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Author
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Topic: Rick's NIBro magnets... WOW, I'm a believer!
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Doug Beaumier
Member From: Northampton, MA
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posted 27 January 2006 08:13 PM
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I just installed Rick Aiello’s NIBro magnets in my old National lap steel and… WOW! The guitar sounds Completely different. The tone is full and rich, and the output is way hotter. I have never heard a Valco lap steel sound like this, and I’ve played a lot of them.The guitar originally had a single magnet and a “dummy” magnet. The tone was thin and sweet, but there wasn’t much midrange or low end. The change is radical… and good. I can’t wait to try it on a gig. If I ever part with this guitar these magnets are staying with me… and the dummy is going back in! Okay, no jokes about the dummy on the outside of the guitar  Thanks Rick! ------------------
My Site | My SteelTab [This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 27 January 2006 at 08:15 PM.]
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Andy Sandoval
Member From: Bakersfield, California, USA
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posted 28 January 2006 03:41 AM
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Post a sound sample sometime Doug. I just installed the original magnets that Rick zapped for me back into my two Nationals and the better guitar of the two just sounds great, lots of loud clean sound with some punch to it. The other one has a bad tone pot in it but you could hardly even hear it before, and now at least I can play it. I can't wait to fix the tone pot on it. I can imagine how those new magnets in yours must sound. |
Rick Aiello
Member From: Berryville, VA USA
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posted 28 January 2006 05:37 AM
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More Power ...
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[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 19 September 2006 at 05:26 AM.]
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George Manno
Member From: chicago
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posted 28 January 2006 07:02 AM
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I have had mine for a couple of months. I think my guitar sound 100% better with the new magnets. The guys I jam with say it is like my guitar grew a third N#*.George |
Doug Beaumier
Member From: Northampton, MA
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posted 28 January 2006 09:45 PM
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I’ll post some samples in the near future when I get more recording gear. Right now I’m "between systems" This new b@llsy tone has me interested in lap steel again. My guitar sounds like it’s on steroids. Today I played the National through the old Princeton Reverb for 4 hours straight! That hasn’t happened in years. My favorite tuning for playing at home is the Leavitt tuning. I really need to hear those full 9ths and diminished chords. For band work and recording I usually go with C6 |
Keith Cordell
Member From: Atlanta
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posted 28 January 2006 11:49 PM
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Are those magnets only good on the string-thru pickups? I have a D8 that I'd love to get some more OOMPH out of, if possible. I guess I'm a little confused about what ones you can upgrade. Here's the guitar...
http://www.steelin4fun.com/keithsnationald8.htm |
Doug Beaumier
Member From: Northampton, MA
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posted 29 January 2006 01:10 AM
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The magnets are for the string-through pickups only. |
Roger Marshall
Member From: Oceanside, California, USA
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posted 29 January 2006 08:47 AM
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Hey Doug, I put a pair of Ricks Nibros in my old Silvertone. I also wound up playing for a few hours through MY old Princeton Reverb! That combo really put a smile on my face. Seriously awesome upgrade. I've got a new Weber speaker on order for the Fender. I'm looking forward to that upgrade also. Roger
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Doug Beaumier
Member From: Northampton, MA
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posted 29 January 2006 09:09 AM
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You're gonna love the Weber speaker. I put two 10" Webers in my blackface Vibrolux Reverb about three years ago and the tone is awesome, especially for guitar. The Princeton seems better suited for lap steel however. It's hard to beat the sound of a Valco lap steel through a 12 watt Fender tube amp! |
Andy Sandoval
Member From: Bakersfield, California, USA
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posted 29 January 2006 07:20 PM
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Well you guys talked me into it and after talkin with Rick decided to try a set of NIBros in my National Chicagoan even though he just zapped the original magnets. I couldn't help myself after readin all the reviews. I will report back as soon as I install them rascals.[This message was edited by Andy Sandoval on 29 January 2006 at 07:20 PM.] |
Rick Aiello
Member From: Berryville, VA USA
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posted 19 September 2006 05:08 AM
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quote:
Hi Rick.Okay, so having already experienced your mag magic with a couple of my horseshoes I knew that the Supro would sound a whole bunch better with the NiBros installed, but I was hardly prepared for this! I popped them in (perfect match, no shimming needed) and from the first strum it sounded like a new instrument: stronger attack, better articulation, crystal clear harmonics, longer sustain. But it was only when I went out to do my weekly gig in a neighborhood club that I realized what a huge transformation those two little black bars had wrought. The way that it cuts through the rest of the band and the moan that kicks in when you crank the volume - whoa, this is one mean little guitar! Everyone in the band asked what was different and when the bandleader took a break for a couple of tunes he said several people in the audience commented on how great the steel sounded. I'd also brought the seven-string Rickenbacher along but never took it out of the case. You're a miracle worker, my friend. I'm so excited by the tone of this instrument that I'll be keeping my eye out for more Supros and it would be nice to have one or more sets of magnets on hand. For now, though, I'm just going to be spending far too much time playing this guitar. Thanks again, Rick. Aloha,
Ian
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Dustpans LTD.
