Great video and interesting idea of removing the magnets all together. I've played with different magnets and found that can be an interesting tone change as well. Another practice I've done before with a very dark set of p90s I had was I simply changed the pot value from a 500K to a 1meg pot and that alone vastly cleaned them up and brightened them up where I wanted them. I've used 1meg pots on humbuckers before and thought it might work with p90s and was very happy with the result. Sometimes a pot value change can dramatically change the sound of a p90.
Nerd Alert!!! This is one of the most nerdly pickup videos I've ever watched. (This is why I love the TH-cams.) Thank you so much Chris! As always, you rock.
Regarding flipping a magnet over, several months ago I saw a TH-cam video called "We Fix this FAULTY Gold Foil | Axe From The Grave (ft. Ryan Burke of 60 Cycle Hum)" in which the pickup was sounding weak and thin. Via trial and error by Ryan, the magnet was both flipped over, and rotated end to end, giving each magnet 4 different orientations. In only one of the orientations did the pickup sound really good. I suggest your viewer try all 4 magnet orientations to get the best sound.
Usually, the south pole of a magnet has a higher gauss measurement, so that can make a difference. Also, with bar magnets, the gauss measurement can vary along its length, so that can make a difference. With rod magnets, each one can have a different level of gauss, so again, that can make a difference too.
Thank you! I have a G&L Tribute Fallout and the P90 just seemed too hot and muddy for my taste. It's my first P90, and I'm more use to the clear tones of my Z-Coil Comanche. This magnet removal trick calmed it way down. It still has a little snarl. But not so crazy as to muddy up the notes in chords. And, it jives better with the humbucker it's got too. But I'll probably end up replacing the humbucker eventually. Thanks again!
You can also mix different magnet types. I found that usually and somewhat expectedly sounded like a mix between the two types used. Magnets of different manufacturers also sound differently.
Great vid as usual. Just this past week I replaced my magnets in my P90 equipped L Goldtop. I put A8s in he neck and ceramic in the bridge. Very happy with the results.
Changing the symmetry of the magnetic field will change the area of the strings that are influencing that field; i.e., removing the magnet closer to the neck will shift the field closer to the bridge, which will be effectively like moving the pickup's location.
A while back we disagreed over Stewmac pricing. Your video suggested they needed to charge those prices to make a reasonable profit on their quality products. I felt they were overcharging what was needed to do so. In a win/win, Stewmac just greatly slashed many of those prices and their profit margin still seems solid. So yeah, I think they were overcharging but since I publicly said that, I think it's only fair that I return & give credit for their recent decision. So anyone that felt like I did, maybe it's worth giving them another glance.
StewMac's pricing is structured to accommodate their warranty, which no one can match. This doesn't necessarily benefit amateurs builders or weekend warriors who may only use a tool once or twice, but it is a godsend to those of us who wear out tools frequently. I will gladly pay the higher prices knowing they will replace a worn-out tool no questions asked.
Great explanation. The only thing I would expand upon (and let me know if you disagree) is the remaining magnet closer to the bridge or the neck, which would influence what part of the harmonics it picks up. Love to see if you agree or disagree...
I agree. A magnet on the bridge side will have a different magnetic field shape than and magnet on the neck side. One would expect a bridge side magnet to detect more treble frequencies while a magnet on the neck side might detect more bass frequencies. However, I have never tested this so I can't say for sure if that would be the case.
Alnico 2 usually are often with 250k pots. To prevent the already bright Pick up to be too shrill. And Alnico 5 with 500k pots are higher output and a natural throughput. Cause alnico 5 is naturally louder and thicker output. Alnico 5 with 250k pots gets you a a thicker warmer muddier blues sound. Alnico 2 with 500k pots is a shrill Surf twangy sound. Alnico 2 or 5 with a 330k pot Is the golden Ratio. A cleaner clearer attuned sound that Brings the most natural throughput of the p90 to the front. It's that warm mid Jazz feel.
Thanks again for a great video. I can't recall if you've done a video that focuses on induction. I understand it's a much better overall number for measuring how a pickup is going to sound, but it raises a lot of questions for me. I am assuming inductance is affected by magnet Gauss and type, as well as the DC resistance of the coils. My current understanding is also that lower inductance is perceived as "brighter" and higher inductance "darker". Is any of that accurate? I'm sure I'm oversimplifying a bit. I am also sure that two pickups can have the same inductance, but one has, say, more winds but a lower Gauss magnet or something, and sound different.
What would happen if you flip one of the magnets on the same P90 pickup over so that there is one facing north to the strings and the other facing south to the strings? Would that keep the tone relatively the same but cancel hum?
