Pickup mods: Magnet-Swaps and the "Half-Air" mod demystified

[Nitro Express]

I always thought Duncan should have come out with a bass pickup called the Seymour Butts for that big bottom end.

[Seshmeister]

It's a bit of a shame that anyone who could have been amused at my last post would never have got that far in the thread...

[jhale667]

Rather thans start a whole new thread, figured this would be a good place to post the review I did of the Porter Pickups...

I’d been hearing a lot of good things about a boutique US pickup winder called Porter Pickups earlier this spring via some guitar blogger friends on Twitter, so when I noticed in July they were having a giveaway in which you could spec your very own custom-wound set of pickups, I didn’t hesitate to enter. However, I’m not the type that usually wins contests, so I promptly forgot about it, and never saw any sort of winner announcement. Had it not been for a kind alert email from the contest’s 2nd place winner, (thanks again, dude!) a month later, I would not have known I actually won!



As soon as I found out I’d won I got in contact with Brian at Porter Pickups, who was a joy to deal with, and we quickly came up with the specs for a set of low-to-mid output humbuckers (Trem-spaced, zebra coils, 4-conductor wiring): A “Classic” model for the neck position wound to about 8k IIRC, and a “Clear” model wound to about 9.5-10k for the bridge position. I usually use higher output humbuckers but wanted to try something with more of a “vintage” feel. Brian said it’d take a couple of weeks to get them wound and shipped, so I started getting the guitar I was going to put them in ready: A 1983 US Kramer Voyager body I’d been holding onto since high school and was already in the process of resurrecting. I quickly ordered a Boogie Bodies neck to complete the instrument and installed the pickups once it arrived. I wired it to explore the most tonal options available, using push-pull pots to utilize the coil-taps on each pickup, with a master volume and tone.



I must say I’m impressed with both pickups, but the A5 “Classic” model in the neck position is the real standout for me. I told Brian I was into classic “woman” tone neck pickups and wanted something ala John Sykes smooth and soulful neck tone, and this pickup delivers. It is warm and creamy when distorted, but just bright enough to retain presence when used with clean tones, which is especially apparent when in split mode. It’s quite versatile.



The bridge pickup is an interesting beast. It reminds me of some actual PAFs I’ve heard, even though it has a ceramic magnet – it is indeed as “Clear” as the name implies. It’s extremely organic tone-wise, allowing the natural character of the wood of the guitar (in this case Alder) to shine through. It distorts well, but it’s not a “distortion class” pickup by any stretch of the imagination. Through my amp, a 1986 Mesa-Boogie Mark III – which usually has more gain than mere mortals can control in the lead channel – it still sounds…clean. The closest parallel I can draw is (and not to compare my tone or playing in any way shape or form to the master, BUT - ) if you’ve ever seen the footage of Van Halen’s set at the US Festival in 1983: EVH sounds as if he’s playing through a wall of Marshalls on the verge of meltdown, yet there’s still this articulation and clarity you just don’t get with high output humbuckers. You hear every nuance, every variance in picking dynamics. It definitely makes you work harder to play fast, precise runs, but you’re rewarded with this HUGE tone that says “I’m not hiding behind a wall of gain, this is ME.” You can tell when you’re digging in or laying back on a note, whereas with higher output models it all kind of smears together (and by default is more forgiving of mistakes). Not happening with this baby. It's single-coil tones are bright and punchy without the nasal grit of hot single coil pickups. Very pleasing overall.



I’d never custom-spec’d a set of pickups before, and all in all I’m thrilled with the results. I’d highly recommend checking Porter Pickups out; though they have a few “standard” models you could order, the real fun is using those models as a springboard to get exactly what you want!

[jhale667]

Here's a cool vid of Seymour Duncan restoring the Alnico II Pros in Slash's original "Appetite" LP copy....

[jhale667]

OK, I finally broke down and did the A8 magnet-swap in what was a ceramic Duncan Custom in the Charvel/KnE "Bomber"...WOW. It retained all the low end tightness and clarity (or at least enough of it that any loss was negligible) and totally smoothed the jagged edges of the high end, leaving it still present, but way more pleasant. Seems the mids are a bit fuller too. At any rate, I can't ever see myself changing it back to the ceramic magnet!

[Nitro Express]

With ceramic magnets is they put out a strong magnetic field and retain it for a long time. Alnico magnets are weaker and lose their magnetism. I collect antique motors and have quite a few outboard motors from the late 1800's up to the early 1950's. The real old ones you need a battery to run the ignition and then in the 1920's Johnson invented the flywheel enclosed magneto which all small engine now use. In those old flywheels the magnets get weak to the point that it causes a weak spark in the ignition. I actually had to fabricate a flywheel magnet recharger. Also if you shock those old Alnico magnets by hitting them with a hammer they will lose magnetism. So you really want to treat an old fly wheel careful and not smack it around.

