idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
Has anyone used 1 or 2 meg pots with a Mudbucker? Has anyone used one with a de-mud mod or parallel? Because 30K resistance is awful high for only a 500K pot.
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$30 P Bass copy
- Thread starter idsnowdog
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DCikes88
New member
Erlend_G
New member
Isn't the whole point of a Mudbucker, well, "mud"?
... I'd use a 500K pot and don't worry about it.Remember a good set of flats!!!
I use 1M pots. Doesn’t matter. Mud city. Don’t try to ‘fix’ it; embrace it.
idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
I got the pickguard and body routed for the mudbucker this week. Today I put the Artec mudbucker in but haven't wired it up yet. However, I did attach it to a jack with alligator clips and it sounds massive but not as loud as I expected. I'm going to wire it to a series/parallel switch and a G&L passive bass cut. I'm going to need to get some longer mounting screws because I just have it taped in place and I will cut a decoratve plastic ring to cover the gap between the cover and the pickguard. Tomorrow I might get the brass nut installed.
There are a couple mudbucker mods I did to mine to ensure it was as loud as I wanted it to be.1. The wiring colors for the Artec muddies are all over the place. Don’t just assume they’re in series. Mine actually came wired wrong.
2. The mags might also be in the wrong orientation. Ensure they’re faced N-N or S-S. ALSO an issue I had.
3. Pull the worthless pole screws and in their place, put a 1/4” square steel rod. It stretches from one end to the other of the inside of the cover and spreads the field wide enough to properly pick up the E and D strings.
4. Steel plates on either side of the magnets further spreads that sweet, muddy magnetic love.
5. Thin spacers underneath to set the overall pickup height where you want it.
6. 4 ceramic bar mags per pickup. A lot of the Artecs come with 2, for some reason.
The steel bars are what you see through the holes.
It sounds pretty mfn big…
https://www.facebook.com/PriyasHammer/videos/2265672520251241/?vh=e
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2 mags, either side, 4 total. As far as polepiece alignment, that didn’t matter. What matters is that muddies have such short coils and magnets that there isn’t as much current generated at either end. Historically, they’re weak on the E, the G, or both (I meant G, not D, in my other post but it won’t let me change it). Steel side plates and the center bar solve that by widening the field out further past those strings. If you haven’t noticed yet, you will.
I am interested in this de-mud mod. Where did you find this?
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idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
Here's the post with Arties mod https://forum.seymourduncan.com/for...tting-some-wiring-fact-i-was-told#post6017579 . He uses a .01 capacitor with a 500K resistor between the two coil wires. I used a .0047 capacitor which is about half a .01 with no resistor. It was just enough to trim a little mud without turning it into a p-bass pickup. I have a spare set of Entwistle XS62N strat pickups and they have two small Neodymium bar magnets like a P90. I could use two of the magnets in the center around the keeper. Neos would make it louder and more resonant.
Worth a try if you don’t like mudbuckers but…just…installed one?
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idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
The ongoing evolution. Adding two small helper ceramic magnets on either side of the poles on the mudbucker improved string balance. I added a SD Rickenbacker neck I had lying around unused. I also have a 15k mini on order that I'm going to put in the bridge position. I will need to revisit the wiring to figure out a way to reduce interaction between the volumes. It's kind of strange how the Rickenbacker neck is still brighter than the mudbucker despite its location. However mixing the two gives a wide array of tones.
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idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
I routed the bridge for a Firebird minihumbucker today. I modified the mini by adding a ceramic magnet in between the two vertical magnets which form the blades to increase its string coverage and power. It sounds really good in the bridge position. I need to buy a mounting ring for it and I would like to drill for a side jack and turn the hole for the jack into a tone control. I may also buy an adjustable bridge so I can get the D and G to align better with the poles of the mudbucker. 
idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
I took your advice but I did things a bit differently. I added two thin helper magnets in the middle on either side of the retainer bar. Instead of replacing the poles with a steel rod I cut up a retainer bar and stacked it only under the E and G strings to increase the ferrous mass under those strings. Now there's no dropout on the outer strings and all are the same volume.
Brilliant. I’d love to see pics of that! I’m never really done tinkering with stuff.
idsnowdog
Imperator of Indignation
The pictures didn't come out good. Here's what it looks like from a diagram perspective. The two helper magnets are aligned magnetically with the outside magnets but surround the poles like a P90.
I think the weaknesses of the Mudbucker design are that the stock magnets on the outside of the coils is the wrong place in relation to the poles. Also if there aren't magnets in the center close to the poles the magnetic coverage is poor. Lastly the magnetic field is strong in the middle but on the outer strings are weak so adding mass under E and G helps.
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