Bridge mini humbucker not as loud and full as neck pickup

[Jim Bonnell]

I'm just finished up my most recent build with a pair of mini humbuckers I built. The one in the bridge position is not nearly as loud as the neck pickup. The neck is 6.0 and the bridge is 7.3. I reheated the solder joints. When that didn't work I pull the pickup out and put a new one in and it sounds the same. The height is set correct. Since the neck sounds fine it doesn't seem like it could be the volume or tone pots. Just one of each. I thought about the toggle switch, but didn't think much could go wrong with that to make it sound this way. I was going to change it out anyway, but realized I didn't have another one in stock. Any ideas?

[David King]

Have you tried switching them around in the guitar to see what happens? Those magnets are so short I'd check to make sure the weak pickup's magnet poles were oriented correctly and that it's holding it's charge.
If you have an Extech LCR meter, you can test for internal shorts in the coil.

[Jim Bonnell]

Thanks David. I haven't tried switching them, but that sounds like it's worth a trying. I checked to make sure the polarity is correct and I charged the magnet before assembly. I used A2 magnets to the best of my knowledge. If an A5 ended up in the neck would that make such a big difference? Is there any way to check the magnet? Any chance the toggle switch could do this?

[Joshua Levin-Epstein]

If the bridge pick up is assembled correctly and functioning properly, maybe you don't like the sound because of where it is placed. It may be too close to the bridge or right under a node.

[Mark Swanson]

I agree with Joshua here, not about the node business but about placement. If it's too close to the bridge it can sound thin and not have much energy available to it. I think it's just a characteristic of that guitar, Jim. You said you tried two pickups there and both showed that same tendency, right?

[David King]

I don't know much about minibuckers so probably not the person to ask about the tones generated by various magnets. The A5 will help the balance outputs as it has about double the Gauss of the A2.
Minibucker magnets are right at the edge of what's possible with alnico in terms of form-factor. The result is that they aren't very stable and will self-demagnetize if the orientation of the crystalline structure (set at the foundry during cooling) is off kilter. A Gauss meter would be handy here.
Output is a product of turns and flux, if your flux is ok then you need to examine your turns. Too much winding tension could cause internal shorts leaving you with not just fewer turns but the shorted turns will induce eddy currents which will further dim output (dull sounding pickup). It's easy to calculate within 1% what your DCR should be with the wire you're using but an LCR meter will show you anomalies you can't catch with a simple resistance check.

[David Schwab]

I'd either wind the bridge pickup hotter, or the neck cooler.