The Steel Guitar Forum

I recently acquired an old silvertone lap steel from the 50's, and it has the string thru pickup... all strings save for the 5th, sound clear and loud. I seem to remember a few threads on this very topic, where one could spruce these up with new magnets? I know that Lollar makes a killer one, but I'm thinking that this can be saved? All and any help is much appreciated!!

Rick Aiello used to make some killer magnets for those pickups, but according to his website he's not taking orders "at this time": http://www.horseshoemagnets.com/

Those pickups are very sensitive to how close the screws are to the strings,- is it possible to raise the screw under the 5th string just a little?
Also check that both magnets actually are magnets, on some models one of them is only a piece of silver painted wood...

ditto on the above....and if one of the pole screws is too close to the string it may distort. Hopefully the screws are not rusted and will turn freely.

Thanks for the tips, i have also heard about those 'dummy' magnets, and this one is the real deal. Upon further inspection, the screw is lower than the others... i will try and raise it. Thanks again... i should have noticed myself

Jason Lollar can sell you inexpensive new magnets for a string-through Valco p/up, so there's no need to replace the entire unit. I replaced both magnets in my old Supro and the improvement in tone and volume was amazing!

Chris