My first magnet swap.

Joined: 23 Nov 2005 Posts: 8256 Location: Ontario, Canada

I just put an Alnico 2 magnet in a JB. I installed the pickup in my strat and it freakin kills. I love it. Way more balls than the super distortion that was in there. The jagged edged highs on the regular JB are gone now. The lows are full and pretty tight. The kids are flat and also smooth. I want to try this pickup in a huge body. Perhaps my upcoming explorer. Twisted Evil

Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 1373 Location: Lutz, Fl.

You know how I love magnet swapping. I even did a post on here, complete with pictures, on changing out the magnet to an Alnico 8. I have heard a lot of people love the Alnico 2 swap for a JB. One thing that surprised me was that Seymour said that the JB was really meant for 250K pots. That's one way to tame the highs a bit.

But back to the point, I'm glad you had a great experience swapping the mags. It's so much cheaper than buying a new pickup.

Joined: 23 Nov 2005 Posts: 8256 Location: Ontario, Canada

I totally agree. It's so much better than buying a whole new pickup. I'm going to order some A8's and unoriented A5's next. I want to get a Duncan custom in black and a JB in black just for experimenting. Time to hit the bay.

When I swapped the may I stuck the A2 to the A5 to gauge polarity. Than once it was installed it was out of phase with the Dimarzio stacked humbuckers. I flipped the mag and all well again. I'm sure I wired it according to Duncan's diagram. I bet the dimarzios are opposite phase.

Which pickups have you used the A8 in?

Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 1373 Location: Lutz, Fl.

'87 sherwood wrote:

I totally agree. It's so much better than buying a whole new pickup. I'm going to order some A8's and unoriented A5's next. I want to get a Duncan custom in black and a JB in black just for experimenting. Time to hit the bay.

When I swapped the may I stuck the A2 to the A5 to gauge polarity. Than once it was installed it was out of phase with the Dimarzio stacked humbuckers. I flipped the mag and all well again. I'm sure I wired it according to Duncan's diagram. I bet the dimarzios are opposite phase.

Which pickups have you used the A8 in?

Yes, the Duncans and Dimarzios are backwards when it comes to pickup orientation. They're kind of funny that way.

I have only tried the JB switch for an Alnico 8, but I hear the Custom is a great pickup to put the Alnico 8 in as well. Back in the 70's Ibanez had these PAF type pickups called the Super 8. They were PAF's but they had Alnico 8 mags in them. They really had their own sound, and people who love them will pay a lot for them. The modern equiviant is to put an Alnico 8 into a 59.

One of the worst pickups that I made usable was the Dimarzio Bluesbucker. I like bright, that that thing was unplayable. I don't know what they were thinking. It was nowhere near bluesy or P-90ish like it was supposed to be. So I took out their split ceramic, and put in a polished (and later unpolished) Alnico 2 bar magnet in it. It sounded like an old timey Anitquity pickup. Still a little lacking in the bass, but the brights had been tamed. That was my first pickup swap. I still have it in my Les Paul.

Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 1373 Location: Lutz, Fl.

For those who want to know more about swapping pickups, here is my original thread that was posted in the Tech. Dis. board about changing a magnet in a JB pickup.

Pickup Mania! How to make a JB8

http://www.deanguitars.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1446429#1446429

Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 4913 Location: Brooklyn, NY

synzzzer wrote:

For those who want to know more about swapping pickups, here is my original thread that was posted in the Tech. Dis. board about changing a magnet in a JB pickup.

Pickup Mania! How to make a JB8

http://www.deanguitars.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1446429#1446429

A J bate you say?

Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 1373 Location: Lutz, Fl.

Berserker829 wrote:

synzzzer wrote:

For those who want to know more about swapping pickups, here is my original thread that was posted in the Tech. Dis. board about changing a magnet in a JB pickup.

Pickup Mania! How to make a JB8

http://www.deanguitars.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1446429#1446429

A J bate you say?

Since I can't hear the "tone" in your voice over the internet, I'm not sure if you are kidding or not. I think you are, but if not, I do want to be clear. I should probably write it "JB-8." Referring to a JB pickup with an Alnico 8 magnet. They guys on the Seymour Duncan forum call that mod the JB8. I hope that helps. If you were kidding, and I missed the joke then I apologize.

Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 4913 Location: Brooklyn, NY

synzzzer wrote:

Berserker829 wrote:

synzzzer wrote:

For those who want to know more about swapping pickups, here is my original thread that was posted in the Tech. Dis. board about changing a magnet in a JB pickup.

Pickup Mania! How to make a JB8

http://www.deanguitars.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1446429#1446429

A J bate you say?

Since I can't hear the "tone" in your voice over the internet, I'm not sure if you are kidding or not. I think you are, but if not, I do want to be clear. I should probably write it "JB-8." Referring to a JB pickup with an Alnico 8 magnet. They guys on the Seymour Duncan forum call that mod the JB8. I hope that helps. If you were kidding, and I missed the joke then I apologize.

Haha it was a double entendre! GLad you posted the link though. Do you have a list of what magnets affect tone in what ways?

