Help with magnet swap

White.Noise

New member
I'm doing the magnet swap on a sh11 to a 1.5 thick ceramic but I've run into 2 problems.

First, my pickup only had one spacer... Is that right? It is a covered one(from the factory)
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And second, I read I'm supposed to flip the spacer when using a thicker magnet, but the spacer ends up being thicker than the magnet. How should I go about it?
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Thats right, only one spacer here. There is the keeper bar on the other side.
I see 2 possibilities: Shimming the magnet or make a new spacer of scrap wood. I recommend the second solution.
Are you aware of another problem? The baseplate screws are now too short to grab into the bobbin.

Please report of the tonal out come. I never used thick ceramics in other pickups.
 
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So... I went with a 3d printed spacer, but a new problem arose.

When screwing the baseplate the bobin with the adjustable screws gets pulled apart from the other.

I tried loosening the screw but they stick out quite a bit and the bobins feel loose.

​​​​​​​Any idea how to proceed? Game over?
 

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You need spacers on both sides that are the same height as the magnet (plus whatever shim you have) in the center, so that when you tighten the screws underneath that hold the baseplate to the bobbins, it all stays level. All still easily fixable as long as the coils aren't damaged.
 
You need spacers on both sides that are the same height as the magnet (plus whatever shim you have) in the center, so that when you tighten the screws underneath that hold the baseplate to the bobbins, it all stays level. All still easily fixable as long as the coils aren't damaged.

I don't think they are damaged.

Should the shim go between bobin and magnet or magnet and baseplate? Im not sure about the spacer on the other wide tho, as the cable runs there so if put one there would be pression in there? But it should be alright, no?
 
I don't think they are damaged.

Should the shim go between bobin and magnet or magnet and baseplate? Im not sure about the spacer on the other wide tho, as the cable runs there so if put one there would be pression in there? But it should be alright, no?

The shim in the center would be between the magnet and the baseplate to hold it at the right height with thicker spacers, but actually now that you have the thinner spacer on the slug side you don't need one.

On the screw side, any little strip of plastic or wood the right height that fits between the keeper bar and the lead cable will help keep the bobbin level when you tighten it down. Back the pole piece screws out of the baseplate, unscrew the bobbin, get a little shim in there, reattach the baseplate, then screw the pole pieces back down. Make sure not to overtighten anything.
 
A toothpick later and the capsule is assembled and with the cover back. Normal readings (if anything a little bit low about 13.5k) Some hair drier action now for the wax and into wiring. I'll report back the tone results.
 
Trouble in paradise. Measured after the hair dryer(forgot to do it just after putting the cover) and now green and black reads 190k (indivual coils read fine).
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Any idea what happened?

Edit: Disassembled the pickup back to the baseplate. Normal reading. Screw the backplate back. Back to 150-190k.
 
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yep. do all the wire insulations look ok, not melted at all? are the connections all insulated so they dont touch anything?
 
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