Help with magnet swap on Custom Custom

[devastone]

IMHO, no, not double thick, just standard thickness ceramic.

 

[beaubrummels]

FWIW by way of examples, the Black Winter has thicker ceramic than the Distortion and it's warmer than the Distortion to my ears. I think it's overly simplistic to just say all ceramic are brittle. Depends on the pickup / wind I think. And which guitar it's in. In my LP Studio, the Distortion is fuzzy/buzzy on the low end and not brittle on the top, but in a Floyded Jackson it's tight and bright and over time can produce a 'brittle' ear fatigue. The Black Winter is sterile and flat in my LP Studio but tight, warmer, and less bright in my Jackson. The Custom is different, it was bright and tight in the same LP Studio, and consistently the same in my Jackson. None of them really sounded overly brittle to me, but I also will adjust my guitar tones, and my amp a bit if I'm going to stick with ceramic mag pickups for a while.

 

[GuitarDoc]

the SD SH-6 is also double thick ceramic and it has some brittleness, no? So not a total different beast those double thick magnets.

Are you trying to compare apples to oranges? Yes, they are both fruit. Yes, they both grow on trees. So they are similar. But oranges have a more acidic taste. So they are different beasts.

The SH-6 is not the same as the SH-5. No one ever said that any pup with a dbl thick ceramic mag will not have a piercing/brittle high end! We were comparing 1 (one) pup with small vs lg ceramic mag...all else being equal. Get it?

Super distortion will be less bright because of the thicker pole screws and brass baseplate, no?

Possibly.

i doubt the SH-5 will loose it's top end if you put a double thick magnet in it, but i am sure somebody did this mod already

No one claimed that the SH-5 will "loose"[sic] "it's"[sic] top end!! The dbl thick will make the highs a bit softer, (ALL ELSE BEING EQUAL).

Maybe the ToneFiddler should fiddle more with his tone and leave the comparative analyses to someone more qualified.

 

[ToneFiddler]

the SH-5 has the standard sized magnet like a PAF, but ceramic instead of alnico.
i we can agree on that, than the SH-6 Duncan distortion has a thick ceramic (double the thickness of a PAF mag), that's a fact and easily verifiable and not opinion based.

if you google "duncan distortion brittle site:forum.seymourduncan.com" or harsh instead of brittle and you get pages of hits!
yes a stronger magnet can fatten up a PU.
yes you can make a dark PU with a ceramic mag.
Yes magnets itself don't have a sound.
but a ceramic in the same wind compared to an alnico magnet will push the pickups sound in a certain way.

 

[ToneFiddler]

Are you trying to compare apples to oranges? Yes, they are both fruit. Yes, they both grow on trees. So they are similar. But oranges have a more acidic taste. So they are different beasts.

depends more on the ripeness of the given piece of fruit than anything. and than there is lot's of differnet types of apples. no i don't agree with this generalisation.

The SH-6 is not the same as the SH-5. No one ever said that any pup with a dbl thick ceramic mag will not have a piercing/brittle high end! We were comparing 1 (one) pup with small vs lg ceramic mag...all else being equal. Get it?

you are the one who claims ceramic mags are brittle (at least normal sized ones). i just doubt that double the thickness makes it a total different beast. agreed that it fattens it up some, but total different beast?

No one claimed that the SH-5 will "loose"[sic] "it's"[sic] top end!! The dbl thick will make the highs a bit softer, (ALL ELSE BEING EQUAL).

i agree on that but i bet there will still be people out there who find it brittle/harsh and to "ceramic" sounding no matter standard thick or double the mag size.

Maybe the ToneFiddler should fiddle more with his tone and leave the comparative analyses to someone more qualified.

nah, i fiddle to much already. More practicing!
(Actually it should have been toneTINKERER!)

 

[White.Noise]

2 questions.

I have an Ibanez with quantum pickups that I intend to replace, and those are ceramic right? Do you think it would be a good idea to cannibalize one of them for the magnet? I don't know if it will make a difference quality wise.

And, my pickups come with factory nickel covers. Do I have to re wax them after I open them to do the swap?

 

[marcello252]

2 questions.

I have an Ibanez with quantum pickups that I intend to replace, and those are ceramic right? Do you think it would be a good idea to cannibalize one of them for the magnet? I don't know if it will make a difference quality wise.

it depends on what you are looking for, what you don't like about them?

And, my pickups come with factory nickel covers. Do I have to re wax them after I open them to do the swap?

it is possible, maybe you just need to soften the wax already there with some heat, no need to wax the entire pickup

 

[White.Noise]

it depends on what you are looking for, what you don't like about them?

I mean the Idea is to swap to ceramic to get the sh5 right? As I cant buy a magnet locally and the shipping is too expensive internationally, the idea would be that I can take the ceramic from this quantums, as I'm going to replace them anyways. For ferrite magnets there shouldn't be such a thing as a better quality one right? So in theory the one from those pups should work.

They are alright pickups, and they served me well for 5 something years when it was my only guitar but I'm ready to move from them as they are def lacking, and I want to do a full upgrade to that guitar for the sentimental value of being my first guitar and because It is actually a really good guitar. I'm probably going to get a L500XL and an L, if I can get over how ugly they are.

it is possible, maybe you just need to soften the wax already there with some heat, no need to wax the entire pickup

So should I warm the pickup before I take the covers off or after I put them back?

Also, I've read somewhere that magnet changes can take a day or 2 to have an effect as the coils still keep some magnetism from the previous mag, but that there is ways to get around this?

 

[marcello252]

warm it after you put the cover back.
I don't think you need to wait to feel the effect.

but ( maybe I'm in trouble translating) the pickups are already with ceramics, right? what kind of magnet would you like to put?

 

[GuitarDoc]

depends more on the ripeness of the given piece of fruit than anything. and than there is lot's of differnet types of apples. no i don't agree with this generalisation.

you are the one who claims ceramic mags are brittle (at least normal sized ones). i just doubt that double the thickness makes it a total different beast. agreed that it fattens it up some, but total different beast?

i agree on that but i bet there will still be people out there who find it brittle/harsh and to "ceramic" sounding no matter standard thick or double the mag size.

nah, i fiddle to much already. More practicing!
(Actually it should have been toneTINKERER!)

Do you even read the posts you respond to?!
Do you try to understand them before you reply?
I can understand your lack of understanding if English is your second or third language...if this is the case then I apologize.

 

[ToneFiddler]

Do you even read the posts you respond to?!
Do you try to understand them before you reply?
I can understand your lack of understanding if English is your second or third language...if this is the case then I apologize.

no, english is not my mother tongue