adjustment, magnet swap on Duncan Hot P90 (SP90-2)?

[topekatj]

The stock bridge duncan in my special sounds a little dark. Pickup pole pieces are slightly more than 1/8 in. from the strings.

I'd like to try some tweaks before I replace the pickup. How close do you have the pickup set relative to your strings, and/or, do you back the pole pieces out of the pickup to move them closer to the strings? Any experiences swapping out the ceramic magents for alnicos?

thanks

[velorush]

Disturber to the courtesy phone!

[Disturber]

Well I have not messed with the ceramic Duncan P90's. Only the Phat Cat P90 Duncans.

I took the ceramic Duncans out of my Vanguard and replaced them with Wolfetone P90s. In my particular guitar they were to middy, so I swapped mags in them.

I replaced one mag in the bridge with an A8, and the two A2's in the neck with A5's.

If the Duncans uses the same size on their ceramic magnets as their alnicos, then swapping mags is easy. You just take the cover off. Loosen the screws that holds the magnets some so that you can wiggle them out, and then replace them with new ones. Takes five minutes tops.

But you have to make certain their polarity is the same as the ones you replaced. The magnet you take out should attract the one you are putting in. That way you know they are in the right position. And they should repel the other magnet in the pickup.

[topekatj]

velorush and Disturber: Thanks for your posts. 'Middy' is a better way to describe the current tone than dark.

Disturber: Thanks for the tips on swapping the m,agnets. A couple of additional questions -

What Wolfetone set did you start with (in case I decide to swap the pickup out)? Are you happy with the sound now (after the mag swap)?

Where did you get the P-90 magnets, what length, and polished or not?

What are your thoughts on adjustments to the pickup or polepiece heights?

thanks again

[Disturber]

I got the Wolfetone Mean (neck) and Meaner (bridge). They have A2 mags, can be a little middy. Gibson uses A5 mags. The Lollars are very nice too. Mover all round, the Wolfetones are best for rock. I suspect the Duncan Antiquites will be great too, but I have not tried them...

I got my Wolfetones to sound steller after I tried different mags. And my Phat Cats are just awesome after I changed the mags.

Ive used ordinary humbucker magnets. Seems like they are exactly the same in size.

I got my mags from a guy at the Duncan forum who lives in Italy. If you are in the US you can get them from a pickup winder called Sheptone, or from ebay - a seller called fx... something... I can't remember. There are other sources I'm sure.

I've also taken mags from other pickups, and swapped them back and forth.

Pole piece height. I mess with it all the time. I can adjust a humbucker back and forth for weeks until I get it just right, the way I think it should sound. Then I tend not to touch them again. I don't want to mess up what is good. P90's can be adjusted too. Same there. I depends so much on how the pickup interacts with a specific guitar. I have the same pickups in the same model of guitars, but the pickups in the two guitars are adjusted differently, just to make them sound kinda the same. Weird.

[topekatj]

Disturber:

Thanks again for your additional comments. So you now have an AL8 and an (original) AL2 in your bridge Wolfetone pickup? Did you install the AL8 closer to the bridge?

Some folks at the Duncan forum have also mentioned Addiction-Fx as a source for magnets. There are different sizes (lengths) available -- are standard magnets 2.5 inches long? I think I may try an AL8 and AL5 in the Duncan.

thamks

[HamerHokie]

Well I have not messed with the ceramic Duncan P90's. Only the Phat Cat P90 Duncans.

I took the ceramic Duncans out of my Vanguard and replaced them with Wolfetone P90s. In my particular guitar they were to middy, so I swapped mags in them.

I replaced one mag in the bridge with an A8, and the two A2's in the neck with A5's.

If the Duncans uses the same size on their ceramic magnets as their alnicos, then swapping mags is easy. You just take the cover off. Loosen the screws that holds the magnets some so that you can wiggle them out, and then replace them with new ones. Takes five minutes tops.

But you have to make certain their polarity is the same as the ones you replaced. The magnet you take out should attract the one you are putting in. That way you know they are in the right position. And they should repel the other magnet in the pickup.

The only other thing I'd consider is the fact that you have a Vanguard and he has a Special. I've owned both and it seems to me the Vanguard was more naturally 'full sounding' than the Special. The Special always sounded darker to me regardless. You might need to start with a brighter pickup (the Special came stock with Duncan Custom P-90s I think).

[sixesandsevens]

How'd the adjustments go?

Some days I love those pickups and some days I hate 'em.