I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

zizyphus

New member
I should definitely be asleep right now, yet here I am, swapping magnets and posting on the forum

I stacked a rough A8 and an UOA5, and prelim, low-volume tests sound pretty cool!

More to come tomorrow when I can layer on some gain and get the volume past 0.5.

I may have found a new rabbit hole to burrow into
 
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Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

It will be interesting to see if the sound changes over time as the different magnets affect each other. I've never done experiments like this, but others here have.
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

It will be interesting to see if the sound changes over time as the different magnets affect each other. I've never done experiments like this, but others here have.

This combo is exactly what I needed for this pickup / guitar! The UOA5 add just a tad more sponginess to the bass, and some needed treble bite.

The first time I ever heard of something like this was on Gibson's Iommi signature humbucker. I thought it was a cool idea, so I scraped the web for more examples, but there isn't much out there except the occasion idiot like me who was foolhardy enough to do it.

As far as the magnets changing one another over time, I'm not quite sure what will happen in this case. The primary concern when I've read up on it in the past is that the magnets, because they're in opposition, will degauss one another. Now, I'm not sure whether this is unique to the "unoriented" nature of a UOA5, but the reason why I tried it in this pickup to begin with is that I noticed the A8 and UOA5 would attract face-to-face no matter which way I rotated them. I don't know enough about magnets to understand what allowed that to be the case, but I was intrigued, and that's what prompted me to try it to begin with.

I think the Iommi 'bucker has some kind of epoxy or something to physical force everything together. In the absence of a stabilizer like that, I wouldn't have wanted those physical forces going on inside my pickup.

I love the midrange and treble of the UOA5, and I may have to start experimenting with hybrid magnets now!

ICPmagnets.jpg
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

I wish somebody would offer a cheap service where they demag, epoxy together in the original direction, and magnetize bar magnets.
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

cant imagine theres a huge need for that so not surprised there arent many places that do it. no reason you couldnt do it yourself if you bought a couple neo bars to remagnetize em
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

I wish somebody would offer a cheap service where they demag, epoxy together in the original direction, and magnetize bar magnets.

actually, I'm a moron - that's probably what Gibson did in the Iommi humbucker
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

The problem with the OP's solution is that A8 is so strong that it will degauss the UA5 eventually, perhaps even fairly fast.

Some have had success blending magnet types by using magnets in place of the spacers outside the poles, but anything except ceramic is hard to find in that size nowadays. Axes R Us used to carry alnico spacers. Now they only have ceramic.

Cermag will make double thick bar mags in various alnico flavors. They might be able to source spacer-sized alnico bars too.
 
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Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

I wish somebody would offer a cheap service where they demag, epoxy together in the original direction, and magnetize bar magnets.

I think I'm gonna order some from cermag like that. I'm thinking A2/A6 and A6/A8.
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

I wish somebody would offer that service here in the states lol
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

I was thinking about offering the service myself but I can't locate a machine to professionally magnetize.
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

just get two 3" x 1" x 1/4" neo bars
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

1/8" thick would work fine too. i have both and i dont know if i notice a difference, they are both super strong
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

Ok. So I get 2 neo bar magnets. Then build a device to hold them and stick the alnico magnet in between them? Or what?
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

yep. there are a few methods but i use a press so the magnets are theoretically magnetized on the proper axis
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

I still have no idea how to go about magnetizing a humbucker magnet.
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

Waaaait so like stacking different types of magnets is bad for storage then?
 
Re: I stacked two bar magnets under inside one humbucker

Waaaait so like stacking different types of magnets is bad for storage then?

Not if the attracting/opposite poles are together. All mine came from AddFX that way and are still stored that way.

To use two different mag types in a pickup, the like/repelling poles had to be forced together for the pickup to work, but that also will demagnetize the magnets.
 
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