Dimarzio pole pieces, hex head

[ShannonH]

Hi all, I am trying to approximate a super distortion, and was wondering if the hex head polepieces Dimarzio uses are heads on a screw, or a long srew like a set screw? Any info greatly appreciated. I'm not trying to rip them off, as I have made high output 'buckers fine by myself, but I'm experimenting a bit, and am just curious! Thanks in advance....

Shannon

[David Schwab]

They are just hex head set screws. That and a ceramic magnet.

I have one I could measure, but I'm not home until tomorrow morning.

Someone here might know off hand.

[Ruel]

Super Distortion DCR

They are just hex head set screws. That and a ceramic magnet.

I have one I could measure, but I'm not home until tomorrow morning.

Someone here might know off hand.

It's 14.25K

[David Schwab]

It's 14.25K

I meant the size and length of the pole screws... but that's god to know also.

Do you know what size screws it uses?

[Ruel]

Will try to measure the size of the allen screws as soon as I get home tonight.

[jonson]

unhardened

according to the dimarzio patents they are unhardened set screws which would make sense, but, don't seem very soft to me.

[ShannonH]

Things I've gathered so far....

Their website gives a lot of info away... ceramic mags, 13.68 K (actual measured might vary, as demonstrated above), brass baseplate. I've looked at pics on e-bay and the baseplate is solid, so the srews are probably only 1/2 inch. Thanks for the info, I figured they were probably set screws, so I am going to convert some adjustable bobbins to take a larger set screw than a #5, maybe a 6 or 8 size. Too bad nobody make a brass baseplate. I may have to make one myself.

Here's another curious bit, I've heard that brass, although non magnetic, actually helps push up the bass frequencies, which is why some people like them on a Tele bridge pu. This seems odd, since brass is non-magnetic. What's your experience?

Thanks again!

Shannon

[kevinT]

http://www.guitarpartsusa.com/item--...Brass--PROD393

Brass baseplates are out there. Here is one source.


here is another link regarding inductance. And adding metal to the pickup unit and its effect on tone.

http://music-electronics-forum.com/s...ght=inductance

[ShannonH]

Awesome! Thank you!!

[kevinT]

oh yeah, i forgot to mention, GJ has the hex slugs but you will have to drill the holes larger in the bottom of the baseplate to accomodate them. They are just long enough where you have to make the mod if you're using the .125 height mags.

You can get black oxide ones at various fastner stores on the net. Most don't tell you the type of steel alloy it is though.

[David King]

Most set screws seem to be "Grade 8" which is pretty hard. I did a google search for mild steel setscrew and had a few hits but no luck in the end. This might be a job for a custom screw co.
What would be the most popular size?

[ShannonH]

I think it would be fairly easy to heat them to non magnetic and allow then to cool slowly (vermiculite is a good way) to undo the hardening. Then again, a lot og work for one pickup!

[EtLa]

Do you know what size screws it uses?

measurement taken from a Paf pro screw:
#5-40 hex head screw
Grade: ?
Length: 0.6250
Head: 0.2010
Screw diam: 0.1225

[Joe Gwinn]

Here's another curious bit, I've heard that brass, although non magnetic, actually helps push up the bass frequencies, which is why some people like them on a Tele bridge pu. This seems odd, since brass is non-magnetic. What's your experience?

It is likely that the brass baseplate is suppressing the higher frequencies by means of eddy-current loading, causing the lower frequencies to become more prominent in comparison. It may also be moving a resonance by reducing the coil inductance. Hard to tell without some lab work.

[ShannonH]

I've tried finding 5-40 hex drive. They'r a bit harder to source. How would stainless work for a pole piece? I'm still a little out of my depth with the magnetics...