Adapters And Pads
The magnet is ready to go right out of the box for six-string guitars, but we’ve provided a few extras for special cases. Read and watch this section first BEFORE applying the felt feet or rubber grip adapters.
Felt Feet
One of the supplied extras is a set of felt pads for the Magnet’s feet.
HOWEVER… you probably don’t need to install these. Here’s why:
The plastic on the Magnet’s feet is smooth, and it doesn’t actually bear any load.
The Magnet only grips the side of the neck. So we haven’t noticed any body scratches in any of the interviews we’ve done.
Also, the foot pads will eat up some of the available gripping height, especially on acoustic, where you only have fretboard up there. So we recommend leaving them off for most users.
But if you’re concerned about very delicate body finishes, peel off the backing…
…and apply the pads.
If you need more grip space, just move the Magnet a little bit off the body, so you can place it lower, to give it neck surface to grip. However note that this will eat up playable fretboard area. Trade-offs!
Grip Adapters
We also include a set of adapter grips for narrow necks like mandolins and banjos.
Similar to the feet, these are supplied with 3M peel-off backing, which was the strongest stick-on adhesive that we could find. This adhesive is fine for the feet, but we’ve tested it on the grips and it is NOT STRONG ENOUGH.
Instead, apply a layer of super glue to the stick-on side and clamp or rubber band the adapter to the Magnet until it sets. This provides much stronger adhesion.
Don’t worry about the attachment being permanent — even with the adapters, the Magnet will still fit a standard six-string neck, just with more tension. So this is a nice setup for anyone who switches instruments.
Wider necks, like seven-string guitars, and classical or Flamenco guitars, may not fit with the adapters on, so leave them off. Also, the Magnet does not currently fit 8-string guitars.
A note on mandolins: On F-style mandolins, the scroll can sometimes get in the way of the Magnet.
A-style mandolins work the best…
…especially with a tall deck height. There’s lots of variation in mandolin design, so you can experiment with the instruments you have.
Finally, the Magnet’s grips are rubber and they do contact some of the guitar’s neck wood, as well as the side of the fretboard. In the years we’ve been using the Magnet, we haven’t noticed any interaction with neck finishes. This includes times when we have left it attached to the guitar overnight. The Magnet is not like a tuner that sits in a visible spot on the headstock. The contact patch is on the upper part of the neck, small, and simply not very visible. To be clear, we have not systematically tested this, so it’s possible that there’s some effect and we just never noticed. If you’re concerned about possible finish interaction, please remove the Magnet from the guitar when you’re not using it.