Post Type Archives: SWD

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…

There are several steps you can use to wind a pickup. The bobbin can be magnetized first, wound and wax dipped or wound, wax dipped and then magnetized. When doing the second way it gives me better control when calibrating and measuring the gauss (magnetic strength) in the pickup. The coil and magnets can get…

I have experimented with many ways to direct the magnetic field to the strings, and have found that using different pole piece shapes can change the way a magnetic field leaves the pickup. Seth Lover, who invented the humbucking pickup for Gibson in the 50s also worked for Fender during the 60s and spent time…

The Alnico rod magnets used to make the pole pieces on many single coil pickups are first cast in sand. Rods are pushed into the sand removed. Then the molten magnet material is poured into each hole which is about 10″ deep. As the magnet material hardens it is removed from the sand at about…

Magnets can be re-magnetized when the magnet is demagnetized by several factors. When magnetizing pickups, a few methods can be used. One method is using a semi-continuous DC magnetizer that uses iron core electromagnets that are energized by filtered direct current. They have adjustable and interchangeable pole pieces to fit most rod and bar magnets…