Unknown humbucker - Way of determining bar magnet type?

fingerace

fingerace

New member
I am changing the pickups in a new HH tele. If I take out the bar magnet from the old pickups, is there a way of determining which type it is?

Thank you
 
Re: Unknown humbucker - Way of determining bar magnet type?

You could try PM'ing one of this forum's magnet sniffers.
 
Re: Unknown humbucker - Way of determining bar magnet type?

It's a NEW HH Tele? If so, what model? That could help right there.
 
Re: Unknown humbucker - Way of determining bar magnet type?

The most likely candidates for stock will be polished A5 or ceramic.

I recently purchased some roughcast bar magnets from another forum member. Were it not for the writing on each magnet, I could not tell them apart.
 
Re: Unknown humbucker - Way of determining bar magnet type?

It's a partcaster someone put together. There are no markings on the top surface of the humbuckers. I still haven't pulled them out, but I'll check for any maker's logo on the plate. They look very cheap and I've been meaning to change them from the start. They don't sound exceptionally bad, but they are "unexciting", if that makes sense.

I wouldn't use them for future projects, but I figure that the magnet might be of use for experimentation.
 
Re: Unknown humbucker - Way of determining bar magnet type?

if it's dark and it doesn't shine, with a look halfaway between metallic and plastic it could be ceramic.
Then you have to compare its 'strength' with known types you could have.
 
Re: Unknown humbucker - Way of determining bar magnet type?

An easy way to tell Ceramic & Alnico magnets apart is with a multimeter ,The Alnico is a conductor of electricity ,the Ceramic is not .
 
Re: Unknown humbucker - Way of determining bar magnet type?

copperheadroads said:
An easy way to tell Ceramic & Alnico magnets apart is with a multimeter ,The Alnico is a conductor of electricity ,the Ceramic is not .
Click to expand...
Simple, elegant, and reliable, i like it.
 
Re: Unknown humbucker - Way of determining bar magnet type?

You can also tell ceramic and polished alnico apart by sight. Ceramic magnets are black. Alnico magnets are silver. Unpolished alnico will be silver but it won't have a nice polished sheen to it.
 
Re: Unknown humbucker - Way of determining bar magnet type?

It doesn't conduct electricity (I scraped the surface a bit to get good contact) and it's much closer to black than silver color. Should be ceramic.

Thank you guys for your tips. I appreciate the help very much.
 
Re: Unknown humbucker - Way of determining bar magnet type?

yep, Alnicos (except for Alnico 8 and Unoriented Roughcast A5) are silvery - probably not as reliable as the continuity test with a multimeter, but a little quicker.
 
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