Strat Mags Stick Up

[Kindly Killer]

I used to do guitar tech as a sideline but now I just do it for myself. I am a pro player. Last weekend I made a set of strat pickups for myself and I used all tall magnets, like the tallest from a "staggered" set. They stick up out of the top of the bobbin. The pickups sound slightly thinner than I sounded, based on comparison to other ones I made with identical specs but shorter magnets. Should it matter how far the mags stick out the top?

[David Schwab]

If the magnets stick out too far that will place the coil farther away from the strings. Lowering the pickup from the strings and raising the poles usually makes them sound brighter. Also the taller magnets are probably a bit stronger which tends to sound brighter.

Also check that you haven't developed shorts in your coil to the magnet. Did you tape up the magnets before you wound? Take a resistance reading from one of the coil leads and then touch each magnet with the other probe. Shorts can make the pickup sound thin.

If you want to use taller magnets and not have them stick out the top as much, let them stick out the bottom of the pickup. That's how Duncan did the staggered magnets for the old stacks with the closed covers. Or make a taller bobbin. Or wind them a little hotter to compensate.

[Mike Sulzer]

I see; I thought someone had stolen all your magnets.

Suppose you made all your magnets stick out three inches. Then most of the field from the vibrating string would not pass through the coil as it must for the coil to sense it. So you would lose output. You should not lose much from just a small fraction of an inch, but you will lose something.

I used to do guitar tech as a sideline but now I just do it for myself. I am a pro player. Last weekend I made a set of strat pickups for myself and I used all tall magnets, like the tallest from a "staggered" set. They stick up out of the top of the bobbin. The pickups sound slightly thinner than I sounded, based on comparison to other ones I made with identical specs but shorter magnets. Should it matter how far the mags stick out the top?

[Kindly Killer]

Stickup - LOL

Thanks for help. Yeah, the mags are taped up pretty good. They all have very close resistance, so I don't think they are shorting. I stuck them out the top b/c my father-in-law had my winder, a Grizzly pen lathe (he makes pens with it) so I had to use an old winder that holds bobbins with tape (SUXXORZ!). I got it back a couple days ago; Sunday I'm going to make another set and I'll stick the extra out the bottom.

Thanks for the tips!

[David Schwab]

I stuck them out the top b/c my father-in-law had my winder, a Grizzly pen lathe (he makes pens with it) so I had to use an old winder that holds bobbins with tape (SUXXORZ!).

I stick my bobbins on with double stick tape. Nothing wrong with that approach.

Stick the top to the winder then. That's how I wind my bobbins because they have blades sticking out the bottom.

Or make your bobbins taller.