magnet strength

[Horizontalste]

So while messing around with the pickup height on one of my Yamaha Bb's I noticed that the magnet on the treble side of the neck pickup is much weaker than the bass side.
Is this an indication of something going wrong?

[Lfalex v1.1]

Perhaps not. Maybe they're designed that way to reduce the field drag on less massive strings? Or perhaps to compensate for the fact that the human ear is more sensitive to higher frequencies? How did you come to the conclusion that the magnets are weaker / with what did you measure the field strength? Just curious...

[Horizontalste]

I've always used Allen keys for pickup height & on the bass side it almost sucked it out of my fingers while the treble side hardly had any pull.
I've never noticed any frequency difference until now. The D & G strings sound quieter I think, but I might be imagining it.

[ikay]

Magnetic strength of polepieces is generally even across the pickup. Individual polepieces can sometimes weaken over time but getting them remagnetized is a simple job for a repair shop. Or you can get a set of DIY repair magnets from StewMac like this:
- http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Clamps,_support_tools/Guitar_Repair_Magnet_Kit.html

Instructions on how to do this are towards the bottom of this page:
- http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Electronics/Pickup_building/i-5967.html

[Horizontalste]

[quote name='ikay' timestamp='1356466023' post='1910405']
Magnetic strength of polepieces is generally even across the pickup. Individual polepieces can sometimes weaken over time but getting them remagnetized is a simple job for a repair shop. Or you can get a set of DIY repair magnets from StewMac like this:
- http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Clamps,_support_tools/Guitar_Repair_Magnet_Kit.html

oInstructions on how to do this are towards the bottom of this page:
- http://www.stewmac.com/freeinfo/Electronics/Pickup_building/i-5967.html
[/quote]

Thanks for that. I think its going to have to go for repair, I can't afford to mess up Yamaha's super pickup.

[MoonBassAlpha]

If it sounds ok still, leave it alone!

[Horizontalste]

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1356892948' post='1914841']
If it sounds ok still, leave it alone!
[/quote]

I hear you, I'm going to see how I get on with it.

[lettsguitars]

Ikay has the right idea. You can recharge magnets very easily without taking the pickup to bits. Google it and then get over to emagnetsuk. Shouldn't be very expensive. A vice or homemade jig is needed along with a couple of strong magnets.

[Horizontalste]

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1356963536' post='1915682']
Ikay has the right idea. You can recharge magnets very easily without taking the pickup to bits. Google it and then get over to emagnetsuk. Shouldn't be very expensive. A vice or homemade jig is needed along with a couple of strong magnets.
[/quote]

I did watch the video & thought id have a go but how do you know how many passes to make?