Luthier Quick Tip 29 How To Make Guitar Pickups Part 5: Magnet Strength 

I found some blanks at AliExpress. Not sure how good the metal is, but I was able to charge them exactly as you said. Yay! It worked! THANKS!! The hardest part was handling the strong magnets - they will hurt! It also took me a minute to figure out the correct way to hold the probe on the gauss meter - it will invert N/S depending how it's held (should be held ruler/numbers side up). In my case they did not charge fully until i ran the magnets thru once, then flipped them and did it again. Also, though it wouildn't seem necessary, i opened the clamp slightly and slid the magnets back and forth equal numbers of times. That seemed to make the numbers more consistent across the 4 magnet bars I used.

This is a great tutorial, because it actually dives deep into the technical backgrounds on why you do what exactly. Love it. Long-time subscriber, but recently digging more into creating my own pickups - this is a great resource! Thank you so much!

Thanks for this series - very helpful and clear.

Really good set of videos on what makes a pickup.

Great video as always. I just bought that very same meter and it has really opened my eyes as to why some of my guitars sound so different even when resistance and inductance are fairly similar.

Very good episode - actually learned something! Thanks a lot!

Really great series!

Im getting into making my own pickups to go along with the guitars im making and this video series has been invaluable. Thanks.

incredibele interesting thanx for this Chris!

Learning a lot from you,thank you so much!

Wow! So cool! So informative! Very big thanks!

Cara, quanto conteúdo em 1 só video, muuutio bom!!!!

Thanks very good information.

Thanks alot, man! Yes, for sure Im inspired to try make a good pickup.

Great series Chris.

These pickup build theory videos have been really great. Thank you very much!

Wonderful episode. Lots of questions and suggestions for follow up. You've explained lots of the physics. Now the art of mixing physical properties kicks in. Would two pickups you built with nearly identical physical properties sound the same? Some will want to know if they can replicate a vintage pickup's physical properties will it sound as desirable? I'm more interested in how you think the various low, medium, high readings of physical properties best blend together. Everything in the middle? Spike one. Spike one and drop another? Not sure how to better phrase it, but hopefully food for future episodes. Thanks

thank you

Chris, thank you for another really great tutorial. Something I found when using the Gauss meter probe is that the meter reading can vary depending on which way the probe tip is "aligned" to the magnet (side-on or end-on, for example). Checking a number of bar magnets from scrapped pickups, I also found that in some magnets, the magnetic field strength may be different from one face to the opposite one. For example, one side would read 350 Gauss, South, while the other shows 200 Gauss North - the field is not even through the material. (Ceramics from budget humbuckers all showed this). The rare-earth or Neodymium magnets I have didn't vary as much from face to face. With Alnico rods, I could adjust this somewhat when charging them. Thank you for your generosity in sharing your experience and knowledge.

IS there a book that you could reference that also has an indepth explanation of the ins and outs of pickups?

This info is incredibly useful. I'd love to hear an explanation on how different pole pieces affect the sound of the guitar. Single screw vs. double screw vs. rails vs. etc.

I bet a big part of that "airy" sound that the pickup have in my 1969 es175 come from the magnets getting weaker over the year. I love the sound of those pickups and can't seem to get that character on any of my newer guitars, no matter what new pickups I use. That's why I'm interested in making my own pickups, so I can experiment with things like this and potting, wire and amount of winds

Your channel is one of the best luthiery channels I have found. You're very good at explaining this stuff. I have a couple of questions and im sorry if maybe I missed you addressing them in the video (ADD sucks). 1) do different types of magnets at the same gauss have different qualities? That is to say does a ceramic at say 700 sound different than an alnico 5 at 700? 2) does a magnet lose gauss over time? If so, do some magnets hold onto charge better or worse over time than others? 3) do the different types of magnet have any difference in the maximum amount of gauss they can hold? 4) would using magnetic slugs on a humbucker affect tone at all? For instance would using a warm magnet with low gauss for the bar but higher gauss brighter magnets for the slugs make a different sound? 5) when a magnet becomes brighter in sound, does it simply raise the upper end of the frequency response or does it shift the focus up? What I mean is, do you lose the lows to get more highs? Or does using a brighter magnet keep the lows around and just let you hear more highs?

Hi Chris. This has been a great series, many thanks. A question: When you build a pickup with a particular tone, how easy is it to duplicate that by simply following the same build method as the first one? Or, in other words, how much tonal variation can you expect between pickups that are apparently identical physically, i.e. built with the same "recipe"? [EDIT: I just noticed someone else has already asked almost this exact question]

Cool. I learned about recharging Alnico from Greg Kinman. I figured out how to recharge and tune the balance of an uneven pickup. 👍

This is very interesting. I enjoy physics and magnets have always amazed me. One of the few occasions where Mother Nature offers something for nothing. Is there a simple schematic showing the arrangement of magnets and coils relative to the strings for the two types of pickup? Thanks!

Chris, I building a pickup winder from your design. Thanks for the detailed instructions. Where can I buy the bobbins , magnets and wire.

Thank for your videos. It s very well done. I have a question, does the gauss strenght of a magnet influence the attack of the note ? What does ?

I want to congratulate with you, because your videos are very very useful! Many thanks. I have a question because I'm a little confused: I know that single coil Strato magnets should be charged between 20-25 Gauss, but here I see that the values you measured are completely different (870 Gauss the polepiece for the single coil). Where is the error? Many thanks again

Can you make the video comparisons of the sustain with Alnico made by you and with the neo-magnets used in this "magnetizer" ? It will be really interesting. I would suggest placing the magnets in neck position (4-6mm from strings) where they would have the maximum effect and reading the sustain from the pickup in the bridge position. Also take measurement the gauss for both magnets.

