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Post by gitpiddler on Mar 31, 2017 7:51:53 GMT -5
A good friend has a habit of starting a sentence with "You might think I'm lying but...". My #1 has gotten a neck shave recently. The pickup is an '84 Duncan JB, no cover, hand-potted , direct mounted brick of a pickup. I read some years ago that Neal Schon had trimmed the protruding ends of the pickup baseplate, giving better treble response. Seemed to work on this one though at the time I had no amp to compare before and after. After shaving the neck a little between the 2nd and 5th frets, this guitar on the same pencil-mark amp settings is now as loud on 3 as it was before the shave on 6. The last change I did to this guitar was a QTB treatment, which is easy on a Tele with the jack on the control plate. In short, testing inside the guitar is essential.Attachment DeletedAttachment Deleted
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2017 8:24:33 GMT -5
After shaving the neck a little between the 2nd and 5th frets, this guitar on the same pencil-mark amp settings is now as loud on 3 as it was before the shave on 6. Interesting find. How does it sound unplugged compared to the prior state (before the shave)?
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frankfalbo
Meter Reader 1st Class
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Post by frankfalbo on Mar 31, 2017 17:56:39 GMT -5
Interestingly, I see a consistently higher voltage if I play a B chord in the form of open E at the 7th fret...You can see it's a non trivial difference...An E chord at the 12th fret doesn't sound that much louder to me than an open E, but the Fletcher Munson curve probably has something to do with that. How high is the action on the guitar? Meaning how much closer do the 3 fretted strings get to the pickup when you press them down?
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Post by gitpiddler on Mar 31, 2017 18:29:36 GMT -5
Mine is ~1/8" at 12th, Gibson scale, I've been working to raise the action. Just finish shaping of the neck, same tone, just a bit more resonant. Same change I saw doing it to the Kramer with the Fred PU. They love Markley Blue Steels 10-46, this a strat scale, a bit higher action. It sucks when it sounds great, then I see a little rough spot, smooth it pretty, and the tone goes to s t. I've updated my project thread with more.
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Post by antigua on Mar 31, 2017 22:04:27 GMT -5
Interestingly, I see a consistently higher voltage if I play a B chord in the form of open E at the 7th fret...You can see it's a non trivial difference...An E chord at the 12th fret doesn't sound that much louder to me than an open E, but the Fletcher Munson curve probably has something to do with that. How high is the action on the guitar? Meaning how much closer do the 3 fretted strings get to the pickup when you press them down? I don't know the precise measure, but I'd say it's average to low action with flat necks (I adjust them to be flat). That's a good point about the strings getting closer to the pickup higher up the fret board.
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Post by pablogilberto on Mar 8, 2021 8:16:12 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing this antiguaI have some questions. #1 Let's say for a Strat pickup, is it correct to assume that pickups with ceramic magnets will always yield higher output compared to the ones with AlNiCo? I understand that the Magnetic Strength of Ceramics are higher compared to AlNICos BUT in the case of a Strat pickup, the ceramic magnet is a bar underneath and the polepiece used is a steel. What is the effect of doing this in terms of magnetic strength? #2 Why don't we have a ceramic magnet that is shaped and used as a direct polepiece? #3 For PAF style pickups, will the ceramics produce more output compared to alnico since they are both bar magnets (assuming everything is the same except the magnets used)? #4 For PAF style pickups, what is the effect in output when altering the shape of the bar magnet (length, width, height)?
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Post by antigua on Mar 8, 2021 19:55:02 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing this antiguaI have some questions. #1 Let's say for a Strat pickup, is it correct to assume that pickups with ceramic magnets will always yield higher output compared to the ones with AlNiCo? I understand that the Magnetic Strength of Ceramics are higher compared to AlNICos BUT in the case of a Strat pickup, the ceramic magnet is a bar underneath and the polepiece used is a steel. What is the effect of doing this in terms of magnetic strength? #2 Why don't we have a ceramic magnet that is shaped and used as a direct polepiece? #3 For PAF style pickups, will the ceramics produce more output compared to alnico since they are both bar magnets (assuming everything is the same except the magnets used)? #4 For PAF style pickups, what is the effect in output when altering the shape of the bar magnet (length, width, height)? 1) The steel pole pieces only capture a fraction of the ceramic magnet's flux and guide it to the strings. It's the fractioning of the strength that makes it weaker than AlNiCo pole pieces. 2) Some pickup have ceramic cars directly under the string, the magnetic field is unnecessarily strong, and the lack of permeability causes the pickup to receive less of the magnetic flux of the strings. Think of steel as being an optimal magnet antenna, AlNiCo being just OK, and ceramic not acting as an antenna at all. The net result is that the voltage output is lower, despite the stronger magnetic field. 3) Yes, because if both alnico and ceramic PAF's have steel pole pieces, and the only difference is the magnet, then the fact that the ceramic magnet is strong is the only meaningful difference in that circuit. 4) If the magnet is larger, it will have a stronger flux field. Since ceramic is not magnetically permeable, the increase in strength is proportionate to the increase in size, but with AlNiCo, the longer the magnet, the stronger it will become per volume, up to a point. That's why you see lots of flat ceramic magnets, like on refrigerators, but nearly all AlNiCo magnets are are tall and or long. A wafer shaped AlNiCo would be extremely weak.
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