Single coil ceramic pickups

[SpareRibs]

Hello,
Someone mentioned once on this forum the reason single coil ceramics do not sound as good as they could is because the magnets are to weak. Would attaching another magnet to the bottom improve the sound ?

[David Schwab]

Ceramic magnets are typically stronger than alnicos. So that's not the problem. The problem is on cheap single coils they use very cheap weak ceramic magnets. Just remove the magnet and glue on a better one. You can also stick another one on the bottom.

[SpareRibs]

Hello,
How about some 3/16" neo's on the bottom of each pole piece. I have a theory that would also change the way the field travels through the pole piece as opposed to the bar magnet being across all of them disrupting the field. In addition they can be added or subtracted to get desired result.

[David Schwab]

The neos would be stronger. You probably wouldn't need more than one on each pole.

I can't say you will hear any difference between a single magnet and multiples with steel poles. But unless you tried multiple ceramics you have nothing to compare it to. A single magnet is not disrupting a field. It is creating a field. The poles just transfer it up through the coil.

[Sweetfinger]

Ceramic magnet pickups don't sound "bad", they just sound different. Some of the best sounding pickups I own are ceramic mag.

[Mark Hammer]

One of the more interesting assertions made during the course of the Dave Hunter pickup book, by Kent Armstrong I believe, is that ceramic mag pickups can sound every bit as good as alnico, you just have to design around them.

In the early 80's, when digital first hit full stride, Julian Hirsch or maybe it was Len Feldman, had an opinion piece in Stereo Review concerning the reputed "harshness" and "brittleness" of digital recording that many traditional analog vinyl fans were decrying. The point made in the article was that studio mic-ing techniques developed over the years had been adapted to overcoming the loss of top end stemming from the limitations of magnetic recording, dubbing, and vinyl itself. Once engineers had learned what to expect from the digital domain, and adapted their mic-ing and processing techniques to its properties, pleasing quality would come around again. That is, the shortcoming was not with the medium, but with the manner in which it was being used.

The same is likely true of ceramic magnets.

FWIW, I seem to recall Alembic selling a set of add-on magnets for weak Strat pickups back in the 70's.

[David Schwab]

Listen to some Bartolini bass pickups. They are very warm and full sounding, and they all use ceramic magnets. Some of their pickups are even on the dark side, so it shows you can design a pickup with ceramics and get a warm tone.

[Mike Sulzer]

One of the more interesting assertions made during the course of the Dave Hunter pickup book, by Kent Armstrong I believe, is that ceramic mag pickups can sound every bit as good as alnico, you just have to design around them.

In the early 80's, when digital first hit full stride, Julian Hirsch or maybe it was Len Feldman, had an opinion piece in Stereo Review concerning the reputed "harshness" and "brittleness" of digital recording that many traditional analog vinyl fans were decrying. The point made in the article was that studio mic-ing techniques developed over the years had been adapted to overcoming the loss of top end stemming from the limitations of magnetic recording, dubbing, and vinyl itself. Once engineers had learned what to expect from the digital domain, and adapted their mic-ing and processing techniques to its properties, pleasing quality would come around again. That is, the shortcoming was not with the medium, but with the manner in which it was being used.

The same is likely true of ceramic magnets.

FWIW, I seem to recall Alembic selling a set of add-on magnets for weak Strat pickups back in the 70's.

Or any manget. In fact, one could say that magnets do not have any sound at all. When you hear a difference from changing a magnet, maybe you changed the pickup output; or maybe you affected the electrical properties of the circuit with the magnet's permeability or conductivity. These are effects that you can change in other ways. There are no magic magnets.

[Steve Conner]

Arthur C. Clarke famously said that any technology advanced enough is indistinguishable from magic. So to an empirical pickup maker who doesn't care to understand concepts like complex permeability, the magnets are magic.

That's not to diss empiricism. I know the theory of complex permeability, but I didn't take the time to learn the craft of pickup making, what actually works in practice, so I buy pickups from someone who did. It's none of my business if they use tarot cards or chicken entrails to design the pickups, as long as they don't cost a fortune, sound good and don't break.

[David King]

Try 4000 turns rather than 12000. "Less is more" seems to be the rule of thumb with ceramics.

[Folkcafe]

Depending on the magnet, I am down to 3500 turns using ceramic grade 8 mags. I've been building small low profile pickups for cigar box guitars. Took me a while via trial and error but found a good happy medium on tone and output. Covers took a while to figure out too but I came up with these Magnetic Pickups | Little Box Guitars

[Stratz]

Took me a while via trial and error but found a good happy medium on tone and output. Covers took a while to figure out too but I came up with these Magnetic Pickups | Little Box Guitars

Very, very nice work! If you don't mind answering....how do you make the marks on your flat ware for drilling? They're so clean looking to the point where it looks like they were printed on.



Your covers look fantastic as well

*Edit* I just took a closer look, they are printed on....Very intuitive

[Folkcafe]

Just about everything I do is custom one way or the other. I lay everything out in Cad and just print it out. A little kids glue stick on the back and I stick it to the forbon. Do the same for the covers. Here is a little insight to my methods.