59/custom hybrid mag swapping

Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

I'm eager to hear what you think of the A2 in the 59/C. I'll probably be doing that swap the next time I change strings on that guitar.
 
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

I also really wana know what the A2 does for you. I LOVE the A8 in my 59/C.

Sorry if you already said this somewhere else, what guitar is it going in and what's in the neck?
 
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

It's a sight to see. Ugly and mean looking dark green cracked finish super strat with a poplar body and a maple neck with rosewood board all spray painted silver with red painted x's for inlays a chrome skull for the tone knob and a typical knob that goes to 11. It has a stock ripped off floyd style bridge that I blocked off and a locking nut. It has a belly contour but no arm one and the edge is sharp. I might just take a powersander to it to sand it smoother and paint over it. It's an old made in japan Westone that originally had cheap active pickups in it and I had brought it back to life a year or 2 ago. The thing sounds badass now, and I love the look but it certainly isn't for everyone.
 
Last edited:
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

It's a sight to see. Ugly and mean looking dark green cracked finish super strat with a poplar body and a maple neck with rosewood board all spraypainted silver with red painted x's for inlays a chrome skull for the tone knob and a typical knob that goes to 11. It has a stock ripped off floyd style bridge that I blocked off and a locki ng nut. It has a belly contour but no arm one and the edge is sharp. I might just take a powersander to it to sand it smoother and paing over it. It's an old made in japan Westone that originally had cheap active pickups in it and I had brought it back to life a year or 2 ago. The thing sounds badass now, and I love the look but it certainly isn't for everyone.

You got a picture? That sounds cool man
 
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

Mag swapping on the 59/Custom Hybrid is almost ridiculous. It's already tweaked and sounds great as-is. If anything, A2 might be cool or UOA5 would give it some vintage velvety softness, but all of the qualities it has going for it in stock form are what makes it great. If you want to put an A8 then why bother with the hybrid? You might as well get an Alt 8, PATB-2, or Crunch Lab or something. The Jazz MIGHT benefit from an A8, but it's such a powerful magnet that I doubt it will balance properly with any bridge. You would have to lower it so much that it will become almost useless. Then you would lose all that high end detail and balanced low end that makes the Jazz a great neck pickup.

Honestly, I think magnet swapping is becoming ridiculous. It's a nice option if you have a SPECIFIC, minor change in mind, but if you don't know exactly what you want to achieve, it equates to just time spent experimenting. The qualities of each pickup are already posted out there. I just imagine how a minor variance in output and tone matches with the tonal qualities of the magnet type and it always gives me pretty much an accurate idea of what I find when I do the swap. I haven't really been surprised yet.

These days, it's the amp + speakers mostly. Most pickups are essentially a matter of output, feel and basic underlying EQ. Some pickups, like certain Dimarzios, have rather unique sounds, but most pickups sound similar except with minor EQ differences. I look at pickups is kind of the link between me and the amp rather than a major part of the tone. You can swap magnets and tweak all you like, and you might just get lucky, but most of the time you have to have a specific purpose in mind or your pickups need to be designed with that certain magnet in mind perhaps.

I'm just being honest here because I think mag swapping on the 59/Custom Hybrid is pretty much a waste of time. Get yourself one of those roughcast A2 magnets and you will have a little more thickness, a little less top end brightness, but you are going to lose a little output. A polished A2 will be slightly more powerful and give you the same effect but not exactly the same vintage softness. UOA5 will probably work perfect tonally, but he 59/Custom already feels loose to me and wouldn't feel right with UOA5. Plus, you will lose a little power. Ceramic will definitely be thicker and more powerful, but I don't think it will tame the high end or add any mids. A8 will be thick and warm, but you will lose a lot of things that make it a cool pickup. It's too powerful and you won't have the dynamics and all that. You might as well get one of those Liberators and turn it into an active pickup or something.

