"Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

[copperheadroads]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

There is a break in period of a pickup but it is in the first day or so of it being wound & assembled & charged
.it's the time that the newly charged magnets take to settle in & actually smoothen out tone a little .
So the settling in will have happened long before a customer has received the pickup .
If there is any chance windings coil change over time (highly unlikely) will be mostly prevented if the pickup is wax potted.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

If you consider that a pickup would not function without a magnet, to me it's tantamount.

Right, but what I'm saying is that it's not the entire pickup "breaking in" but a newly changed magnet settling into its new environment.

Maybe it's because I think of "breaking in" from an automotive standpoint. Every time I've built an engine (which sadly, hasn't been for several years) there was a break in period. Quite literally you're putting some wear and tear on certain parts of the motor to cause them to work well together. Cylinder walls smooth out, piston rings form to any irregularities in the cylinder walls, bearings form themselves to the surfaces to which they're mated, etc. You have to go easy on an engine for a little while so you don't throw a bearing or cause some blowby with a piston ring. However, you can't just let an engine sit there and it'll break in by itself.

Or, maybe, thinking of breaking in like a nice leather jacket. When you buy a brand new leather jacket it's fairly stiff. That leather needs to be worked a bit. Worn. It'll take the shape of its wearer to a degree (in my case, potato shaped). It'll soften up, become more flexible. The color will change slightly. Again, not something that'll happen if you leave it on a rack.

Changing a magnet... You swap the magnet, you let it sit there. It goes "Oh, hey, pole pieces, baseplate, keeper, and the rest of you ferrous parts. What's up? Mind if I join the team? Let's integrate!" Things shift a bit magnetically. However, this requires no intervention from you.

As far as a pickup breaking in, under normal operating conditions the magnet may degauss SLIGHTLY, but nothing really noticeable. Those trying to relate sticking a pickup by a large speaker and having it degauss and calling that breaking in wouldn't call falling off your motorcycle and causing tears in your leather jacket breaking in, nor would they cause revving the snot out of an engine during the break in period and causing rod knock to be breaking in. I consider that to be incidental abuse, not breaking in or normal wear and tear.

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

Right, but what I'm saying is that it's not the entire pickup "breaking in" but a newly changed magnet settling into its new environment.

Maybe it's because I think of "breaking in" from an automotive standpoint. Every time I've built an engine (which sadly, hasn't been for several years) there was a break in period. Quite literally you're putting some wear and tear on certain parts of the motor to cause them to work well together. Cylinder walls smooth out, piston rings form to any irregularities in the cylinder walls, bearings form themselves to the surfaces to which they're mated, etc. You have to go easy on an engine for a little while so you don't throw a bearing or cause some blowby with a piston ring. However, you can't just let an engine sit there and it'll break in by itself.

As far as a pickup breaking in, under normal operating conditions the magnet may degauss SLIGHTLY, but nothing really noticeable. Those trying to relate sticking a pickup by a large speaker and having it degauss and calling that breaking in wouldn't call falling off your motorcycle and causing tears in your leather jacket breaking in, nor would they cause revving the snot out of an engine during the break in period and causing rod knock to be breaking in. I consider that to be incidental abuse, not breaking in or normal wear and tear.

+1 to all of this.

 

[uOpt]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

How much does the custom shop charge if I want to have my ordered pickup broken in by one of the endorsers?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

Sounds like a job for The Gauss Whisperer?

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

Right, but what I'm saying is that it's not the entire pickup "breaking in" but a newly changed magnet settling into its new environment.

If there's no significant magnetic field in the vicinity of the new pickup, then it's not a new environment for the pickup's magnet. It doesn't care about wood, strings, or plastic, or even steel. The only new environment it cares about is other magnetic fields and physical shock (like dropping the magnet).

 

[Dayeeeve]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

Just read the article, what a load of crap! I would say you get used to a pickup and over a few months of using it you learn what is good or bad about it.
Your tastes may change but your pickup doesn't.

This totally sounds like Scott Grove style advice/theory lol.

 

[autologic]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

I just stopped in to see what was decided. Somehow the titles got switched because this thread doesn't seem related to the topic. Refreshing to see even moderators are playing too.

The only pickup break-in I've ever heard of is after swapping magnets, but I've not done that myself to have that experience.

Wait, what do you mean the titles got switched? This thread still has the same title I gave it when I started it...

 

[AlexR]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

Beau is trying to stir the nest.

 

[crguti]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

after 30 minutes playing, I get more precise with my technique.... It must be the pickup settling in.

:dunce:

 

[DreX]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

IMO it's symptomatic of how esteemed "folk wisdom" and personal experience is in the world of guitar. Scott Grove and Rob Chapman shouldn't be the leading electric guitar scientists of our time, but YouTube hits put them right there. This guy is just following in the footsteps of these trailblazers. When it comes to "tone wood", everyone's ears are suddenly scientific instruments, or their singular opinion suddenly represents a sufficiently large, representative, sample group. There should be a lot of "I don't knows", instead we get a lot of "i think this and that".

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

after 30 minutes playing, I get more precise with my technique.... It must be the pickup settling in.

