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duncan detonator hb 108 ?

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  • #16
    Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

    Originally posted by dominus View Post
    They're actually closer to the Distortion than the Invader (which is a good thing). Yes, they're good pickups. They're even better when you swap the ceramic magnet out for an A8.
    Where do you get an AB magnet?
    I don't see a magnet on the bottom of my HB108 detonator (was going to try it in a firebird clone!
    Click image for larger version

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    • #17
      Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

      Originally posted by pawleep View Post
      Where do you get an AB magnet?
      I don't see a magnet on the bottom of my HB108 detonator (was going to try it in a firebird clone!
      [ATTACH=CONFIG]86894[/ATTACH]
      Greetings pawleep! I'll go to the good place and assume you were doing some serious research and came upon this corpse of a thread!

      Stewmac.com sells A5/A2, Allparts has a few I think.

      On eBay, Philaluthiertools has them.


      I love my Detonator. It is [for all practical purposes] a Distortion that has a double row of invader poles. They take a little of the nasty off the edge of it. I prefer a Distortion, but the Detonator is awesome too.
      Originally posted by Bad City
      He's got the crowd on his side and the blue jean lights in his eyes...

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      • #18
        Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

        By AB magnet, I assume you mean A8, as suggested above. This is the eBay seller I bought my last couple of alnico 8 magnets from: https://m.ebay.com/itm/Alnico-8-Humb...CkRbFT6enmXiPA

        No complaints about the product. Fair warning, though. You’ll be going from a double thick magnet to a regular magnet. You’ll likely have to turn the spacer magnets on their side to make up the difference in thickness.

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        • #19
          Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

          Also, since you mentioned looking for the magnet on the bottom of the pickup, I thought this instructional thread would be helpful for you. Swapping a magnet isn’t a big deal, but it’s a bit more involved than the magnet simply being attached to the bottom of the pickup’s baseplate.

          In Tinkering with Pickups 102, we discuss the different pickup magnets available and provide a step-by-step guide to change your humbucker magnets.

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          • #20
            Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

            Addiction - FX is where a lot of guys here get magnets.
            Originally posted by Bad City
            He's got the crowd on his side and the blue jean lights in his eyes...

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            • #21
              Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

              I've been doing a little mods on my HB108 pickups, I have the neck and bridge units. If you take a row of those hex head bolts out, get an old pickup and knock the solid slugs out with a hammer and drift, they'll pop right into the Detonator! I figured that out when I took a screw out and it actually threads into NOTHING! Just a slight press fit to the coil. I did my bridge unit, took away some of the bottom end and brightened it a good bit. Gonna do the neck pickup also. I looked at the bottom plate, it looks like a normal duncan, and uses #3-48 threads like regular American made pickups use. Not metric **** from china. I think the coils look the same, although I believe they are "F" spaced. I haven't taken the coils loose from the base to look at the magnet.
              GIBSON, MARSHALL, EPIPHONE, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.....A LOT OF SH*T!
              Check our band VENOMOUS MERCY on FB!

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              • #22
                Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

                Originally posted by gearhead63 View Post
                I've been doing a little mods on my HB108 pickups, I have the neck and bridge units. If you take a row of those hex head bolts out, get an old pickup and knock the solid slugs out with a hammer and drift, they'll pop right into the Detonator! I figured that out when I took a screw out and it actually threads into NOTHING! Just a slight press fit to the coil. I did my bridge unit, took away some of the bottom end and brightened it a good bit. Gonna do the neck pickup also. I looked at the bottom plate, it looks like a normal duncan, and uses #3-48 threads like regular American made pickups use. Not metric **** from china. I think the coils look the same, although I believe they are "F" spaced. I haven't taken the coils loose from the base to look at the magnet.
                Don't people want the bridge pup to have good bottom end?
                Have a HB103b and HB108b and not sure which one to try in a firebird clone bridge.
                Am probably going to do a spin split as well.
                Any thoughts appreciated! p

