David Schwab Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 The magnets are indicated on the bottom in blue, they are 1/8" x 1/8", I am planning to wind them at about 8000 turns. I doubt those magnets are strong enough. I have a bunch of those little things and they are pretty useless for pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerosrevenge Posted November 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 I have a similar concern. I have fabricated to "bars" which hold the magnets in their correct orientation relative to the pole screws. I have test assembled the pickup and I am barely getting anything at the head of the screws (meaning that I held a screw against the poles and they are barely magnetic, especially compared to the P-90 I wound using the proper A5 bar magnets). So the magnets I have are too weak. I guess my options are to order some A5's or go with a single pickup on this build. I'll keep you posted! STV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Schwab Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 I have a similar concern. I have fabricated to "bars" which hold the magnets in their correct orientation relative to the pole screws. I have test assembled the pickup and I am barely getting anything at the head of the screws (meaning that I held a screw against the poles and they are barely magnetic, especially compared to the P-90 I wound using the proper A5 bar magnets). So the magnets I have are too weak. I guess my options are to order some A5's or go with a single pickup on this build. I'll keep you posted! You can get neo bar magnets. I've been using some that are 1" X 1/4" X 1/4" and they are amazingly strong. I made these pickups with 1 neo bar between the blades on each one, but I think I'm going to use 2. My wider pickups have 2 neos stuck together to make them 1/2" wide. Here's one pickup with a ceramic and the bottom has a neo. The neo is more than twice the power of the ceramic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerosrevenge Posted November 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 (edited) Those are interesting David. How does the one with the neo sound? They look like really skinny humbuckers is that right? Do they fit in place of a standard single coil? Mine are a P90 style, using a single magnet I don't imagine I will be able to achieve reverse polarity vs the other pickup I have made. Is that right? Thanks, STV. EDIT - Regarding polarity...what is the orientation of the polarity of that bar neo you posted? The small 1/8"x1/8" neo bar magnets that I have are north/south on the flat part or "ends". Is your bar magnet the same? Edited November 4, 2007 by nerosrevenge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Schwab Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 Those are interesting David. How does the one with the neo sound? They look like really skinny humbuckers is that right? Do they fit in place of a standard single coil? Those are actually bass pickups. They are humbuckers. My usual bass pickups are similar but wider, the size of an EMG-40... I made these for a guy that built his own bass and wanted them as thin as possible, so they are 3/4" wide... just slightly wider than a Strat pickup. They sound a bit like Ric pickups. On my regular bass pickups the neos sound really good.. they have a bright top end and a strong midrange. Here's the neo bridge pickup. Mine are a P90 style, using a single magnet I don't imagine I will be able to achieve reverse polarity vs the other pickup I have made. Is that right? What are you trying to achieve with the polarity switch? Hum cancelation? For that you want each pickup to be opposite, one north up, one south up. Then either wind one backwards, or just wire it out of phase. EDIT - Regarding polarity...what is the orientation of the polarity of that bar neo you posted? The small 1/8"x1/8" neo bar magnets that I have are north/south on the flat part or "ends". Is your bar magnet the same? The 1/8" magnets have their poles on the flat surface... one side is north and the other south. You should have them all facing the same way. You can tell using a compass or even just by which way they stick together. The bars I'm using have their poles on one 1/4" side, like the magnets in P-90's or humbuckers. The poles are facing the blades in each coil. Normally for a P-90 you want two magnets on the keeper bar, with both facing the bar the same way... both North for instance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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