Adventures with alnico 2

[54stratlover]

Hello all and thank you for previous advice.

I finished the magnet swap in the mayhem set. Alnico 2 in the bridge and alnico 3 in the neck. After about a month I like the switch better than the ceramics. Here’s the “but”. I still like the Alnico 2 MUCH better in the JB pickup. My surprise in the whole thing is I like the alnico 3 switch in the neck. The humbucker tone was nice and clear, but where it really shined was in the split tone. Very articulate. It’s funny because I really didn’t know what to expect, and frankly had minimal expectations.

I am going to switch the bridge pup out. I called SD CS and asked what the closest production pup to a JB alnico 2 would be. There wasn’t a definite answer. 2 options were the RTM and the new updated slash pickup. The production slash is out since it doesn’t come in 4 wire unless custom shop.

I feel like my best option is to just order the JB alnico 2 from the custom shop and seek their advice on an alnico 3 neck pickup that shines in both humbucker and split mode and would theoretically match well with the output of a JB2.

lastly thank you for all the tips, pointers and advice. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Blille]

Glad you’re liking those combinations. I love A3 in the neck myself.

Why do you need to order the JB2 from the CS? It looks like you did the swap yourself already.

Re a recommendation for a neck match - the JB is matched with the Jazz often. Given that you go with the JB2 I would try the Jazz with an A3. The Jazz with an A2 is the A2Pro btw so any of those with A3 would be the same. They split great with A2 and A5 so I don’t see why it wouldn’t work with A3. A3 has slightly lower output than A2 but I think it is better to match it by raising/lowering the pickups than going for a different winding.

 

[beaubrummels]

The Mayhem Set is Distortion bridge and neck, so that means you have a Distortion A2 bridge and Distortion A3 neck? Or did you have the Hot-Rodded Humbucker set, which is a JB/Jazz?