Is it possible for pickups to get better the more you play them?

[nbeersiii]

Im either finally hearing something i like from the 490T in my special HH or the alnico5 magnet I installed is breaking in . Anybody know of a burn in phase like with speakers? I swear the pickup sounded flat but now its getting some soul it seems.

 

[donepearce]

Nope, you are getting used to them.

 

[nbeersiii]

I figured as much but I did wonder if it took the poles a while to gain the A5s full magnitism. I also noticed the pickup was offset from the strings a tad bit so I fixed that and readjusted the hieght and that may have done it. There is a diffrence for the better.

 

[donepearce]

Your adjustments probably made the difference you heard. Magnets don't get stronger in use - if anything they will weaken, but so marginally that you couldn't possibly hear it. Adjustment is particularly critical for the neck pickup - to close and it affects the string's movement, too far and the tone gets thin.

 

[Dave_Death]

Your ears are adjusting, and/or you've adjusted the pickups. You might also be noticing the dulling of the strings.

 

[tpa]

You learn using pickups and adapt e.g. picking technique to get the best out of them.

 

[nbeersiii]

I know the mag doesnt get stronger i was wondering about the surrounding metal becoming more magnitized.

 

[Six String]

IMHO I think ear adjustment is the answer. :)

 

[eS.G.]

Dunno------guess I need to go play more and see.

 

[LeadFinger]

I find that if I play one guitar for awhile I adjust my playing to that particular rig, and it sounds better. Maybe that's what you're experiencing?

 

[Six String]

Is it the same as when you start a show at 6 on the volume but it sounds louder then the 10 you're at in the 4th set......?

 

[Westernrider]

And as the years roll by.........

Most assuredly. Your playing style does adjust. Your ears do become accustomed to the sound. At first, I hated my DMZ 36's and then I adjusted the friggin amp - sonic bliss resulted. Now we must look at another phenomena.​

A pickup magnet will stay fully magnetized until something destabilizes it. And the destabilizing factor is your playing. Remember that the magnet extends a magnetic field. Your strings are in that field. As you play the guitar, the strings interrupt the field. This does two things. First, a electromotive force [ emf ] is induced into the surrounding coils.

Or simply, a small current in created and travels out of the guitar and to the amp. Now you have sound.

Playing guitar [changing the magnetic field of the pickup], to my ears does help "Improve" a good pickup. The molecules of the magnet are heated up. Slowly, very slowly, slower than a glacier, the magnet heats. As the magnet heats, it throws the magnetic domains [ think of them as dominos and some of them are being slightly shifted] that are lined up end to end slightly out of alignment. So there is a slight softening of the pickups sound.

So, yes, there is a chance that the sound of the pickup can smooth out with age and a great deal of use.


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