Magnet orientation

[Supernautilus]

So I'm pretty much a noob when it comes to pickup modifications. I've swapped mags in a pickup exactly twice so far. Both times I got it wrong on the first try. Which is odd, because I thought I had done lots of research. I read forums. I watched a bunch of videos on YouTube that show how to do it. I learned how to match the new mag with the old one by holding them together and seeing which sides attract and which repel. Both times I've done this convinced I had installed the new mag with the correct orientation. Only for the guitar to sound like I'm being attacked by ducks in the middle position when I fire it up. Both times I opened it back up, flipped the magnet over, and the problem is fixed.

Clearly I'm just not understanding how these magnets are supposed to be oriented. Anyone have any clue what I'm doing wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

 

[Wound_Up]

What kind of pickups? Single coils? Humbuckers?

 

[Supernautilus]

What kind of pickups? Single coils? Humbuckers?

Both times it was a Jazz neck humbucker.

 

[GuitarDoc]

The long edge of the magnet which has a north polarity is positioned next to the slugs and the south edge of the magnet is toward the screws.

If you got the correct polarities lined up properly with your existing pup, it could be that the pup was originally oriented with reverse wind reverse polarity as a part of a pup set.

 

[Artie]

I push the mag out half way. Then stick the new mag to the edge so it holds itself. That's the proper orientation. Lay the new mag on the table without turning it. Slide the old mag out, then pick up the new one and slide it back in as you had it on the table. No way to go wrong like that.

 

[beaubrummels]

The only times I've gotten it wrong was when I was working with roughcast / unoriented mags and the field was odd and/or not strong enough for me to tell which was right. Otherwise, I do like Artie says.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

Why not put a sticker on the magnet before / as you pull it out?

Remember also you only need to turn it 90 degrees ONCE. If you flip it over so the old top becomes the new bottom, then turn it through 90 degrees so the low E end becomes the high e end, you've effectively gone back to square one.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Hard to go wrong if you do it the way Artie does. You must've inadvertently rotated the magnet after checking the polarity match.
As noted, the edges are the poles - even keeping the same face up, if you insert the wrong end then polarity will be reversed.

 

[Supernautilus]

I push the mag out half way. Then stick the new mag to the edge so it holds itself. That's the proper orientation. Lay the new mag on the table without turning it. Slide the old mag out, then pick up the new one and slide it back in as you had it on the table. No way to go wrong like that.

Yeah, I saw this method in multiple videos and thought I did it this way. And yet, I still got quack mode in the middle position and had to flip the bar so it sounded right. I’m stumped.

Oh, well. I’m just about to try it again on another pickup. Crossing my fingers that I get it right this time.

 

[skelt101]

Perhaps one of your pickups was installed electrically out of phase, and the magnet needed to be flipped to make the correction…?

 

[Blille]

Yeah, I saw this method in multiple videos and thought I did it this way. And yet, I still got quack mode in the middle position and had to flip the bar so it sounded right. I’m stumped.

Oh, well. I’m just about to try it again on another pickup. Crossing my fingers that I get it right this time.

I have changed a lot of magnets and still get it wrong every now and then. Sometimes the wiring is off, others it’s the other pickup, you never know. At the end of the day all it takes is just to flip it again if you do this often you can get a cheap tool that tells you the polarity.

 

[ThreeChordWonder]

Pickup polarity check - Seymour Duncan User Group Forums