Nickel Silver vs. Brass
- Thread starter JeffB
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my hats off to you good sir
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: Nickel Silver vs. Brass
I boiled my bass strings in 1995. I love being a young punk.
I've known the boiling strings trick since I got my first electric guitar in 1972.
Gosh, I'm ooooooold!!!
I boiled my bass strings in 1995. I love being a young punk.
darthphineas
New member
Re: Nickel Silver vs. Brass
It has nothing to do with distance from the magnet, and it has everything to do with distance from the coils. The magnet merely serves to put additional distance between the base plate and the magnet. The eddy currents are caused when the magnetic field created by the coils interacts with any conductive material in it's vicinity, including the cover, the slugs, the screws, the AlNiCo bar magnet, the bass plate, the keeper bar and little mounting screws. The more the metal that intersects with the flux lines of the coils, the higher the eddy currents will be, and the more high end you will lose.
There is nothing special about having magnets touch anything. Their strength just drops off exponentially as distance increases, so having the magnet touch just means that it's as close as it can possibly get to the piece of metal, the other magnet, or whatever. It's not like electricity, for example, where current suddenly flows when two conductors touch.
It has nothing to do with distance from the magnet, and it has everything to do with distance from the coils. The magnet merely serves to put additional distance between the base plate and the magnet. The eddy currents are caused when the magnetic field created by the coils interacts with any conductive material in it's vicinity, including the cover, the slugs, the screws, the AlNiCo bar magnet, the bass plate, the keeper bar and little mounting screws. The more the metal that intersects with the flux lines of the coils, the higher the eddy currents will be, and the more high end you will lose.
There is nothing special about having magnets touch anything. Their strength just drops off exponentially as distance increases, so having the magnet touch just means that it's as close as it can possibly get to the piece of metal, the other magnet, or whatever. It's not like electricity, for example, where current suddenly flows when two conductors touch.
LtKojak
New member
Re: Nickel Silver vs. Brass
Then explain to me why Steve Blucher from Di Marzio earned a patent, nonetheless, on a technology named "air", which is putting distance from the magnet to the screws and/or slugs, even eliminating the keeper bar altogether.
Why, oh WHY, do you feel compelled to talk about things your know nothing about and understand even less?
Spreading disinformation isn't exactly the opposite your always set yourself to?
When are you going to take your own advice and STFU?
Oh yeah?
Then explain to me why Steve Blucher from Di Marzio earned a patent, nonetheless, on a technology named "air", which is putting distance from the magnet to the screws and/or slugs, even eliminating the keeper bar altogether.
Why, oh WHY, do you feel compelled to talk about things your know nothing about and understand even less?
Spreading disinformation isn't exactly the opposite your always set yourself to?
When are you going to take your own advice and STFU?
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Re: Nickel Silver vs. Brass
The keeper bar adds a permeable medium between the magnet and screws; lowering the magnetic reluctance path. Again, proximity is important, but not the fact that anything is touching directly. Direct contact simply represents the closest possible distance. By taking the keeper bar out and replacing it with something non-permeable, like plastic washers, you just increase the magnetic reluctance between the magnet and the screws.
The keeper bar adds a permeable medium between the magnet and screws; lowering the magnetic reluctance path. Again, proximity is important, but not the fact that anything is touching directly. Direct contact simply represents the closest possible distance. By taking the keeper bar out and replacing it with something non-permeable, like plastic washers, you just increase the magnetic reluctance between the magnet and the screws.
LtKojak
New member
Re: Nickel Silver vs. Brass
So... all these pseudo-techno babble only to say that it actually DOES make a difference?
Re: Nickel Silver vs. Brass
You're misunderstanding. Eddy current losses caused by the base plate are not related to whether or not anything is "directly touching a magnet". You could take the magnet out of the pickup, and so long as AC flows in the coils, the coils generate a changing magnetic field, and you have eddy current resistance.
One thing not to get confused about is that in a pickup, you have static magnetic fields, such as those created by the bar magnet, and changing magnetic fields, such as those produced by the moving guitar string and the alternating current flowing in the coils. Only changing magnetic fields cause eddy currents; and in fact the eddy currents become stronger the more quickly the magnetic field changes (high frequencies), so the bar magnet can be removed from the equation for all intents and purposes, as the magnetic field it puts out is unchanging. The coils, and the guitar strings, are what matter, though because the guitar strings are relatively far away, it's only the base plate's proximity to the coils that's important.
You're misunderstanding. Eddy current losses caused by the base plate are not related to whether or not anything is "directly touching a magnet". You could take the magnet out of the pickup, and so long as AC flows in the coils, the coils generate a changing magnetic field, and you have eddy current resistance.
One thing not to get confused about is that in a pickup, you have static magnetic fields, such as those created by the bar magnet, and changing magnetic fields, such as those produced by the moving guitar string and the alternating current flowing in the coils. Only changing magnetic fields cause eddy currents; and in fact the eddy currents become stronger the more quickly the magnetic field changes (high frequencies), so the bar magnet can be removed from the equation for all intents and purposes, as the magnetic field it puts out is unchanging. The coils, and the guitar strings, are what matter, though because the guitar strings are relatively far away, it's only the base plate's proximity to the coils that's important.
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beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: Nickel Silver vs. Brass
I feel for you guys, but you're debating an absolutely useless narcissistic pedant. Knowledgeable in theory but not in reality. And I suspect it's someone we've possibly encountered on this board before, whose name began with D. But at least this one seems to take their meds. I'd be willing to bet my entire next paycheck that if it actually even owns a musical instrument of any kind, they've only ever plugged it into amateur test equipment. Wouldn't have a clue what to do with it otherwise.
I feel for you guys, but you're debating an absolutely useless narcissistic pedant. Knowledgeable in theory but not in reality. And I suspect it's someone we've possibly encountered on this board before, whose name began with D. But at least this one seems to take their meds. I'd be willing to bet my entire next paycheck that if it actually even owns a musical instrument of any kind, they've only ever plugged it into amateur test equipment. Wouldn't have a clue what to do with it otherwise.
LtKojak
New member
Re: Nickel Silver vs. Brass
For the record, the design Seth Lover earned a patent, the infamous "Patent Applied For", specifically states direct physical contact of the bar magnets with the poles (the original design was two rows of slugs), so the magnetic field projection would be even... you know, by design?
And, to answer the question you never answered about metal underneath the magnet, is yes, it'll have an effect, rating from clearly noticeable to negligible; it'll all depend on the composition of the metal and eventual iron content, and if the magnet bar is Alnico or Ceramic.
HTH,
Am I ...?
How is it that a inductive current can be produced in a magnetic pickup design without a magnet? Oh wait! ... wait for it... yeah! It can't!
For the record, the design Seth Lover earned a patent, the infamous "Patent Applied For", specifically states direct physical contact of the bar magnets with the poles (the original design was two rows of slugs), so the magnetic field projection would be even... you know, by design?
And, to answer the question you never answered about metal underneath the magnet, is yes, it'll have an effect, rating from clearly noticeable to negligible; it'll all depend on the composition of the metal and eventual iron content, and if the magnet bar is Alnico or Ceramic.
HTH,
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