AG... Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 Here is the first working prototype of my new modding idea, the LED pickup. Aint had the pickup 'hearing' anything yet, but as far as my electronics knowledge spans, they wont create any noise when they're on, and as I've only drilled the slugs hollow, the pickup will function as a humbucker still. The pickup may be a little less hot though, as the mass of the slugs is decreased... Next thing to do is introduce a 555 chip so it can have a flashing mode, and them some sort of CMOS chip so I can have a chasing mode. Then I'll make a printed PCB for it, make it neater. (MX is the forum which I mod, and they got to know about it first ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 Now that IS cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 The pickup may be a little less hot though, as the mass of the slugs is decreased... You could get a rough idea of how much by measuring the DC resistance of the pickup before and after you drill the magnets. Anyhow, that looks pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksound Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 I'm showing my ignorance here, but does the size/mass of the pole piece affect the resistance? I'd have thought it would only affect the magnetic field. Or does one affect the other? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 I'm showing my ignorance here, but does the size/mass of the pole piece affect the resistance? I'd have thought it would only affect the magnetic field. Or does one affect the other? Doh! That's a good point. That probably won't tell you that much. It would definitely affect the field strength around those magnets, though. And who knows what other weirdness could happen in hollowed out magnets? I would be curious to see what they sounded like before and then after the modification... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marzocchi705 Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 One way i have though of to get the look would to have a stacked humbucker, then a dummy coil beside it, that way you get the look and the sound with no minimal comprimise. Any thoughts on my idea? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Vai Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 I thought the bar magnet was the only magnetic part on a humbucker. The slugs are magnetic too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mattia Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 I thought the bar magnet was the only magnetic part on a humbucker. The slugs are magnetic too? The slugs 'conduct' the magnetic field, but aren't magnets themselves, not intrinsically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Vai Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 I thought the bar magnet was the only magnetic part on a humbucker. The slugs are magnetic too? The slugs 'conduct' the magnetic field, but aren't magnets themselves, not intrinsically. Ok, that's what I thought. Most likely drilling out the slugs will affect the tone then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samba Pa Ti Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 an easy way to fix the slug sizes would be to use bass slugs and drill them (like the gfs bigmouth/loudmouth, and some tele pups) then you wouldnt be losing too much surface area (not sure how that would work with them having a big hole in the middle, haha) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 wouldn't hollowing out the polepieces change the direction of the magnetic field in some way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 wouldn't hollowing out the polepieces change the direction of the magnetic field in some way? I don't think it would do that, but it would change the characteristics of the fields somehow. Whether that is good bad or indifferent, I have no idea. Since it's a humbucker, I think it can handle a small reduction in the output. If it were a single coil, I would think that it would cause serious problems with dropout on string bending and that sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samba Pa Ti Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 (edited) aye if they were normal polepieces it would but a single coil made with bass pole pieces might not have any problems http://store.guitarfetish.com/lopiexpowivi.html http://store.guitarfetish.com/alfaovpotebr.html running my tele with these ^ might work well with those big pole pieces Edited January 25, 2006 by Samba Pa Ti Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aidlook Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 wouldn't hollowing out the polepieces change the direction of the magnetic field in some way? I don't think it would do that, but it would change the characteristics of the fields somehow. Whether that is good bad or indifferent, I have no idea. Since it's a humbucker, I think it can handle a small reduction in the output. If it were a single coil, I would think that it would cause serious problems with dropout on string bending and that sort of thing. Yep that's what I meant..change the caracteristics...Will you lose a lot of output though?..because your not really recucing the size of the actual magnet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 Will you lose a lot of output though?..because your not really recucing the size of the actual magnet... True, the "magnet" (pole piece) size has not changed, but now it is hollow now. That's probably going to produce a much weaker field in that one pickup, which is offset somewhat by the presence of the second pickup in the humbucker. aye if they were normal polepieces it would but a single coil made with bass pole pieces might not have any problems....running my tele with these ^ might work well with those big pole pieces Possibly. In any case, the sound will be altered. To what degree? Who knows?! One way to find out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AG... Posted January 25, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 I'll be changing the design a little before I install the pickups, but I'll let you guys know what sort out of sound difference there was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 Wow...you did it!!! For those who didn't see the first thread not long ago, here is the link... AG....'s LED pickup proposal thread I love to see people try things even if there is a shadow of doubt about it. Personally, i'd have gone with the rivet idea rather than drilling them ou...but then maybe I'm chicken! That looks really good, I'd have gone all blue, but hey, well done. The LED's shouldn't cause any noise, you are right