Alnico 3 59's

[the guy who invented fire]

Pulled my Yamaha apart a little yesterday and swapped the alnico 5 magnets (looks like it was a polished in the neck and a rough cast in the bridge) for a set of polished alnico 3's.

Big change...I like the neck, it's a little softer and a little less boomy but not as soft as an alnico II and far less of the spongy quality of an alnico II (which I do like) and the output also seems to be a tad less overall, not a huge change but it does seem a little more tame.

The bridge...wow...love, this!!!

It's softer and cleaner than the RC A5 and the top is trimmed down as well but the midrange is amazing...it has this almost vowel like voice like quality that can be shaped with your pick attack depending on how hard you pick and where on the string you pick.

One thing I do find a bit funny...I had the pickup heights set so with the A5's from neck to bridge the balance was perfect, when I went to the A3's I have to lower the neck and raise the bridge to get the same balance, which is fine I just fond it a bit funny.

Just in case somebody wants to know...in the middle position my pickups are out of phase so I can't comment on the typical middle position LP sound but the out of phase sound did change also from the 5's to the 3's...it's a little snappier that it was before but more vocal like...it does a GREAT early BB King thing and it seems to be more sensitive to the adjusting of the volume and tone controls to get more different timbers and more or less out of phase.

 

[AniML]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

My A3 tele pups are my favorites by far. Get them in phase switch to the middle position and roll down the volume. Or dime the bridge with a cocked wah. Awesomeness

 

[JeffB]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

Rut roh.

Christian is turning into one of those mag swap cultists.


On a serious note I have been contemplating a set of 59s and goofing around with mags for quite some time now. Add some mids to the bridge, and shave some bass off the neck, and I would be very happy with them. I guess I should poop or get off the pot.

Is it any more difficult doing the mag swaps with covered versions? Gotta have covers in my 335.


And yeah,.I REALLLY love my custom wound a3 mag broadcasters. Id b ecurious how they sound in a bucker.

 

[AniML]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

Rut roh.


Is it any more difficult doing the mag swaps with covered versions?.

Other than the obvious of having to remove the covers, no

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

I love A3's for the neck. They are bright, clean and sweet sounding with a nice pick cluck to notes.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

My A3 tele pups are my favorites by far. Get them in phase switch to the middle position and roll down the volume. Or dime the bridge with a cocked wah. Awesomeness

I live my custom A3 bridge pickup in my Broadcaster but I gotta stick with A5 in the neck.

As for my 549's they are OOP on purpose...I want that Peter Green thing in the middle on this guitar.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

Excellent Christian. A3's have been the under-used, under-appreciated alnico in HB's, and I'm glad to see players find uses for them. Thier soft high-end and big mids are nice when A5's are too sharp on top, scooped, and boomy. I've been using A3's in the neck slot, but will try them in the bridge in the future.

I wire my guitars for independent volume controls, and I have a few guitars that are out-of-phase in the middle position. All I have to do is dial one PU down to '7' volume-wise, and that corrects most of the phase issue and gives a warm, strong tone.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

Yeah thats the PITA. I am a marginal solderer(?) At best, and I have a low watt iron just so I do not kill every part I touch, lol. Getting covers off sucks.

 

[AniML]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

When you've got nothing better to do, put them back in phase and put an arlo cocked way circuit on a push pull or a toggle. At least give it a try. All you need is a 3.3k resistor, .0047uf and .01uf cap

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/2239865-post6.html

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

Rut roh.

Christian is turning into one of those mag swap cultists.


On a serious note I have been contemplating a set of 59s and goofing around with mags for quite some time now. Add some mids to the bridge, and shave some bass off the neck, and I would be very happy with them. I guess I should poop or get off the pot.

Is it any more difficult doing the mag swaps with covered versions? Gotta have covers in my 335.


And yeah,.I REALLLY love my custom wound a3 mag broadcasters. Id b ecurious how they sound in a bucker.

Naw...I've done lots of mag swaps over the years and still do. I just don't think that mag swaps are the key t the universe.