The Casteels
HSGA
[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 19 September 2006 at 05:20 AM.] |
Steinar Gregertsen
Member From: Arendal, Norway
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posted 19 September 2006 05:15 AM
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Let me just add that a set of NIBro's brought new life to this Silvertone, it sounded sweet as it was but the new magnets added clarity and presence to that sweetness..  
Steinar ------------------
"Play to express, not to impress"
www.gregertsen.com
Southern Moon Northern Lights [This message was edited by Steinar Gregertsen on 19 September 2006 at 05:17 AM.]
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Andy Sandoval
Member From: Bakersfield, California, USA
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posted 19 September 2006 11:29 AM
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My National Chicagoan sounded good before but those magnets gave it some "warp speed" power, Sorta comparable to Dilithium Crystals?[This message was edited by Andy Sandoval on 19 September 2006 at 11:38 AM.] |
Rick Aiello
Member From: Berryville, VA USA
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posted 19 September 2006 01:08 PM
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quote:
gave it some "warp speed" power, Sorta comparable to Dilithium Crystals?
Reminds me of an episode ... where inferior units were discarded ...  Click on the Vulcan ------------------
Dustpans LTD.
The Casteels
HSGA
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Louie Warren
Member From: Sumerduck, VA, USA
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posted 19 September 2006 01:16 PM
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So how do I get these magic magnets on my National D8? ;-)------------------
Please help spread the word!
http://home.earthlink.net/~es336td/stolen.html National Dynamic, National D8 Console |
Rick Aiello
Member From: Berryville, VA USA
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posted 19 September 2006 01:46 PM
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They are replacements for one specific type of pickup only ...See Steinar's photo above ... |
Ian McLatchie
Member From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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posted 19 September 2006 01:59 PM
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Hey, thanks for posting my email, Rick! You saved me the trouble of typing out a contribution to the discussion, but I'll do so anyway. Having played the guitar for a week now, I don't think I went far enough in my original comments. The transformation is simply miraculous. I've always thought that Supros were the most underrated steels around, but I didn't know the half of it 'til now. Save me another pair - I'll have the money in the mail in a day or two. |
Lynn Oliver
Member From: Redmond, Washington, USA
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posted 19 September 2006 08:28 PM
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Slightly off-topic; what would happen if the non-magnetized shoes of a Turner horseshoe pickup were magnetized, or replaced with magnetized parts?Lynn |
Rick Aiello
Member From: Berryville, VA USA
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posted 20 September 2006 05:10 AM
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Mild (plain) steel has a very low remnance ... so it will not retain a charge for very long, after the magnetizing force has been removed.Replacing "fauxs" with "real" horseshoe magnets ... and using an alnico pole piece bobbin ... would result in the poles pieces altering the magnetic orientation of the horseshoes ... The strength of the alnico would overide the much weaker hardened alloy steel horseshoe magnets ... and ultimately realign its domains to coinside with the alnicos domains. This is exactly what alnicos would do to any ferromagnetic material ... that has a lower coercivity than itself. If you placed an alnico pole piece bobbin in something like my neodymium based H-Shoes or MRI assembly ... The pole pieces would act mearly as a magnetic conduit ... like iron or steel ... because the neodymium is just so powerful ...
