3D Magnetic Field Viewer | Guitar Pickup Comparison & Mod Testing
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- Опубликовано: 18 окт 2024
- I built a 3D Magnetic Field Viewer to do some guitar pickup comparisons + tests and get results you can see!
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How To Build The 3D Magnetic Field Viewer
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Extra Visualiser Footage
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Waylon McPherson Guitar
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Had loads of fun making this, here's those links for my Fourthwall Members
How To Build The 3D Magnetic Field Viewer
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Extra Visualiser Footage
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This makes me curious about a comparison with a Lace Sensor… Thanks for doing this.
This would be really interesting to see the prs narrow field pickups
Very cool! This is the first time I have ever see a pickups magnetic field visually represented. Well done.
At last!! I want to see more!!!! P90s, single coils with and without the Telecaster baseplate, Jazzmasters, all kinds of pups and mods to finally lay some myths to rest or to understand better how it works!!
I absolutely love these ideas you come up with. I would like to build the warmest thickest humbucker possible and this gives me data for that goal.
Mounting a humbucker on the back of the guitar and looking at the signal through an O'scope was brilliant. I have so many questions after that one.
Thanks again man!
That viewer is very cool!
There’s a misconception about the way the magnet works in pickups.
The usual way it’s explained is that the string is cutting through or disturbing the lines of flux from the magnet.
But that won’t create any current. Because the magnet and coil do not move in relation to one another, no current will form. This is Faraday’s Paradox.
What’s actually happening is the magnet magnetizes the strings. The strings become moving magnets. Since the strings are moving in relative to the coil, current is produced.
The only thing different magnetic field shapes do is magnetize a different area of the strings. And of course different magnets are different strengths.
Regarding the humbucker screw mod. I’ve been doing this on pickups I make for over a decade. I find it brightens the tone up a bit. This might be due to a change in inductance. And with the field not wrapping around the back of the pickup, it’s a little stronger on the top, according to my gauss meter.
It would be interesting to see Jaguar pickups with the metal casing.
True, that would be a great one to check out!
YES PLEASE!
Love the Nerding!
Appreciate the work. It's not really 3d because the iron filings get pulled to the bottom wall of the tank immediately. Also, the Gauss at the pole tops of the ceramic-powered pickups is probably lower than A5 poles, but the much higher permeability of the Steel poles attracts flux lines from the magnetized filings much more. Those pickups actually have less treble than an equal inductance AlNiCo pole pickup due to eddy currents caused by the highly conductive Steel poles, but the output is much higher due to how the much higher permeability pulls the flux lines from the strings more through the coil.
Excellent video, that was fascinating. Also really liked the music being played, I'm guessing you recorded that yourself? That was really nice & matched the video perfectly. Incredibly informative stuff, keep up the good work
Thank you, yes the tunes are something I whipped up for the video :)
Thank you so much for this, can you please also show us what the field looks like from the side at an angle if you can, to show more of the three dimensional array of filings where the strings would be, and how (if) the adjustable humbucker screws actually affect the field.
Another fascinatingly unique video.
Glad you enjoyed it
Great Vid. I would love to see a classic Jaguar pickup in this test.
yes, same here :)
Humbuckers can be fitted with magnetic spacers instead of maple or plastic ones. I wonder what kind of magnetic field these will have? It was informative, thanks for your work!
Great video! I have had the same idea, but I want to try to see the magnetic field in action with the strings. Your idea with this bottle is great, instead of using an acyl plate with iron powder what I was thinking about. What liquid have you used? For my experiment it has to be very "light" with no resistance to see the movements of the iron powder when a string is moving. Maybe this could be a method of comparing the resonance of materials (sustain), especially after a modification on one guitar. Maybe a bit too crazy...but I have to try this sometime.
A cool comparison would be a Gibson mini humbucker and the variations of Gibson's Firebird pickups. Particularly the early "sidewinder" variant and the Bill Lawrence designed models for their '76 Bicentennial Firebird.
That would be some cool pickups to check out!!
Brilliant content!! THANK YOU for posting!
It would be nice to see this with more detail.
Is it a crazy idea for you to repeat this test with a more accurate alignment of the pickups to a transparent "overlay grid" so we can measure the field lines? And... MOST importantly... what are the INDUCTANCE values of each pickup? What are the total "DC Resistances" for each pickup (and individuals DCRs for each coil of the humbuckers)... only because folks look at the resistance to compare pickups instead of the inductance. Also, what are the environmental ambient temperature at the time of test... and possibly repeating the tests at varying room temps?
And if you wanna get really crazy... place your Magnetic Field Viewer on top of your guitar... pluck a string... watch the field... and look at the guitar pickup on and oscilloscope! I wonder what the multi-test average peak-to-peak voltage is?
This is academic paper type of experimentation.
Thanks again!
The permability of the core alloy affects how the flux lines draw in the iron filings, so the Gauss/Tesla can not be determined by this test.
@@GCKelloch Thank you.
I guess I was thinking that there would be some correlation between the impedance and the shape of the field.
@@toddbrous_untwist Not sure what you mean by the impedance. Of the coil? A guy had a busines called Liquid Pickups in which he attached ferrofluid tanks on top of pickups bobbins, but it didn't take off. The Iron rolls-off the high-end, but also creates subtle modulations as the flux lines from the strings vibrates the liquid. Novel idea, but no public interest. I bought his T-Shirt anyway.
@@toddbrous_untwist One thing you need to understand about pickups is the signal is generated mainly from the field eminating from the strings vibrating through the coil. The field coming from the magnets does not vibrate enough to significantly contribute to the output. Dr Scott Lawing of Zexcoil demonstrated that by placing magnets above the strings with an unmagnetized pickup below. The sound and output was the same as with just the magnetized version of the same pickup.
