Which bar magnet?

Re: Which bar magnet?

Thats going to be a function more of the wind really. If you're looking to tame a JB, then A2 or UOA5 are often used. If you want power then A8 is the one.
 
Re: Which bar magnet?

The magnet works with other parts of the pickup to arrive at an end result that may or may not involve upper mids. What kind of pickup are you looking to modify?
 
Re: Which bar magnet?

Alnico 6 is the darkest magnet I know. It has a very solid midrange/bass response without being as big and wooly as A8's.
 
Re: Which bar magnet?

Alnico 6 is the darkest magnet I know. It has a very solid midrange/bass response without being as big and wooly as A8's.


Are those available? I got a couple from Zhang a few years ago, but don't know if they're in general circulation.
 
Re: Which bar magnet?

Kinda hard to say which one has more or less as there is more to those dynamics than just the magnet... Here is a link to a good article about Magnets with sound clips
 
Re: Which bar magnet?

Are those available?
I got mine from Addiction-FX a long time ago, and I can see that they're "out of stock" right now.

I don't even know if Dennis will stock'em again, as they weren't best sellers... a very specialized type of magnet; IME, they only were good for shrill bridge p'ups pairing with dark-ish A2s p''ups on the neck position.

HTH,
 
Re: Which bar magnet?

I don't really know what is meant by "upper mids" in this context, but I suppose A3 or A4. A2 would get you less treble but also less bass, A5 would get you more treble but also more bass. A3 or A4 seems to just subdue everything a bit, relative to A2 and A5, so they get my vote. I wouldn't even consider A8 if you're going for an EQ change, since the increase in output is by far the most prominent effect.
 
Re: Which bar magnet?

p90's are strong in upper mids, that is part of their snarl.

But lowering the pickup also works a treat in general.
 
Re: Which bar magnet?

p90's are strong in upper mids, that is part of their snarl.

But lowering the pickup also works a treat in general.

So far i tried A4 and A2 in the bridge. (i mean at the same time, not A2 then A4) And that really helped a lot. Not 100% what i wanted, but much better and possibly all i need. A3's in the neck also helped a lot. The neck's biggest problem was it was just too overpowering, even after i unwound it about 500 ohms. Too much bass and loudness. I couldn't lower it because then it became lifeless. tried everything including poles up high. But the A3's did what i needed for the most part. I think i can still improve it tho so i will probably try more combos. Maybe pull one of the neck mags and try an A2 so it'll have A2/3. May try two A4's in the bridge. Great thing about P90's is how easy it is. I can slacken the strings and pull the pickups out enough to swap mags in minutes. The only thing i'm worried about trying further combos is right now i have the best middle tone by far it's ever had and i will likely lose that. Overall I'm far happier with it than before. But to be honest, what i really wanted were humbuckers. I don't find P90's as versitile as either fender singles or humbuckers that split well. But i'm not about to route it and none of the P90 sized humbuckers out there seem to have more than a few reviews and the very few i HAVE found don't seem real positive.
 
Re: Which bar magnet?

I did that and everything imaginable. Trust me, no way in the world with any adjustment or wiring i could get what i wanted from them. There is NOTHING i didn't try. Magnets were my last resort, and i should have tried it long ago but just never got around to it. With the magnets i find the best tone adjustment wise was poles adjusted just a little high, maybe 1/16" above the cover and pickups way up high so the poles are almost so close a sting will almost touch it when fretted at the last fret. Never had a guitar or pickup sound good like that but with the new magnets it really does sound best that way.
 
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