Custom 8, new AlNiCo 8 mag. Interesting experience

[CAMartin]

Re: Custom 8, new AlNiCo 8 mag. Interesting experience

I may have to try an "8" in my old Kramer Pacer Imperial. The Screamin' Demon it's got now is seemingly getting weak.

[BloodRose]

Re: Custom 8, new AlNiCo 8 mag. Interesting experience

Im not familar with the rough casts and all, but I do LOVE the custom 8 pickups!! wonder how much diff this makes over a reg 8 bar??

Also would LOVE to get my mitts on a destroyer!! Sweet!

[jrbowen81]

Re: Custom 8, new AlNiCo 8 mag. Interesting experience

The A8s I got from AddictionFX were definitely not polished. I put one in the Custom that's in my Les Paul (loved it!) and another in the Custom Custom that's in my Schecter S-1 Custom. (that's the way to use the word "custom 3 times in a single sentence, I suppose, lol) It absolutely made a more drastic difference going from A2 to A8. That Schecter is a MONSTER now.

[LtKojak]

Re: Custom 8, new AlNiCo 8 mag. Interesting experience

For the record: Alnico magnets are made in two different ways: by melting the metallic components to create the alloy, or sintered, which is mixing the elements in powder mode, without melting'em.

These two methods create two different molecular structures, affecting the way the finished product will project and focus the magnetic field.

I see a lot of people talking about sonic differences among polished, sandcast and roughcast magnets. Which is true in a certain sense, but the reason of those differences are NOT due to the physical appearance of the magnets, but from coming from different annealing processes (melting vs. sintering) and/or different batches of the same process.

To make a polished magnet, it has to be cast in a slighly larger mold to be afterwards grinded to size, which affects the molecular structure due to the heat generated by the grinding. To make a roughcast one, you pour the melted alloy in the required size mold, and you let it coll down. Several production steps is saved, so the cost is lower, but due to marketing, they actually sell for more.

If a difference is heard, is due to a better mechanical coupling from the polished magnet has with the other elements used to create the "horshoe-like" magnetic circuit, which are the keeper bar, the slugs and the baseplate.

That's the reason I only sell polished mags in the weakest grades, destinated mainly to the neck position, which are A3 (the lowest) and A2. The other grades are powerful enough to be used in any position, so I mix and match mag combos, like polished A3/roughcast UOA5 and/or roughcast A4/roughcast A8.

If the alloy is taken from the same batch, and cast for both polished and rougcast, the difference produced, although present and very real, is so small that maybe it can be measured, but certainly not heard by the human ear.

If somebody hears this difference, congratulations! Your name is now Fido, and you're only allowed reliefing yourself by a tree!

HTH,

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Custom 8, new AlNiCo 8 mag. Interesting experience

The A8s I got from AddictionFX were definitely not polished. I put one in the Custom that's in my Les Paul (loved it!) and another in the Custom Custom that's in my Schecter S-1 Custom. (that's the way to use the word "custom 3 times in a single sentence)

Counting to FOUR is one of your weak points I guess.

[LtKojak]

Re: Custom 8, new AlNiCo 8 mag. Interesting experience

Counting to FOUR is one of your weak points I guess.

I'm seeing five.

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Custom 8, new AlNiCo 8 mag. Interesting experience

I'm seeing five.

That last "custom" is in another sentence (after the period of the first sentence).