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Changing the magnets in your pickup can do several things. I believe that using stronger magnets will dampen your string vibration. The stronger magnetic field in the pickups pulls on the string, slowing down the actual sustain. You will notice a louder and brighter sounding pickup when using a stronger magnet. I like calibrating my…

9.1 Magnets: Magnets can be made into various shapes and strength. Fender commonly uses cast Alnico rod magnets for their pickups. Alnico is the combination of different alloys mixed together to make certain grades of Alnico magnets. Here’s a chart that shows the differences in each grade of commonly used Alnico magnets: Alnico II: 10…

A typical Alnico magnet used in the majority of guitar pickups consists of several different alloys. Aluminum, Nickel, Cobalt, Copper, Silicon, Titanium and Iron. With the presence of Iron, a magnet can rust due to moisture in a case, high humidity in the air and most likely the sweat coming from your hands. Moisture contacts…

A good place to go look for suppliers is the reference department in your library. Ask for a book called Thomas Register and look magnet suppliers. Another good company that has a large assortment of magnets is Edmond Scientific and a company called Magnet Sales & Manufacturing, 11250 Playa Ct., Culver City, California 90230. I…

Magnets that can be machined and threaded are called Cunico (copper-nickel-colbalt) and Cunife (copper-nickel-iron). The magnet material is very ductile (meaning it can easily be drawn thin or round). The slotted end can easily be magnetized north or south polarity. If you take the adjustable magnetic pole pieces out of the pickup, make sure you…

There can be variances in the magnet when rubbing two magnets (or pickups) together and the results will be inconsistent and not very accurate. Magnets can be degaussed (de-magnetized) by several means: They will slowly de-magnetize over a period of time (many years), heat, shock, other external magnetic fields and alternating currents. You will get…

A company called Micropower makes a sensitive Gauss meter with many probes for different applications but is very costly. I mentioned in an earlier article about a handy hand-held gauss meter made by the R.B. Annis Co. in Indianapolis, Indiana and their phone number is 317-637-9282. They have different scales on the hand-held model with…

The Fender humbucker was designed by Seth E. Lover who also designed the popular P.A.F. humbucker for Gibson in the 50s. Seth later worked for Fender and designed the Fender humbucker using a Cunife # 2 magnet rod magnets. It was used because it could be threaded, slotted, plated and used as an adjustable polepiece….

There are several magnets than can be used and here are a few things to consider: In a standard Gibson type humbucker the typical magnet used measures .125″ thick, .50″ wide and 2.125″ to 2.5″ in length. The metal spacer under the adjustable bobbin is also .125″ thick. You can find magnets with the same…

There are various magnets on the market that could be used but there are some factors I feel make them undesirable for commercial pickups. The price on many of the advanced magnet materials is sky high and some of their magnetic properties make the pickup sound undesirable for my ears. Examples: Samarium Cobalt: a permanent…