Lil '59 magnet polarity

['Vid]

Greetings everyone.

I have a Lil '59 tele bridge pickup in a Mex Tele I bought on Ebay, and I have a hunch the previous owner of the guitar removed the magnets and replaced them improperly. The pickup sounds okay but the output is much weaker than normal for this pickup. It is way overpowered by the '59 bucker in the neck position.

Is there a way I can check the polarity of these ceramic magents, and which is the correct position to install them? Or should I just do a trial and error session and start flipping magnets? LOL

Thanks! 'Vid

 

[Scott Miller]

Re: Lil '59 magnet polarity

First---there is only one magnet in a Little 59.
Second---you can't flip it. It is glued into place, and removing it and trying to flip it will only make the pickup microphonic (not a good thing).

The coil closest to the bridge should have a south polarity.

If the pickup sounds really weak, then something else is going on. Are you sure you have it wired properly? Is it close enough to the strings? Does it sound thin? Is it buzzing at all?

 

[Artie]

Re: Lil '59 magnet polarity

I just put a Lil 59 in my Tele bridge this past weekend. One thing I can say for sure is, it isn't a weak pup at all. However, I did notice one thing odd. This pup seems to be much more sensitive to pup heighth than most others I've used. I didn't care for its sound when I first installed it, but since tweaking its height, it sound great. I've got mine adjusted right up close to the strings, (about 4mm on each side), with the pole pieces turned to be just above the flatwork.

Now it sounds killer.

 

['Vid]

Re: Lil '59 magnet polarity

Thanks guys. The pickup sounds about 1/2 the volume of the neck humbucker ('59 sh-1n). I'll first experiment with the height and poles, if that doesn't do it I'll double check the connections. If THAT doesn't do it... I'll just buy a new one, LOL.