Magnet swaps for SM-2 mini-humbucker?

BlueGuitar

BlueGuitar

New member
I have no idea how these mini-humbuckers are constructed or what size magnets they use. In any case, I have a SM-2 neck pickup with ceramic magnets and was wondering if I could replace the magnets with alnico. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Re: Magnet swaps for SM-2 mini-humbucker?

Im usually not one to say this, but: I wouldn't try doing it myself. If the Firebird style minis (like Duncan's SM line) are uilt like the "New York" mini's that come on LP Deluxe's, the only thing holding the pickup together is the cover itself. If you remove the cover to change the mag, you might end up with several miles of wire in your lap. :)

If you want something with an alnico V mag, I'd just go for a SM-1 (I have one, it sounds killer!). :burnout:
 
Re: Magnet swaps for SM-2 mini-humbucker?

Benjy:

Thanks for the advice... I was thinking of exchanging it for an SM-1 as you suggested. The guitar is an Epiphone Alley Kat, a semi-hollow bodied guitar with a full-sized HB at the bridge and a mini-humbucker at the neck. Unlike a ES-335 there is no center block running the full length of the body, although it is reinforced under the bridge and tailpiece.

I picked up a Seth Lover bridge pickup to replace the Epiphone '57 (which measured 14k... not exactly PAF specs!) and it works perfectly with this guitar. The SM-2 (actually a SF-2 from the old days) sounds okay by itself in this guitar, but it just doesn't blend well with the Seth Lover. :(

So I should get a SM-1 neck or bridge pickup for this guitar? (The bridge would be a little hotter than the neck- right?)
 
Re: Magnet swaps for SM-2 mini-humbucker?

Benjy_26 said:
Im usually not one to say this, but: I wouldn't try doing it myself. If the Firebird style minis (like Duncan's SM line) are uilt like the "New York" mini's that come on LP Deluxe's, the only thing holding the pickup together is the cover itself. If you remove the cover to change the mag, you might end up with several miles of wire in your lap. :)

If you want something with an alnico V mag, I'd just go for a SM-1 (I have one, it sounds killer!). :burnout:
Click to expand...

That's pretty much true except the Firebird minis aren't quite like the Epis... They're more like a couple of single coils put together with the slugs being the magnets. They're not bottom-loaded.
 
Re: Magnet swaps for SM-2 mini-humbucker?

I'd stick with the neck version. it has good chime and clarity, but it's still plenty burly. I have it even with the pickguard in my tele so that it matches my JD lead.
 
Re: Magnet swaps for SM-2 mini-humbucker?

The SM-3n is nice and warm, and would probably match well with the Seth.
 
Re: Magnet swaps for SM-2 mini-humbucker?

The UPS man brought me an SM-1n pickup and a case for my Alley Kat on Friday (from MF) and I've been in Hog Heaven ever since! The SM-1n works really well with the Seth Lover in the bridge... a little bit strange because the neck pickup is brighter than the bridge pickup. Reading other posts here the SM-1n does have a bit of a tele twang to it.

This guitar is absolutely killer now... it is wired up with a master volume in the lower bout (in line with the selector switch). Each pickup has its own volume control, wired "backwards" so that if you turn it to 0 it doesn't mute the other pickup, allowing for an infinite range of blend positions. Once you set the balance between the two pickups for a particular sound you can then raise and lower the master volume as desired without losing the balance. I didn't check to see whether the tone control was wired with the 50's mod or not.

The Korean factory is using mini-plugs on the pickups these days so you can change pickups on a semi-hollow bodied guitar without having to pull out all of the pots and wiring. But now that I've tested the guitar with a Seth Lover and a SM-1n I'll hard wire the pickups to the volume controls, eliminating the mini-plugs (and unshielded connector leads). In any case the mini-plugs are great for testing out different pickups until you can make up your mind (it can be a real hassle to change out the pickups on an ES-335 style guitar!)

Thanks for the suggestions here!
 
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