Magnet Swap (Polarity??)

[dozer356]

I have looked into magnet swapping, but have a question or concern, I have noticed the the original Seymour Duncan magnet has a black mark on the corner of the magnet, (would this be considered the north polarity of the magnet?) And when swapping magnets should the exchanged mag be oriented or put in the same way as the OEM, or does it really make a difference? What is the best way to swap the mag, the exchange magnet has the north polarity marked on it, should in repel against the side or attract, this would be on the small end of the magnet not the long side. Thanks for the input.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Magnet Swap (Polarity??)

With SD's, black means it's an A5, blue means its an A2. I doubt polarity is indicated.

Pull the old magnet out halfway, hold the new one next to it, so the ends repel and sides attract. That's the orientation. I've swapped dozens of magnets & never know which is north or south.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Magnet Swap (Polarity??)

Both Gibson and Duncan p'ups are the following:

North: Slug bobbin
South: Screw bobbin

HTH,

 

[jake_xms3_punk]

Re: Magnet Swap (Polarity??)

seymour does mark the north side of his magnets, as does/did wymore..

 

[blueman335]

Re: Magnet Swap (Polarity??)

im sure the line is a marking of either north or south, pretty sure its the south. all i know is the 2 mags in a p90, the lines face each other.

The most important thing to know about P-90 magnets, is that they sit repelling each other, not attracting.

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: Magnet Swap (Polarity??)

I had trouble grasping this concept at first but I've swapped a few magnets and like blueman says the best way to test polarity is to pull out the old magnet, put the new magnet against it longways and if they attract you are good to go. Here is a terrible drawing I made, hopefully it makes sense.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Magnet Swap (Polarity??)

I have looked into magnet swapping, but have a question or concern, I have noticed the the original Seymour Duncan magnet has a black mark on the corner of the magnet, (would this be considered the north polarity of the magnet?) And when swapping magnets should the exchanged mag be oriented or put in the same way as the OEM, or does it really make a difference? What is the best way to swap the mag, the exchange magnet has the north polarity marked on it, should in repel against the side or attract, this would be on the small end of the magnet not the long side. Thanks for the input.

I make magnets with a sharpie when I take them out.

It makes a difference, if you just flip one magnet with no other changes then the pickup switch positions that have two pickups on will be out-of-phase.

 

[dozer356]

Re: Magnet Swap (Polarity??)

ok, guys, I have really messed up this time.... I switched my mags from a Standard JB to an A8, and switched the Jazz in the neck to a A4, but the problem is I didnt mark the original magnets, and I believe I put them in wrong I was thinking that the ends were supposed to attract, now I dont know what to do, the mags I got are marked by polarity (marked north). My JB sounds nasaly and the Jazz sounds fine, I flipped the mags in the JB and still sounds bad, can someone tell me which way the north of the magnet needs to be sitting in both the JB (bridge) and the Jazz (neck), I know I did a stupid thing by not marking the originals, if anyone can clear this up and tell me the direction north should be facing (either towards the Bridge or Neck)??? on both PUps, Thanks guys you are the best at helping....

 

[Franknfilms]

Re: Magnet Swap (Polarity??)

The only possible thing you could have a problem with is that they are out of phase in the middle switch position when you use both pickups together...others, am I right? I don't think the magnet position could possibly affect the JB by itself. Maybe there is something wrong with your a8 magnet, or the JB8 is just a nasally sounding pickup. My JB8 wasn't, but I guess that is a matter of how it sounds to you.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Magnet Swap (Polarity??)

Yeah, phase only affects them when used together. Either pickup by itself doesn't care how you have the mag in, as long as it is really charged. You've either got a wiring issue or you mag is weak if it sounds that bad. An A8 JB is not nasal, but it does have some massive mid range compared to the stock A5. You might need to play with the height of the pickup if your wiring is good. In my experience too high will be pretty bassy, (A8 JB still sounded good though), and too low will be a little thin, which could be your problem.

 

[heem6]

Re: Magnet Swap (Polarity??)

With SD's, black means it's an A5, blue means its an A2. I doubt polarity is indicated.

Pull the old magnet out halfway, hold the new one next to it, so the ends repel and sides attract. That's the orientation. I've swapped dozens of magnets & never know which is north or south.

Thanks for this info - exactly what I was searching all over the net for. ('Cuz maybe I don't want to do an 8th Grade Science project and make a floating compass)!