
3: change the hex for regular and give it an alnico 5 and leave in the most outer of the 2 small ceramics.

Ideas? Any insight or second opinion is welcome

In my somewhat limited experience mixing ceramic spacers mags with alnico bars, the least unpleasing results (I've never been able to get a sound I liked) were with A2, A3 and UOA5.

I ve gotten much better results with UnOriented Ceramic 8 (UOC8) tone-wise... the only neo is the very low Gauss reading, which makes it an outstanding mag for Jazz-oriented players which like articulation and a sharp pick attack instead the usual smooth one.

HTH,

[orpheo]

Re: two small ceramic versus 'regular' mags

thanks for your replies guys. I get the idea that using the ceramics aren't that good of an idea. but my biggest question is this:

if I change the 2 small ceramics for one regular a5, would that give me about as much voltage or less? Put it differently: do 2 small ceramics (with small I mean, spacer bar sized!) have the same gauss as 1 a5? I know how inductance works in a pickup, I wrote an article about it... but it's the combination that matters in this case, I suppose.

[Edgecrusher]

Re: two small ceramic versus 'regular' mags

thanks for your replies guys. I get the idea that using the ceramics aren't that good of an idea. but my biggest question is this:

if I change the 2 small ceramics for one regular a5, would that give me about as much voltage or less? Put it differently: do 2 small ceramics (with small I mean, spacer bar sized!) have the same gauss as 1 a5? I know how inductance works in a pickup, I wrote an article about it... but it's the combination that matters in this case, I suppose.

Sorry but i get the feeling you dont really understand magnets...

2 mags wont increase gauss... gauss is magnetic flux density... 2 mags wont increase density just area... the measurment of gauss has a fixed area of 1 cm and is defined as 1 maxwell over 1 sq cm...

A large issue to overcome with using 2 spacer mags that no matter the specs you get is that the magnetic field will be shaped very differently. Its a bit like digging for gold in a coal mine. You will have to try it and see cause I doubt anyone here has done it.

Much easier ways to get P-90 is tone with tighter lows than this exercise in lets throw parts together and hope they sound cool...

[orpheo]

Re: two small ceramic versus 'regular' mags

I most definitely understand magnets. I'm just too lazy to write down Which configuration would yield a more powerful, stronger magnetic field strength?'. The term 'gauss' serves as a shorthand, if you will, to describe just that. And the term is perfectly fine,too. If you put the opposing poles together, the intensity double ms (assuming the mags are the same strength).

On topic. I changed the mags for an a5,swapped hex for screws and the result is just what I was hoping for. More focus, tighter,more beef and more articulation.

Thread server its purpose.