alnico II vs. alnico III for strat pickups

[dr space]

just wondering what your thoughts are on strat pickups with alnico II and III magnets... Ive only played ones with alnico V magnets... I know the other two have a warmer sound, but can anyone describe them better to me, also how do they compare with each other?

I was thinking of putting either a A2 or A3 strat neck pickup in my tele to go with the A5 bridge tele pup, would you say this would be a good move or would the the pickups be too drastically different from each other? thanks.

[dr.barlo]

Re: alnico II vs. alnico III for strat pickups

I hated fralin 54's with a3 magnets in my strat. They are really weak, it was weird. Love a2 and a5's, and a3's are really weird. BTW I am a big fan of a3 magnet bars in HB's.

B

[dr space]

Re: alnico II vs. alnico III for strat pickups

its weird how people dont seem to like a3's at all. From descriptions it seems like it would be a balance between an a2 and a5... but what exactly did you not like? how was the EQ curve?

[gripweed]

Re: alnico II vs. alnico III for strat pickups

I wonder how an overwound strat pickup with a3 would sound.

[mrfjones]

Re: alnico II vs. alnico III for strat pickups

some of the old fender pickups (in the 50's) were made with alnico 3 magnets. Alan Hamel still uses alnico three magnets and i have hear really good things about his pickups. You should talk to him about them as he knows much more than i do. He was a very nice guy to speak with even though i did not buy his pickups. i want to try a set out one of these days.

[Luke Duke]

Re: alnico II vs. alnico III for strat pickups

I seems like someone said a few weeks ago that A3 had a slightly more aggressive sound than A5, or maybe that was A4.....

I loaded my MIA strat with an APS1 neck, APS1 RWRP middle, and an APS2 bridge.

I have never been a strat fan but due to these pups I have become a strat fan. They are warm and smooth, with chunky mids and a pluckey sound. I can post my review, or you can look for Fuzzyratfarts thread on the APS'

Luke