Tell me about Alnico 8.

[chadd]

I hear A8 the way chadd hears it. It sounds harsh to me. More than any of the other alnicos.

Thanks, I know I'm not the only one that hears it that way. When it comes to things like sounds, flavors or scents there is an interpretive factor that comes along with them that isn't a black and white type of thing.

[Clint 55]

Even more than the A9?

In the bridge I find A9 more aggressive because its mids are higher up and it has more highs. In the neck A9 is one of my absolute favorites because it provides a little more cut while still sounding natural and responding like A5. A8 is less bright but has an overall harshness that I don't care for.

Is that "harshness" that you hear due to the increased mids in the A8?

Yes, it's due to the gritty mids and an overall synthetic and metallic color. Those 2 things are what makes it sound overall harsh to me in all applications and makes me not care for it. Kind of like ceramic but different.

I actually even made some double thick hybrids with 1 bar of A8 suck to another type of alnico and I still didn't like it.

[eclecticsynergy]

I remember some of you guys mentioning A8 is "clanky", though?

A8 sounded slightly clanky to me in a Demon.
It smoothed the ceramic sizzle in a Distortion set very nicely, and added a little alnico bounce to the feel.

IMO it might be at its best in hotter winds, though I once considered trying it in a 59B.
Didn't do it because I suddenly realized that the 59B is pretty much perfect the way it is.

Would like to try A8 in a Custom one of these days.

[Rex_Rocker]

Those VH pickups in his Destroyer were A8 PAF-type winds, no?

Also, funny you guys mention Alnico is more dynamic than Ceramic. To me, it's the other way around. Alnico is squishy and slightly spongy (compared to Ceramic). At least A2 and A5, which are the ones I've tried. Ceramic is bold and super fast to respond. I think the only explanation I can find is that Alnico magnets are usually put in vintage winds which are more dynamic by nature, and Ceramic in more overwound pickups, which are more compressed by nature.

But I'm sure a Ceramic in a PAF wind would be way too stiff and fast.

Not to say bright.

[eclecticsynergy]

Those VH pickups in his Destroyer were A8 PAF-type winds, no?

Also, funny you guys mention Alnico is more dynamic than Ceramic. To me, it's the other way around. Alnico is squishy and slightly spongy (compared to Ceramic). At least A2 and A5, which are the ones I've tried. Ceramic is bold and super fast to respond. I think the only explanation I can find is that Alnico magnets are usually put in vintage winds which are more dynamic by nature, and Ceramic in more overwound pickups, which are more compressed by nature.

But I'm sure a Ceramic in a PAF wind would be way too stiff and fast.

Not to say bright.

I wouldn't say ceramic isn't dynamic - to me it's just different. Ceramic feels stiffer, and for sure it has immediate attack & aggressive highs.
Alnicos seem more interactive to me in terms of tactile feedback; they feel bouncier but aren't really wider in dynamic range IMO.
That said, they also clean up differently when one rolls back.

The thing is, ceramic is most often matched with heavier winds, which tend to be more compressed.
That could be partly responsible for the nature of prevailing opinion about it.

As for ceramic in lighter vintage winds, years ago one forum member posted that he loved his ceramic-loaded 59B.
As I remember, he called it a fire breathing monster.

Back in the 70s Seymour sometimes supercharged customers' pickups with a ceramic mag swap, calling them 'Seymourized.'

[GuitarDoc]

In the bridge I find A9 more aggressive because its mids are higher up and it has more highs. In the neck A9 is one of my absolute favorites because it provides a little more cut while still sounding natural and responding like A5. A8 is less bright but has an overall harshness that I don't care for.



Yes, it's due to the gritty mids and an overall synthetic and metallic color. Those 2 things are what makes it sound overall harsh to me in all applications and makes me not care for it. Kind of like ceramic but different.

I actually even made some double thick hybrids with 1 bar of A8 suck to another type of alnico and I still didn't like it.

Thanks for that response, Clint.

Ah, ok. I get it, your explanation makes sense. That sounds about as I expected...the increased mids are responsible for the "harshness" that you describe.

Sometimes it is hard to communicate when we each have our own definitions of common words that we use...like "harsh". To me, I use that to describe the high frequencies (to me, ceramics are "harsh" because of their increased brittle/cold/metallic/piercing highs), but you and Chadd apparently use it to describe the affect of the mids on the overall tone.

So, I describe A8 as having more power, tight lows, more/aggressive mids, but smoother highs (but not being "harsh").