Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: gwEm on December 09, 2013, 07:57:03 PM
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Some of you may have seen my recent post in the pickups thread.
I was leaning towards a Juggernaut, but decided to try swapping the magnet in my Warpig myself to a ceramic. I realise that BKP wind the ceramic Warpig a bit less, but I decided it was free to try.
The ceramic magnet came from a Duncan SH5 which was originally in my Michael Schenker ESP Edwards Flying V. It was fairly easy to remove, making a note of the orientation with a little sticker. First you loosen slightly the base screws, then lift up the coils a bit, and push the magnet out - *away* from the soldered wires joining the two coils.
When it came to remove the magnet from the Warpig, the difference in quality versus the Duncan was quite apparent. I had no reason to believe the Duncan was badly made - far from it, it was pretty good compared to a few cheaper pickups I've seen. However, the tolerances and materials were a step up with the BKP - proper wooden spacers, nicer quality plastics, tighter tolerances, proper paper tape.
So - what about the tone? Well in fact, I believe Tim was correct and the Juggernaut might be more what I'm looking for ;) But anyway, the ceramic magnet is an improvement for me.
The cleans sound pretty bad with the ceramic magnet, the A5 version is much more versatile. I must tap my cap to Tim, the original A5 Warpig is a really genius design.
When driven, the output with the ceramic is a little higher, and the bass remains full but is tighter. The mids with the ceramic version are a fraction less, however they sound more aggressive - still a very middy pickup. The main difference is that the pick attack comes through much more with the ceramic magnet, giving a bit more definition under drive, the treble is also more aggressive.
To be honest, except for the above differences, the two versions of the Warpig don't sound that far apart under overdrive, and I would also say the online clips of the two versions sound very close to what I found.
I like the ceramic Warpig, maybe it is a little more sterile, but it remains warm still in my view. With the ceramic magnet you sacrifice alot of versatility (good cleans) for a little extra tightness and top end aggression.
So overall, the alnico version is without doubt the better pickup. Having said that, the ceramic model has its place. I think I will rock with the ceramic for a while. I may eventually change to the Juggernaut following Tim's advice though.
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In a similar vein - I wanted a little more from a Cold Sweat - just a little more Oomph!
I also wanted to see how a pickup with a closer offset yet still in the same DC range of the CS (older Cold Sweats were 14K for the record)- or no offset at all sounded with a ceramic magnet.
I took a Rebel Yell from my other guitar and swapped the ceramic magnet from the to the Rebel Yell.
What can I say - rather liking it!
Still need to play it more to be sure
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Interesting read! :D
I have to say I remain generally uninterested in the higher-output humbuckers, but the A5 Warpig is the exception, I would like to try one (or a set) one day.
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Good post
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I haven't tried a Ceramic Warpig, but I have a set of alnico ones, and as Gwem says they are remarkable. Much more versatile than would be expected from such a powerful pickup, definitely has that "organic" tone everyone talks about. It sounds massive, but still with a sweet top end to it, and they have the best split sounds I've heard from any humbucker.
Magnet swapping has intrigued me, but I can't see me chancing it any time soon :)
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Magnet swapping has intrigued me, but I can't see me chancing it any time soon :)
At the moment, I'm really enjoying the honeymoon period of the Ceramic Warpig ;) But shes a specialised beast to be sure and I don't think I could recommend the swap in normal circumstances.
However, the process went easier than I thought and the change is readily noticeable. I have a stash of old pickups that I swapped out for BKPs.. So now I wonder about doing some magnet swapping on those ;)
This UK based guy sells a selection: http://www.cermag.co.uk/buy_guitar_pickup_magnet.html (http://www.cermag.co.uk/buy_guitar_pickup_magnet.html)
I wrote to him and he says they are polished rather than unpolished, but anyway they look good, and are cheap. 50p to £3 depending on the magnet material. Since its an easy way to affect tone, and I have a few Duncan and Gibson pickups lying around, it could be fun.
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However, the process went easier than I thought and the change is readily noticeable. I have a stash of old pickups that I swapped out for BKPs.. So now I wonder about doing some magnet swapping on those ;)
Since its an easy way to affect tone, and I have a few Duncan and Gibson pickups lying around, it could be fun.
Now I am temped to do some stuff with the taken out stock PUs I have. Just need a cheep guitar for those experiments....
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This UK based guy sells a selection: http://www.cermag.co.uk/buy_guitar_pickup_magnet.html (http://www.cermag.co.uk/buy_guitar_pickup_magnet.html)
I wrote to him and he says they are polished rather than unpolished, but anyway they look good, and are cheap. 50p to £3 depending on the magnet material. Since its an easy way to affect tone, and I have a few Duncan and Gibson pickups lying around, it could be fun.
there's a thought. An alnico magnet might smooth out something like a Gibson 500t. Hmmm...
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This UK based guy sells a selection: http://www.cermag.co.uk/buy_guitar_pickup_magnet.html (http://www.cermag.co.uk/buy_guitar_pickup_magnet.html)
I wrote to him and he says they are polished rather than unpolished, but anyway they look good, and are cheap. 50p to £3 depending on the magnet material. Since its an easy way to affect tone, and I have a few Duncan and Gibson pickups lying around, it could be fun.
there's a thought. An alnico magnet might smooth out something like a Gibson 500t. Hmmm...
it might!
also, the 500T has flanking magnets (I think). You could try taking those out for free :)
(edit: http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?227868-Gibson-500T-magnet-swap-with-A2-review (http://www.seymourduncan.com/forum/showthread.php?227868-Gibson-500T-magnet-swap-with-A2-review))