Learning to swap magnet question

[superpete]

hey guys. spending time on this forum has gotten me interested in magnet swaps/making hybrids/etc. my question, before i ruin a jb, is this: i have a number of cheap oem pickups from various guitars (epiphone, bc rich, esp, ibanez) that i don't want and don't think are worth the effort to sell. can i use these to practice swapping magnets on first, or is the construction different on all of them and duncans and i'd be wasting my time and pickups?

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Learning to swap magnet question

all the OEMs I've put my hands on are the same construction. same would apply for DiMarzios, Gibsons and Rio Grandes I've laid hands on.

 

[dvanburen]

Re: Learning to swap magnet question

just be careful when you do it and it should be fine. Its not hard. Just unscrew your pickup from your guitar (you dont need to desolder it). turn it over and uscrew the 4 screws on the baseplate and pull it back carefully. Be sure not to yank it and pull the wires out. You will see the magnet sitting beween the coils. Carefully wiggle it out (it may be stuck from the wax) It should come out fine, then just pop in your new magnet taking note which end (north/south) is toward neck or bridge. Screw back down and Voila! enjoy. Its usually a good idea to take a hairdryer to the pickup after you screw it back up to settle the wax again, but other than that you should be good. Its hard to ruin a pickup from mag swapping unless you are just careless about it.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Learning to swap magnet question

yep, that's a much easier way to do it, as you don't always have to remove it from a guitar. dvanburen gotcha covered.

a few details that have worked for me (so don't take it as gospel) is once the baseplate screws are loosened, to go in to the side with the wires with something like a small flathead and gently and slowly push on the magnet to get it to go out the other end of the pickup. maybe use the hair dryer (or a heat gun on a low setting) to soften up the wax if needed. if none of that works, I can resort to gently and slowly going in on the side without the wires and gently and slowly pry the coils up just enough to have enough workspace to pry the magnet down and away so that once it's lose at that spot it can be either pulled out that end or pushed out from going in the other end.

much easier than it sounds and just takes a few minutes. the key is to be patient and work gently and slowly and don't force anything.

for grins, I try to keep a roll of coil tape on hand (from stewmac.com). while best to use for making hybrids, it can come in handy is you are OCD about your coil tape and happen to get it out of sorts at some point in a mag swap...which would be rare.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: Learning to swap magnet question

I practiced on OEM pickups before trying magnet swapping or hybrid-making. Smart move IMO.

You may notice on the OEM pickups that the magnet it probably much bigger. Those are double-thick ceramics and don't try putting them in a normal-sized magnet pickup without swapping the spacers first. That is one mistake I made early on. Just be careful/patient and aware of what you are doing. Don't try to force anything.

This video is from our own member, CTN:

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Learning to swap magnet question

It's a pretty simple proceedure, but a good idea to practice with an unwanted pup first. The vid by CTN is a great one to follow. Just remember to push the mag out from the end of the pup where the wires are to the end that is uncluttered with wires and match the polarity of the new mag to the old mag just like in CTN's vid.

Myaccount876, that was a great touch to include CTN's vid.

 

[Nacho8807]

Re: Learning to swap magnet question

Wow it really is that simple. Now I have the guts to put an A4 in my old BB Pro neck pickup!

 

[blueman335]

Re: Learning to swap magnet question

Wow it really is that simple. Now I have the guts to put an A4 in my old BB Pro neck pickup!

+1. It is simple. It doesn't take long, and most of the time is spent loosening strings and retuning. A lot of guys live with HB's and P-90's that don't sound quite the way they want them to, but don't know what to do about it. Some buy PU after PU hoping one will match up with their guitar/wood. Knowing how to change magnets, and what they do to EQ and output, can give you better tones (when you need them) and save you a lot of money.

 

[dvanburen]

Re: Learning to swap magnet question

Wow it really is that simple. Now I have the guts to put an A4 in my old BB Pro neck pickup!

thats a good mag choice. Try an A8 mag in the bridge BBpro and let us know how that works. A4 in the neck is smooth and sexy. No real major push in any direction Eq wise. It just makes the pickup shine for what it is. And I think the BBs are great pickups. Should sound great

 

[Nacho8807]

Re: Learning to swap magnet question

thats a good mag choice. Try an A8 mag in the bridge BBpro and let us know how that works. A4 in the neck is smooth and sexy. No real major push in any direction Eq wise. It just makes the pickup shine for what it is. And I think the BBs are great pickups. Should sound great

Thanks I heard someone say the 59 sounds great with an A4 and from what I gather they aren't too far off from BB Pros so I wanted to try it. Hadn't thought of trying an A8 in the bridge but I'm geeked about that now too. Thanks!

 

[blueman335]

Re: Learning to swap magnet question

Have you done a search here on alnicos and their EQ's and outputs?

Basic steps are:
- listen closely to your current PU's and determine what they need and/or what they're missing.
- find out what magnet is in them, and what's it's EQ and output is.
- select a magnet that'll move those qualities in the right direction. Sometimes it don't nail it on the first magnet swap.

I just did this with an SG last week. I had initially put a roughcast A2 in the bridge, and it was a little too dark, not enough cut. Put in a polished A2, and it was a little thin, and a bit weak. Then I tried an A8, and that fixed all the issues. I have cut, mids, and output.

The neck PU in the same guitar had an A2, sounded nice, but it was too warm compared to the bridge PU. Put in an A5 and it balanced much better with the bridge.

 

[Nacho8807]

Re: Learning to swap magnet question

Have you done a search here on alnicos and their EQ's and outputs?

I don't know if that's directed at me or not but I've been reading up on the differences in magnets for a while now. I just never considered attempting it until this thread opened my eyes to how easy it is.

Btw, I used an OEM Epi humbucker as practice (just pulling it out and putting it back in since I didn't have another magnet to swap it with yet) and it really is simple. Waiting on the magnets and some new tape to get here so I can get to work!

 

[dvanburen]

Re: Learning to swap magnet question

Waiting on the magnets and some new tape to get here so I can get to work!

Ah yes young padwan. Good luck in your tone seeking endeavors. Welcome to one of the best things you can do for your tone