I've found some very small but powerful magnets that should work to build pickups. They are the tiny magnets found in the myriad of earbuds used for ipods and personal MP3 players. They are a little labour intensive to salvage but I have never seen such powerful little magnets. I've started collecting a few to try.
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Lot's of great ideas going on here. I also read somewhere that the reason old guitars sound so good is that the magnet gradually demagnetizes over time and actually gets weaker which allows you to drive your amp a little harder- giving you a different sound.
Hey JUJU, how about this. I've got one of those coils out of an old rotary phone and I've got these magnets that are about an inch by an inch, and are so strong I've actually hurt myself trying to pull two apart. I'm thinking of using a bolt through the phone coil with one of these mags at the bottom and mounted under my Lowe's cone, size wize it works out just about perfect with a Las Cabrillas box. Do you think a little distance from the strings like about 2 1/2in will be fine with such a strong mag?
JUJU AKA SOUNDSSOGOOD said:
Here's my take on the Subject - if you use a Magnet that is to Strong (Neodymium) it will dampen the string vibration i know because i tried it - still sounds good but not as tunefull as a pickup made with Alnico magnets which lets the strings vibrate a lot more also with the Neodymium magnet you get a higher tonal range but not as warm sounding as a Alnico this may infact be due to the Strings movement being restrained by the magnet - i'm still working on testing these magnets myself - at the end of the day they both work - i've got to the stage now that i'm using Neodymium magnets but very small ones - here 's a pic of a new slimline Pickup i've just made - it's a rail pickup which covers either 3 or 4 stringers and it uses a Neodymium magnet that measures 50mm x 10mm x1.5mm -
Has anyone else used the rare earth magnets from Harbor Freight? They're super-strong and super-cheap - you can get a package of 10 (5/16" dia x 1/8" thick) for $1.99. For a three-string pickup I do three stacks of five magnets (15 magnets total). They have alot of pull so I mount the pickup about 3/8" below the strings. I couldn't really speak to the clarity or "quality" of tone, but gosh, they are LOUD.
As for potting, I think the good soak is probably easier and works fine. The wax is tenacious at finding the little cracks when it is hot so with a good soak and the odd tap and shake during it, it should work fine. Don't over think the process and make it complicated....have fun!
As for potting, I think the good soak is probably easier and works fine. The wax is tenacious at finding the little cracks when it is hot so with a good soak and the odd tap and shake during it, it should work fine. Don't over think the process and make it complicated....have fun!
The DeArmond-designed pickups used on old Harmony guitars apparently had relatively weak magnets made from a rubbery material not unlike that found in fridge magnets (these are the ones sometimes called Rowe pickups because they were made by Rowe Industries). Those are pickups that now get sold for stupid amounts of money (thanks partly to the fact Ry Cooder started using them on his modified strats).
Rubber magnets offer interesting potential for experiment. Note however that it's no good getting just any old rubber magnet - you need anisotropic material (ie. with all the magnetic particles aligned one way). Most fridge magnets and similar items use isotropic material (in which the magnetic alignment has a degree of randomness).
It strikes me as being quite feasible to produce a homemade pickup with similar properties to those DeArmond ones. The construction of the originals was very cheap and crude: The formers for the coils were made out of something a bit like a sort of resin coated cardboard, a flat bar of magnetic material was dropped in the middle and the whole thing was held together by just being put in what was effectively a flat tin.
I have a beginers question. I bought a double boiler to melt the potting wax alloy. Should I vacuum the pickup or just let her sit in the mix untill she gets soaked? :) Whats the best way?
Why do I use strong magnets in my builds, because they are availabe, cheap and they work....nuff said....I am not really into the science of it.....just thrilled I can build something, plug it into a amp, and make it louder. I have watched video's that show the factory of semour duncan from the front door to the back door.....they talk all kind of fancy talk about their pups....to me...yes, there are some great sounding pups out there......great warm sounds.....awesome lo ends....but at the end of the day, when I pick up my cbg and start to jam....none of that matters....I am just thrilled to have built something with my own two hands and know how that sounds good to me for around 30 bucks.
