RockStarNick
New member
Hey guys. Just spent the better part of my Friday evening, once again, tinkering around in the ol' man cave. This time, I performed four, count em, FOUR magnet swaps in my Seymour Duncan Custom Shop Brobucker pickup.
The following is, of course, my opinion, but I tried to keep my findings as objective as possible.
WHY DID I SWAP MAGNETS?
Besides being a complete OCD nutcase who can't leave well enough alone? Well, after playing my Tele alot lately, as well as trying out other people's guitars with lower output PAF varieties, I came back to the Brobucker, and it seemed a bit too powerful. It's a STRONG pickup - almost as loud as a ceramic SH5 Custom. I guess lately, I was feeling that the top end was a bit rolled back, the mids and upper mids were a little too present, and the low end was a bit too big.
In other words, the Brobucker in it's stock form does EXACTLY what it's supposed to do. :lmao:
But of course, I wanted somethihng different. The stock Brobucker doesn't really chime. And the huge mids make getting a useable clean sound kinda tough. I was hoping that one of these mag swaps would tweak it to make it a touch more "vintage".
I'm pretty demanding when it comes to bridge humbuckers.
• I want a vintage PAF flavor, with vintage PAF construction and materials
• I want it with more output
• I want some chime on top, but not a treble spike like a 59
• I want singing mids, but I still want good cleans
• I want a big low end, without tubbyness
• I want touch sensativity, but with punch and muscle and fast attack
In other words: like many of you, I'm searching for that elusive PERFECT pickup that doesn't seem to exist. hahah.
Here's my findings.
STOCK DEGAUSSED ALNICO 5:
• Very powerful mids and upper mids
• Rolled back treble
• Big big bass.
Amazing, powerful singing lead tone. Great for solos. Sounds downright HUGE. Big big crunchy power chords. Makes the thinnest amp sound fat.
Best suited for gain; cleans were a little too punchy and immediate with no apparent sparkle or bloom. The powerful output almost makes it difficult to match up with a PAF flavored neck bucker - makes the neck pickup seem underpowered.
REGULAR ALNICO 5:
• Just about the same output level as DGA5
• Much more treble
• Perceived reduced mids, but it's PROBABLY the same amount
• Same big, tight bass.
I wasn't loving the regular A5 in the Brobucker. I guess for the same reason I don't love regular A5 in pretty much ANY bridge pickup. The highs are just a bit too present for me - in an almost distracting way. Cleans were good, but not particularly 3D.
ALNICO II:
• even less treble than the regular brobucker.
• big big mids, but a softer flavor than the stock brobucker
• oddly enough, there seemed to be some sort of high-end presence "sheen" going on in the background. I guess that's the famous AII "sizzle."
• lots of sag
Well, the Alnico II Brobucker was cool, for sure. It was the LOWEST output of all my swaps today, without a doubt. It definitely lost some of it's balls with the AII - it was sweet, and singing, but in a very saggy kind of way. Not saggy bad - but more like, a less immediate response than the A5. Seemed to have a bloom to the notes, almost as if there was a compressor on. The initial attack would be soft, and then the notes would swell in, in a subtle way.
UNORIENTED A5 (UOA5)
• Less output than Degaussed A5, but a little more than A2.
• More treble than Degaussed A5; less than full strength
• Nice tight bottom end, but not as BIG as the standard brobucker
• Nice singing mids, but more transparent than the standard degaussed A5
Well, out of all the swaps today, this was what I was looking for all along. The UOA5 definitely reduced output - noticeably. But, in such a powerful pickup like the Brobucker, it just seemed to work. It was easier to adjust the pickup closer to the strings, and still balance up with a neck 59AII. The UOA5 didn't necessarily add the compression and sag that it did with the AII, but it did seem to add a bit more touch sensativity to the pickup. Which I really, really liked. Cleans now had chime, but not in the typical Alnico V treble-spike kind of way. The bottom end was still big, but definitely not as HUGE as the standard degaussed A5 Brobucker. Mids were still big, but again, not huge. The pickup still solos and sings great, but with a bit more of a transparent voice.
The only way I can describe the swap from Degaussed A5 to UOA5 is that it took the Brobucker, and made it more vintage sounding, without sacrificing too much muscle and balls.
Bottom line: If the standard Brobucker feels like it's permanently on 12 for you, and you want a dash of low output PAF mixed in with all that muscle, try the UOA5 - it'll make it sound like it's on 10, bring back some chime, and add in a bit more touch sensativity. It adds back in a bit of that '59 snort and snarl.
