Does magnetizing the guitar mics yourself affect the sound?
- Thread starter Nixxy
- Start date
Thanks. So winding affects more than anything else?
LowCaster
Tele-Afflicted
Yes you can make a pickup with any magnet and a piece of wire. But I guess you want to make a telecaster pickup? Do your homework, plenty info available. Once you figure out what exact kind of pickup you are trying to copy, just get the correct parts. Magnet strength is important, and I don’t know how you’d adjust it if you are not in a factory setup? Wire gauge and insulation are important, for tone, but mostly they determine the maximum length of wire (or number of turns) that you can wind around a specific bobin. Also the most difficult part for a beginner might be counting the turns. How are you going to do it?
I think I should clarify what I wrote - it doesn't matter how magnetization occurs, you can do it yourself or you can purchase them already magnetized.
It doesn't mean that the magnetic properties of your magnets are unimportant. It is very important.
I am not an expert, hopefully others will respond that know a lot more than I do. The coil winding and the magnetized guitar string work together to function as an inductor, creating the signal from the pickup.
I'd say the coil winding and the magnet are both incredibly important to the function of the pickup. I'm not able to say if one is more important than the other, since if there is no continuous coil or if there is no magnetic field to magnetize the string the inductor won't function.
Both things are fundamental to the operation of the pickup.
You might research methods to magnetize your magnets and determine if you'll be able to charge your own magnets successfully. Many people use neodymium magnets to charge alnico magnets. Ceramic magnets I believe are usually pre-charged from the vendor.
Here's something I just found searching for "how does an electric guitar pickup work" using Google -
www.guitarworld.com
It doesn't mean that the magnetic properties of your magnets are unimportant. It is very important.
I am not an expert, hopefully others will respond that know a lot more than I do. The coil winding and the magnetized guitar string work together to function as an inductor, creating the signal from the pickup.
I'd say the coil winding and the magnet are both incredibly important to the function of the pickup. I'm not able to say if one is more important than the other, since if there is no continuous coil or if there is no magnetic field to magnetize the string the inductor won't function.
Both things are fundamental to the operation of the pickup.
You might research methods to magnetize your magnets and determine if you'll be able to charge your own magnets successfully. Many people use neodymium magnets to charge alnico magnets. Ceramic magnets I believe are usually pre-charged from the vendor.
Here's something I just found searching for "how does an electric guitar pickup work" using Google -
How does a guitar pickup work?
Exploring the science behind the most important part of your electric guitar's plugged-in tone
www.guitarworld.com
I have winding machine and it has display which shows how many turns it has done. I just haven't used it yet. Only tested it works.
Thanks for the answers. I really need to do my homework like you said.
LowCaster
Tele-Afflicted
Lucky you. I have never done this, but my guess about alnico magnets is that you can load them as much as possible, and can’t really load them too much, they have a kind of limit. But if you want a more subtle result you’ll have to load them under that limit and test both the magnet strength (gauss) and the sound to find what works for you. That’s more tricky and I’ve never seen a pickup builder give his recipe.