I don't agree with this seeing as I've also done the hybrids early on and have swapped alot of magnets...In the past,I did kinda the same thing trying different strings and picks,but the magnet swap really does help a person dial in a particular tone or feel from the given pickup.
 
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

I don't agree with this seeing as I've also done the hybrids early on and have swapped alot of magnets...In the past,I did kinda the same thing trying different strings and picks,but the magnet swap really does help a person dial in a particular tone or feel from the given pickup.

You don't get it. I'm all for magnet swapping, but the 59/Custom hybrid isn't a pickup that I think will benefit a whole lot from magnet swapping. I speak from experience because I have tried several different magnets and went through that whole phase with the hybrid and numerous other pickups including Dimarzio and other brands. I'm not a pickup expert, but have a pretty good grasp on magnet qualities and how they interact with different kinds of pickups. When you're talking about putting an A8 in a 59/Custom hybrid, well that's where I think it gets a little out of hand. Magnet swapping is fun, cheap, etc... yeah, I never disagreed with those things. However, I think a lot of it is a waste of time if you don't know what you're trying to achieve with it. If you have the time to spend playing with magnets then good for you, but for a person who has specific intentions, I think it's better to take a more structured approach. That's all I'm saying.
 
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

You don't get it. I'm all for magnet swapping, but the 59/Custom hybrid isn't a pickup that I think will benefit a whole lot from magnet swapping. I speak from experience because I have tried several different magnets and went through that whole phase with the hybrid and numerous other pickups including Dimarzio and other brands. I'm not a pickup expert, but have a pretty good grasp on magnet qualities and how they interact with different kinds of pickups. When you're talking about putting an A8 in a 59/Custom hybrid, well that's where I think it gets a little out of hand. Magnet swapping is fun, cheap, etc... yeah, I never disagreed with those things. However, I think a lot of it is a waste of time if you don't know what you're trying to achieve with it. If you have the time to spend playing with magnets then good for you, but for a person who has specific intentions, I think it's better to take a more structured approach. That's all I'm saying.

And I read you! Actually I've only messed with A2,A3,A4,A5 and UOA5..I was one of the very early guys that did the hybrids(and did for forum members) I Liked the A2 in this one.
 
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

the 59/Custom hybrid isn't a pickup that I think will benefit a whole lot from magnet swapping. I speak from experience because I have tried several different magnets and went through that whole phase with the hybrid and numerous other pickups including Dimarzio and other brands.

Kind of a sweeping generalization, don't you think. That's your view, in your guitars, thru your gear, playing the genres you do. Whatever works for you. The rest of us have different variables, and are likely looking for different tones. You speak from your experience', which is great, but you don't represent us and our musical tastes. There's PU's I love with the stock magnets (like Seth's) but other people like them better after a mag swap. It's not up to me to tell them I know best and they're wrong.
 
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

A couple of years ago, I built a LP-based instrument (the build thread is in The Vault) and installed a set of hybrids, 59/Jazz in the neck and 59/Custom in the bridge. The guitar has a solid Honduran mahogany body with no maple cap, but the neck has an ebony board and gold frets, which are harder than regular nickel/steel. So tonally it was likely that it would occupy it's own territory.

I started with the A5 magnets and then went through a trial period with many other Alnico types. The guitar seemed to be very resonant and articulate, and I already had two other guitars with the same hybrid sets, so I settled on A4s for the homebrew LP. At all stages, the pickups retained their qualities, the magnet swaps seemed to be more like EQ adjustments. The A4s give this instrument the impression of a little more low-mids, that kind of slightly boxy, honky tones you hear from the really old Gibsons. But the pickups have always retained the qualities i like about the hybrids, particularly the kind of three-dimensional aspects of the sound (that to my way of thinking, is very similar to the effect of scatterwinding the coils).
 
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

And I read you! Actually I've only messed with A2,A3,A4,A5 and UOA5..I was one of the very early guys that did the hybrids(and did for forum members) I Liked the A2 in this one.

