more magnet swapping candidates?

[justin]

I hope this topic isn't being beat to death, but I want to have some fun with magnets... No gigs this weekend, so why not experiment?

I've got a set of Antiquities, a '59 bridge, and a JB. The Antiquities sound almost perfect to me. The JB has a lot of good qualities because I play mostly harder stuff, but sounds a little stiff.

For the bridge position, I want the drive characteristics of the JB, with the softer attack of the antiquity. I'm thinking of putting the Antiquity magnet in the JB. Maybe it will soften it up a little? How about the JB's magnet or the '59's magnet into the antiquity???

Before I do any surgery, I just want some educated guesses about what to expect tone-wise. Maybe I should hold out and get a Gibson magnets for my Antiquities.

 

[DoobieK]

I didn't really keep up with the last post on this subject so my reply may seem dumber than usual.

I recently put a magnet from a Pearly Gates, ALNICO II, in a JB and it sounded really thin and weak.

It seems to me that the changes in volume and tone are more subtle when swapping magnets in lower output pickups like 59's vs. Gibson 57 Classics and Pearly Gates. I have not had any experiences with Antiquities though.

 

[plaintop]

I think the best tone that toni found was an Alnico V from a P-90 Gibson put in an Antiquity.

 

[toni]

Plaintop59,

you're right,

we tried SD Seth Lover's: pretty Good.
stock Classic 57: average,we did not like the harsh and brittle and muddy tone at the same time...
stock Antiquities: good,hollow but weak and somewhat thin compared with 3 old Burst's.
Antiquities with SD Seth Lover's magnets: a bit more output but thin and dry.
Antiquities with alnico II from Classic 57: much stronger,better than stock, warmer, double tone but a little bit too "hard" on the highs...
Antiquities with alnico V from P90: Our tone quest ended right there, PERFECT ! :wail:
We've not tried all possibilities...

now my 1999 Historic has Alnico V / Antiquities for both pickups, and I would not change a single thing on it :nono

so I think Big Al was absolutely right...
NOTHING come close to Gibson's Alnico V magnets for SD Antiquities pickups...

it is always a matter of personnal taste, but to me, it is the BEST Les Paul tone i've played, and the difference is far from subtle.:wow

 

[lespaul506]

are there 1 or 2 magnets in the P90's? Hate to spend $80 a piece on 2 P90's then $119 each on Antiquities....

 

[toni]

lespaul506

...two Alnico V magnets in a single Gibson P90 !

 

[GeetarGoul]

I hear that real PAF magets make 57' Classics scream! /

 

[darkburst]

I've finally received the the Alnico V from SD and stuck it in the Antiquity neck. The highs are much softer than the Alnico II from the Classic '57. Not quite as loud. Very nice usable tone. Actually like it a lot. Better than any I've gotten so far but I'm still interested in how the SD Alnico V compares to the Gibson. If anyone ever gets around to A/Bing the two please let us know the results.

On another related note, what year did Gibson change to Alnico V's? I've got an old Melody Maker pickup coming I want to try the magnet from but not sure if it's II or V. I'm guessing it's a V with 35-40 years of aging.

 

[toni]

...Seymour Duncan's custom shop refused to sell alnico V's to me...not in their business policy...
thanks....i'll buy another P90 from Gibson for my second Historic...

 

[darkburst]

toni -

Seymour's custom shop gave me a bad time about selling me magnets too but they finally relented when I said that I had an email from Scott Miller saying they would. After reading over the email I realized he never actually said that but kind of implied it. Anyway I got one Anlico II, non-aged and one Alnico V from them for $20 each. I haven't tried the II yet and may or may not. If I do I'm going to put it in the bridge.

 

[roadrunner]

P-90 magnets

I have some P-90's laying around from my R4, I'm going to try this on one of my R9's with Antiquities. Just so I get this straight:
Each P-90 has two magnets, remove them and put one in each humbucker? Is there any turning around of magnets (for phasing) to do?
The Duncans have an output of about 7.6(N) and 8.1 (B), will this stay the same or will they have the output that the P-90 has?
Thanks in advance you guys.

 

[plaintop]

same. like to hear your findings RR.

 

[Sean]

The 7.6k and 8.1k refer to the pups resistance, not output, removing the Antiquity magnets and inserting the P90 magnets will make your pups louder. If the "both pups together" sound is quieter than either pup on it's own, congratulations you've found the Peter Green in-between sound. To correct this you need to remove one of the magnets, flip it over, and reinsert it.

 

[Charlie R57]

As for the direction of the magnets.
If you have a untouched humbucker around
take the new magnet and hold it aganist the
screw side of the Known good P/U.
For instance, if the side of the magnet attracts
the screw side put that side toward the
slug side of the P/U your installing it in.
The north side goes to the non adgustable
coil.
Does that make sense ? :eek :alcy :alcy

 

[toni]

Darkburst

dont waste any time with Seymour Duncan's alnico II...very thin and dry in Antiquity... Gibson's alnico II is MUCH BETTER.
...and Gibson's alnico V (from P90) is EVEN BETTER ! :wow:davepaf

 

[The Fet]

toni

Have you tried the Alnico V magnet in the Gibson 57's?

Just wondering if there is anyway of improving these rather than total replacement.

The Fet.

 

[roadrunner]

Alnico V mag. swap

Thanks guys, I gotta go get some pots first for my guitar (might as well do it all at once). I'll let you know how this works. I am going to flip one of the magnets over to get the "out of phase" thing going... the Green tone's one of my faves.

 

[toni]

The Fet

euh...no :duh we did not try alnico V in Classic 57's...ooops...we forgot...

Very Good idea ! can you try it and give us some news ? :hee

 

[DoobieK]

P-90's and P-100's

I should probably post this in the Marketplace, but you folks seem to be looking for P-90's, so I thought I would jump in.

I have a pair of SD P-90's and a pair of Gibson P-100's I will sell. It would be cheaper than buying them new.

$40.00 each, plus shipping.

Let me know if you are interested.

 

[toni]

Al

good !
my Historic 59 is OK but i need two more alnico V for my 58 !

my email is afabi@sympatico.ca