Alnico 2 Pro advice

F

Frizzyhairedfool

New member
Hi guys, new to the forum and need your expertise.

Basically, I have 2 Les Pauls, a 2002 Standard and a painstakingly accurate copy of a 59 that was built for me, same materials and everything. They both have Alnico 2 pro pickups in them (the normal ones, not the Slash signatures), neck and bridge, both have 500K pots in them too, even the action and pickup heights are set up exactly the same (both as close to the pickups as you're gonna get). Basically the LP copy kicks out a significant more amount of gain than the LP standard.

I'm now frustrated as I want my standard to kick out the same amount of gain too haha. I've been told that's just how it goes sometimes, and it might be something to do with the wood etc. Anyway, I've resigned myself to the fact that I may have to get hotter pickups in my LP standard as I'm not prepared to change any of my pedals as I'm happy with my rig. Only thing is, I absolutely love the sound and warmth the Alnico 2's give me, so what I wanted to ask was can anyone here suggest a good neck and bridge pickup that is just like an Alnico 2 pro but with a hotter output? I want to keep em Seymour Duncan too.

Any help would be much appreciated :)

Thanks
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

I forgot to ask as well, could it be the case that the pickups may just have different outputs even though they are the same model? Or would they both be exactly the same? As I wasn't sure if you might get the same pickups but they might be made slightly different from each other.
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

Have you checked the pots on the guitars? Tone capacitors? I'd think when wide open there should be no difference but maybe you have 300k vs 500k pots? I'm sure a more experienced guy can chime in about this.
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

If you have a multi-meter it would be a good idea to check the resistance of the pickups. That may help identify if there is any wiring problem, or a fault with the pickups themselves.

You can do this with the pickups remaining in the guitar and the volume controls must be Set to Maximum. You can just measure the resistance from the end of a cable plugged into the socket, and move the selector from "Rhythm" to "Treble".
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

What strings are you using on each? What woods and dimensions? Are you sure there was no mag swapping on the builders part (not likely he/she would do this without informing you, but possible)?

A Custom Custom will do well for a higher output bridge with a somewhat similar tone if you decide to swap.
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

Once all wiring and pickup output issues are resolved and if a pickup change is needed, the Slash set is a bit hotter than the normal APH set. It may be enough to even out the guitars. It sounds like that new 59' build might just be a tone monster!
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

What you have here is precisely the same scenario that Slash himself had with his (not quite so) painstaking accurate Derrig vs his stock Gibsons......and lead to the creation of the slightly hotter Slash set.
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

Nah there was no mag swapping, the woods are mahogany body and Indian rosewood fingerboard. I'm using gauge 11 Ernies on both
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

Yeah I thought that, I figured that's just the way it goes with guitars sometimes haha. But that's interesting about the Slash set being hotter, because I very nearly had the Slash set put in my 59 replica, but I read somewhere that they were wired exactly like they were in the 80s, which made me think they would be weaker than the normal Alnico 2s. If the Slash set is definitely hotter, I may just go with them, as I'm looking for just a bit more of a kick, not anything TOO massive.
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

I find this preposterous. I'm not saying it isn't true....but I am highly skeptical. I think this may be 9 parts perception and 1 part reality.

Not impossible - there is a lot of sonic wood/glue mojo that goes into a Les Paul. But
- Same Strings
- Same Pickups
- Same height adjusts
- Same pots
- No bad solders....

It would take a miracle of wind variation, pot values and such to generate something like that that would audibly matter. Could it happen? Yeah....likely? I don't think so. I'd really love to hear this.
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

Aceman said:
I find this preposterous. I'm not saying it isn't true....but I am highly skeptical. I think this may be 9 parts perception and 1 part reality.

Not impossible - there is a lot of sonic wood/glue mojo that goes into a Les Paul. But
- Same Strings
- Same Pickups
- Same height adjusts
- Same pots
- No bad solders....

It would take a miracle of wind variation, pot values and such to generate something like that that would audibly matter. Could it happen? Yeah....likely? I don't think so. I'd really love to hear this.
Click to expand...

I dunno, but if the Slash pickups are definitely hotter than the conventional Alnico 2s, I might go for them, then while I'm at it, I'll make sure all the wiring pots etc are the best they can be when the pickups are installed.
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

Aceman said:
I find this preposterous. I'm not saying it isn't true....but I am highly skeptical. I think this may be 9 parts perception and 1 part reality.

Not impossible - there is a lot of sonic wood/glue mojo that goes into a Les Paul. But
- Same Strings
- Same Pickups
- Same height adjusts
- Same pots
- No bad solders....

It would take a miracle of wind variation, pot values and such to generate something like that that would audibly matter. Could it happen? Yeah....likely? I don't think so. I'd really love to hear this.
Click to expand...

No miracle - there are plenty of examples of this......on this forum too. As yet another of the endless examples, I have several Les Paul guitars that are hotter with T-tops in the bridge than other Les Pauls with mid 8k PAF clones. Thats the other way around where a weaker pickup hits the amp harder.
 
Last edited:
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

AlexR said:
No miracle - there are plenty of examples of this......on this forum too. As yet another of the endless examples, I have several Les Paul guitars that are hotter with T-tops in the bridge than other Les Pauls with mid 8k PAF clones. Thats the other way around where a weaker pickup hits the amp harder.
Click to expand...

So you're saying the Slash pickups might not make any difference?
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

Slash pickups will make a difference. They are hotter. Not by miles, though. Only you could tell if it is enough. After the Slash, there is a fair jump in output to get to the next pickup with a similar tonal thing going on.
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

Frizzyhairedfool said:
So you're saying the Slash pickups might not make any difference?
Click to expand...

The Slash pickups will make a difference. They were designed specifically to make Slash's modern Gibson's sound like his Derrig copy. His Derrig was brighter and had a special kick to it with the standard APH set. But when Gibson built his modern Signature LP's, they didn't sound like the Derrig. They were weaker and darker, due to the sound of the modern wood. The new Slash set was designed to make the new LP's sound as close as possible to the Derrig.

If for some reason the Slash set doesn't work, which I'm confident it will, there are a few other sets that are still in the vintage output range that have more kick than the APH or the Slash.

I'll be surprised if the Slash set doesn't fix you right up.
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

Mincer said:
Slash pickups will make a difference. They are hotter. Not by miles, though. Only you could tell if it is enough. After the Slash, there is a fair jump in output to get to the next pickup with a similar tonal thing going on.
Click to expand...

OK cool, I don't want a massive jump anyway, I only need a bit more kick to get where I want to be with them. Thanks man :)
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

Jeff_H said:
The Slash pickups will make a difference. They were designed specifically to make Slash's modern Gibson's sound like his Derrig copy. His Derrig was brighter and had a special kick to it with the standard APH set. But when Gibson built his modern Signature LP's, they didn't sound like the Derrig. They were weaker and darker, due to the sound of the modern wood. The new Slash set was designed to make the new LP's sound as close as possible to the Derrig.

If for some reason the Slash set doesn't work, which I'm confident it will, there are a few other sets that are still in the vintage output range that have more kick than the APH or the Slash.

I'll be surprised if the Slash set doesn't fix you right up.
Click to expand...

Great! I'll give them a go, thanks dude! :)
 
Re: Alnico 2 Pro advice

Ordered a set, here's hoping it sorts my problem, will post on here with a review when they're installed and I've test driven them ;) Thanks again for all the help folks!
 
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