Pickup magnets

[Bob Bowman]

I'm going to make a 7 string lap pickup and wondered if anyone has info/opinion on using...

1. ... one long bar magnet with the N and S poles at each end.

2. ... small cylindrical neodymium magnets

Cheers Bob

[Donny Hinson]

1. ... one long bar magnet with the N and S poles at each end.

That wouldn't work properly. A bar magnet has almost no strength at the center, so the strings under the center would be weaker than those at the ends. You need to form a "magnetic circuit" for the bar magnet idea to work well.

2. ... small cylindrical neodymium magnets

Well, neo magnets are far stronger than other (alnico) types, so you'd get more signal. But the increased magnet strength might well reduce the sustain considerably.

Not to rain on your parade, but IMHO there are people who make a living out of making pickups, and very good pickups, at that. Unless you're just looking for the "I made them myself" credit, you'd probably get a far better pickup by letting one of these "pros" do the work for you.