Removing a magnet from a P90, turns it into a single coil 😀 I have built plenty of P90s. I find A3 magnets to have that vintage P90 sound, not so much the alnico A2, though sometimes it does work, I just get a banjo sound with A2. I also tried switching magnets in an attempt to raise the output impedance of a P90 like going from an A2 to an A5, but only got a 0.003 increase in ohm. Great topic btw!
P90s are single coils. They have only one coil, hence they are a single coil. Removing one of the magnets only changes the shape and strength of the magnetic field.
@@popsfereal 🤣 Another attention seeker. Yeah buddy, everybody lining up with popcorn to watch you type nonsense! Keep it up, you may end up in Congress. Still butthurt from the reddit meltdown I see🤣🤣🤣🤣
I have a question regarding the poles. If I remove 4 poles and replace it with plastic ones, will the pickup just absorb the tone from the strings relative to the remaining 2 poles? Thanks in advance for the answer. :)
Modifying an existing pup? Remove one of the magnets. (Yes, it will still work. Doing so will cause the flux to favor one side of the pup.) Change the magnets to a different grade of alnico. Peal off some winding. I suggest custom spec two identical pups from two different companies. You'll hear the difference in the wind immediately.
Great content, very informative. I was looking this up as my neck P90 is far too boomy and I can't lower it, so I was considering pulling a magnet out. If I go down your suggested route of replacing the magnet, what magnet type would reduce that boomy quality and make the neck pickup more balanced with the bridge and more usable?
ive a 12 string revalation with p90s, was thinking to change them for surf 90s or trons, im going to try this first though,,i want a more open trebble sound, not dark,,so thanks for this video
Also have one of those,,the pups did not have 2 magnets so could not try it...looking for a rick sound,,,tried turning vol nob down, graphic,,just wont do the sound i want.
Thank you for the knowledge. I just ordered a ton of luthiery tools today. I'm looking at making a 27" scale Telecaster with a Floyd Rose. This is an extremely expensive field to get in to. P90 pickups are really starting to sound great to me. What are your thoughts on Parallel Axis pickups?
Chris, after watching this video I've decided to try out some AlNiCo 2 and 3 magnets in a set of P-90s that currently use ceramic bars. I notice online that some magnets are noted as being unoriented. Is there a difference? Any recommendations?
If you Google oriented vs unoriented magnets, you’ll get a better explanation than I can post here. I have no recommendation as either can be used in the quest for tone.
HIGHLINE GUITARS, Does Butyrate plastics change the tone of the coils magnetic field and magnetic symmetry? because some wax potting is Vacuum sealed and other wax potting is Non-Vacuum seal which I'm not sure if this changes the magnetic field and magnetic symmetry when Vacuum seals wax potting compared to non-vacuum wax potting
@@HighlineGuitars others are claiming it rolls off the high end or changes the tone. It might not affect the magnetic field but changes the tone others are saying. Seymour Duncan uses Butyrate plastic on certain models of pickups because they claim it changes the tone compared to using wax potted vacuum pressured
@@waynegram8907 In the modern world, these claims are useless because you can radically manipulate the tone with an app, or a pedal, or a modeling amp.
Or instead of fighting with minor changes in tone with magnet changes, maybe try changing the pots to different specs, or even try a treble bleed on the volume pot?
I got a guitar with P 90s in it and when you put it in the middle position for some reason they canceled each other out and the volume was like not there so I took the neck pick up out and it had ceramic magnet so I changed them to alnico 2 still did not work so I flip one of the magnets over now work right bridge pickup has alnico 5 well balanced
Has anyone tried to remove a magnet from a P 90 pickup and put it in a humbucker pickup? What would be the effect? It should definitely be shortened, because it is longer.
Great video and interesting idea of removing the magnets all together. I've played with different magnets and found that can be an interesting tone change as well. Another practice I've done before with a very dark set of p90s I had was I simply changed the pot value from a 500K to a 1meg pot and that alone vastly cleaned them up and brightened them up where I wanted them. I've used 1meg pots on humbuckers before and thought it might work with p90s and was very happy with the result. Sometimes a pot value change can dramatically change the sound of a p90.
I changed my pot to 1Meg but my P90 is still very dark. What should I do?
Set my notification. P-90s are my favorite pups. Time to learn something new.
Nerd Alert!!! This is one of the most nerdly pickup videos I've ever watched. (This is why I love the TH-cams.) Thank you so much Chris! As always, you rock.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Regarding flipping a magnet over, several months ago I saw a TH-cam video called "We Fix this FAULTY Gold Foil | Axe From The Grave (ft. Ryan Burke of 60 Cycle Hum)" in which the pickup was sounding weak and thin. Via trial and error by Ryan, the magnet was both flipped over, and rotated end to end, giving each magnet 4 different orientations. In only one of the orientations did the pickup sound really good. I suggest your viewer try all 4 magnet orientations to get the best sound.
