suislidE03
New member
Just installed an alnico 8 magnet from wymore guitars, from the stock alnico 5 that comes in the Full Shred. Ive been a long time user of the FS until I swapped it to try a bill lawrence, which was decent, to an Anderson, which was too back end heavy. I did a long an somewhat tedious preamp tube shootout for my Laney through the anderson H3 that was in the guitar, and as soon as I installed the Full Shred everything changed. It is a very cutting pickup, and much tighter than the H3. I left the preamp tubes the same for comparison.
As for the swap, I referenced stratdeluxers tutorial in the vault. I heated up the back of the pickup with a hairdryer on low, made a mess, and then loosened the bobbin screws. The magnet slides out very easily, and almost forgot the orientation after I took it out. I didnt have any sort of polarity tester, but I held the two close together to see which was which on the A8, which was not marked at all for polarity. Im not sure if I got it right, but it works.
The A8 made quite a difference immediately. The cleans are very fat and there is still a crisp high end, but its not as hairy as the A5. Much more body also. I would say the mids on all frequencies are boosted considerably. The lows are nice and full also. On the gain side, it is noticeably more tame, and looser. I would rate the EQ 5/7/7. I dont know about the output, but it really sounds decreased. Maybe the EQ change of the magnet is just tricking me. The hair is really gone off the high end. Instead of a very aggressive crunch, its more like a punchy pearly gates. I know thats a wierd comparison, but it reminds me of the PG. This may actually have more mids though. I honestly dont know if I like it more than the A5, but I will have to play some more. I wouldnt call it a full shred anymore, thats for sure. I think it sounds better for leads though, they arent as compressed and scooped sounding. Very open and clear. I still give it a :bigthumb:
As for the swap, I referenced stratdeluxers tutorial in the vault. I heated up the back of the pickup with a hairdryer on low, made a mess, and then loosened the bobbin screws. The magnet slides out very easily, and almost forgot the orientation after I took it out. I didnt have any sort of polarity tester, but I held the two close together to see which was which on the A8, which was not marked at all for polarity. Im not sure if I got it right, but it works.
The A8 made quite a difference immediately. The cleans are very fat and there is still a crisp high end, but its not as hairy as the A5. Much more body also. I would say the mids on all frequencies are boosted considerably. The lows are nice and full also. On the gain side, it is noticeably more tame, and looser. I would rate the EQ 5/7/7. I dont know about the output, but it really sounds decreased. Maybe the EQ change of the magnet is just tricking me. The hair is really gone off the high end. Instead of a very aggressive crunch, its more like a punchy pearly gates. I know thats a wierd comparison, but it reminds me of the PG. This may actually have more mids though. I honestly dont know if I like it more than the A5, but I will have to play some more. I wouldnt call it a full shred anymore, thats for sure. I think it sounds better for leads though, they arent as compressed and scooped sounding. Very open and clear. I still give it a :bigthumb:
