I was wondering: what decides how strong the magnetic pull of a pickup will be? Is it something you can see on a specs page i.e. resistance, output, type of magnet or whatever?
I ask because I recently bought a set of GFS Premium Alnico IIs ( low output) for my squier strat and have to lower them so far that the covers are almost flush with the pickguard meaning a whopping distance of just over 0.75" from the strings. Any higher and I get fret buzz and warbles. I wouldn't mind except to get a "working neck" I have to deal with a dull woolly soft tone as a result.
Pickup Magnetic Pull
Moderated By: mods
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Fran
- The Curmudgeon
- Posts: 22219
- Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:53 am
- Location: Nottingham, Englandshire.
Im not sure if the resistance rating is a result of the strength of the magnet or the winding gauge and ratio. Seems odd though, especially on a Start pickup. I have a humbucker in my Flying V that measures something ridiculous like 24K and i've never had a problem 
Having said that the strings are very close to the surface on a Strat, more so than any other guitar i can think of.
Having said that the strings are very close to the surface on a Strat, more so than any other guitar i can think of.
Yeah it's an odd one. I think they might just be poorly put together pickups with magnets that are too powerful? I was hoping there'd be some sort of guage to measure it by. I can't think what else to do except deal with it or hope some sort of pro set up would magically sort it out, which I'm not keen on paying for. Oh well, life goes on.
Magnetic pull is measured in Gauss with a Gauss meter. It has nothing to do with resistance.
Gauss meters are notoriously inaccurate unless it's a really good meter being used by a professional; otherwise it's just an approximation. Unless you get really high-class PUPs, the maker won't spec Gauss. Vintage Vibe does, for example.
Alnico II is a very weak magnet - much weaker than Alnico V and ceramic. It's easy to say you shouldn't have a problem, but that would only partially refute the fact that you're actually having a problem. It's just one I've never had - and I usually have my PUPs almost touching the strings.
Are you using really light strings? Usually heavier ones are less susceptible to getting pulled.
Gauss meters are notoriously inaccurate unless it's a really good meter being used by a professional; otherwise it's just an approximation. Unless you get really high-class PUPs, the maker won't spec Gauss. Vintage Vibe does, for example.
Alnico II is a very weak magnet - much weaker than Alnico V and ceramic. It's easy to say you shouldn't have a problem, but that would only partially refute the fact that you're actually having a problem. It's just one I've never had - and I usually have my PUPs almost touching the strings.
Are you using really light strings? Usually heavier ones are less susceptible to getting pulled.
I'm using 9-42s so yeah quite light by most people's standards. I could quite happily give 10-46s a go but anything else would be a struggle for my hands. I suppose if it doesn't cure the string pull the heavier strings will at least give the guitar a bit more oomph. Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a try tomorrow.
I was wondering about magnetic pull recently as well. if I'm correct, the pole magnets are the part that are actually magnetizing the strings and then the coil transduces the string vibrations into AC voltage. so does this mean that pickups with poles flush with the bobbin (e.g. a telecaster or mustang pickup) will have a lower string pull to output ratio than a pickup with poles that extend farther out (e.g. a strat or jaguar pickup)? or to put it another way, a mustang pickup should have roughly the same output as a strat pickup but with less string pull.
cogito ergo sum...thing or other...
I believe so, because you are bringing the coil structure closer to the strings.mage wrote:a mustang pickup should have roughly the same output as a strat pickup but with less string pull.
Honestly, I've never ever had this problem. Even on my Danos, where the PUP is a giant, strong alnico VI bar like 3" long. I have it almost touching the strings - still no problems.
The pickup magnets out the box had a ridiculously steep stagger (9.5" apparently, but actually nowhere it) which I carefully hammered down to something more useful. Having done that they are still really high from the bobbins. I would be happy to lower the magnets even more to get the kind of output to magnetic pull ratio you're talking about.
As for why this guitar is experiencing these problems, you'd probably know more than me from across the atlantic. The buzzing from the pull could be down to unlevel frets for example, but then I still get ghost notes and warbling at the same time. It's got a fairly good setup, the truss is as per Fender website, action is 6/64". It could probably do with a new nut but I don't think that's the root problem.
As for why this guitar is experiencing these problems, you'd probably know more than me from across the atlantic. The buzzing from the pull could be down to unlevel frets for example, but then I still get ghost notes and warbling at the same time. It's got a fairly good setup, the truss is as per Fender website, action is 6/64". It could probably do with a new nut but I don't think that's the root problem.
