if i get some A2 mags, does what i buy matter much?

[gimmieinfo]

Can anyone point me to some known good A2 bars or does it matter much? Will any old reverb or ebay seller do or should i be looking at certain sellers? I just wanna be sure i don't end up with mags that don't sound good. Yeah, I know, magnets don't have a sound....u know what i mean.

[Clint 55]

Be sure to get some double thick A2s also. I'm not aware of mag quality so I just got whatever. But I guess it's possible.

[gimmieinfo]

What you mean by double thick? If u mean literally double the thickness they won't fit.

[Clint 55]

Yes, they do fit. Some Duncans come stock that way.

[gimmieinfo]

Well, these are not duncans and i've had them apart and they are regular thickness. The only HB i have ever seen with a thick magnet was a super dstortion, and those are ceramic.

[Chistopher]

You have to put the retainer bars on its side for the magnets to fit. I'd also suggest getting some short bar A2's if they have them. I wouldn't go out of my way to find some. I use Philadelphia Luthier for all my magnets

[gimmieinfo]

You have to put the retainer bars on its side for the magnets to fit. I'd also suggest getting some short bar A2's if they have them. I wouldn't go out of my way to find some. I use Philadelphia Luthier for all my magnets

Thats another one i don't get...retainer bars? Just for the record, i HAVE replaced magnets many times and i have never run into anything where i had to do anything but replace them. As to short ones, i have heard of that but why?

[jeremy]

short bars sound different than long bars.

there are spacers in paf style humbuckers, wood or plastic usually. if you turn them on their side, they give enough clearance for a double thick magnet in most cases. clint loves his double thick mags

[gimmieinfo]

short bars sound different than long bars.

In what way?

[freefrog]

In a guitar pickup, the magnetic field is "normally" stronger under and around both E strings. A short bar makes this magnetic field... laterally shorter. Hence a wee bit less bass mostly. High frequencies are less affected since the resonant peak of the pickup is in the high range.

But that's with all other things being equal and magnets are not always equal , by nature. They can vary in their composition and measured magnetism according to the foundry where they come from, from batch to batch and even individually, at least when they're rough cast. Sintered ones seem more consistent.

Reason why I test them with a lab Teslameter AND don't hesitate to swap the mag of a pickup until it sounds to my taste, regardless of the theoretical specs involved. Half a dozen of times if necessary. YMMV.

Out of the usual shops (SteMac, Addiction-FX), let's name Throbak as a possible "boutique" source of AlNi(Co) bars made in USA. Most of those sold elsewhere come from China.

https://www.throbak.com/alnico-magnets.html

[NOTE - Please, let's not argue again about how ThroBak describes the tonal effect of his magnets: what he says obviously comes from what he noticed with his own pickups. Other pickups may react differently to his magnets, depending on the specs of the coils, slug and screw poles + keeper bars involved.]

FWIW.

[gimmieinfo]

Good lord, $118 for a pair of magnets ! For that kinda money i should never have to buy TP ever again !

[freefrog]

Yes, ThroBak magnets are expensive. And it replies exactly to the tittle of this topic: when one buys some ThroBak A2 mags, what is buied "matters much"... :-P

[Chistopher]

It's quite funny to me the distance people will go to get an 100% imitation of a product that was given no thought to control or standardization at the time of manufacture and has withstood 60 years of degradation.

[jeremy]

i bought 100 unit lots of bar magnets, a2, a3, a4, a5 from all star magnetics a bunch of years ago. not sure where they are made, but by having a big lot i get some consistency.

[Supernautilus]

Yes, ThroBak magnets are expensive. And it replies exactly to the tittle of this topic: when one buys some ThroBak A2 mags, what is buied "matters much"... :-P

Why are they so expensive though? How are they different than the mags you can get from Addiction or Philly Luthier, for example?