Usually, the south pole of a magnet has a higher gauss measurement, so that can make a difference. Also, with bar magnets, the gauss measurement can vary along its length, so that can make a difference. With rod magnets, each one can have a different level of gauss, so again, that can make a difference too.
Thank you! I have a G&L Tribute Fallout and the P90 just seemed too hot and muddy for my taste. It's my first P90, and I'm more use to the clear tones of my Z-Coil Comanche. This magnet removal trick calmed it way down. It still has a little snarl. But not so crazy as to muddy up the notes in chords. And, it jives better with the humbucker it's got too. But I'll probably end up replacing the humbucker eventually. Thanks again!
You can also mix different magnet types. I found that usually and somewhat expectedly sounded like a mix between the two types used. Magnets of different manufacturers also sound differently.
Great vid as usual. Just this past week I replaced my magnets in my P90 equipped L Goldtop. I put A8s in he neck and ceramic in the bridge. Very happy with the results.
I find it fascinating how one can change the character of a pickup. It's a real art!
A dying art.
Thanks a lot, Chris !! As usual, another very educational video !
Changing the symmetry of the magnetic field will change the area of the strings that are influencing that field; i.e., removing the magnet closer to the neck will shift the field closer to the bridge, which will be effectively like moving the pickup's location.
A while back we disagreed over Stewmac pricing.
Your video suggested they needed to charge those prices to make a reasonable profit on their quality products.
I felt they were overcharging what was needed to do so.
In a win/win, Stewmac just greatly slashed many of those prices and their profit margin still seems solid.
So yeah, I think they were overcharging but since I publicly said that, I think it's only fair that I return & give credit for their recent decision.
So anyone that felt like I did, maybe it's worth giving them another glance.
StewMac's pricing is structured to accommodate their warranty, which no one can match. This doesn't necessarily benefit amateurs builders or weekend warriors who may only use a tool once or twice, but it is a godsend to those of us who wear out tools frequently. I will gladly pay the higher prices knowing they will replace a worn-out tool no questions asked.
Great explanation. The only thing I would expand upon (and let me know if you disagree) is the remaining magnet closer to the bridge or the neck, which would influence what part of the harmonics it picks up. Love to see if you agree or disagree...
I agree. A magnet on the bridge side will have a different magnetic field shape than and magnet on the neck side. One would expect a bridge side magnet to detect more treble frequencies while a magnet on the neck side might detect more bass frequencies. However, I have never tested this so I can't say for sure if that would be the case.
Alnico 2 usually are often with 250k pots. To prevent the already bright Pick up to be too shrill.
And Alnico 5 with 500k pots are higher output and a natural throughput.
Cause alnico 5 is naturally louder and thicker output.
Alnico 5 with 250k pots gets you a a thicker warmer muddier blues sound.
Alnico 2 with 500k pots is a shrill Surf twangy sound.
Alnico 2 or 5 with a 330k pot
Is the golden Ratio. A cleaner clearer attuned sound that Brings the most natural throughput of the p90 to the front. It's that warm mid Jazz feel.
Thanks again for a great video. I can't recall if you've done a video that focuses on induction. I understand it's a much better overall number for measuring how a pickup is going to sound, but it raises a lot of questions for me. I am assuming inductance is affected by magnet Gauss and type, as well as the DC resistance of the coils. My current understanding is also that lower inductance is perceived as "brighter" and higher inductance "darker". Is any of that accurate? I'm sure I'm oversimplifying a bit. I am also sure that two pickups can have the same inductance, but one has, say, more winds but a lower Gauss magnet or something, and sound different.
You got it!
What would happen if you flip one of the magnets on the same P90 pickup over so that there is one facing north to the strings and the other facing south to the strings? Would that keep the tone relatively the same but cancel hum?
It will not cancel the hum.
@@HighlineGuitars that makes sense, I suppose they would just be made like that if it worked that way haha. Thanks!
Adding a ceramic capacitor across the pick up leads will change the frequency peak and thereby change the tonal output more than changing the magnets!
You can do one or the other and you can do both!
Removing a magnet from a P90, turns it into a single coil 😀
I have built plenty of P90s. I find A3 magnets to have that vintage P90 sound, not so much the alnico A2, though sometimes it does work, I just get a banjo sound with A2.
I also tried switching magnets in an attempt to raise the output impedance of a P90 like going from an A2 to an A5, but only got a 0.003 increase in ohm.
Great topic btw!
Removing the magnet doesn't male it a single coil....lol. P90's ARE single coils. You never built any pickups.
P90s are single coils. They have only one coil, hence they are a single coil. Removing one of the magnets only changes the shape and strength of the magnetic field.
@@popsfereal says who? You?👍🤣🤓
@@ILLGREEN1 everybody but you.
