Mule Riff Raff magnet swap?

[Roboten]

So, I've been thinking about swapping the magnets of my Mule bridge with a Riff Raff neck in another guitar. I like my mule, but i would like it to have a deeper low end, and I think a riff raff neck with the alnico IV flavour would be pretty awesome. Now, is this doable? Are the neck and bridge magnets of the mule and riff raff set the same size? Would this sound good? I've read that back when bpk did custom orders the Mule V was supposed to be pretty awesome, but i've never heard anything about a riff raff IV.

[GuitarIv]

I can only tell you so far what most people round here say: Tim knows best which magnets work the best for his PUs. I would not recommend you to do the swapping on your own, since your guarantee becomes void, your best bet imho would be to mail Bareknuckle directly

cheers

[FELINEGUITARS]

I personally liked the A5 Mule
Swapping magnets isn't too big a deal but it's best if you get them rewaxed afterwards to ensure freedom from squeal

[ericsabbath]

in my understanding, an A5 mule should be pretty much like a neck VHII
the neck VHII sounds great in the bridge and very close to the riff raff
I wouldn't say the low end is deeper, though, just more defined and less smooth than the A4 mule

[TheyCallMeVolume]

I would think its best not to do that, but it's your call.

[Roboten]

Both are unpotted so the wax wouldn't be a problem and I've watched and read a lot of tutorials on how to swap magnets so I don't think that will be a problem either. The mule now sits firmly in my les paul traditional pro which is pretty bright, which is why I'm considering the magnet swap. It's true that i could just sell the mule bridge and buy another pickup, but sound i'm after is a mix between a mule and a riff raff that the other most obvious alternatives cant seem to nail, like the abraxas or black dog bridge. And from what i've read in old threads an A5 mule would be exactly this, a punchier mule with more bass and treble. I also think a riff raff neck with more mids would sound pretty good.

But whether or not it would sound good is a moot point since i can just change back if i dont like the tone. The biggest question is whether the mule and riff raff magnets are the same size, and if a straight swap is possible?

[Toe-Knee]

I've had great results with magnet swapping,

My most recent being a neodymium nailbomb. It has the emg tightness some awesome punch in the upper mids like the aftermath and doesn't have the bloated low end of the regular NB. Its a bit more saturated too but in a good way. Think running it with a tubescreamer but without having to.

The cleans are miles better too.

The best advice I can give is to try it. The magnets just slide straight out and back in so it's not like you will do any damage unless you damage the coil wires that are off to one side of the pickup but they're easy to see and avoid.

Have fun.

[Roboten]

Swap done, no problems, just took it slow and made sure i put everything back in its right place. It was very interesting to see how a pickup looked on the inside, maybe now i can make my own haha.

Anyway, A5 Mule: Awesome, the midrage was the same as before but with a meatier bass and more highs. I wouldnt call its tone vintage anymore, its like an extremely responsive vintage hot or even modern pickup. It's really the best of both worlds, a mule raff, or riff mule.

A4 Riff Raff: Not that much of a difference really, more mids but the highs and lows are almost the same, however there is a slight improvement in its tone, to me at least. The middle position sounds even better than before, a little more body to the tone. Instant Jessica-tone.

I encourage everybody to experiment with magnets, dont be afraid that you'll damage the pickup, read a tutorial and take it slow and everything will be fine!

[CanadianMetalhead]

If there is one question i have to ask is.... where the heck do you even buy the magnets for this? lol

To be honest i've never even opened up a pickup before but aren't the magnets custom sized to that pickup?

Sorry for potentially stupid questions but i have to ask lol.

[GuitarIv]

If there is one question i have to ask is.... where the heck do you even buy the magnets for this? lol

To be honest i've never even opened up a pickup before but aren't the magnets custom sized to that pickup?

Sorry for potentially stupid questions but i have to ask lol.

I second that question ^^