Joined: 29 Nov 2012 Posts: 39 Location: Dallas, TX

'87 sherwood wrote:

I just put an Alnico 2 magnet in a JB. I installed the pickup in my strat and it freakin kills. I love it. Way more balls than the super distortion that was in there. The jagged edged highs on the regular JB are gone now. The lows are full and pretty tight. The kids are flat and also smooth. I want to try this pickup in a huge body. Perhaps my upcoming explorer. Twisted Evil

if you like the A2 and have an UOA5 on the way, I think you should try it too. the UOA5 splits the difference between the A2 and the regular A5. one magnet guru that I know considers the UOA5 a 'product-improved A2'.

Joined: 23 Nov 2005 Posts: 8256 Location: Ontario, Canada

Thanks for the insight on the UOA5. I still need to order some. The dude on EBay I bought my first set from sent two A2 that were magnetized and the A5's were not magnetized at all. I had to start a dispute on PayPal to get it resolved since he didn't answer my many message. His user name is addiction-fx

Do you have a reputable guy to buy from? Mojo tone wants to charge me $27 flat rate shipping on two magnets. Rediculous.

Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 1373 Location: Lutz, Fl.

Ok, here's a few answers to everyone.

For Berserker. I know there are a few guys on the Seymour Duncan forum that have a long list of what every type of magnet will do for a pickup. Their list is much better than anything I could come up with. I also know I googled something like, "what different magnets do for pickups" or something like that, and it came up with a guy's page that went into a bunch of great info about pickup magnets.

The guy I used to buy magnets from is no longer selling them. Whenever I buy magnets I always ask if they get them from All Star Magnetics. I don't know if you could buy directly from them since they usually sell in groups of 100 or bigger. But they have the best magnets without a doubt.

I just thought of something. Check on the net for Sheptone pickups. The guy makes super high quality PAF's. Sometimes he sells magnets. He likes the UNpolished A2's. He also makes sure they are not highly magnetized like a vintage pickup. You might pay a bit more, but he is a good guy to deal with.

I hope that helps everyone.

Joined: 29 Nov 2012 Posts: 39 Location: Dallas, TX

'87 sherwood wrote:

Thanks for the insight on the UOA5. I still need to order some. The dude on EBay I bought my first set from sent two A2 that were magnetized and the A5's were not magnetized at all. I had to start a dispute on PayPal to get it resolved since he didn't answer my many message. His user name is addiction-fx

Do you have a reputable guy to buy from? Mojo tone wants to charge me $27 flat rate shipping on two magnets. Rediculous.

sadly, addiction-fx is the place that most people go. I've had service issues with the before as well when I just called to place orders. I had to go to ebay to order from them so they would know their service would be tied to a form of feedback. a big point was that they would have the items in stock, but sit on the order for several days until getting it to the post office. then try to blame the post office for sitting on it when it was clear they hadn't even gotten it to the post office to begin with.

you can also try to call the girl that seems to handle most of the orders. her name is Hannah. their # is 602-769-3432. when I have dealth with her on the phone, she seems able to get things straightened out and if there is a problem she has been known to work to get it resolved and maybe even throw in a few extras for your trouble or maybe free shipping or something like that.

other than that, I think either stewmac or allparts may carry a few mags, but not the big selection that addiction-fx carries. I know, I've been hoping for some time that more options would become available. what I finally did was just place a big order of any/everything I might need or want to try and knocked it out at once so that I would redeuce the need to place orders with them.

Joined: 29 Nov 2012 Posts: 39 Location: Dallas, TX

synzzzer wrote:

For Berserker. I know there are a few guys on the Seymour Duncan forum that have a long list of what every type of magnet will do for a pickup. Their list is much better than anything I could come up with.

here is the go-to list of magnets from the Duncan board. I keep it in a file on my desktop. lol! these are all alnicos. ceramics are a different story, and aren't as many options.

since this list was made, the A6 and the A9 magnet have been brought in to the mix. I've not found anything on the A6 so far, but the A9 is supposed to be even louder than the A8 with more bite and grind. I've found that unless a pickup is designed around an A8 that is can lead to ear fatigue (for me, at least). so I've not been big on doing any swapping with the A9, although I'd be up for checking out a pickup that's built with the A9 in mind.

Quote:

A2 - warm, lots of mids, rounded top, great dynamics, loose low-end, low output.
A3 - similar to an A2 but with more treble. Not used a lot, but handy when an A2 is too dark, and an A5 is too much. Probably best in a neck PU.
A4 - balanced EQ, makes for a good middle ground between A2's and A5's. Medium output. Becoming more popular.
A5 - lots of treble and bass, mid-scooped. Tight low-end. High output. The most commonly-used alnico.
A8 - ample mids, moderate treble, firm low-end, high output. Usually used for the bridge poistion only, very popular in a Custom, making it a 'C8'.

Roughcast - A2, A3, A4,a nd A5 can also be sand cast (as opposed to polished); this smoothes out the high-end and makes for very nice tones. Best for bridge PU's.

Unoriented - A2, A3, & A4 are unoriented, and A5 is normally oriented. But the latest excitement here is unoriented A5's, which have the warmth and dynamics of an A2, but with a firmer low-end, more output, and little more treble. Great for adding body to bridge PU's.