@@popsfereal 🤣 Another attention seeker. Yeah buddy, everybody lining up with popcorn to watch you type nonsense! Keep it up, you may end up in Congress. Still butthurt from the reddit meltdown I see🤣🤣🤣🤣
I have a question regarding the poles. If I remove 4 poles and replace it with plastic ones, will the pickup just absorb the tone from the strings relative to the remaining 2 poles? Thanks in advance for the answer. :)
The two remaining poles will detect the vibrations from all of the strings. However, the strings directly above the remaining poles will sound louder.
@@HighlineGuitars thanks a lot for getting back to me :)
Modifying an existing pup? Remove one of the magnets. (Yes, it will still work. Doing so will cause the flux to favor one side of the pup.) Change the magnets to a different grade of alnico. Peal off some winding.
I suggest custom spec two identical pups from two different companies. You'll hear the difference in the wind immediately.
Or two identical p/u's from the same brand...
Great content, very informative. I was looking this up as my neck P90 is far too boomy and I can't lower it, so I was considering pulling a magnet out.
If I go down your suggested route of replacing the magnet, what magnet type would reduce that boomy quality and make the neck pickup more balanced with the bridge and more usable?
Buy a bunch of different Alnico magnets and try them out to hear which pair sounds the best.
Try adding a ceramic capacitor across the pickup lead at the switch it changes the frequency peak!
ive a 12 string revalation with p90s, was thinking to change them for surf 90s or trons, im going to try this first though,,i want a more open trebble sound, not dark,,so thanks for this video
Also have one of those,,the pups did not have 2 magnets so could not try it...looking for a rick sound,,,tried turning vol nob down, graphic,,just wont do the sound i want.
Thank you for the knowledge. I just ordered a ton of luthiery tools today. I'm looking at making a 27" scale Telecaster with a Floyd Rose. This is an extremely expensive field to get in to. P90 pickups are really starting to sound great to me. What are your thoughts on Parallel Axis pickups?
I have no thoughts on them as I have never used them. I make my own pickups.
Very good video, thank you!
What if I added a magnet to one or either side. Could it be done?
Why?
Chris, after watching this video I've decided to try out some AlNiCo 2 and 3 magnets in a set of P-90s that currently use ceramic bars. I notice online that some magnets are noted as being unoriented. Is there a difference? Any recommendations?
If you Google oriented vs unoriented magnets, you’ll get a better explanation than I can post here. I have no recommendation as either can be used in the quest for tone.
HIGHLINE GUITARS, Does Butyrate plastics change the tone of the coils magnetic field and magnetic symmetry? because some wax potting is Vacuum sealed and other wax potting is Non-Vacuum seal which I'm not sure if this changes the magnetic field and magnetic symmetry when Vacuum seals wax potting compared to non-vacuum wax potting
Those things have no affect on the magnetic field.
@@HighlineGuitars others are claiming it rolls off the high end or changes the tone. It might not affect the magnetic field but changes the tone others are saying. Seymour Duncan uses Butyrate plastic on certain models of pickups because they claim it changes the tone compared to using wax potted vacuum pressured
@@waynegram8907 In the modern world, these claims are useless because you can radically manipulate the tone with an app, or a pedal, or a modeling amp.
@@HighlineGuitars I know just saying. I'm sure someone will claim that Cesar Diaz used Butyrate plastic to pot SRV pickups which changed the tone.
@@waynegram8907 I know. I just think it's bizarre how some people will follow that path when chasing tone when these days it's a waste of time.
Or instead of fighting with minor changes in tone with magnet changes, maybe try changing the pots to different specs, or even try a treble bleed on the volume pot?
Yep.
th-cam.com/video/rR4maqK_IhQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Tvmy-6l6w--5haXG
Have you ever tried spacer(s) either ferrous or non-ferrous or non metal (?)
I haven't.
I got a guitar with P 90s in it and when you put it in the middle position for some reason they canceled each other out and the volume was like not there so I took the neck pick up out and it had ceramic magnet so I changed them to alnico 2 still did not work so I flip one of the magnets over now work right bridge pickup has alnico 5 well balanced
Google “phase cancellation” and you’ll see what was happening.
@@BEERANID40k oh, I figured it out but on a brand new guitar from the factory piss, poor inspection
Subscription earned!
So what about having mixed magnets like say an a2 and a5 in a p90
Go for it. No reason not to.
Respect 🙏
It was actually common to use alnico 5&3 or 5&2 more often then not there not the same. Maybe there ceramic pickups
Has anyone tried to remove a magnet from a P 90 pickup and put it in a humbucker pickup?
What would be the effect? It should definitely be shortened, because it is longer.
How long winded can you get the whole thing was obvious
What can I say? People love my long winded videos. They keep asking for more and longer winded videos.
I'd just swap the capacitors or change the pickups
Take out one magnet from each P90 p/up on your guitar. Throw it far, far away. Much better.