Worst thing about mag swaps is all the damn wax...once I settle on a magnet I'll order a set of non potted 59's and then I'll be VERY happy!

 

[AniML]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

Yeah thats the PITA. I am a marginal solderer(?) At best, and I have a low watt iron just so I do not kill every part I touch, lol. Getting covers off sucks.

If there is not a lot of solder you can rock a box cutter back and forth through it, just be careful when it gives, you don't plunge the blade into the coil and more importantly your fingers. Dremel works too

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

Excellent Christian. A3's have been the under-used, under-appreciated alnico in HB's, and I'm glad to see players find uses for them. Thier soft high-end and big mids are nice when A5's are too sharp on top, scooped, and boomy. I've been using A3's in the neck slot, but will try them in the bridge in the future.

I wire my guitars for independent volume controls, and I have a few guitars that are out-of-phase in the middle position. All I have to do is dial one PU down to '7' volume-wise, and that corrects most of the phase issue and gives a warm, strong tone.

I like the bridge better than the neck to be honest but both are a nice change from the A5's...

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

When you've got nothing better to do, put them back in phase and put an arlo cocked way circuit on a push pull or a toggle. At least give it a try. All you need is a 3.3k resistor, .0047uf and .01uf cap

http://www.tdpri.com/forum/2239865-post6.html

Are you talking to me?

 

[AniML]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

You or whoever might be interested in giving it a try. By doing this you have regular middle position and something very close to OOP

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

You or whoever might be interested in giving it a try. By doing this you have regular middle position and something very close to OOP

Those cocked wah mods are cool, I did it to my Esquire a while back but it's not anything like OOP to my ears.

I have several humbucker guitars that are not OOP and one that is...I can get standard middle positions sounds from everything else, this one is gonna stay OOP.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

Yeah thats the PITA. I am a marginal solderer(?) At best, and I have a low watt iron just so I do not kill every part I touch, lol. Getting covers off sucks.

Agreed, it's nice to swap mags in an open coil PU. How do you take covers off? I use a dremel (I bought it just for that). Makes it pretty easy. Sometimes the solder blobs are small and I can pop the covers loose with a flathead screwdriver.

I'm certainly no expert myself. After years of using a soldering iron, I've been using a (hotter) soldering gun instead, as it works much better for getting solder to stick to the back of some pots and getting covers to stick to baseplates. I even use a soldering gun to wire push-pulls now, which probably would have been a disaster in my early days. My soldering iron has been relagated to making airholes in tarantula containers.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

Agreed, it's nice to swap mags in an open coil PU. How do you take covers off? I use a dremel (I bought it just for that). Makes it pretty easy. Sometimes the solder blobs are small and I can pop the covers loose with a flathead screwdriver.

I'm certainly no expert myself. After years of using a soldering iron, I've been using a (hotter) soldering gun instead, as it works much better for getting solder to stick to the back of some pots and getting covers to stick to baseplates. I even use a soldering gun to wire push-pulls now, which probably would have been a disaster in my early days. My soldering iron has been relagated to making airholes in tarantula containers.

You use a dremel and a flatblade screwdriver to take off pickups covers?!

Good Lord...remind me never to let you work on my guitars!

 

[blueman335]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

You use a dremel and a flatblade screwdriver to take off pickups covers?!

Good Lord...remind me never to let you work on my guitars!

God invented dremels specifically for that kind of task. One of his many gifts to mankind. The screwdriver thing won't work most of the time, but once in a while the solder blobs will be very small and barely holding the cover on.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

Thanks for the advice all. Not sure I am ready for my first semi hollow install and mag swap all at the same time. Yikes!

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Alnico 3 59's

You can pop the solder by gently twisting a flat blade screwdriver between the baseplate and cover without damaging the pickup at all. The cover pays a price, but nothing that can't be straightened out with the needle nose afterwards. Way easier than razor blades and dremels and soldering irons, actually less likely to do any damage too.