Magnets

[Don]

I jswapped the alnico II magnet for an alnico V in the bridge Duncan Seth Lover on my Les Paul with dramatic results.

I put a used set of Seths in this guitar years ago. Though I like the sound of them, they're a tad darker than I'd like.

The last time I placed an order at Stew Mac I bought an alnico V magnet.

Because these were Seths (not wax potted) and I already had the covers removed (for style), it was a super easy swap- loosen the strings > remove the pickup/ring assembly > remove the treble side height screw > loosen the baseplate screws > swap the magnet (being careful to keep the same polarity).

It sounds real good. There's more bass, treble, presence, twang, chime, etc... Kind of like a cross between a Les Paul and a Tele (though it still sounds very much like a Les Paul). There are also a lot more harmonics and harmonic feedback (not sqeal) is easier to access. I can run the tone down around 5 and it sounds real clear.

I basically turned it into a "rock" pickup. It might actually be a bit too much. I'll have to hear it in the context of the band before I can really judge it.

I'd like to try an alnico IV as well.

Some will say that I've just turned my Seth Lover p/u into a '59, but I like these pickups. The fact that they're not wax potted makes them fun to play.

t's good fun, cheap!

[Direstraits]

I'm convinced that the type of magnet in a pickup has more influence on the sound it produces than all the over/under/scatter winding etc that manufacturers push at us.
Consider a vintage strat sound (i.e. early Shadows )- Fender would have me believe I need Alnico 5s, but my ears tell me that Alnico 3's give more of the sound I'm looking for. It's the same with Teles. There are a lot of vintage pickups based on alnico 5 magnets, but the Alnico 3's in my Squier CV 50's Tele are just ... None more twangy !

[chuckocaster]

early 54 strats have A3 mags, not all 54's only some of them.

and don, that's the best part about HB pups, easy mag swaps! fun as hell ain't it?

rock on brutha!

[DoobieK]

Being mostly a humbucker player and a tinkerer I have changed magnets in lots of pickups. It can make a downright crappy sounding pickup sound good, and the other way around. Nicely done Don!

[Don]

It can make a downright crappy sounding pickup sound good, and the other way around. Nicely done Don!

I'll find out for sure tonight when I jam with my band.

[Don]

The pickup sounded great with my band! We play a lot of types of music- blues, r&b, rockabilly, country, alternative, punk...

I didn't feel the need to switch guitars all night.

With the alnico II magnets the guitar's attack was a bit soft, now even the low E is purcussive and twangy- almost Tele like.

On songs like "Mary Jane's last Dance" and "Drivn' My Life Away" I usually feel the need for my Tele (and tweed Deluxe clone). The Les Paul covered them very well.

If this guitar had a Bigsby on it I wouldn't "need" anything else (I could say that about my Tele as well and when I've anly been allowed to use one guitar for an event it's usually my ES-135 because it's brighter than the Les Paul and has a Bigsby on it))!

[JM3]

I used to work for the company that sold all the magnets for Fender and SD and some others. DiMarzio used to buy from others. Most if not all today are imported, just due to the dirty type of evironment it causes and costs related to manufacture. The boss was a total asswipe so I walked out and enjoyed it after telling him off

MOST customers had no clue what they were buying or what the result would be. alot of what's known today was done by trial and error in the pickup business

There were a few times we shipped one grade of alnico instead of another, and the customers never could tell the difference LOL

[Gris]

A friend made me a Tele neck PU that has alnico II, III and V magnets, two of each... ;-)

[Don]

I had a Duncan Five-Two in the bridge of my Tele for a while. I liked it a lot, though I think it was other aspects of the pickup that made me like it rather than the magnet mix.

[chuckocaster]

A friend made me a Tele neck PU that has alnico II, III and V magnets, two of each... ;-)

the perfect 10?

[JM3]

Alot of the sought after Warm tone associated with magnets is really just de-gaussing of the magnet. They lose magnetism with time

Magnets degrade and can be easly de-magnetized (if you are not careful).

[JM3]

from my old company
AlNiCo
Alnico describes a family of materials that possess excellent temperature stability, high residual induction, and relatively high energies. The alloy is derived from a common base composition comprised of aluminum, nickel, cobalt, and iron, with varying proportions of other elements.

Alnico alloys possess the lowest reversible temperature coefficient of any permanent magnet material. The high nickel content of alnico results in good resistance to corrosion and oxidation, and this material is also a good electrical conductor.


Manufacturing Differences
There are two different manufacturing processes for Alnico:

Cast alnico may be manufactured in many shapes and sizes not possible with other magnet materials.
Sintered alnico is usually restricted to smaller sizes and offers slightly lower magnetic properties, but has tighter dimensional tolerances due to its processing.

Advantages


Wide range of working temperatures, up to 550C
High field strengths
Good corrosion resistance
Can be plated or painted

Disadvantages


Alnico can easily be demagnetized due its low coercive force.
Alnico is hard, brittle and unsuited to common drilling, tapping or machining operations

[Don]

I swapped in a pair of A4 mags from RS Guitarworks and played at a party on Saturday night. I actually liked the A4 in the bridge pickup less than I liked the A5! The A4 was harsher. It sounded good for rhythm playing but was really piercing for lead playing above the 12th fret. I had to lower the tone pot on the guitar below 5.

I love the A4 in the neck position. It's clear and strong, but not bright. Having the A5 in the bridge made the A2 in the neck sound muddy.

I pulled the A4 from the bridge pickup and put the A2 back in. The A5 was great, it made the guitar slightly more versatile, almost Tele like, but it was missing some Les Paul Fatness.

The A2 in the bridge and A4 in the neck is almost a perfect combination. I can't play the Tele songs like I could with the A5 in the bridge, but I have a Tele for that, besides, I don't get paid, I can play any song with any guitar I feel like!