Jass Bass Pickup

[LowNote]

I have been working on a friends bass (Ibanez six string) with dual coils. I think they are DX6 pickups. He is looking for the Jaco Pastorius sound in the bridge pickup. I pulled the frets and that helped some but, the bridge pickup has a nasally tone to it. We have decided to make the pickup our selves. I'm not sure as to how to go about doing this. I'm thinking A2 or A3 magnets. Don't know how much wire to put on it though. Any suggestions?

LowNote

[big_teee]

Not clear how you're replacing the existing pickup.
If you're taking out a soapbar wouldn't it be easier and look better to build something in a Soapbar cover?
https://www.google.com/search?q=DX6+...0KTH37oosrM%3A
Here's a soapbar cover available at Mojo.
2-Hole Mount Soapbar Bass Pickup Cover Black (6 String)

T

[LowNote]

He does have a soapbar cover. I'm thinking of using a bar magnet instead if poles.

LowNote

[David King]

Pastorius played a stock 1962 J bass, just old A5 mags wound with 42 SPE. Probably around 8500 turns and 7.1k or so. The trick is finding decent sounding magnets.

[LtKojak]

The trick is finding decent sounding magnets.

I'm not sure what you mean by this statement, or how you go to spot those "decent sounding magnets" when shopping for them, among all the offerings on the market?

Would you care to explain?

[big_teee]

I agree, IMO Some brands sound better than others.
It may all be placebo, but I think the ones I use sound better than some of the other brands.
Some brands of Alnico have a harshness to my ears.
T

[David King]

All I know is that when I rewound a 62 J neck pickup with Essex SPN to 8000 turns it sounded very wonderful to my ears and very different from the pickups I was winding similarly but with Chinese magnets. That said I don't particularly care for the sound of the US Arnold magnets I've heard. It's subjective for sure but I hear a considerable difference between the different ceramic magnets I've tried. None of this is scientific and I could easily be swayed by the idea that a 62 Alnico V magnet is going to sound magical when really any old pickups would have sounded great in that 62 Jazz bass.

[Jason Rodgers]

Pastorius played a stock 1962 J bass, just old A5 mags wound with 42 SPE. Probably around 8500 turns and 7.1k or so. The trick is finding decent sounding magnets.

Is the "old A5 mags," as in magnets with a particular decay of their magnetism, part of that "magic"?

[Steve A.]

I agree, IMO Some brands sound better than others.
It may all be placebo, but I think the ones I use sound better than some of the other brands.
Some brands of Alnico have a harshness to my ears.
T

I know that many pickup winders degauss their magnets to match the needs of customers, etc., which could explain a softer sound... do bulk magnet sellers do that, too?

Steve

[big_teee]

Some guys degauss their magnets.
I charge everything full strength.
If I want a lighter gauss, I go to A2, A3.
I've experimented with magnetizing alnico 5 bar magnets, with a Ceramic magnet between the alnico, and NEO.
That gives a lighter gauss on the A5 bar.
YMMV,
T

[Jim Shine]

The trick is finding decent sounding magnets.

Leo Fender would have agreed with you. Despite the reputation he gets as being frugal at all costs, it isn't true. He was very set in his ways and magnets were one of those things. There was one vendor in particular he would have used exclusively, but they couldn't meet the quantity demands. Leo used supplemental vendors to make up the difference, but he really preferred T&S Magnetics over everybody else to the point he took what he could get and worked around what they could do.

I guess the question then is "Are the T&S magnets the "good" sounding ones. Or are the "lesser" in Leo's eyes magnets supplied by various other vendors the better sounding ones?" Since we can't tell who made what by looking at them, I guess we will never know.

[David King]

I guess someone will have to dig around in some old Thomas printed registers to find any trace of T&S now.

[David King]

Doh! Thomas and Skinner - Alnico Magnets

[rjb]

Doh! Thomas and Skinner - Alnico Magnets

It looks as though may may have moved on from guitar pickup magnets to more lucrative trade...

Thomas & Skinner is the world leader in high-performance magnets and magnetic materials used in strategic weapons systems.

Our goal is to provide the highest quality, domestically- produced custom magnetic components, stay close to customer base, maintain technological advantage, and avoid low-technology, low-price segments (low-quality and/or high-volume applications).

[Jim Shine]

Their Indianapolis facility (where they are actually made) is in the exact same building. The area has really gone downhill, so I am unsure how long they will stay there.