The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: Ken on February 17, 2024, 09:46:23 AM
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Is the chunky rectangular part at the bottom of the TB+ a magnet? If so, what part does that play compared to the coils? I ask partly because the vintage pickups don't have that.
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I'm kind of curious about this too. The TB+ in my '94 Les Paul, also a pair I bought off eBay, AND the chrome guitar-sized ones on my Fenderbird look exactly like these on the bottom.
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/y6oAAOSwiXtlpAv-/s-l1600.jpg)
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Yes, it is the (ceramic) magnet, or better, magnets, since there are 3 (one big between the two blades and two narrower outside).
The vintage Tbirds have alnico magnets instead of steel blades, so no need for a magnet on the bottom, thats one of the reasons they don't need as much cavity depth as the modern ones.
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Thank you! I think I see the three you're talking about side by side in the one without the sticker? What's the copper (?) tape ( ?) across them for?
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Exactly, the copper is used to ground the steel blades.
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Thanks a lot. This puts a lot in perspective. As far as the difference in depth between the ceramic and alnico, is alnico just smaller? Why does the ceramic have to be so chunky?
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It is because alnico is both the blade and the magnet, on the other hand steel needs an external magnet.
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Is it not possible for the ceramic magnet to be a blade?
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Having, err, smashed one of these pickups out of frustration (an epoxy potted humbucker that is microphonic and prone to interference, how did Gibson f*** this up so badly?) the black rectangle on the back is a pad of epoxy over the copper tape that the coils and magnets are housed within.
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Is it not possible for the ceramic magnet to be a blade?
It is possible I think, the problem is that this pickup would sound very trebly. Iron in a pickup core gives it warm sound (alnico contains more iron and other ferromagnetic metals than ceramic magnets). Think of it like a recipe, too much salt and you are ruing it, everything must be balanced
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Got it! Thanks so much. I'd love to have been in the room when they decided to go this route with the Thunderbird pickups. I guess the goal was a more "modern" sound than alnico gives. I like the TB+ a lot, but the construction seems way less elegant than the alnico ones.
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Is it not possible for the ceramic magnet to be a blade?
Ceramic magnets are brittle. A ceramic thin enough to be used as a blade would almost surely break with the tensioned wire wound around it.
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True. Also a ceramic blade so thin maybe is prone to demagnetizing.
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This is all great info, guys. Thanks.
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I mean, if there was a way to do it, since it is cheap (ceramic is cheaper than alnico), our friends from the exotic east would have found it and produce it in millions...
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I started a new thread, but probably should've posted this here. A friend sent me his old 1991 TB+ and the bottoms are flat. Where's the magnet in these?
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I bet its ceramic like the newer designs, this must be one of the first TB+ designs. Can you remove the metal cover?
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I'll see if I can remove them when I get home. Curious what's in there.
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The bottom doesn't come off and I don't want to force it and break it. And I can't see anything through the other hole that's not either of the mounting holes.
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Is this back cover magnetic? Or its something like brass?
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That back cover is probably mounted there straight after the potting was poured into the cover. That's why it has stuck to the back.
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Is this back cover magnetic? Or its something like brass?
It's not magnetic. Not sure what metal it is.
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It's special tone metal. :mrgreen:
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Heavy metal?
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(https://media.gettyimages.com/id/86473852/es/foto/nibbs-carter-of-saxon-performs-on-stage-at-wulfrun-hall-on-may-5-2009-in-wolverhampton-england.jpg?s=612x612&w=gi&k=20&c=tvTgHRakzb6UGzQG-PRKciOy4maRgkkPK0VPU9IJPJg=)