imojo - Upgrading Your Pickups web

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[dwarnerprime]

Question: Isn't there a risk you might catch a strand of the coil wire when pushing the new magnets though? I'd be worried about breaking the coil. Maybe the poles are wrapped with tape prior to winding the coil?

[imojotv]

Hey dwarneprime-

Thanks for your question. There is no issue with hurting the coil if you do this on molded plastic bobbins only. Molded plastic bobbins are pretty easy to spot too. Some have metal slugs with two ceramic bar magnets across the bottom. Others may have alnico rod magnets but you can tell they are not fixed by looking at the bottom. You will notice the magnets are not all even across the bottom or there is a bevel in the mold where the magnets get pushed in...

[imojotv]

....Obviously you would never perform this procedure on a vintage style bobbin where the wire is wrapped directly around the magnets. You would destroy the pickup by pushing the magnets in or out against the coil. You can identify the vintage style bobbins because the bobbins are usually not plastic (they are mostly fiberboard) and the magnets are fixed and even across the bottom.

[Spyke2323]

i have a question......what if you replace the AlNiCo magnets with neudymium magnets ? how will that affect the sound?

[imojotv]

Hey- Thanks for your question. In our experience neodymium magnets are just too strong for guitar pickups. They will actually pull the guitar strings out of tune.

[editorjuno]

Never use a striking tool like a hammer for this kind of work, especially when working with brittle material like alnico -- use pliers and cushion the jaws with a rag. Pickup factories use an arbor press, but that's not likely to be in a home workshop -- an 8-10 inch slip-joint or channel-lock plier and rag combined with a socket or similar short piece of metal tubing works fine. A steel striking tool not only risks chipping damage to the alnico, but also can partially discharge its magnetism.

[ilovemysr505]

His hands are shaking a lot! :D

Nice vid! Very helpful!

[LedSabbath2]

@infomioveni You can use Neodymium Magnets in a pickup but they to be a lot lower inside the pickup because it will pull on the strings a lot. Research for pickups with Neodymium Magnets in them to see how low.

[infomioveni]

can i use, in any way, some hard drive magnets (i think they are neodymium)? I don't really know how they will affect the magnets at the bottom of the pickup and i don't want to risk demagnetizing them.

[Spyke2323]

@imojotv thanks for the info. i was 2 clicks away from ordering those pole pieces..... :D.