What effect does going from an oversized ceramic magnet to a regular-sized one have?

[Rex_Rocker]

Asking for a friend.

J/K. I got the Duncan Distortion Neck on my Les Paul, and I wanna play around with it. I already had an A5 magnet at some point, but I put the stock oversized Ceramic back in there.

What effect would dropping a regular sized ceramic have?

I kinda like the pickup, but I don't love it. Would love to tweak it to see if I can get something I like better out of it.

Thanks!

[freefrog]

I'd expect a weaker magnetic field, giving a slightly lower output level and a softer tone. But there's so many variables at work that I wouldn't be surprised to be surprised by the result. ;-)

[Rex_Rocker]

I'd expect a weaker magnetic field, giving a slightly lower output level and a softer tone. But there's so many variables at work that I wouldn't be surprised to be surprised by the result. ;-)

Softer as in going from A5 to A2?

[freefrog]

Softer as in going from A5 to A2?

Well, inductance + eddy currents would increase from A5 to A2 and shouldn't change with ferrite /ceramic bars so I wouldn't expect quite the same effect. IF the thin bar is less gaussed than the thick one as it's most often the case, the sound should just be less "all sliders full up", so to speak.

If you try, let us know what you hear. :-)