Absolutely done with Alnico 8

O

orpheo

Well-known member
I have been a fan of Alnico 8 for a decade now but I'm seeing a trend with my pickup choices. I don't use A8 anymore for the last year or so. In fact, I actively pull them out of pickups and install an A3 or A2 for a similar 'flavor' but with less power. Alnico 8 seems to tire my ears more so than others. There are odd frequencies I hear with A8, regardless of pickup, that start to annoy me after a while. Alnico 2 gives a sweet syrupy quality to the tone, A3 has sweetness and clarity, A4 is great all over... I just don't like A8 or UOA5 anymore. It's just too much of everything.

In fact, I stopped using high output pickups all together. The pegasus and JB are the hottest pickups I use nowadays and even those get mag-swapped to have an A2 and A3 or A4!

Let me hear your thoughts :)
 
Okay :)

All i know, is that my Epiphone came with A5 loaded P90's;
I really wanted to try swapping one or both magnets with a A2; but I haven't gotten this far yet.

Never tried anything else than A5, A2 and ceramic pickups.

Thanks for the post though, "you'll learn something new every day"

\m/
 
Of all the things I do with pups, guitars, and wiring . . . mag swapping is something I've barely done. I think the only one I've done is the Custom, CC, C5 thing. As soon as I can get the time, I want to try the A2/A3 in the 59's that Lew suggested. Got 'em all here, just need to find some time.
 
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100% agreement. Don't love UOA5 or A8.

Do love A3 in a neck pickup for clean tones. Not so much for overdriven soloing though.

And I love A2 in the bridge. Or neck.

Also like A2 in the neck and A4 in the bridge.

So my faves are:

RCA3 neck and RCA2 bridge

RCA2 neck and RCA2 bridge

RCA2 neck and RCA4 bridge

RCA4 neck and RCA4 bridge...but not as much as the first three.

RCA5 bridge is great for heavier rock sounds but I don't usually play in that style.

I generally prefer the sound of roughcast magnets in a humbucker, although I have an older Antiquity set with polished A2 and like it very much.
 
I agree with the phase thing as Mincer said. I've been playing thin-necked, dual-humbucker, super shredders for a long time. Very recently, I got a hardcore panging for a thicker neck, smaller frets and single coils out of nowhere.

Tastes change. I no longer have any A8-equipped pickups, but I wouldn't entirely dismiss them in the right application and they are just one more tool to help players get to where they want to be tonally.
 
When I compared RCA5 and UOA5 in two different but identical PRS Singlecuts with identical pickups, I heard conflicting harmonics in the UOA5 too.

I got a more of a pure sound from RCA5, with more sustain and better pinch harmonics.
 
That's funny, I was just posting yesterday how I determined I'm done with A8 also. I started making my own (hybrid) double thick mags so that provides the extra power, I don't need the weird synthetic sound that comes with A8 even if it's not as bad as ceramic. A2, A3, A5, and A6 are my favorites.

I do love hot pickups tho. I think that's a rare viewpoint. I like the fat tone, how they slam the amp, and I even like the compressed tone and how the upper mids and highs get this really unique sound. I want to go hotter than the JB. Next project will probably be a JB hybrid with this 18k cs pup which sounds basically like a Custom wind to me.

About the UOA5s. I find them most useful in the neck for when you want some chewiness but don't want it as fat as A2 or A3. I'm sure it has some uses in the bridge, but there seem to be other good UO options besides UOA5.
 
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Have been a big fan of UOA5 for a few years now. Every time I've replaced a regular A5 with it, I've liked the results.
Never tried replacing another unoriented mag with it so I'm not sure how it would fare in that case - perhaps not as well.
Haven't heard any odd harmonics from UOA5 myself, though I may have been less critical simply because I liked it better than A5.

I guess the closest equivalent in terms of strength would be A4. Myself, I feel A4 has lacked character in some cases.
A fairly neutral voice - IMO to be at its best, A4 needs a both good wind and a guitar with strong personality.

More recently I'm becoming infatuated with the A3. It has sparkle and chewiness. My first exposure came in two boutique neck pickups, a custom wind from James at Rewind and then an A3 "Pagey" from Zhangbucker. Both are fantastic. Only have experience with it at the neck so far, but I'm looking forward to trying it out in a couple of bridge pickups too, probably beginning with a Custom that's slated for one of my Firebirds.

I love the sound and feel of A3 so far, yet I do have some reservations about reduced output - it may be a while before I try it in a low output humbucker at the bridge.

Still, Gibson's Custombuckers & MHS humbuckers and Duncan's Bonamassa A3 pickups have garnered very good reviews.
 
As an afterthought, has anyone here ever tried UOA8 in a humbucker? I didn't even know such a thing existed until I looked it up.
A looser feel and some extra chewiness might soften the A8's in-your-face attitude but still offer some extra body.
 
eclecticsynergy said:
Have been a big fan of UOA5 for a few years now. Every time I've replaced a regular A5 with it, I've liked the results.
Never tried replacing another unoriented mag with it so I'm not sure how it would fare in that case - perhaps not as well.
Haven't heard any odd harmonics from UOA5 myself, though I may have been less critical simply because I liked it better than A5.