Love your videos! I do have a question though: I'm looking to replace the ceramic bar magnets on the bottom of a stock Sterling Stingray humbucker with Alnico. However, the Alnico magnets I'm finding aren't as tall as the ceramic ones. Is it possible to stack two of them together to replicate a taller magnet? Thanks!

Geez another great video. Who are you sir? Quick question: when you say tone of the pickups are you referring to the frequencies the pickup can and can't produce or is there something else involved?

Hello Chris make independent and adjustable plots with separate coils?? (mini transparent sewing machine spool, screws and commercial neodymium magnet)) I'm going to do it on my Jazz Bass, the microphones sound too modern for what I play (I need a non-metallic round bass) The "sound" difference between wax and epoxy glue for filling microphones? the speakers play as much a role as the microphones for the result obtained (and for the vintage 60s sound we are far from it) Is it possible to make your own speakers? make the paper cone and the suspension? all your videos are really nice for us (which must take a huge amount of time to make) ♥ ♪♫

I purchased the same tesla meter to measure magnets. When you’re measuring, do you use the hold feature to find the max gauss, or do you just measure in the center on one side and take the average reading? I’m finding a large variability between the average and max gauss. For instance on an A2 magnet I’m getting 450G on the south side, 600G on the north, and a max of 730G using the hold feature and probing around for the largest number.

I ordered the magnets for the vice but cannot find alnico 5 bar blanks to try this. Any suggestions? Thanks for another great video.

I am revisiting this video and have one question - how do you fix the magnets to the vice? I assume, that you had glued them somehow to the vice, or are you simply having them stuck? I would assume, that this bears the danger of the magnets slamming into each other and causing serious injury? If so they are being glued, what kind of glue have you used? Would appreciate your insight on this!

Hi Chris! Question: How do I measure the milivolts output of the pickups? Thanks!

Great videos. How did you install the neo mags on the vice. Glued them?

Ive got this same meter and I am annoyed by how you get a completely different reading all of the way around the magnet. I try to use it at the same point usually the South side flush with the end. Also each end will vary where one is way more than the other end. I guess I will measure exactly halfway in the middle on them all to have a common test point. What is your method, to be sure you don't just measure it at any random point on the edge as this is pointless due to the readings being all over the place. I tried to find a spot where I am getting the highest reading so I could just go with that but it is usually at one end with the tiny sensor split halfway at the very corner of the end, if you move it .002" the measurement changes.

About the gauss level of a magnet. If all of the magnets, A2 to A5 and ceramic had the same gauss measurement and each was separately added to the same humbucker pickup, would the sound output, assuming everything else was equal, be different only as a result of the iron content and thus the inductance of each magnet?

is the only thing differentiating alnico types is their gauss strength? if so cant you in theory create an alnico 5 out of an alnico 2? or does the type of alnico have to do with its makeup and ratio of metals

Nice! In your experience, what are the differences in tone between pickups with Alnico 2 vs Alnico 5 that is demag'd to the same gauss reading as Alnico 2?

Does altering the gauss level of a particular magnet type affect the overall inductance value?

Would it help or hurt to put masking tape on the N52 magnets, just to make the removal a little smoother?

At around the 8:50 mark you talk about adding extra magnets to your jig to increase the charge. How are these aligned (physically)? Side by side or in between the magnets already there?

I have a degaussing tool for my tape machine, are you familiar with those? I'm wondering if this would work on degaussing magnets?

So what kind of tone will a neodymium magnet yield? I've seen videos online that show them as having a very dark tone, and an absurd output. But they aren't very clear as to how they got it like that. So I'm just wondering if you could make a pickup with neodymium.

If I'm making a P bass pickup using alnico V magnets, what Gauss reading should I see roughly? I've read the Stewmac tutorial on this, but is says that it should be around 20-25 Gausses which seems pretty low for me (compared to the hundreds of Gausses you talked about in this video).

What happens with a Ceramic magnet in a pickup ? Can they be strengthen or weakened like these Alnico magnets ?

If the presence of a magnetic field changes the gausse's value on the alnico 5 bar, do the cylindrical small ones also change the gausse's value?

Thanks for the clarification Chris. One thing puzzles me. If I had Alnico 5 magnetized to the maximum level of Alnico 2, how would that affect the sound? Will the chemical composition of both magnets still affect the sound despite the same level of magnetization?

Im surprised that the two neodymium magnets in the jig didn't jump to stick together, given you brought them so closely together. Did you limit that risk by also gluing them to the vice jaws?? Thankyou for the great videos!

is there a way to magnetize a Humbucker bar magnet without having to remove it from the bobbins?

Does it need to be a metal vise? Seen a few vids of DIY magnetizers and always metal vises. Would a wood jig work?

Your link to the magnets above did not work, but I assume that these are their standard N52 3" x 1/2" x 1/2", right? Also, don't you have to take precautions to make sure those magnets never come into contact with each other? It seems like it would be near impossible to separate them again.

I’m a small pickup builder from Florence Italy, I would love to ask you a couple of things, maybe on Facebook or ... dunno ... Thanks for doing this , your videos are great, simple, clear and always clever. ✌️

Why neodymium is not used for pickups?

Excellent as usual. Have tried some of this info. My main struggle is winding the PU's. How much tension on 42 gauge is enough and how much is too much. My guess is it's an iterative process, right?

There are no flavours of magnetism. The strength is the ONLY variable. Doesn't matter if it's made from nails from the one true cross, or comes out of a factory, spewing pollution, or is made in a lab. If the shape and size are the same, and the strength is the same, it IS the same. The field doesn't care what the magnet was made from