Neck PRails Magnet fun!

Blille

Blille

New member
I’ve read the previous iterations of what folks have tried.

Let me tell you what I’d like and what I’m thinking to see if you folks agree. I’ve never tried different kinds of magnets at the same time so I could use some advice.

I’m thinking A3 for the P90 and leaving the A5 for the P90/rails one.

This is for the neck in a HH guitar with 24 frets and I’m giving up on having a “Strat” neck pickup tone. The rail is never going to be on its own, I care way more about the P90. I’d like the P90 to be warmer but specially less powerful and more touch sensitive. And I want the rail to do a good ok job for in between sound with the other inside coil.

My favorite neck P90 is the Gibson MHS in my ES-330. It’s underwound, A3 I believe and incredibly touch sensitive and subtle. I also really like the SD Vintage P90 but I have to have it really low since I think it’s too hot.

You think the A3/A5 will do it? Other ideas?

Btw, I am looking for one :)
 
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i say give the a3/a5 a shot and see how it sounds. i havent tried it but seems like it might push you in the right direction
 
I think the resultant sound of the A3/A5 will be a very subtle change from the A5/A5. You may not even be able to hear the difference in your 24 fretter. Remember that with the P-90 both magnets have an equal influence on the P-90 coil.

You can certainly try that A3/A5 combo, but since you have a 24 fret guitar that neck pup is going to be a bit brighter than in a 21 or 22 fret guitar. I would begin by trying an A2/A5. I've tried that combination of magnets in a neck P-Rail and it gave me exactly what you are looking for (even in a 22 fret guitar).
 
GuitarDoc said:
I think the resultant sound of the A3/A5 will be a very subtle change from the A5/A5. You may not even be able to hear the difference in your 24 fretter. Remember that with the P-90 both magnets have an equal influence on the P-90 coil.

You can certainly try that A3/A5 combo, but since you have a 24 fret guitar that neck pup is going to be a bit brighter than in a 21 or 22 fret guitar. I would begin by trying an A2/A5. I've tried that combination of magnets in a neck P-Rail and it gave me exactly what you are looking for (even in a 22 fret guitar).
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The point being that the difference between A3 and A5 in tone is not that great so when you have both in a P90 it wont be that much of a change. And having an A2 and an A5 will get me closer to a normal A3 (more warmth but still top end clarity). That makes sense. I started with A3 because IME it’s the lowest output.

What about putting just an A8 in the P90/Rail and nothing in the other slot? Is that crazy?

I’m still looking for a fairly priced Prail so until then I’m all about theorizing and buying magnets :)
 
ive actually never tried a p90 with just one magnet... im sure it make noise but no idea what it would sound like
 
jeremy said:
ive actually never tried a p90 with just one magnet... im sure it make noise but no idea what it would sound like
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I remembered this thread https://forum.seymourduncan.com/for...ld-mod?309735-P90-single-mag-narrowfield-mod=

It looks like there is a significant drop in volume, particularly for anything under 1k. So the A8 could make up the warmth, balance the two coils in terms of volume and I assume would bring back part of the volume of the P90 but still keep it lower. It may make the two coils sound fairly similar though since the sound would come from the same area.
 
If you put only one magnet in a P-Rail, it would probably be best to only put it under the rail due to the volume loss of losing a magnet has a larger effect on the one further away from the remaining magnet
 
For the life of me, I can't imagine why anyone would want to put just one mag in a P-90. You're losing so much tweaking possibility by not having two mags. ESPECIALLY in P-Rail pup where you have the ability to affect the two coils differently. It just makes no sense at all in a P-Rail.
 
Chistopher said:
If you put only one magnet in a P-Rail, it would probably be best to only put it under the rail due to the volume loss of losing a magnet has a larger effect on the one further away from the remaining magnet
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Completely agree.

GuitarDoc said:
For the life of me, I can't imagine why anyone would want to put just one mag in a P-90. You're losing so much tweaking possibility by not having two mags. ESPECIALLY in P-Rail pup where you have the ability to affect the two coils differently. It just makes no sense at all in a P-Rail.
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So I take it you’re not supportive of the nothing/A8 idea then? Lol
 
A very workable and easy alternative to A3 is to wire a 0.047 capacitor in series with the hot/output/black lead of the pickup; this forms a high-pass filter that cuts out some of the boom. That might help balance the output if you're using A6 in the bridge. (Me, I just use A3, but that's because I keep losing caps like they were 10mm sockets!)

muddy neck pickup.jpg
 
jafo said:
A very workable and easy alternative to A3 is to wire a 0.047 capacitor in series with the hot/output/black lead of the pickup; this forms a high-pass filter that cuts out some of the boom. That might help balance the output if you're using A6 in the bridge. (Me, I just use A3, but that's because I keep losing caps like they were 10mm sockets!)

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Thanks! I’ll see how far I got with the mag swaps first but that’s a good trick.
 
Blille said:
Good to know.

Welcome to the thread! Did you end up doing the only one A8 in a P90 thing ?
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Nope. Sorta lost interest in that one; might still try it someday. But the consensus among those who'd done it was that while it did make a tone difference, it wasn't really a Filtertron sound or the extra singelcoily-ness that I was hoping for.

I think I'd be better off having someone make me a Strat-coil-under-dogear-cover type custom pickup. Or even a P90 with rod mags - I have one of those and it's definitely a step closer to Fendery tone.
 
eclecticsynergy said:
Nope. Sorta lost interest in that one; might still try it someday. But the consensus among those who'd done it was that while it did make a tone difference, it wasn't really a Filtertron sound or the extra singelcoily-ness that I was hoping for.

I think I'd be better off having someone make me a Strat-coil-under-dogear-cover type custom pickup. Or even a P90 with rod mags - I have one of those and it's definitely a step closer to Fendery tone.
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I hear you. Thanks for the explanation.
 
Took me a while but I finally found a decently priced used prails and I swapped the magnets.

I heard what Doc said about the fact that I wouldn’t be able to tell much difference with A3/A5. Instead of going A2/A5 I decided on A3/A4. I hope this gets me in a similar warmer ballpark with less overall volume. It looks like I have no A2 left since I guess I always end up using them :D

I hope to install it tomorrow. I’ll keep you folks posted.

Here is a couple of inside shots for the lurkers out there thinking about swapping magnets in a Prails. It’s built like a P90, which IMHO is easier than a humbucker in spite of having two magnets.
afd43f3c74c21ac41efad381735915ae.jpg

c35bd2a86aabc89d4c87679ad0caad03.jpg
 
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So the rail pickup is influenced primarily by one magnet? Try A3/A5.

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk
 
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