Magnetic spacers orientation
- Thread starter WDeeGee
- Start date
eclecticsynergy
New member
Yup - unless they repel each other you'd be inhibiting the field strength rather than augmenting it.
hamerfan
Well-known member
Yes thats part of the game. Most builders do side magnets only with all ceramics.
My experience is that the gauss goes down when put together, then it should be stable for some years. I also would avoid combining different alnico grades and mixing alnico / ceramic.
Last edited:
eclecticsynergy
New member
Pretty sure it's all a matter of the relative difference in field strength.
Ceramic will partially degauss alnico immediately. Even A8 can weaken an A5 in seconds if indirect contact.
People used to touch an A8 to their A5 bar mags to lower the strength, decreasing volume and mellowing the treble & attack.
A quick 'n dirty DIY version of today's artificially aged mags.
Of course in a humbucker there are slugs or screws creating a gap in between. Still, it isn't quite that simple because slugs and screws aren't magnetically inert - they carry some secondhand magnetism or the pickups wouldn't work.
Given the design, I think A5 or weaker should be pretty safe for use as magnetic spacers, even in the long run
A8 spacers might be too; I'm a bit less confident of that because it's powerful, nearly as strong as C8.
Full disclosure: I'm just a gearhound guitar player, with no expert knowledge in the physics of magnetism.
Ceramic will partially degauss alnico immediately. Even A8 can weaken an A5 in seconds if indirect contact.
People used to touch an A8 to their A5 bar mags to lower the strength, decreasing volume and mellowing the treble & attack.
A quick 'n dirty DIY version of today's artificially aged mags.
Of course in a humbucker there are slugs or screws creating a gap in between. Still, it isn't quite that simple because slugs and screws aren't magnetically inert - they carry some secondhand magnetism or the pickups wouldn't work.
Given the design, I think A5 or weaker should be pretty safe for use as magnetic spacers, even in the long run
A8 spacers might be too; I'm a bit less confident of that because it's powerful, nearly as strong as C8.
Full disclosure: I'm just a gearhound guitar player, with no expert knowledge in the physics of magnetism.