as we had discussed on the other thread. BUT, flashing and chasing...there you could have some major problems. The pickup, picks up AC or changing electric/magnetic fields...turning them on and off would, I expect, cause a clicking in the signal...but you can try it manually, turning them on and off while the pickup is connected to an amp. As for the magnetic field. It won't cause any change in resistance so you wont be able to test it. The magnet strength itself will, it is true, remain the same...but the slugs are the means to direct it through the core towards the strings. There will be a change in the magnetic field, possibly a slightly lower output and a brighter sound as one coil is sensing more than the other. However it should still be humbucking, and a brighter sound and a little less output may not be a bad thing at all depending on the pickup. The amount of change will probably not be too great as it is only a small change given everything else involved, you may like the sound even better!! Well done, it's pretty cool looking thing you got there...pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AG... Posted January 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 I thought I'd give drilling a go, but the rivet idea is certainly preferable. I just need to find 5mm outer size rivets, with a 3mm hole in the center. I need to find some 4 conductor cable with a shield before I can plug them in, That pickp originally only had two conductor wires, but seeing as it was open anywhoos, I decided I might as well make it 4 conductor. Cheers for the support, and encouragement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marossy Posted January 26, 2006 Report Share Posted January 26, 2006 There will be a change in the magnetic field, possibly a slightly lower output and a brighter sound as one coil is sensing more than the other. However it should still be humbucking, and a brighter sound and a little less output may not be a bad thing at all depending on the pickup. The amount of change will probably not be too great as it is only a small change given everything else involved, you may like the sound even better!! So, I guess it would be kind of like using a humbucker for use on the bridge in the neck position instead. Depending on the guitar and all that, it might even sound better! When you think about, though, about 50% of those poles are now gone. That's gotta definitely weaken those fields a lot. I imagine that it would probably sound like something between a humbucker and a single coil... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pr3Va1L Posted January 27, 2006 Report Share Posted January 27, 2006 (edited) Well, no one can really tell how it will sound... Different for sure but nor necessarely worse or better. I mean... having 2 different magnetic fields is not always a bad thing. Look at the Dimarzio Duo-sonic(?) or the SD Screamin' Demon... They have different polepiece designs (or rail for the dimarzio) and it's what makes their sound. What I think is that it will kinda sound like a stacked humbucker... Because the weaker feild shouldn't affect the other coil's sound but it'll still be humbucking. Edited January 27, 2006 by Pr3Va1L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unusual71 Posted January 28, 2006 Report Share Posted January 28, 2006 what i know about electronics/magnets leads me to believe that very little will change. i like the idea about a stacked humbucker and a dummy coil beside it. now combine that with the other guys output measuring LED idea, and you could have one sweet effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pr3Va1L Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 what i know about electronics/magnets leads me to believe that very little will change. i like the idea about a stacked humbucker and a dummy coil beside it. now combine that with the other guys output measuring LED idea, and you could have one sweet effect. OOOH! Nice idea there! Really that would be so cool!!! No need for the stacked HB either if this sounds right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted January 31, 2006 Report Share Posted January 31, 2006 I don't think it should sound bad. I wouldn't mind a little brightness in a humbucker anyway. How I would go about it for minimum effect and best look. Based on my experiments with pickups and my own sustainer driver stuff is this... Cut down steel rivets of the right diameter and coat with clear nail varnish to prevent rust. Insert and wire up the LED's then back fill with steel impregnated epoxy putty behind them. This stuff is often used on cars and such and, due to the steel content, is magnetic. Being plastic though it is non conductive so wont short out the electrics. So you would get something fairly similar to the steel mass of the original studs and a neat way of holding those LED's secure...all without that tedious drilling! You would definitely get noise if the things were flashing I'm afraid...but that would probably be a little over the top anyway! pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ansil Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 When i was new to electronics in guitars i removed the pole pieces in the guitars that i have to see what it did. it removed highs and a little volume in the gain setting possibly due to oh say no high end. put over all it wasn't as bad as i had thought. later when i saw the split hums that have half of each pickups pole pieces removed i was intrigued. remove the ead top pole pieces and the gbe botttom pole pieces of the neck pickup for an interesting sound. since you hollowed them out it will be different but i wouldnt' say earth shattering. little volume drop but since they are in there just diminished in size you should still have ample treble and if not you can always use a cap to liven it up with the guitar. another thing to check out is that you might want to check a 555flash circuit and hold it over a pickup to see if you get any pulsing noise. did on mine but it wasn't in the pickup it was something different. ciao from the rubber room.. ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AG... Posted February 22, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2006 Bit of a huge bump here, I've been working on some other projects (stomp boxes and in-guitar LEDs) and have neglected my poor pickups. I found this stuff on eBay, while looking for psw's suggestion of a steel impregnated putty, I was wondering if itd do the trick? http://www.dual-star.com/index2/Service/qu...epoxy_putty.htm Cheers guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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