How To Select A Guitar Pickup Magnet

In this episode, I explain the different types of magnets you can use in a guitar pickup. I'll focus on Alnico 2, Alnico 5, Alnico 8, and ceramic magnets. I will also explain how you can gauss and degauss a magnet with a simple magnetizing jig and a homemade gauss meter.

[Mdjagg]

A million more years and I won't hear a better explanation of the pickup generating a guitar signal. Thank you!

[kentinspacetime]

Excellent lecture! I’ve watched dozens of videos from others and essentially I learned nothing. Glad I found you.

[randyschock]

First guy that has talked that in depthly about magnets. Awesome!

[taylormoon]

Great videos, very informative but as a physicist there were a couple things that bugged me
1) as others noted treble frequencies being more pronounced near the bridge is not due to differences in amplitude. It’s because the string vibrates in a combination of standing waves and lower frequency standing waves have their max amplitude further away from the bridge. If amplitude determined frequency then the frequency would change as the note decays
2) “Gauss” is a German name and rhymes with mouse.

[FlipDahlenburg]

You know, I'm not new to pickups, yet this was the most informative pickup video I've come across! Not a second wasted! All info, all facts, step-by-logical-step, and the Gaussing part was just a damn thrill, it really was! THANK you!!

[rondelio]

I watched this a few years ago and decided to watch it again as a refresher. Great stuff!!

[dartht.]

Wow! My mind is blown. I’m a retired EE and thought I understood the magnetic workings of PU and coil. You are a master Jedi of the PU. I even heard you say “ feel the force”. This is the best explanation I’ve ever heard. And being new to guitar See described as an inverse relationship between knowledge of the science and the ability to play the guitar. (Naming something a hummbucker because it bucks the hum is my go to example). Please keep making these videos. I feel like I just entered a masters degree course in Maxwell’s equations.

[MarcoAUbeda]

Extremely inspiring, thank you!!! I'm building pickups myself and I just bought a Gaussmeter. Now, following your approach I do not need to have faith on my purchased magnetized magents having all a consistent/equivalent magnet stregth (which they do not, and it can mess up your self built single coils). I can now homogenize my magnet rod strength or EQ my pickups.
I will try next degaussing Alnico 5s into Alnico 2s (which are more scarce and pricy).

[summersendband]

This is the best video I have seen on this topic

[tomasjones]

Yes, please - more episodes on magnets. I have done a bit of magnet swaps and Alnico recharging. It's been quite fun & rewarding. The HB's, in my inexpensive 335 & hollow body, have received a nice tuneup.

[rosalindacaseley]

After 30 yrs of playing someone finally explains this. Thank you 😀

[avt]

You may have simplified enough that some essential points got fuzzy:
1) The string sound is brighter when closer to the bridge because the higher overtones have higher amplitude, since they have shorter wavelengths and their peaks are closer to the bridge pickup.
2) The reason people associate brighter sounds with stronger magnets is that they allow fewer windings (than when using a weaker magnet) to get the the same output signal level. Fewer windings mean less of both inductance and inter-winding capacitance, which means a higher resonant frequency. In the extreme, you end up with a one-turn "Lace Sensor".
If you can show some math where the strength of the magnet alone (and no change in mutual inductance due to different magnet material) affects resonant frequency (or the frequency response), I'm listening!
Last quibble: Gauss is pronounced to rhyme with "mouse", no big deal, but that's how Carl Friedrich himself said it when we hung out together. He could sweep pick a gut-string guitar like nobody else. He had a way of making the "ss" sound a bit softer like "sz", though.

[RenoLaringo]

INSTANT SUB!!! I really appreciated how you explained all this in such simple words. I'm a 54yr old Tx blues guitar player and I searched for ''my'' perfect tone for decades. I know that it much comes down to the player himself which is obviously why I'm not yet satisfied 😁. In an attempt to find other culprits than myself, and also out of a great curiosity, I've been searching into the magic world of luthery and electronics 😉. This is the most comprehensive video about pu's I ever came across. I really thank you for this sir 🙏. Now, if I can't improve my playing to my likings, I will be in position to better explain this in much more scientific ways lol 😂 Be safe and happy brother! Blues on 👍

[raph]

I found my very first electro guitar recently, so I decided to restorate it with new parts.Funny enough, I decided on some parts to order but the longer I waited while saving money, the more expensive they got and here I am making my own pickups thanks to you sharing such information...which makes this guitar much more valuable now.I hope you'll have a nice day and keep your awesome work up.

[lumberlikwidator]

Thanks for sharing your experience on this topic, of which I’ve found very little information in print. I want to try swapping out the magnets in one of my guitars. This ought to be a big help.

[robertsparkman]

Thank you so much!!! I've been waiting for this information for ages. Not that it matters at all but Gausse (sp.?) rhymes with house, he was a German mathematician.

[jamesh]

Peavey used a lot of A8 magnets in the pre-1990 days. Contributed greatly to the particular sound of the T-series guitars and basses.

[edoardomaccioni]

Thank you so much!
Super instructions!

[BillyE]

Great videos! I learn so much from your videos. Thank you

[stevepethel]

I love your teaching Yah 1 EXCELLENT...you are concise...God bless you more