NMR tools are described having unidirectional magnetization throughout the magnet assembly. An antenna assembly is positioned around the magnet assembly in order to excite a volume in the surrounding subterranean formation. A layer of soft magnetic core material is positioned under the antenna assembly in order to shield all or most of the RF field generated by the RF antenna away from the conductive components inside the NMR tool. The conductive components may be conductive structural members or a conductive magnet assembly. The soft magnetic core material also shapes the static magnetic field by smoothing out the longitudinal magnetic field variation.