I guess the closest equivalent in terms of strength would be A4. Myself, I feel A4 has lacked character in some cases.
A fairly neutral voice - IMO to be at its best, A4 needs a both good wind and a guitar with strong personality.

More recently I'm becoming infatuated with the A3. It has sparkle and chewiness. My first exposure came in two boutique neck pickups, a custom wind from James at Rewind and then an A3 "Pagey" from Zhangbucker. Both are fantastic. Only have experience with it at the neck so far, but I'm looking forward to trying it out in a couple of bridge pickups too, probably beginning with a Custom that's slated for one of my Firebirds.

I love the sound and feel of A3 so far, yet I do have some reservations about reduced output - it may be a while before I try it in a low output humbucker at the bridge.

Still, Gibson's Custombuckers & MHS humbuckers and Duncan's Bonamassa A3 pickups have garnered very good reviews.
Click to expand...

1. Have you tried roughcast A5? I prefer it to UOA5. You might like to compare UOA5 in the bridge pickup of one guitar and RCA5 in the bridge pickup of another. I have and that's how I noticed the discordant harmonics of UOA5 compared to RCA5.

2. I really like RCA3 for clean tones. Beautiful clean tones. But for the way I play, the lower output makes it less suitable for overdriven solos compared to A2, A4 or A5. I love using A3 for clean chords from the neck pickup and RCA2 in the bridge pickup for more overdriven tones.

3. I go back and forth about A4. I think I prefer it in a bridge pickup with A2 in the neck pickup. I do have a PRS with two A4 pickups but it's not my favorite sound. I also have a set of A4 Tom Holmes humbuckers in my Gibson ES-335. That's a fairly resonant semi-hollowbody as you know. A4 sounds better in it than it does in my solidbody PRS Singlecut. A4 is the magnet most often used in real 59 Les Pauls, according to Tom Holmes. When he worked for Gibson he found invoices for magnet purchases in 1959 and he says that's what Gibson purchased most. That may be, but I prefer RCA2.
 
Clint 55 said:
A4 sux. A8 sux. Ceramic sux.
Click to expand...

A4 is very finicky but in the right wind, it is amazing. I love it in a JB, for example, to give the mids a slight bump and soften the highs, compared to A5. In a '59B in the neck, it gives a wailing, howling tone. But I'd rather have A4 over A8 any day. Ceramic has the same problem as A8: it's just too much of everything.

My favorite right now, is a Pegasus/Custom Alnico 2 in the bridge. I'm thinking of a Pegasus/Perpetual Burn A2 to be honest, as well as a Pegasus/59 for the neck position. Pegasus/JB is also an amazing choice. Not nearly as hot as a JB/Custom but it does retain the liquid feel of a JB, it's tight but not sterile.

I'm surprised to learn that I'm not the only one having this feeling. Cool.
 
My main guitars these days are my PRS USA Custom 22's and PRS SE Singlecuts.

I have a set of Seth Lovers with RCA4 in one of the Singlecuts.

I still have my old ES-335 and it has Alnico 4 Tom Holmes. So those two are my A4 guitars.

I like the sound of my ES 335. Not so crazy about A4 in the Seth Lovers. Kind of lacking in "push".

I have Antiquitys in a different Singlecut and I had RCA4 in it for a few months.

I liked A4 better in the Antiquitys but they're wound stronger than the Seth Lovers. I put the original RCA2 magnets back in the Antiquitys and prefer that sound.

To me, a full set of A4 sounds a little flat and a little bland in my solid body guitars but sounds better in the Tom Holmes humbuckers in my semi-hollowbody ES-335.

RCA2 in the neck Antiquity and RCA4 in the bridge Antiquity of my Custom 22 is very nice.

I suppose it does depend on the pickup and the guitar.

But so far, A4 does seem finicky to me and overall RCA2 gives a more interesting and inspiring sound.

I like RCA5 but it's bright. It's easier for me to get a pleasing sound onstage with RCA2.

I play mostly blues.
 
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If someone is done with A8, are they also done with Ceramic?

I personally LIKE ceramic. It comes with a thickness.. something .... that isn't in Alnico pickups. You don't get the "air" on top, but you get something that is thick right where you need it to be for lead guitar.

I view something like A8 as a representation of a man's desire to be "better" and not leave any stone unturned. It is human nature, but sometimes tried and true is the best. If A8 was such a stellar magnet choice, they would be in wide circulation from many years ago. Now its offered as an "ego" choice, to help sell pickups.
 
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Mincer said:
I think we go through phases, and some last a long time. The first 25 years of playing, I used a Strat, and now I don't remember the last time I've played one.
Click to expand...

My first 25 years of playing I wouldn't touch a Strat and now it is one of my main guitars.
 
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