Middles poles from SSL-5 sound different

[Demious]

I have an SSL-5T (RWRP) as middle pickup on my Strat - with a Red Devil bridge and an STK-S6 neck - and while the outer poles (E, A, B and e) sound very consistant, the 2 middle poles stick out with an extremely clear (much more than the other 4) sound and a sort of crackle or 'rattle' in the sound. The crackle sounds a little like there's an extra vibration in the string going on, but I cant hear this with the other 2 pickups, only with the D and G poles of the SSL-5.
It sounds so much like a mechanical thing with the strings that, for over 2 years, I have been convinced it was the strings causing an unwanted vibration, and I've been trying everything I could find to eliminate the 'rattle' in the strings. But, confirmed by an experienced technician, it turns out to be in the SSL-5 pickup.

I already found the SSL-5 problem that it gets mounted upside down a lot, as was mine at first, but that has been solved and it didnt change anything about the rattle-like sound.

Anyone here who's familliar with this behavior and can tell me how to fix this?

 

[jeremy]

ive not experienced what you are talking about. if you lower the pup a turn, does it still happen? you only hear it when the ssl5 is on by itself?

 

[beaubrummels]

My first thought is check the magnetic strength of each pole. I've experienced a Telecaster where just the 'A' pole got demagnetized and when you ran a scale across the strings it was "note-note-note-[crackle]-[crackle]-note-note"

 

[freefrog]

I have an SSL-5T (RWRP) as middle pickup on my Strat - with a Red Devil bridge and an STK-S6 neck - and while the outer poles (E, A, B and e) sound very consistant, the 2 middle poles stick out with an extremely clear (much more than the other 4) sound and a sort of crackle or 'rattle' in the sound. The crackle sounds a little like there's an extra vibration in the string going on, but I cant hear this with the other 2 pickups, only with the D and G poles of the SSL-5.
It sounds so much like a mechanical thing with the strings that, for over 2 years, I have been convinced it was the strings causing an unwanted vibration, and I've been trying everything I could find to eliminate the 'rattle' in the strings. But, confirmed by an experienced technician, it turns out to be in the SSL-5 pickup.

I already found the SSL-5 problem that it gets mounted upside down a lot, as was mine at first, but that has been solved and it didnt change anything about the rattle-like sound.

Anyone here who's familliar with this behavior and can tell me how to fix this?

Are you sure it's not wolf tones / stratitis?

Pickups with staggered poles have their D and G magnets closer to the strings if the guitar has a flatter radius. Sometimes staggered poles are magnets of the same lenght sticking more or less out of a plastic bobbin but it's not the case with tradtional Strat PU's: those have just longer magnets under D and G strings. And longer magnets spontaneously tend to be stronger than shorter ones if all have been charged in the same way... Stronger magnets + closer to the strings = string pull = stratitis. It can cause a buzzing sound.

If it's the case, the solution is to mount a flat poles PU like a SSL6.

 

[freefrog]

Various footnotes:

Example of Stratitis (on the low E but it doesn't matter... might happen as well with D and G for reasons stated in my previous post):
https://youtu.be/wU7hwdiDPU4?si=UlKgYD_vMR0YP5Jj

Example of staggered poles with different lengths:
https://www.axesrus.co.uk/Single-Coil-Pickup-Alnico-5-Staggered-Pole-Pieces-p/g101poles05.htm

Examples of Gauss measurements on Strat pickups, from high E to low E (Horizontal probe perpendicular to Alnico rods, 6.5mm above them). D and G poles Gauss levels are in bold:

-Vintage Strat from the early 60's: 118, 132, 190, 211, 158, 173 Gauss.

-Duncan SSL1: 160, 164, 240, 248, 218, 175 Gauss.

-1969 style boutique hand wound SC: 287, 347, 427, 404, 197, 260 Gauss.

 

[Demious]

Thanks for all the info, guys! I'll have a look at it.

 

[hamerfan]

I have Fender PV59 with the same symptoms. The G string sticks out like a sore thumb.
i just measured them polepieces: 630, 850, 1045, 1170, 320, 550 gauss

So what’s the cure? A partial degauss or pushing the magnet thru the bobbin or both? I think i start with least invasive methode, the degauss.

 

[freefrog]

I have Fender PV59 with the same symptoms. The G string sticks out like a sore thumb.
i just measured them polepieces: 630, 850, 1045, 1170, 320, 550 gauss

So what’s the cure? A partial degauss or pushing the magnet thru the bobbin or both? I think i start with least invasive methode, the degauss.

I know you know (but still find prudent to recall to other readers) that it's not really a good idea to push magnets thru a coil, unless it's wound around a plastic frame... ;-)

And as a footnote: yes, Fender style rod poles are easily above 1000G when one sticks the Hall effect probe directly on the magnets... The big poles of a DynaSonic even go up to 1350G in such conditions (!). Then the Gauss level drops pretty quickly while the distance between probe and mags increase... but doing that by modifying global height settings doesn't cure any possible mismatching between poles, of course. So I agree with the idea that a precise degaussing appears as the only effective solution.

 

[hamerfan]

Update: I decided to keep my charging neo bar mags in the drawer, since they are awfully strong, and used i used the small long sides of a C8 humbucker magnet with 1300 Gauss to degauss the g pole. Worked quite good, it dropped to 700. Listening test: A lot better, but I will change strings before I go on.

In the same process by reversing side of the bar mag I wanted to bring the b string up a bit (it showed only 320 Gauss), but this did not work. The b string stayed at 300something.
My experience from the past was that you better use two magnets from both sides (top and bottom) to remagnetize.