paul144 Posted September 13, 2009 Posted September 13, 2009 Change the magnets! Schallers have small Alnico V magnets which make them sound bright with a hard tinny attack in most guitars... I swapped them out for an Alnico II in the neck and an Alnico IV in the bridge today. Got the mags on ebay for $14 bucks total. Made them rich in mids, smooth highs, more bass, amazing difference. I like them even better than HRWs... easy too! http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/barmagswap.htm this has been a public service tone announcement.
big bob Posted September 13, 2009 Posted September 13, 2009 Change the magnets!Schallers have small Alnico V magnets which make them sound bright with a hard tinny attack in most guitars... I swapped them out for an Alnico II in the neck and an Alnico IV in the bridge today. Got the mags on ebay for $14 bucks total. Made them rich in mids, smooth highs, more bass, amazing difference. I like them even better than HRWs... easy too! http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/barmagswap.htm this has been a public service tone announcement. I have a set of schaller high output pups that are killer
golferwave Posted September 13, 2009 Posted September 13, 2009 I'm a big fan of alnico II magnets. I have pickups with alnico II, III, and IV magnets. I like them all better than any I have with V's. Just my ears I guess.
mars_hall Posted September 13, 2009 Posted September 13, 2009 Change the magnets!Schallers have small Alnico V magnets which make them sound bright with a hard tinny attack in most guitars... I swapped them out for an Alnico II in the neck and an Alnico IV in the bridge today. Got the mags on ebay for $14 bucks total. Made them rich in mids, smooth highs, more bass, amazing difference. I like them even better than HRWs... easy too! http://www.projectguitar.com/tut/barmagswap.htm this has been a public service tone announcement. I ordered a set same as you. How difficult was the swap and did you follow the link instructions verbatim?
Gitfiddler Posted September 14, 2009 Posted September 14, 2009 Question: Do ALL Heritage Schallers have Alnico V mags?
paul144 Posted September 14, 2009 Author Posted September 14, 2009 I ordered a set same as you. How difficult was the swap and did you follow the link instructions verbatim? mine didn't have chrome covers, so it was pretty easy. Just loosened the 4 screws about halfway, wiggle the bobbins so the free up a little, and push the mag out from the wired side carefully just enough to grab it with pliers from the other side. The new one was a little bigger, so I pressed the mag on my desk to work it in the pickup. Push it in just so the end of the magnet is even with the bottom plate, its ok if it sticks out a bit. Schaller runs the wire out the middle end of the bottom plate instead of towards the bottom corner, so the magnet wil stop when it reaches the output wire. Yes I believe all Schallers are Alnico V.
mars_hall Posted September 14, 2009 Posted September 14, 2009 mine didn't have chrome covers, so it was pretty easy. Just loosened the 4 screws about halfway, wiggle the bobbins so the free up a little, and push the mag out from the wired side carefully just enough to grab it with pliers from the other side.The new one was a little bigger, so I pressed the mag on my desk to work it in the pickup. Push it in just so the end of the magnet is even with the bottom plate, its ok if it sticks out a bit. Schaller runs the wire out the middle end of the bottom plate instead of towards the bottom corner, so the magnet wil stop when it reaches the output wire. Yes I believe all Schallers are Alnico V. Thanks, I'll see how it works for me. You know, this may be the secret formula for the HRWs. I've read that the majority of the original PAFs were made using Alnico IV. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAF_%28pickup%29 http://www.provide.net/~cfh/paf.html I've also read the same thing about Alnico II.
paul144 Posted September 14, 2009 Author Posted September 14, 2009 could be...the bottom plate of the HRWs doesn't have the big Schaller logo across it though, so they may be specially wound. They sound a little hotter and more hi fi.
tbonesullivan Posted September 15, 2009 Posted September 15, 2009 Hmmm. I've got schaller's in my H535 and I love them. Very PAF sounding with a bit of bite. They go well with the semi-hollow sound. To each their own I guess. As for the original PAFs, I've heard AlNiCo II, III, V were all used in the beginning depending on supply. Then they went to AlNiCo V, though would sometimes use AlNiCo II. Back then things were not as precision made, which can be both a good thing, and a bad one.
RJLII Posted September 16, 2009 Posted September 16, 2009 My '94 H-550 has Schallers. I used to hate them as they sounded dark and boomy without much high end sparkle. I recently changed from roundwounds to flatwound 12's and it's like a whole new guitar. The tonal balance is very even now and the hign end is nice and crisp, perhaps due to the heavier plain strings. It may be that I was trying to get something from the guitar that it wasn't intended to deliver. I thought it would be a good Rockabilly/Blues box but this big gal was made to sing Jazz.
tulk1 Posted September 17, 2009 Posted September 17, 2009 I just ordered a set of magnets. Going to try the swap. I've been thinking of swapping out this set of Schallers, anyway. And if I end up destroying the current pups (which is the most likely scenario) it'll give me an excuse to get something else. And that could be a fun thread, as well. Still leaves me with 2 of my H's with stock lowly Schallers ... just an fyi.
big bob Posted September 17, 2009 Posted September 17, 2009 mine didn't have chrome covers, so it was pretty easy. Just loosened the 4 screws about halfway, wiggle the bobbins so the free up a little, and push the mag out from the wired side carefully just enough to grab it with pliers from the other side.The new one was a little bigger, so I pressed the mag on my desk to work it in the pickup. Push it in just so the end of the magnet is even with the bottom plate, its ok if it sticks out a bit. Schaller runs the wire out the middle end of the bottom plate instead of towards the bottom corner, so the magnet wil stop when it reaches the output wire. Yes I believe all Schallers are Alnico V. My high output three magnet pups I do not think are alnico, I think they are ceramic. Lawrence likes them.
paul144 Posted September 17, 2009 Author Posted September 17, 2009 Don't worry Tulk you'll do fine. Its easier than it looks. Are your pickups covered or uncovered? I could see the covers being a bitch to get off, especially if the pickups are potted, then there will be hard wax everywhere. I'd just leave the covers off in that case, because you would have to re pot the pickup. Steps: 1: Loosen 4 philips head screws half way, do not completely remove them 2: Wiggle the bobbins so they become loose. 3: Using a small Jeweler's screwdriver, look for the magnet behind the wire connections between the bobbins, and gently push it enough to grab it with pliers from the other end. 4: Make a mark with a Sharpie on the magnet closest to the Screws before you pull it all the way out. 5: The new magnet should repel the old magnet when you try to stick them on top of each other, so note the position and put the new magnet back in. (If you accidentally get an out of phase sound when using both pickups together, congratulations, you just did the infamous Peter Green mod, just reverse one of the magnets)
tulk1 Posted September 17, 2009 Posted September 17, 2009 Paul ... thanks for the encouragement. I'll keep your instructions close at hand while attempting the swap. The pups are covered and I will most likely put the covers back on. Why would I need to repot the pickup? Maybe I'll just leave it half potted - could be a whole new trend. Might even patent the process.
mars_hall Posted September 19, 2009 Posted September 19, 2009 Thanks, I'll see how it works for me. You know, this may be the secret formula for the HRWs. I've read that the majority of the original PAFs were made using Alnico IV. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAF_%28pickup%29 http://www.provide.net/~cfh/paf.html I've also read the same thing about Alnico II. I took the covers off my Schallers this evening and pulled the magnets out. Not too difficult of a task. Then I ran into the oversized replacement magnet issue described elsewhere in this thread. The replacement bar magnet's thickness is OK, but the length is about 1/4" too long and the width is about .1" too wide. I am going to see if a bud of mine that works in the Purdue lab can mill them down for me. More to come later.
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