[caption id="attachment_2166" align="alignright" width="300"]
The
SEYMOUR DUNCAN APH-2B Alnico II Pro Slash Humbucker bridge reverse zebra features a Warm, moderate output humbucker, recommended for jazz, blues, and classic rock.[/caption]
There are two main types of magnets used in today’s pickups – Alnico and Ceramic. And with these two pickup magnets comes their own set of features, most prominently of which is tone. Of the two, you’re likely to hear that alnico magnets give off a brighter tone. This unfortunately is incorrect; it’s not what the magnets are made of that influences their sound but their
strength. But as that old saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and in this case, there actually is something to that rumor of alnico being brighter.
Alnico is a lot more expensive than ceramic; so much so that alnico is almost never used in grades of 5 or higher (grades are used to tell a magnet’s strength but only in comparison to magnets made of the same material). In order to keep down costs but still have a magnet with strength high enough for something like a high output pickup, ceramic is used. Interestingly enough ceramic magnets are actually weaker than alnico when they are of the same grade and size – but only after a certain point though. When it comes to magnets the size used in pickups however, ceramic is actually stronger. Which brings me back to that rumor of alnico pickups being brighter; if you had pickups the size of a football, yeah, the alnico will be brighter – but good luck trying to fit that inside your axe!
Continue reading →
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The SEYMOUR DUNCAN APH-2B Alnico II Pro Slash Humbucker bridge reverse zebra features a Warm, moderate output humbucker, recommended for jazz, blues, and classic rock.[/caption]
There are two main types of magnets used in today’s pickups – Alnico and Ceramic. And with these two pickup magnets comes their own set of features, most prominently of which is tone. Of the two, you’re likely to hear that alnico magnets give off a brighter tone. This unfortunately is incorrect; it’s not what the magnets are made of that influences their sound but their strength. But as that old saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and in this case, there actually is something to that rumor of alnico being brighter.
Alnico is a lot more expensive than ceramic; so much so that alnico is almost never used in grades of 5 or higher (grades are used to tell a magnet’s strength but only in comparison to magnets made of the same material). In order to keep down costs but still have a magnet with strength high enough for something like a high output pickup, ceramic is used. Interestingly enough ceramic magnets are actually weaker than alnico when they are of the same grade and size – but only after a certain point though. When it comes to magnets the size used in pickups however, ceramic is actually stronger. Which brings me back to that rumor of alnico pickups being brighter; if you had pickups the size of a football, yeah, the alnico will be brighter – but good luck trying to fit that inside your axe!
Continue reading →
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