Magnet North, South, East, West?

[cwoodall]

I understand the benefits of winding your own pickups as far as being able to wind forward, reverse, magnets with the north poles up, north poles down (assuming single coils), etc.

I've looked in the archives, have Jason Lollar's book, etc. but seem to have overlooked or just can't find what the standard way to orient the alnico 5 0.1875" dia. x 0.625" long magnets.....north up, or south up?

I don't have a strat-style single coil pickup handy to check. I seem to recall seeing or hearing that south was up as a standard.

Maybe I'm ate up with it, or more likely, just have my head up, well, you know...

Thanks.

[Phil Mailloux]

The bridge and neck pickup are both oriented in the same direction(whether its north or south) and the middle pickup in the reverse direction. This makes the pups humbucking at the 2nd and 4rth position. (once the wires of the middle pup have been reversed, which usually are)