It would have been interesting to see a side view of the field lines, or did you have a problem with the filings sinking to the bottom ?
A thicker liquid might help with that ?
Another really cool video sir 🤘
Glad you liked it
Cool vid. I reckon the next logical test would be to show the effect of different magnet types on the electrical characteristics.of.the pickups (inductance) which will also have an impact on tone.
Hi Waylon, great channel thankyou !.
I feel it would be useful to take a look at the field with strings fitted as per normal guitar usage.
Low frequency bass string visualisation might be very interesting, FFT. ☮️
Thanks, yes that would be cool!
@@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar I look forward to that 👍.
Interesting test, but the differences “you can clearly see” weren’t obvious to me. Maybe a sheet of white paper better the pickups and the tester would’ve made it more obvious
Thanks for checking it out, I guess through experimenting, I have seen these patterns hundreds of times so the differences become very easy to see, cheers!
Were those two bar magnets at the end the same config as the two earlier ones in the HB's ?? Great video either way, thanks.
Those Bar magnets were ones I stock for building pickups, that would have been a cool comparison though!
That was fascinating, and a very cool and simple "Visualizer." If you do any more comparisons like this, I hope you display the patterns of the two Pickups side by side so it's easier to see the differences. 👍 Thanks
Thanks, will do!
@@WaylonMcPhersonGuitar You've got one of the better Guitar Channels on YT, and I appreciate your ability to make unbiased, well-thought out videos that deal with many of the electronic components that are often a challenge to evaluate properly. Thanks
I wish you had shown the last two bar magnets in their pickups to show the field relationship to the screws... or maybe those were the earlier HB pickups ?? Still a good demo, thanks.
Right I keep hearing people call ceramic single coils "thin and trebly" but to my ears they are always thicker and less trebly like it's rolling off the high end earlier. Am I clinically insane or are they all talking absolute bull and trying to fit in with the other cork sniffers?
Haha :) It depends, there are great pickups made with Ceramic Magnets, some sound thin and ice picky because they are massively under wound!
Very cool box. Thank you for the video. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but ceramic magnets do not give stronger magnetic string pull than AlNiCo and ceramic pickups have a louder, darker tone. (Because ceramic pickups have steel pole pieces which limit magnetic field at the top of the pickup reducing string pull, and increase inductance, which increases output and lowers resonant peak frequency). You've mistakenly described the opposite of reality. There's more than enough recorded examples on YT and scientific measurements out there for reference. Thanks again, and good luck!
Hey Kev, thanks for checking this out. My Gauss meter says different :)
This also makes me wonder if pickups could be completely hidden under a thin top and still do the job.
There used to be very thin plastic covers that you could cover your humbuckers with for those that don't like the screws or pole pieces showing. Anything that you put between the pickup and the strings will dampen the signal at least a little bit. You can counter that effect by slightly raising the pickup height or using a hot pickup that has power to spare. I don't know if they are available anymore. I do have at least one that came on a Charvel Super Strat I bought in '87 or '89. I don't remember.
Try Stewmac, Mojotone, or Amplified Parts.
I read your post again and I think that you may have been talking about hiding a pickup under the pickguard. Yes, it can be done, has been done, is currently being done, and could be done in the future. There is a Tele/Esquire model Brad Paisley signature Seymour Duncan called the Secret Agent. You could do it yourself also. Just get the thinnest pickguard that you can find. You may even be able to sand the inside down some, but I would wait until after you try it unsanded first. The same physics apply. You will need a pickup with extra power or it might sound weak. It also depends on what kind of music that you like to play. For instance, if you are playing Jazz you might like the way the sound of your hidden pickup is more mellow and round. If you are playing Hard Rock, you might miss the power, the umph, and the immediacy. If you're into Death Metal, you might just want to scrap the idea altogether.
I remember a guitar company several years ago had placed a pickup inside the neck of a guitar at the last few frets, either a piezo or a wound pickup, but I can't recall which brand it was. Ovation comes to mind, but I could have sworn it was a Gibson Les Paul or a Gretsch guitar.
There is a company that makes a neck pickup for a tele that is hidden under the pickguard. Brad Paisley uses then.
@@tiki_trash Yeah, that's the Secret Agent.
@@rexdarvog I don't think I have seen that before.
There is that one that mounts at the end of the fretboard. I think it's a Kent Armstrong Jazz pickup.
Can you do a split screen with the coils upright like an I instead of only --- if that makes sense?
I saw an old video when we touch (check pickups wiring) the pole with metal screwdriver..it messed up the magnetic field . can you check with your new tool?
Cool Idea, will have to try that!
I played years with metal picks, only because i found them messing the magnetic field and producing a bit bytier sound. It is not huge difference, but enough.
@@2wheelhopelessgarage258 I have used metal picks for 15 years now for that reason ... just recently I started to wonder if they were to "bright" so I did various AB tests with other pick material and they turned out to be less bright than Tortex and nylon, which really surprised me
@@sytharnia1717 I'm also using only my self made metal picks. I like bronze because of its more "round" sound and I use titanium, but titanium has no influence on the magnetic field, but I like the sounds. I also like copper, but this is very heavy. I'm using picks with 2 - 5 mm thickness. I have to try steel. What materials are you using? What are your favorites?
@@robertdonosobuchner3129 I mainly use stainless steel ones which are 0.03mm. Can be tough to keep hold of so I usually cut down and glue a torlex one onto it .. I have made a few out of old coins but they sound a bit harsh.. I also have 2 or 3 copper ones (made from coins) that sound great, but they wear pretty fast
Try a magnetic viewer.
But but but.... Pickups don't matter...
That's neat!