Removing magnet from Humbucker

Hunter1974

New member
Hey everyone I'm trying to remove a magnet from my Bridge Humbucker.It's not moving,is it waxed down or glued?I want to put a alnico 2 in place of the 5.
 
Re: Removing magnet from Humbucker

Hey everyone I'm trying to remove a magnet from my Bridge Humbucker.It's not moving,is it waxed down or glued?I want to put a alnico 2 in place of the 5.

It's just wax. Some come right out, others take a little coaxing. Heat it a little, and push it out with a needle-nose pliers. Make sure you've moved the wires at the one end, so they don't get snapped when you start pushing.
 
Re: Removing magnet from Humbucker

Should just be waxed down. I'm assuming this is a Duncan. Also, be sure to push with a popcycle stick or similar. Anything metal will risk chipping the fragile mag material.
 
Re: Removing magnet from Humbucker

If you're as brave/foolhardy as me and have a steady hand, use an exacto knife to break the wax joints.
 
Re: Removing magnet from Humbucker

It's just wax. Some come right out, others take a little coaxing. Heat it a little, and push it out with a needle-nose pliers. Make sure you've moved the wires at the one end, so they don't get snapped when you start pushing.

Do you heat it with a blow dryer?
 
Re: Removing magnet from Humbucker

Using a knife to get between the magnet and the plate, then same between magnet and bobbin (on both sides of course). Then twist the knife to break the seal.
 
Re: Removing magnet from Humbucker

I usually put a small screwdriver under the bobbin and then leverage it up off the magnet. Firmly, but gently, ladies and gentlemen...
 
Re: Removing magnet from Humbucker

One thing I've never heard anybody mentioning was re-waxing. Do you guys need to apply wax to the new magnet when it is installed in the pickup?
 
Re: Removing magnet from Humbucker

And how do you find magnets to swap? Do they have to come out of other pickups?
 
Re: Removing magnet from Humbucker

And how do you find magnets to swap? Do they have to come out of other pickups?

www.Wymoreguitars.com is a good place to buy 1 magnet or small quantities of magnets. If you go to the suppliers themselves, they generally have a minumum that you must buy. Wymore has great service too. You may also want to have a compass on hand and make sure that the polarity of the mag is correct or the pickups will be magnetically out of phase. The south poles generally face the screw coil and the north poles the slug. Both north poles should be facing inwards towards each other while the south poles face the bridge and neck respectfully.
 
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Re: Removing magnet from Humbucker

One thing I've never heard anybody mentioning was re-waxing. Do you guys need to apply wax to the new magnet when it is installed in the pickup?

I never do, but if you use really high gain and you're really concerned about squeal at a gig, it wouldn't hurt to put a little more in there.
 
Re: Removing magnet from Humbucker

If you have a few guitars with HB's, it's a good idea to get an assortment of magnets (and hit the $50 minimum for free shipping with Wymore). That way when you're in the middle of a project you can dial in your tone immediately, and not have to wait for a magnet to arrive, and pay shipping each time.

I recommend having several each of A2's, A3's, A4'a, A5's, and an A8 or two. By swapping magnets you're basically creating a new PU. Once I started swapping magnets, I haven't had to buy nearly as many PU's as I used to. You can get your desired sound with a $5 magnet or a $75 PU. After a few tweaks, you'll have spent a few dollars or a few hundred dollars, depending on which route you take.

There's usually enough wax left in the PU to firmly seat the new magnet. Sometimes I'll take a piece of wax or two that fell out & use it to fasten the new magnet. You'll notice high-quality HB's only have a small amount of wax, & that cheap Asian PU's are buried in what seems to be a half pound of wax.
 
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