Inside of pickups those old magnets lose their magnetism over time which ceramics don't. It seems like most players like a weaker magnet with more windings in the coil. If you are a real metal head out for huge power chords then you are going to like the ceramics. Also when you change the magnets you change the shape of the magnetic field the strings are in. That might have an affect on the sound as well.

[jhale667]

A8's are known for being nearly as strong as a Ceramic, but still retaining the AlNico "musicality" - which is pretty much what happened here... it still handles gain & does palm-mutes well, but power chords don't cut your head off, which is nice!

[Nitro Express]

The problem with Ainico is it can lose it's magnetism over time or if it receives a sharp blow. It's even rumored airport X-Ray machines can affect it. I think the magical old pickups were the ones that had Ainico pickups that had lost some of their magnetism and the person who wound the bobbin went a little too much so there were more windings. Then you run into mismatched bobbins on hum buckers. I think it's possible to match those elements with modern materials and make something that gets the sound but is more stable. If you can't find the right pickup nowadays you are never going to find it.



Anyways I made one of these to recharge Ainico magnets in old magnetos. It would work for guitar pickup magnets as well.

[Nitro Express]

A8's are known for being nearly as strong as a Ceramic, but still retaining the AlNico "musicality" - which is pretty much what happened here... it still handles gain & does palm-mutes well, but power chords don't cut your head off, which is nice!

Ceramics have always had harsh highs. Good for chunking out big power chords and tearing it up death metal style but if you want more of a classic rock sound or the guitar to clean up by rolling the volume knob down, Ainico is the way to go but to get the power you have to up the windings and that also affect the tone and will make your cleans sound more honky. The A8's sound like the holy grail. Ainico tone with ceramic stability and power.

[jhale667]

Try 'em!!

Ceramics have always had harsh highs. Good for chunking out big power chords and tearing it up death metal style but if you want more of a classic rock sound or the guitar to clean up by rolling the volume knob down, Ainico is the way to go but to get the power you have to up the windings and that also affect the tone and will make your cleans sound more honky. The A8's sound like the holy grail. Ainico tone with ceramic stability and power.

I'm convinced they pretty much are; I intentionally left my amp settings dialed in to what works for the Koa Warmoth to see how the new guitar reacted to the same gain structure and EQ - best way to know if they're pretty much interchangeable for gigs - and it sounded great with the ceramic, though a little harsh on the top-end...but I'm STILL flipping out over how good the A8 sounds...cranked it again last night, my opinion has not changed, if anything it's been reinforced..

[Nitro Express]

I'm convinced they pretty much are; I intentionally left my amp settings dialed in to what works for the Koa Warmoth to see how the new guitar reacted to the same gain structure and EQ - best way to know if they're pretty much interchangeable for gigs - and it sounded great with the ceramic, though a little harsh on the top-end...but I'm STILL flipping out over how good the A8 sounds...cranked it again last night, my opinion has not changed, if anything it's been reinforced..

My dad owned a house in Maui in the early to mid 70's. I can remember they still had guys making outrigger canoes by hand the old fashioned way. There was a place right on the beach they made them and I remember seeing them go and and come in riding the surf. Very cool. You just don't see that in Hawaii hardly anymore. Anyways, they were making an entire outrigger out of koa wood. They left the finish natural. It was a beautiful thing to see. It would cost a fortune now.

I can also remember there would be a line of cute Hawaiian girls when you got off the plane and they would put a lai of real orchids around your neck and kiss you. I always used to run because I didn't want to be kissed. I was a little kid then and that shit was still gross. I also remember the Dole pineapple packing plant had a drinking fountain of pure pineapple juice. Now they grow the pineapple mostly in Asia because the labor is cheap. Last time I was in Hawaii I couldn't believe the pineapple fields were gone.

[jhale667]

Totally off-topic, but yeah, couldn't build that Koa Strat again these days if I wanted to... even if the wood itself wasn't on the endangered species list (last I checked, at least), a 1-piece body would be prohibitively expensive...too bad, because the thing sounds amazing. I'd probably change out the A2 in the CC that resides in it were I not concerned with being able to go back and nail some of the tones I recorded once the studio is back up & running. Once I don't think I'll need to do that anymore, it's likely to get the A8 swap as well!

[jhale667]

Think I feel the urge to swap coming on again...

Since I'm about to have 4 days off for the holiday, if I get bored I still have the UOA5 to try out...might pull the ceramic magnet out of the Duncan Custom in my original 80s Charvel Strat mutt. I also want to find a JB Trembucker on Ebay and try that, and then slap an A8 in it, as I hear the JB8 is nearly as cool as the Custom8.

[Nitro Express]

Good to hear you just aren't going to stay constantly drunk for four days. But then, some of the greatest sounding guitars weren't built by anyone who was sober at the time.

[Coyote]

Good to hear you just aren't going to stay constantly drunk for four days. But then, some of the greatest sounding guitars weren't built by anyone who was sober at the time.

Just ask EVH...