All that said ... "faux" horseshoes ... or any other type of steel base plate and/or steel cover for that matter ... used in conjunction with a permanent magnet based pickup... will affect that pickups performance.
Any permanent magnet whose pole (say its "North" pole) is backed by a ferromagnetic material ... will show an increase in the flux density at the opposite pole (South) by a significant amount. Also ... introducing steel over the strings ... will change the "shape" of the magnetic field in that area ... So "fauxs" (Excel, Shobud, Turner, RIC, etc) do change the way an alnico pole piece bobbin performs ... The steel backing plays the most prominant role here ... magnetic pole pieces will not induce much magnetism in the upper steel flange ... measurements with a gaussmeter shows that plainly ... Not to long ago ... I fitted one of Jason Lollars Chicago Steel pickups ... with its bar magnets/steel screw pole pieces ... into a pair of Excel JB Frypan "fauxs" for a buddie of mine. The results were very pleasing  ------------------
Dustpans LTD.
The Casteels
HSGA
[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 20 September 2006 at 09:12 AM.] |
Louie Warren
Member From: Sumerduck, VA, USA
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posted 21 September 2006 09:25 AM
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quote:
Rick Aiello
MemberFrom: Berryville, VA USA
posted 19 September 2006 01:46 PM profile send email edit They are replacements for one specific type of pickup only ... See Steinar's photo above ...
Ok... so I take it they only work on string thru pickups; Rick horseshoe and the like? My huge humbucker type on my National Dynamic is SOL? Just curious. ------------------
Please help spread the word!
http://home.earthlink.net/~es336td/stolen.html National Dynamic, National D8 Console |
Louie Warren
Member From: Sumerduck, VA, USA
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posted 21 September 2006 09:31 AM
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quote:
Rick Aiello
MemberFrom: Berryville, VA USA
posted 19 September 2006 01:46 PM profile send email edit They are replacements for one specific type of pickup only ... See Steinar's photo above ...
So my National Dynamic is out of luck? The pickup looks something like this:  but the cover goes all the way back to the bridge. Is there anything that can help a weak version of this pickup? Thanx. Ok... so I take it they only work on string thru pickups; Rick horseshoe and the like? My huge humbucker type on my National Dynamic is SOL? Just curious. ------------------
Please help spread the word!
http://home.earthlink.net/~es336td/stolen.html National Dynamic, National D8 Console |
Steinar Gregertsen
Member From: Arendal, Norway
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posted 21 September 2006 10:40 AM
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No reason to despair Louie, I had one exactly like that and had the same problem. It turned out that the tone control was wired in a way that didn't allow the full 'juice' of the pickup to come through. Check my posts in this thread for more detailed info. Steinar ------------------
"Play to express, not to impress"
www.gregertsen.com
Southern Moon Northern Lights |
Steinar Gregertsen
Member From: Arendal, Norway
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posted 21 September 2006 10:48 AM
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Louie, here's a photo of the NIBro magnets installed on my Silvertone,- it's the black 'walls' on each side of the pickup.  Steinar ------------------
"Play to express, not to impress"
www.gregertsen.com
Southern Moon Northern Lights [This message was edited by Steinar Gregertsen on 21 September 2006 at 10:48 AM.]
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Louie Warren
Member From: Sumerduck, VA, USA
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posted 22 September 2006 03:12 PM
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Thanx Steinar! My Dynamic kicks. Mine is black and white and has volume & tone on either side of the pickup. It's the D8 console guitar that has the weak pickups. It also has scratchy pots and switch, so I may tear it apart and see just what is going on in there. Thanx.------------------
Please help spread the word!
http://home.earthlink.net/~es336td/stolen.html National Dynamic, National D8 Console |
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