Alnico VS Ceramic magnets

[The LudNuts]

Hey forum. I have an HSS strat with ceramic single coils and a seymour duncan JB in the bridge. It is a killer awesome guitar. I actually like the sound of a ceramic pickup. I like the way it is on both clean and distortion while playing.
I don't really like alnico magnets unless their in humbuckers.
I have an american strat with alnico pickups and it sounds good but it is an entirely different sound.
The ceramic single coils have sorta like a bell like tone to them.

So I created this thread to ask which do you prefer in pickups?
Since this is a pickup forum they may be a thread about this,
so sorry if there is one already I'm not on this forum much

 

[metalmachine]

Re: Alnico VS Ceramic magnets

I'm primarily a ceramic Guy but I have had some a8 a5 and a2 pups that I have liked

 

[ColeJustesen]

Re: Alnico VS Ceramic magnets

I am primarily an Alnico guy... Depending on the scenario the A4 and A2 are the bomb, but I also love the A5...

I don't know if I would like the A8 or A9... based off the clips I have heard of them, they don't quite interest me enough to buy any of those magnets...

That being said, I have played a few ceramic magnet pickups that totally are amazing... Those are the EMG 60 [by far my favorite neck pickup], Rio Grande Crunchbox, and the Duncan Distortion... Ceramic does have a nice chime on the top end, but everything I have tried seems a bit hollow... The alnico are warmer sounding to my ears...

If you want to hear a set of alnico single coils with chime check out Wilde pickups...

Cole

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Alnico VS Ceramic magnets

Alnico...both in humbuckers and singles.

Alnico 2 in the neck and bridge for humbuckers and alnico 2 for most bridge single coil pickups and alnico 5 for most neck (or middle) single coil pickups.

I do like the alnico 2 Antiquity I set in a Tele - both pickups, neck and bridge.

And I do like the full set of Antiquity Texas Hots in a Strat, but I prefer a combo with A5 Surfers for the neck and middle and A2 Antiquity Custom Texas Hot for the bridge.

Haven't left any alnico 3 or alnico 4 pickups in any of my guitars for very long.

Looking for a pickup that matched the way I remember the stock bridge pickup in my '51 Tele sounding, I tried the A3 Fender Nocaster pickups but that wasn't the tone I was remembering. I replaced them with various Duncan alnico 2 pickups until I found the tone I remembered and wanted.

Tried alnico 4 Lindy Fralin humbuckers in various winds but THAT's not the tone I was after. Turned out alnico 2 was.

Ceramic in the Duncan Custom is fine but it's not as natural, organic...whatever. But ceramic has its place, especially in small, single coil size Strat humbuckers like the JB JR. that need it in order to have enough output and oomph.