Pickup Guru's - Can I push the magnets down in a Lawrence J-Bass PUP?

[Jim C]

I have some Lawrence J-45 pups that have extended pole pieces at the A & D string; nearly .100" above the cover

For my set up the E & G string (which have flush magnets) are too low in volume relative the the A & D.
Also, these sidewinder style units are pretty low output and sinking the pup into the body deep enough to avoid contact with the strings makes them really low output.

Am thinking that if I gently press the exposed magnets back into the bobbin while support the bottom bobbin things might be OK.
Am concerned about damge to the bobbin (which could also result in a dead coil). Have thought about using a small block of wood and a tiny hammer but am afraid this might demagnetize the magnets.
Thoughts / suggestions?

[DavidRavenMoon]

Originally Posted by Jim C

I have some Lawrence J-45 pups that have extended pole pieces at the A & D string; nearly .100" above the cover

For my set up the E & G string (which have flush magnets) are too low in volume relative the the A & D.
Also, these sidewinder style units are pretty low output and sinking the pup into the body deep enough to avoid contact with the strings makes them really low output.

Am thinking that if I gently press the exposed magnets back into the bobbin while support the bottom bobbin things might be OK.
Am concerned about damge to the bobbin (which could also result in a dead coil). Have thought about using a small block of wood and a tiny hammer but am afraid this might demagnetize the magnets.
Thoughts / suggestions?

I'm not familiar with the internal construction enough to comment on what affect pushing the poles would make on the coils/bobbins. It wouldn't harm the magnets though, but it might damage the coils. I see he does offer a version with flush poles.

Probably the best bet is to try and give them a call and see what they say.

http://wildepickups.com/How_To_Order.html

David

[Jim C]

Thanks David. I've tried calling but since they are a small shop they sometimes are unable to answer the phone. Thanks for the link though, as they suggest emailing for questions; hope to hear back soon.

Do sidewinder style pups have inherently less output due to the design?

[Clark Dark]

NO,
you cannot push the pole pieces down. I bought a P-J set (P-46 & J-45) and the J-45 pole piece under the A string on my Gecko5 was high. I emailed Bill Lawrence and they sent me a J-45 that had the pole pieces even, not staggered. I just sent them the staggered one back. If you can't reach them by phone, email them. Their service is great IME

[jb63]

I did just as you described to a set of Fender CS 60's and got great results....YMMV.

[Carey]

As a general rule, we don't recommend moving poles at the end of the coil where the wire wraps around it. But, the magnets in the center of the coil usually can be pushed without damaging the coil.
It's not foolproof, but I haven't damaged one of our pickups moving the middle magnets.
Of course, I have no idea how the Lawrence pickups are made internally, so take my input with that in mind. It's possible that the poles are glued or otherwise secured in the flatwork and you may distort the bobbin if you try tweaking them if that's the case.
If you use something non metallic to tap the magnets you won't have a problem with degaussing them. But definitely support the bottom of the pickup carefully.
Good luck if you decide to go for it. And hopefully you don't break them.

[Jim C]

Thanks guys,
Just received this from Shannon at Lawrence:
"Hi Jim, I understand your need. The J45's come standard with a stagger pole piece to accommodate all radius. The pickup is poured with epoxy so that's why it's likely there can be some breakage if you push the pole pieces back."