Tell me about Alnico 8.

[Ascension]

For me, A8 is everything I love about ceramics without the things (harshness, lack of dynamics) I don't like about ceramics.

Larry

Spot on here!

[Ascension]

OK, so what I can gather is it doesn't sound as dry/raspy/tight as Ceramic, but it doesn't really sound like any other Alnico either?

A8 sounds much like A2 but is much tighter more articulate and less compressed. Has that same singing sweet mid for solos also. Will respond well to touch also if set up right in the right guitar where Ceramic won't.

[Ascension]

. A8 is harsh and metallic in the mids and there is no nice sparkle to appreciate on the top what so ever lol because of the mid aggression. A.

Not in my experience it doesn't. This is with the Alt 8 in the bridge with a Sentient neck in my 93 KOA Carvin DC 127 through my little Mesa Subway and running nothing but a little delay and verb in the loop and a wah up front. Running both on at times but is mostly just the Alt 8 in the bridge here.

[GuitarDoc]

I also have to disagree with Clint. I've been using A8 in some pups for at least 10 years.
They DO sound less harsh than an A5 but still bright and tight, not nearly as soft as an A2 in either the highs or the lows. More output than either of those...similar to a ceramic but not even close to the harsh/brittle high end of a ceramic.
If you like A5 but want more mids and more output with a tiny bit softer high end, then A8 is your friend.
A6 is closer to an A2 than an A8 (or an A5). If you want more highs than an A6 or A8 then you could try an A9.

[EmiAba]

I would guess...

Took the harsh off the highs
Bumped the mids up a touch
Warmed the bass, and lessened, without it disappearing / maintained some thump, kept it tight-ish
Stayed Hot

That is very true. Someone experienced ear fatigue using an A8 loaded pickup. It never happened to me. I have my Custom8 installed since 2014 and still thinking it's the best fit for that guitar.

[GuitarDoc]

I think the C8 is one of the best bridge pups available.

[JB6464]

I think the C8 is one of the best bridge pups available.

What does the C8 sound like tonal wise?

[chadd]

I found A8 to be harsh in every pickup I tried. It could be dialed out, but that made swapping guitars impossible because then everything else sounded muddy.

[EmiAba]

My A8 is roughcast, do you know if there is a polished version? And if yes how can this affect the tone in a magnet like A8?

[Demanic]

A8 sounds "totally organic" on steroids.
Here's an example. Pay no attention to the first 1:50 of the video. That's the neck pickup, An SH-6n with a roughcast A4 mag, In parallel. After 1:50 it's the Alt 8 in the bridge with some distortion.
Sounds pretty organic to me.

[nienturi]

What does the C8 sound like tonal wise?

It may sound a powerfull custom custom?

[GuitarDoc]

I found A8 to be harsh in every pickup I tried. It could be dialed out, but that made swapping guitars impossible because then everything else sounded muddy.

Do you play pups with A5?
The A8 isn't as "harsh" sounding as an A5.

I've used a lot of A8 mags and never found them (in any pup I put them into) to sound harsh.

[GuitarDoc]

It may sound a powerfull custom custom?

Sounds more like a C5 with smoother highs (not NEARLY as soft/smooth as the CC), and more mids (but, again, not nearly like the CC). A fuller/richer/smoother/more powerful C5.

[nienturi]

Sounds more like a C5 with smoother highs (not NEARLY as soft/smooth as the CC), and more mids (but, again, not nearly like the CC). A fuller/richer/smoother/more powerful C5.

That's good, too

[chadd]

Do you play pups with A5?
The A8 isn't as "harsh" sounding as an A5.

I've used a lot of A8 mags and never found them (in any pup I put them into) to sound harsh.

There are very few A5 pickups that I like or use. The Screamin Demon is one that I like and I tried an A8 in it. It paired well with a stock A5 Demon in the neck and sounded great split, but absolutely sounded harsh to my ears in comparison with my guitar and amp setup. I had the same results every time I swapped in A8 into a humbucker and even in the tele pickups I picked up from a winder on here.

Just remember, how you hear something only applies to you. Hearing, like taste or smell, is subjective and other people experience it differently. That's why I don't say that it is definitively one thing or another, only that I found them to be so.