I mentioned A2 and UOA5 being the secondary preferences that I have tried in the 59/Custom. I keep polished A2, roughcast A2, A5, UOA5, A8 and ceramic magnets around, and dirt cheap squire HH which I Dremmeled a rough slot for sliding in pickups and some wires sticking out of the pick guard which I can quick connect pickups. Whenever I get the time and the urge to try something new, I swap a few magnets here and there. The 59/Custom was one of the first ones I extensively messed with. At first, UOA5 was very appealing. Then A2 gave me some of the qualities I wasn't getting from the UOA5. None of the other magnets did it for me. Still, I kept thinking of the original A5 so I put it back in and realized that (in my opinion) it was the best. I like the sound of the stock pickup the most. That's what I think about it and I personally think that anyone who likes the 59/Custom will probably come full-circle back to the A5.

Kind of a sweeping generalization, don't you think. That's your view, in your guitars, thru your gear, playing the genres you do. Whatever works for you. The rest of us have different variables, and are likely looking for different tones. You speak from your experience', which is great, but you don't represent us and our musical tastes. There's PU's I love with the stock magnets (like Seth's) but other people like them better after a mag swap. It's not up to me to tell them I know best and they're wrong.

You're just being an ass Blueman. You came off pretty badly on my original post to begin with. I elaborated above and it shouldn't require more explanation. I obviously don't claim to represent anyone's musical tastes, but can clearly hear with my ears how great the stock 59/Custom sounds and that it also loses something when other magnets are used. This certainly doesn't apply to everyone's tastes, but if everyone honestly evaluated their experience swapping mags in that pickup, I'm pretty sure that most people would come to the same conclusion that I have. I know several people who have been using the stock 59/Custom since it first came out, but I don't know anyone who continues to use one with a different magnet. It's common to hear people praise a mag swap in a pickup only to leave it behind, but seldom do they return to the original magnet and reevaluate the stock pickup. The point is that there are some combinations that just work as-is and I think the 59/Custom is one of those pickups that just has all the right ingredients.
 
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

I don't know anyone who continues to use one with a different magnet. It's common to hear people praise a mag swap in a pickup only to leave it behind, but seldom do they return to the original magnet and reevaluate the stock pickup. The point is that there are some combinations that just work as-is and I think the 59/Custom is one of those pickups that just has all the right ingredients.

"I only use it with A2 and A4..." Bach2Rock
 
Last edited:
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

I mentioned A2 and UOA5 being the secondary preferences that I have tried in the 59/Custom. I keep polished A2, roughcast A2, A5, UOA5, A8 and ceramic magnets around, and dirt cheap squire HH which I Dremmeled a rough slot for sliding in pickups and some wires sticking out of the pick guard which I can quick connect pickups. Whenever I get the time and the urge to try something new, I swap a few magnets here and there. The 59/Custom was one of the first ones I extensively messed with. At first, UOA5 was very appealing. Then A2 gave me some of the qualities I wasn't getting from the UOA5. None of the other magnets did it for me. Still, I kept thinking of the original A5 so I put it back in and realized that (in my opinion) it was the best. I like the sound of the stock pickup the most. That's what I think about it and I personally think that anyone who likes the 59/Custom will probably come full-circle back to the A5.



I'm not currently using any hybrids,but I Know that the ones I was using had A2 magnets in them..This was before Blueman told me about the UOA5 and this was several years later..At first all alot of knew about as far as magnets were A2,A3,A4,and A5...I just seem to dislike the way the A5 EQs the bridge pickups..Tighter,but scooped mids and brighter..I Like that the A2 is normally sweeter sounding overall..I find the UOA5 though to be kind of the best of what I Like about the A2 but it's a little more powerful and it doesn't cut the mids as much as A5..The hybrid is a cool pickup,but oddly enough,I ended up still liking the DMZ Fred in the bridge spot where I had a hybrid..Also odd,is that the Fred is A5? Weird right? LOL...