Wes Yates said:
Heh, that's why I love this group. One of the greatest reasons why I was impressed in the beginning is just what Johnny says -- we learn, experiment, use our beans and come up with great ideas. CB(anything) is where the real innovations are being made in my opinion.
-WY
Johnny Lowebow said:
yup it's the ability to make the magnet smaller for the same guass . that give you new design possabilitys. All sorts of talkers . If you don't do something becase someone told you not to you don't do much. LOL The best thing is to let the experts BS till they are blue in the face and try it. If it sucks do something else. I've read a few of Duncans expert articals and find him somewhat full of it. Professional ripper of others work. The best Ideas somtimes come from those with a more open mind. Like rank beginners. Of course the whole Idea of asking a computer for plans and building Ideas is kinda just that. Taking others Ideas. Try and use your bean and figure without others holding your hand. I wasted most of last week on a failed design but I have the germs for the next one and new Ideas because of it. I got inspired not from Duncan but from a beginning builder. I guess I'm no better. LOL Salty Sea Empire said:
wheather seymore duncan said it or not...the math doesn't lie...strong magnets will affect the vibration of the string. as far as testing magnets and wiring goes...i'm more well versed in theory than practice. for your first pick up i don't think the strength of the magnets will really matter...i suppose it is more of a subject of tone freaks. but it will be a factor
Heh, that's why I love this group. One of the greatest reasons why I was impressed in the beginning is just what Johnny says -- we learn, experiment, use our beans and come up with great ideas. CB(anything) is where the real innovations are being made in my opinion.
-WY
Johnny Lowebow said:
yup it's the ability to make the magnet smaller for the same guass . that give you new design possabilitys. All sorts of talkers . If you don't do something becase someone told you not to you don't do much. LOL The best thing is to let the experts BS till they are blue in the face and try it. If it sucks do something else. I've read a few of Duncans expert articals and find him somewhat full of it. Professional ripper of others work. The best Ideas somtimes come from those with a more open mind. Like rank beginners. Of course the whole Idea of asking a computer for plans and building Ideas is kinda just that. Taking others Ideas. Try and use your bean and figure without others holding your hand. I wasted most of last week on a failed design but I have the germs for the next one and new Ideas because of it. I got inspired not from Duncan but from a beginning builder. I guess I'm no better. LOL Salty Sea Empire said:
wheather seymore duncan said it or not...the math doesn't lie...strong magnets will affect the vibration of the string. as far as testing magnets and wiring goes...i'm more well versed in theory than practice. for your first pick up i don't think the strength of the magnets will really matter...i suppose it is more of a subject of tone freaks. but it will be a factor
wheather seymore duncan said it or not...the math doesn't lie...strong magnets will affect the vibration of the string.
as far as testing magnets and wiring goes...i'm more well versed in theory than practice. for your first pick up i don't think the strength of the magnets will really matter...i suppose it is more of a subject of tone freaks. but it will be a factor
Replies
JUJU AKA SOUNDSSOGOOD said:
Tracy Tomlinson said:
Rubber magnets offer interesting potential for experiment. Note however that it's no good getting just any old rubber magnet - you need anisotropic material (ie. with all the magnetic particles aligned one way). Most fridge magnets and similar items use isotropic material (in which the magnetic alignment has a degree of randomness).
It strikes me as being quite feasible to produce a homemade pickup with similar properties to those DeArmond ones. The construction of the originals was very cheap and crude: The formers for the coils were made out of something a bit like a sort of resin coated cardboard, a flat bar of magnetic material was dropped in the middle and the whole thing was held together by just being put in what was effectively a flat tin.
Beginer Bob
Wes Yates said:
-WY
Johnny Lowebow said:
as far as testing magnets and wiring goes...i'm more well versed in theory than practice. for your first pick up i don't think the strength of the magnets will really matter...i suppose it is more of a subject of tone freaks. but it will be a factor
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