Post Type Archives: SWD

I often get called and asked where do you get your magnets. Well, I use various vendors for many types of magnets that we use. To find a magnet supplier or fabricator it is best to look a source book called “The Thomas Register” and you can find them usually in libraries. In the books…

Changing the magnet can do several things depending on the magnet you’re replacing it with. If the magnet is stronger than the replaced one the output can be greater and brighter sounding. If the magnet is weaker than the original, the output can be less and the sound will be warmer. Often remagnetizing a row…

The magnetic orientation of a magnet is the preferred direction of the South and North polarity. The rod magnets used in Fender style single coil pickups are South on one end and North on the other. The bar magnets used in Gibson style humbucking pickups designed by Seth E. Lover, the magnet measures 2 1/2″…

The magnetic polarity of pickups can either be South or North. I’ve seen early Fender pickups with both South and North polarity in the same guitar. Early Broadcasters, No-Casters and Telecasters were often made with pickups having different polarities. The early lever switch on the instruments didn’t allow the combination of both pickups and the…

In our lab we use electronic gauss meters for precise measuring of the various magnetic fields used in our pickup. When I do road trips I like using a small hand model manufactured by the R. B. Annis Company in Indianapolis, Indiana. The unit I use measures from -50-0-50+. The -50 is the South magnetic…

Generally the magnetic field in a pickup is where the pole pieces are located either in rod or bar magnet or in a ferromagnetic material such as the steel screw pole pieces that are strongly attracted to the screws which direct the magnetic field to the strings. The magnetic field can be attracted to the…

Many of the early magnets used on Fender instruments had a rough surface sand cast magnet with an average diameter of .197″. The larger diameter magnets were used from early to late ’50s. The standard size became .187″ in diameter. The early magnets were raw with rough sand casting pits. The outer surface had a…

This is another device I built to calibrate or shape the magnetic field within a coil or pickup. I use the Dun-Stunner to calibrate the magnetic field within coils already installed in a pickguard assembly and intentional reduction of a magnetic field.

I usually use this term when two or more pickups are used with a combination of switches or custom circuits. If two pickups are both wound in the same direction and both have the same top magnetic polarity, the pickups are electrically and magnetically in phase. If both pickups are wound in the same direction…

This is very debatable as I like using various grades of Alnico and Ceramic magnets. I often calibrate my Alnico magnets and prefer weaker magnets for the tone I’m they give. I use strong Ceramic to weak Alnico’s for many models and applications. I don’t like using the rare earth magnets as they have more…