:dunce:

Or the beer kicking in

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

IMO it's symptomatic of how esteemed "folk wisdom" and personal experience is in the world of guitar. Scott Grove and Rob Chapman shouldn't be the leading electric guitar scientists of our time, but YouTube hits put them right there. This guy is just following in the footsteps of these trailblazers. When it comes to "tone wood", everyone's ears are suddenly scientific instruments, or their singular opinion suddenly represents a sufficiently large, representative, sample group. There should be a lot of "I don't knows", instead we get a lot of "i think this and that".

Not everything needs to be scientifically quantified. The very nature of music, tone and preferences being subjective will always trump anything scientific you manage to measure.

It doesnt matter what your oscilloscope says when you are making music. If i choose one as being better for my music for no more reason than I think its better thats fine. Even if I only "think" its better it is better. Placebos can be very strong and very effective. Never underestimate the power of belief. Trying to ram science down everyone's throat wont change the fact that its all subjective. Science will never be able to choose what its better for my music. The only thing science can do is clarify some of the differences but it will never replace peoples ears.

 

[DreX]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

Not everything needs to be scientifically quantified. The very nature of music, tone and preferences being subjective will always trump anything scientific you manage to measure.

It doesnt matter what your oscilloscope says when you are making music. If i choose one as being better for my music for no more reason than I think its better thats fine. Even if I only "think" its better it is better. Placebos can be very strong and very effective. Never underestimate the power of belief. Trying to ram science down everyone's throat wont change the fact that its all subjective. Science will never be able to choose what its better for my music. The only thing science can do is clarify some of the differences but it will never replace peoples ears.

In this instance we're not talking about the whimsy of making music, we're talking about the physical nature of the tools we use.

 

[AlexR]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

In this instance we're not talking about the whimsy of making music, we're talking about the physical nature of the tools we use.

We are also not talking about anything that has any mystery to it. Maybe to the average guitar player but pickup mfg's know exactly what happens with the life cycle of their pickups

 

[GilmourD]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

IMO it's symptomatic of how esteemed "folk wisdom" and personal experience is in the world of guitar. Scott Grove and Rob Chapman shouldn't be the leading electric guitar scientists of our time, but YouTube hits put them right there. This guy is just following in the footsteps of these trailblazers. When it comes to "tone wood", everyone's ears are suddenly scientific instruments, or their singular opinion suddenly represents a sufficiently large, representative, sample group. There should be a lot of "I don't knows", instead we get a lot of "i think this and that".

I've never seen Rob Chapman claim to be a "leading electric guitar scientist" and I sure as heck wouldn't put him anywhere near Scott Grove. Scott Grove claims he's knowledgeable but pulls most of that out of somewhere nobody should ever want to be near. The Monkey Lord likes playing with as much new gear as possible and posting videos of him doing so. Big difference.

 

[treyhaislip]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

IMO it's symptomatic of how esteemed "folk wisdom" and personal experience is in the world of guitar. Scott Grove and Rob Chapman shouldn't be the leading electric guitar scientists of our time, but YouTube hits put them right there. This guy is just following in the footsteps of these trailblazers. When it comes to "tone wood", everyone's ears are suddenly scientific instruments, or their singular opinion suddenly represents a sufficiently large, representative, sample group. There should be a lot of "I don't knows", instead we get a lot of "i think this and that".

Just curious, when did Rob or who is calling Rob one of the leading electric guitar scientists? I've found his videos to be informative and enjoyable for the most part, especially playing cheap and high end models/brands side by side. But I've never heard him claim to be any scientist or anything...

In this instance we're not talking about the whimsy of making music, we're talking about the physical nature of the tools we use.

I've already posted it, but this is a very good article on this very subject: Vint-Age Bull

I've never seen Rob Chapman claim to be a "leading electric guitar scientist" and I sure as heck wouldn't put him anywhere near Scott Grove. Scott Grove claims he's knowledgeable but pulls most of that out of somewhere nobody should ever want to be near. The Monkey Lord likes playing with as much new gear as possible and posting videos of him doing so. Big difference.

+1 to this

 

[DreX]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

I've never seen Rob Chapman claim to be a "leading electric guitar scientist" and I sure as heck wouldn't put him anywhere near Scott Grove. Scott Grove claims he's knowledgeable but pulls most of that out of somewhere nobody should ever want to be near. The Monkey Lord likes playing with as much new gear as possible and posting videos of him doing so. Big difference.

Just curious, when did Rob or who is calling Rob one of the leading electric guitar scientists? I've found his videos to be informative and enjoyable for the most part, especially playing cheap and high end models/brands side by side. But I've never heard him claim to be any scientist or anything...

i'm not saying Rob Chapman claimed to be a scientists, but he and Scott Grove both weighed in the tone wood debate. Neither said "I'm going to wait for more information to come along", and as I said, it's the high number of YouTube hits that make them "leaders", or otherwise highly influential, not any scientific merit.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: "Pickup Break-in" Any truth here??

i'm not saying Rob Chapman claimed to be a scientists, but he and Scott Grove both weighed in the tone wood debate. Neither said "I'm going to wait for more information to come along", and as I said, it's the high number of YouTube hits that make them "leaders", or otherwise highly influential, not any real merit.

Yeah, but Chappers doesn't ever claim to be an authority and says things are his opinion while Scott Grove curses at you, calls you all sorts of things that his mother would slap him for, and claims to be an authority.

And I don't take YouTube hits as a measure of being a leader. If so, cats would be our leaders because I'm pretty sure there's more cat videos with zillions of hits than anything else.