Ferrite magnet?

[dreamist]

I asked Godin support about the type of magnet used in the stock pickups in their performance series line, namely the GHB1 humbucker and the GS1 single coil. Both of these use Ferrite magnet.

So my questions are:

1. Is Ferrite magnet the same as Ceramic magnet, or does it exhibit the same characteristics?

2. Is it common for a single coil pickup to use this type of magnet, and why?

I think this information would help a lot with my decision for the replacement pickups. Thanks in advance.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Ferrite magnet?

I'm not sure I fully understand but all guitar pickup magnets -- ceramic included -- have ferrite (iron) in them. (I don't know of the Samarium Cobalt mags have iron or not but I suspect they do.)

In a ceramic magnet, the ferrite (iron) is suspended in the ceramic mix. In Alnico magnets, iron is about 50% of the magnet. The remaining half is ALuminum/NIckel/CObalt and some other metals, like copper and titanium, depending on the Alnico grade.

Anyway, I don't know what Godin means by referring to their magnets as "Ferrite" unless they are trying to be coy and not reveal what they use.

 

[dreamist]

Re: Ferrite magnet?

Actually they also told me that it is a kind of ceramic. So I thought there were more than one type of ceramic and perhaps different from the ceramic generally used in most pickups. So I think I'm wrong in my assumption.

However, I haven't seen many single coils with ceramic magnet? So they are not common, for some reasons?

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Ferrite magnet?

There is Ceramic 5 and Ceramic 8. I think 5 is most commonly used and 8 is the stronger one.

Fender-style single coil pickups have Alnico rod magnets 98% of the time. There are ceramic Fender-styles, but instead of the poles being magnets as on a traditional Fender-style single coil, the poles are just metal slugs with a ceramic bar magnet glued to the bottom of the pickup in direct contact with the bottoms of the slugs.

About 99% of these ceramic Fender-styles are used on cheap import Strats and Teles. However, Lindy Fralin makes a hot Strat pickup with adjustable steel poles (like on a humbucker) with a ceramic magnet glued to the bottom. Other boutique makers make something similar. But ceramic Fender-style pickups are rare in general on higher end Fender-type guitars because the overwhelming majority of serious Strat/Tele players prefer the sound of Alnico over ceramic.

 

[dreamist]

Re: Ferrite magnet?

Thanks. That explains a lot.

So I guess the reason why Godin uses ceramic on their single coils might be to make them hotter to balance the output with the humbucker. Judging from the overall quality, I don't think it's a cost-saving thing. Just my guess though.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Ferrite magnet?

Could be. I'm not familiar with Godins but kjrocks is. Buzz him...

 

[heem6]

Re: Ferrite magnet?

Isotropic Ferrite magnets are considered one of the highest-quality ceramic magnets.

I have not heard them in single coil pickups, but in high-output humbucker pickups they produce a very crisp ( but not harsh ) tone with outstanding clarity.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Ferrite magnet?

heem6, please examples where to find them!