Old school PRS P90s magnet question

[Gtrbldr]

I had a thought regarding the old school P90s I had in my McCarty soapbar. I replaced them with Wolfetones, that sound a lot brighter. In the neck that works fine, but I am a little conflicted about the bridge; it is brighter than my telecaster.

I still have the old bridge PU and it is the the hi output, ceramic magnet Duncan version. I thought it was too much, but I was wondering what happens if I swap the ceramic magnets with AlNiCo 2's.

i guess it would make it less "in my face", warmer and lowe output. Has anybody tried this and can comment on this idea?

 

[Greywolf]

AlNiCo 2 will provide a softer more vintage tone

 

[GADonis]

So this is somewhat tangentially related. How does one go about swapping out magnets in a pickup? Does this involve messing with winding and rewinding or is it not that labor intensive?

 

[Gtrbldr]

So this is somewhat tangentially related. How does one go about swapping out magnets in a pickup? Does this involve messing with winding and rewinding or is it not that labor intensive?

Easy peasy. Just a screwdriver will do, unless it has a cover soldered on the bottom plate. Just make sure the polarity is right, but even that is still easily flipped

 

[Greywolf]

 

[Greywolf]

 

[Fullmoon 1971]

I had a thought regarding the old school P90s I had in my McCarty soapbar. I replaced them with Wolfetones, that sound a lot brighter. In the neck that works fine, but I am a little conflicted about the bridge; it is brighter than my telecaster.

I still have the old bridge PU and it is the the hi output, ceramic magnet Duncan version. I thought it was too much, but I was wondering what happens if I swap the ceramic magnets with AlNiCo 2's.

i guess it would make it less "in my face", warmer and lowe output. Has anybody tried this and can comment on this idea?

You could also try Alnico 3, 99% of p-90's from their inception in 1942 thru to mid 1954 carried alnico 3 magnets. technically they should be called Alni 3 as they don't contain cobalt, Cobalt was a valuable war mineral to USA and as such it limited it's non military use's. Alnico 3 is the weakest of the magnets used in guitar pickups (Gibson use it almost exclusively in their "historic Collection" pickups). Compared to a Alnico 2 the A3 has around the same kinds of treble & bass but has slightly better mids.

I use A3's in a lot of my custom winds, in the neck I noticed a almost flute like sound whereas in a bridge pickup in can really help beef the pickup up without it becoming ear piercing bright.

Also don't forget that you'll need 2 magnets and that they face north to north on either side of te screws, so they actually repell each other slightly. You could also try mixing a A3 & a A2 in the same pickup.

 

[GADonis]

Easy peasy. Just a screwdriver will do, unless it has a cover soldered on the bottom plate. Just make sure the polarity is right, but even that is still easily flipped

Thanks. I have a non-PRS guitar with minihumbuckers that I am not happy with the pups. They just feel/sound lifeless to me. I wonder if I could maybe swap out the magnets instead of a full on pup swap.

 

[Gtrbldr]

Checked the old P90 and discovered something interesting. Two different magnets. I guess one ceramic and one alnico of some sort. Interesting! I am going to experiment!!

 

[Lewguitar]

Magnet swapping may not be for everyone. But if you're good with tools and have a curious and musical mind, you really should learn about the effect that different magnets have on pickup tone.

There aren't really any rules. What ever winds up sounding good to YOU is the right choice.

Sometimes ceramic or alnico 8 sounds best. Those two are strong magnets and they'll make a pickup louder and more aggressive. Guys who like metal and aggressive sounds often like those. The original Dragon bridge pickup has a ceramic magnet. So does the Duncan Distortion.

A3 is the weakest and has a nice polite sound. Nice in the neck pickup.

Then comes alnico 2 which is slightly stronger. I tend to like alnico 2. Something about it makes the pickup more sensitive to my touch and picking style and I can shape the note and sound like clay.

A4 is stronger and brighter and a lot of paf humbuckers have alnico 4 in them, although Seth Lover, who designed them for Gibson, specified alnico 2. Dragon 1 neck pickups have alnico 4 and both pickups in the Dragon 2 set have alnico 4. I like it better in a neck pickup than in a bridge pickup but we all have different tastes.

A5 is stronger than alnico 4 and it's kind of the standard and the most commonly used. Most Strat pickups are alnico 5. Almost all of the vintage style Gibson pickups from 1961 right up to the present use alnico 5. (There are exceptions like the 57 Classic, where alnico 2 was used) The Seymour Duncan 59 and JB are both alnico 5 pickups. They're bright and have a full bass. Some people say alnico 5 scoops the mids, but the mids are still definitely there!

Any alnico magnets can be ordered polished or roughcast. I tend to prefer roughcast. Seems to give more texture to the tone. And polished sounds more...polished! One of the biggest differences between a Duncan Seth Lover and a Duncan Antiquity humbuckers is that the Seth has a polished A2 magnet and the Antiquity has a roughcast A2 magnet. That's not the only difference but it's a big one.

 

[Gtrbldr]

I noticed a big difference between magnets (surprisingly big). I noticed prefer a II in the bridge and a V for the neck. The relative midscoop of the V is compensated by the warmth of the neck position and the extended top end adds definition. The II is softer and adds a little warmth to the bridge.