Stacking Mags

[bill raymond]

1/4 inch magnets

You should be able to get Filtertron AlNiCo magnets from Black Rider Guitars, as they bought all of Duke Kramer's stock of NOS Gretsch parts--that's where I got mine. Also, I know someone who bought one from T.V. Jones to replace the ceramic magnets in his Supertron pickup, so you might just inquire of TV Jones.

[Peter Naglitsch]

Thanks Bill
I have sent an E-mail to Blackrider. 7.95 is a bit high but as they also offered original FilterTron coils (I'm guessing they mean bobbin + wire) I think I'll get a few magnets and a coil for comparison.

Zang: Just a thought... Are you willing to sell a few of your magnets for a better price than 7.95 if yours are only collecting dust?

[bill raymond]

Sorry, Peter

But, they're not gathering dust for long. I also have some coils, a pattern for some Supertron blades, and a couple pickup covers. One day soon they will be pickups--a "DiCazzoTron" for the bridge, an "InfraTron" for the fretboard.

[Peter Naglitsch]

np, Bill. That part was to Zhangliqun. He wrote "I've got a bunch in the ol' magnet chest o' drawers... " so i figured he might be willing to part with a few of them.

[Zhangliqun]

Thanks Bill
I have sent an E-mail to Blackrider. 7.95 is a bit high but as they also offered original FilterTron coils (I'm guessing they mean bobbin + wire) I think I'll get a few magnets and a coil for comparison.

Zang: Just a thought... Are you willing to sell a few of your magnets for a better price than 7.95 if yours are only collecting dust?

I could part with some but I don't have a bunch. Will check the inventory tonight. E-mail me at zhangbucker@yahoo.com if you don't hear from me pretty quick.

[Zhangliqun]

Okay, Pete, I've got 50 Alnico 2's in this size but I do want to keep some. How many would you want?

[Billy Bones]

I had read this post a couple weeks ago. Today I wanted to make a filtertron style pickup, and was checking magnet sizes, and realized that I only had 1/8th inch magnets. Remembering this thread, I stuck a couple of them together, and the magnetic hold is definitely enough to keep things together properly. I didn't get them finished or in any guitars, but a friend is bringing by a few guitars with some filtertrons of different eras to test them out against.

The problem that I am running into is that with such thick magnets, the keepers need to be doubled up so that they're not just flopping around, and I don't know if that's kosher. Won't be till mid next week when I can get in to the shop and get em finished and hear them up against others.

Billy

[Peter Naglitsch]

Zangliqun: I'm in the experimental phase with this so something like ten magnets would be perfect. I'll pm you or send you an e-mail about the details. I'm more or less out the door right now so It'll be in a day or two

Billy: If the magnets stick together you have flipped one of them. You should have them with the same polarities pointing in the same direction to form the equivalence to a solid magnet. And if both magnets are charged they will not stick together because then they will have the south pole parallel to south pole and we all know what will happens than...
The resulting magnetic fields with look very different from those two different setups (one magnet flipped vs both magnets in the same direction), and I can only imagine what the difference in sound would be. I guess I'll be very similar to what happens if you make a P90 base plate out of ferrous material (more or less dead pickup).

Yeah I've made that mistake. It was a few years ago. That is all I can say in defense for myself...

[Billy Bones]

Thanks Peter! I didn't have my head around that at all! But if I super glue them together (with the poles facing the same way) they should act like one magnet? Guess I'll find out on Monday!

Billy

[Billy Bones]

Everything makes sense now!

We put the pickup together, soldered the ground to the base plate, and just twisted the other wires together to their lead wires.

I have a test guitar that I have routed to be able to slide pickups in and out of, and attach with alligator clips. I can change pickups in about 15 seconds, and it helps me to hear differences between pups. If I wait too long, I can't remember what I was hearing, and I get all confused. It also lets me hear different pickups in the same guitar, so that I'm not hearing differences in the guitar and attributing it to the pickups.

Anyways, I put the pickup together and slid it in to the test guitar, expecting that big double magnet to be really strong, and it sounded terrible and weak. I thought I must have a short in the wire somewhere but it read fine. I was confused. It was 5:30 and time to go home, so I put it out of my head.

After reading Peter's post I was trying to go to sleep and I realized, that's why that pickup blows! Embarrassing! Never stacked magnets, and didn't really think about it. They want to go together that way so badly, I didn't even think about it!