Blueman is a forum buddy and I've gained alot of great info from him...Just a shame to see you both back and forth...Takes the fun out of the forums. ;o(
 
Last edited:
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

I'm not currently using any hybrids,but I Know that the ones I was using had A2 magnets in them..This was before Blueman told me about the UOA5 and this was several years later..At first all alot of knew about as far as magnets were A2,A3,A4,and A5...I just seem to dislike the way the A5 EQs the bridge pickups..Tighter,but scooped mids and brighter..I Like that the A2 is normally sweeter sounding overall..I find the UOA5 though to be kind of the best of what I Like about the A2 but it's a little more powerful and it doesn't cut the mids as much as A5..The hybrid is a cool pickup,but oddly enough,I ended up still liking the DMZ Fred in the bridge spot where I had a hybrid..Also odd,is that the Fred is A5? Weird right? LOL...

Blueman is a forum buddy and I've gained alot of great info from him...Just a shame to see you both back and forth...Takes the fun out of the forums. ;o(

I get what you mean. The Fred is a great pickup. My favorite is the Norton. Hey, I'd otherwise be cool with Blueman. I don't think we ever shared a cross word before this thread, but I was sorely disappointed with the way he responded. It is unfortunate, but that's the way people are I suppose.
 
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

I obviously don't claim to represent anyone's musical tastes, but can clearly hear with my ears how great the stock 59/Custom sounds and that it also loses something when other magnets are used. This certainly doesn't apply to everyone's tastes, but if everyone honestly evaluated their experience swapping mags in that pickup, I'm pretty sure that most people would come to the same conclusion that I have.

In a nutshell, if somebody don't come to the same conclusion as you have and tells you, you *b*i*t*c*h*, moan and call names.

So much for the "I obviously don't claim to represent" part!

Your Honor, I rest my case!

What names are you going to call me this time, Dood? ;)
 
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

You're just being an ass Blueman.

Everyone isn't going to reach the same conclusions as you on PU's and magnets. I'm not sure anyone 'will come to the same conclusions I have' about anything. I'm just toss ideas out for people to think about, they can do what they want. If it's different than what I chose, doesn't bother me in the least. To me, the important thing is that people look at the options before making a decision.

Is it that difficult to make it thru a thread without name-calling and telling people to 'shove it'? Do you really talk to people this rudely throughout the day?
 
Last edited:
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

We all know that Blueman has his opinions as well as most everybody else on this forum. He and I disagree on many things (like A2 pups in the neck, for example), but those are only opinions and they are appreciated and make for good productive discussion. I totally respect his thoughts and contributions to this forum (and I actually agree with most of his opinions). We know that the real beauty of music is its diversity.

But when someone expresses his opinion as fact that everyone else should agree with...that's where the trouble starts. Now I'm not saying that there aren't such things as facts and everything is only opinion, but when one dogmatically expresses his thoughts and feels he has to demean anyone who doesn't agree with his opinions, that's just arrogance and narcissism.

Just to clarify...If I were to say that an A2 mag is warmer sounding than an A5 mag, all else being equal (same pup, guitar, pots, caps, settings, cords, amp, speakers, etc), that would be a fact.
If I were to say that only an A5 sounds good in a certain pup (not an A2, A8, UOA5, etc), and that anyone who disagrees with my assessment is a (insert whatever expletive you desire), that is an opinion being mis-stated as a fact.

There are many forum members who are valuable contributors. Many of those are strongly opinionated. That's great and leads to lively discussion and lots of learning.
There are some forum members who contribute and occasionally like to cause a bit of controversy. That's also great...it gets us to really think a little deeper.
There are also a few forum members who just like to cause trouble by trying to indoctrinate us with their dogma. Not good.
 
Last edited:
Re: 59/custom hybrid mag swapping

I dunno... with the stock A5 magnet its plenty thick and really well balanced. I wonder how much rounder and thicker it would get with an A2... something to think about I guess.

Love it with the stock A5 though... been in my main HSS Hamer for the past few months and I dig it!!
 
Back
Top