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                • #23
                  Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

                  I have that set of Detonators in an Ibanez SZ720FM, I left one row of slugs and one of screws in the neck pu, it has a serious deep sound, not really muddy though. I also tried swapping the thick ceramic mag for a regular size, and tried an alnico V, in the bridge pu, not really much difference in the tone. So the bridge pu has the original screws and magnet back on it. Has some serious "growl" to it. My other guitars sound a little smoother with distortion, even the LP style double cut I have with an Invader in it. Might be the guitar, not sure.I'm using it for some downtuned (drop C and B) material we are playing. Works pretty well. I experimented a bit with different value pots, different tone caps etc just to see. The pots have the greatest impact from what I found. I put a 1Meg pot in one of my axes, was a bit bright, so tried different resistors across the outside lugs till I got it about where I wanted it.
                  GIBSON, MARSHALL, EPIPHONE, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH.....A LOT OF SH*T!
                  Check our band VENOMOUS MERCY on FB!

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                  • #24
                    Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

                    Hello! Sorry for resuscitating this very old thread, but I didn't want to create a new one and pollute the forum. I recently bought a Jackson KE3 MIJ and it's got two Duncan Designed Detonators HB108 pickups (I've completely disassembled the guitar, cleaned it and re assembled it back).

                    I'd love to swap the magnets inside them. From what I've read here, they should come with a double stack of ceramic magnets each, my goal would be to put one Alnico 5 magnet inside each.
                    Since I'm looking for a guitar tone similar to the Custom 5 SH-14, would this be a good idea?
                    Any particular tips? I've found alnico 5 magnets for just 10 dollars on eBay...
                    Say "Hi" on social ---> https://linktr.ee/alessandroarzilli84

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                    • #25
                      Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

                      Originally posted by alessandroarzilli View Post
                      Hello! Sorry for resuscitating this very old thread, but I didn't want to create a new one and pollute the forum. I recently bought a Jackson KE3 MIJ and it's got two Duncan Designed Detonators HB108 pickups (I've completely disassembled the guitar, cleaned it and re assembled it back).

                      I'd love to swap the magnets inside them. From what I've read here, they should come with a double stack of ceramic magnets each, my goal would be to put one Alnico 5 magnet inside each.
                      Since I'm looking for a guitar tone similar to the Custom 5 SH-14, would this be a good idea?
                      Any particular tips? I've found alnico 5 magnets for just 10 dollars on eBay...
                      Yup, that's all there is to it. I don't know how close the wind is to a Custom wind, but switching out the mags to A5 is the right step in that direction.
                      Administrator of the SDUGF

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                      • #26
                        Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

                        The wind of the HB-108 is much closer to the "Distortion" and "JB" models.

                        That said, an A5 mag would definitely be a step in the right direction for what you're after and you might really like the results.

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                        • #27
                          Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

                          Thank you very much Mincer and Masta'C!
                          After reading your comments, I immediately bought a pair of Alnico 5 magnets from Alegree for 11.83 euros. Can't wait for them to arrive! Just wondering... If the original HB108 detonators have 2 ceramic magnets, how would I know the correct polarity orientation when swapping them with the new Alnico 5? Also, do I have to put something between the new Alnico 5 magnet and the pickup's external plate, to fit the previous height? Thanks again
                          Say "Hi" on social ---> https://linktr.ee/alessandroarzilli84

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                          • #28
                            Re: duncan detonator hb 108 ?

                            I can't recall 100%, but I believe the HB-108 had a standard-height ceramic magnet, so no major tweaking necessary.

                            As far as magnet orientation, find yourself a small compass and place it near each long side of the pickup. Keeping in mind that opposites attract, the "N" on the compass will be pulled toward the south "S" pole of the magnet and the "S" on the compass will be drawn to the north pole of the magnet. Simply ensure that the replacement magnets are oriented in the same way as the ones you remove and that's it! It can be helpful to mark the north side of each magnet with a marker as you go to help keep track.

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