The following is, of course, my opinion, but I tried to keep my findings as objective as possible.
WHY DID I SWAP MAGNETS?
Besides being a complete OCD nutcase who can't leave well enough alone? Well, after playing my Tele alot lately, as well as trying out other people's guitars with lower output PAF varieties, I came back to the Brobucker, and it seemed a bit too powerful. It's a STRONG pickup - almost as loud as a ceramic SH5 Custom. I guess lately, I was feeling that the top end was a bit rolled back, the mids and upper mids were a little too present, and the low end was a bit too big.
In other words, the Brobucker in it's stock form does EXACTLY what it's supposed to do. :lmao:
But of course, I wanted somethihng different. The stock Brobucker doesn't really chime. And the huge mids make getting a useable clean sound kinda tough. I was hoping that one of these mag swaps would tweak it to make it a touch more "vintage".
I'm pretty demanding when it comes to bridge humbuckers.
• I want a vintage PAF flavor, with vintage PAF construction and materials
• I want it with more output
• I want some chime on top, but not a treble spike like a 59
• I want singing mids, but I still want good cleans
• I want a big low end, without tubbyness
• I want touch sensativity, but with punch and muscle and fast attack
In other words: like many of you, I'm searching for that elusive PERFECT pickup that doesn't seem to exist. hahah.
Here's my findings.
STOCK DEGAUSSED ALNICO 5:
• Very powerful mids and upper mids
• Rolled back treble
• Big big bass.
Amazing, powerful singing lead tone. Great for solos. Sounds downright HUGE. Big big crunchy power chords. Makes the thinnest amp sound fat.
Best suited for gain; cleans were a little too punchy and immediate with no apparent sparkle or bloom. The powerful output almost makes it difficult to match up with a PAF flavored neck bucker - makes the neck pickup seem underpowered.
REGULAR ALNICO 5:
• Just about the same output level as DGA5
• Much more treble
• Perceived reduced mids, but it's PROBABLY the same amount
• Same big, tight bass.
I wasn't loving the regular A5 in the Brobucker. I guess for the same reason I don't love regular A5 in pretty much ANY bridge pickup. The highs are just a bit too present for me - in an almost distracting way. Cleans were good, but not particularly 3D.
ALNICO II:
• even less treble than the regular brobucker.
• big big mids, but a softer flavor than the stock brobucker
• oddly enough, there seemed to be some sort of high-end presence "sheen" going on in the background. I guess that's the famous AII "sizzle."
• lots of sag
Well, the Alnico II Brobucker was cool, for sure. It was the LOWEST output of all my swaps today, without a doubt. It definitely lost some of it's balls with the AII - it was sweet, and singing, but in a very saggy kind of way. Not saggy bad - but more like, a less immediate response than the A5. Seemed to have a bloom to the notes, almost as if there was a compressor on. The initial attack would be soft, and then the notes would swell in, in a subtle way.
UNORIENTED A5 (UOA5)
• Less output than Degaussed A5, but a little more than A2.
• More treble than Degaussed A5; less than full strength
• Nice tight bottom end, but not as BIG as the standard brobucker
• Nice singing mids, but more transparent than the standard degaussed A5
Well, out of all the swaps today, this was what I was looking for all along. The UOA5 definitely reduced output - noticeably. But, in such a powerful pickup like the Brobucker, it just seemed to work. It was easier to adjust the pickup closer to the strings, and still balance up with a neck 59AII. The UOA5 didn't necessarily add the compression and sag that it did with the AII, but it did seem to add a bit more touch sensativity to the pickup. Which I really, really liked. Cleans now had chime, but not in the typical Alnico V treble-spike kind of way. The bottom end was still big, but definitely not as HUGE as the standard degaussed A5 Brobucker. Mids were still big, but again, not huge. The pickup still solos and sings great, but with a bit more of a transparent voice.
The only way I can describe the swap from Degaussed A5 to UOA5 is that it took the Brobucker, and made it more vintage sounding, without sacrificing too much muscle and balls.
Bottom line: If the standard Brobucker feels like it's permanently on 12 for you, and you want a dash of low output PAF mixed in with all that muscle, try the UOA5 - it'll make it sound like it's on 10, bring back some chime, and add in a bit more touch sensativity. It adds back in a bit of that '59 snort and snarl.
Last edited:
