What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

[Securb]

I have a Hot Rails and a vintage Ibanez V4 in my Telecaster. I love the tone of the pickups individually but together in the middle position they don't mesh. On the other hand I have a Dimebucker/Jazz combo in my Iceman that sounds fantastic together. I get a great middle position tone and they sound phenomenal out of phase.

Would the Tele be a situation where the sum of two great tones don't make a better tone? Or do you think the characteristics of the magnets don't play well with each other?

[Jeffblue]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

Warmoth Mahogany carved top tele body that I installed Seymour Duncan Antiquity P90s and a Bill Lawrence 500XL in the middle. These pickups seem to play nice together. The Antiquities are warm and smooth and can get quite angry when needed. The Bill Lawrence cleans up beautifully and the notes are articulate even when pushed hard. Playing the pickups combined is the best of both worlds.

[Jeffblue]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?


I find the clarity of Ceramics and the warmth of Alnicos can do well together.

[Lewguitar]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

I used an alnico 2 Pearly Gates neck and a ceramic magnet Duncan Custom for years in a 2HB Strat.

Liked that combo a lot.

My buddy Aj uses two alnico 5 Duncan SSL-1's and a ceramic mag Fralin SP-43 bridge pickup in his Strat.

Sounds terrific.

[GuitarDoc]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

I generally don't like the sound of ceramics at all...by themselves or with other alnico pups. But some ceramic pups just work great with alnico pups...ex: single coil sized buckers with ceramic mags like the Little '59 sound pretty darn good by themselves and in parallel with alnico pups.

[DTrane]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

Jeff, how do you like the middle hb? What type of music do you use it for? Is it muddy?

[frankfalbo]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

The magnet type has almost nothing to do with whether two pickups will combine well. It's the frequency response and the comb filtering from phase anomalies in the middle positions. In other words, a bright Alnico 5 pickup like the Full Shred in the bridge, will blend in a similar way that the Duncan Custom would, with a Ceramic magnet, because they both have a crisp top end. The character is different, and they each achieve the top end differently, but it's the tonal spectrum that will influence the blend with an Alnico neck pickup. The Dimebucker has skinny blades, and a totally different magnetic circuit and string window. Sure it's Ceramic, but even if it were Alnico, that blade arrangement would have a lot more influence over the blend than the magnet type in my opinion.

I'm not sure where the notion of matching magnet types came from but it's not really applicable unless that's the sound you're after. Meaning, if you like the matching set of Pearly Gates, A2Pro's, Distortions, JB/Jazz then for you it's right to match magnets. But if you like a Custom or Super Distortion bridge and Seth Lover neck, then rock on...

[Jeff5]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

I have a Custom/AII Pro in one guitar, Distortion/PG in another and PATB-2 and PATB-3 in another. All sound different, but quite good. My favorite middle position is probably the Custom/AII Pro.

[Big Flannel]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

I use the custom with a '59 in the neck. That combo, (in my guitar), has a sublime sound when combined.

[Jeffblue]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

Jeff, how do you like the middle hb? What type of music do you use it for? Is it muddy?

Mainly Blues and Rock. when you have the middle pickup switched with either the neck or bridge pickup combined......sounds so incredible. each note is more pronounced than with the P90s only. Not muddy at all.

[Razix]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

While not quite the same as mixing 2 pups with different magnets, I have a P-Rails that I modded to be A8 and ceramic (A8 on the rail side). It's one of my favorite aggressive bridge pups now. I don't have much experience mixing alnico and ceramic besides that, but I can't really think of any reason not to do so.

[idsnowdog]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

I have had no problems.

[Lewguitar]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

I have a Custom/AII Pro in one guitar, Distortion/PG in another and PATB-2 and PATB-3 in another. All sound different, but quite good. My favorite middle position is probably the Custom/AII Pro.

I use the custom with a '59 in the neck. That combo, (in my guitar), has a sublime sound when combined.

Yes. I liked the way my Custom combined with the PGn too. Spent a lot of time playing rhythm in that setting.

[Big Flannel]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

I really wanna try the PGn with my custom.

[glepko]

Re: What has your experience been like mixing ceramics with alnicos?

Been working just fine here for quite a long time