Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

dbazille1970

dbazille1970

New member
I recently swapped out the A 2 magnet in my Gibson Burstbucker 3 pickup. I put a RC A8 magnet in it to increase the output. I installed it in the neck position my Cort guitar. The output better matches the 500T in the bridge position. It has an aggresive tone that gives a good growl without biting your ear off. Personally I like aggressive hard rock tones and don't really care much about PAF tones because most of the time the output is to weak for my taste.

If there is anyone out there that wants to share their Burstbucker magnet swap experience , I am very much interested to read about them. Please feel welcome to join in.
 
Re: Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

I have an A4 BB2 that I used in the neck with a 500T and with a JB/A2 and it was clean and even and kept up real well with the hotter bridges. Mixed well in the middle position also.
 
Re: Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

Here is some good magnet information originally posted by Blueman335

I'd rank alnicos like this, in order of brightness, the darkest ones first:

RC A2, A2, UOA5, A6, A8, RC A4, A4, RC A3, RC A5, A3, A5.

So, depending on what you want to go treble-wise, choose accordingly.

For output:
High - A8, A6, A5
Medium - A4, UOA5
Low - A2, A3

Here goes (again):

A2 - Huge mids, rounded top, little treble, lots of dynamics, chewy texture, loose low end, low output, very 'vintage'. With the right wind, it's ample mids make a PU sound 'big'. With the wrong wind (or wood) it can sound muddy or flabby.

A3 - Like an A2, but with more treble and lighter on the mids. Mainly suited for the neck slot.

A4 - Balanced EQ, some consider it bland. No big push in treble, mids, or bass. Medium output. Good middle ground for when an A2 is too warm, or an A5 is too bright and scooped. Lets the PU's and wood's natural tones come thru.

A5 - Lots of treble and bass, scooped mids. Sharp high end. Tight low end. Relatively high output. The most common alnico (in it's polished and oriented form).

A8 - Moderate treble, good dose of mids. Firm low end. High output. Could be considered to be a bulked up A4. Suited for the bridge slot. Works in high and low output HB's and P-90's.

A6 - Like an A8, but with less treble. Very rare.

UOA5 - Sounds like a cross between an A2 and A5, with the best of both. Lots of warmth and dynamics, but with a dash of treble and decent output. Another middle ground option between A2's and A5's.

Roughcast - Pitted and lumpy surfaces create a more varied magnetic field. Any roughcast maget has smoother highs, with less harshness. Shifts the EQ slightly downwards. More subtle than an unoriented mag. Usually best in the bridge slot, whereas polished mags work better in the neck (sharper highs).

Unoriented - The internal 'grain' is random (instead of aligned in one direction), making for a complex magnetic field. Highs are softened and tones are more dymanic and 'vintage'. A2's, A3's, and A4's are always unoriented. A5's are almost always oriented.
 
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Re: Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

A9 is great for aggressive hard rock tones in the neck. It's like A8 in that it has an aggressive mid spike but it's higher up. It's also like A5 cuz it basically has the same top end. I think it's the most aggressive alnico.
 
Re: Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

This is the first time I have heard about an Alnico 9 magnet.
Where can you buy them ?
 
Re: Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

My go-to pickup set for two-humbucker guitars is a pair of BB3s with the neck swapped to an A3 and the pickup mounted in reverse (screws—the slightly cooler coil—south). I don't agree with the above summarisation at all; compared to the stock A2 it has slightly less treble, the middle is left untouched, and the lows get a slight boost. That's why I swap them over, to get an inherently smoother tone in the neck.

Tried a ceramic BB3 once, too, that was fun in the middle of a three-humbucker guitar as a all-rounder lead pickup. Sounded a lot like the Tele bridge Hot Rails.

I also have a mutant BB3 which I'm trying to replicate. I have no idea how it occurred, but one BB3 I have matches an EMG 81 in output. It's in my first guitar and it's too precious to me to open it up and find out what's going on, but so far I've come close to matching it by swapping the standard magnet and spacers in aftermarket BB3s for an oversized A2 and A5 spacers. Of course you can't screw the base plate back all the way with the thicker magnets in place, but it should still hold with a bit of solder to the cover. The tone balance doesn't change a whole lot—slightly more 'cut'—but the output pretty much doubles. It's a less muddy and even hotter Custom Custom. Still not as hot as my freak one but close. Going to try using ceramic spacers and an A3 next time.
 
Re: Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

I always wanted to put an A5 in a BB3 and call it the BB Pro Plus (sort of like the '57 Classic Plus).

I just never got around to getting a BB3.
 
Re: Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

The BB Pro has uniformly-wound, matched coils, though. It really only carries the Burstbucker name because that was useful marketing when it was introduced as the BBV. So to make a 'Plus' version of that you'd really be looking at something more like putting an A8 in a Pro. The BB1 and 2 don't sound like a Pro when you put an A5 in them—I've tried those two myself—so the 3 won't, either. It's like the difference between the A2P/Jazz wind and the Seth Lover. You can turn a A2P into a Jazz by swapping to an A5 magnet, but doing the same with a Seth Lover won't result in a Jazz, even though the A2P and Seth Lover are a similar output with the same type of wire.

You could/should still try a BB3 with an A5, just don't expect it to sound anything like a 'Plus' BB Pro. It'll be very much its own thing.
 
Re: Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

Ace Flibble said:
The BB1 and 2 don't sound like a Pro when you put an A5 in them—I've tried those two myself—so the 3 won't, either.
Click to expand...
Your experience does not match mine, nor does it conform with information from Gibson employees.
 
Re: Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

I've wondered about the BB Pros. Prevailing info seems to indicate they're simply A5 versions of the BB1 & 2.
This is the first hint I've had that they might be a different wind, with no coil offset.

Still, a symmetrical wind would help compensate for the brighter character of the A5.
I've found the A2 BBs to be pretty darn crisp on their own.
 
Re: Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

BBs have some brilliance. Sound like something between a Seth and a Jazz. Or an A2P with the top end of a Pearly Gates. BB Pros sound like a murky unclear Seth. Same honk but missing clarity.
 
Re: Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

To me Burstbucker pros sound to bright almost like an ice pick in your ear.
 
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Just put an A8 in a BB3 in the bridge of my LP. Wowsers! It is very bright. I was thinking of trying RCA5 or A6 next but worry it might be even brighter lol
 
Ace Flibble said:
Re: Burstbucker 3 Magnet Swap

The BB Pro has uniformly-wound, matched coils, though.
Click to expand...

Standard Burstbuckers are only wound asymmetrical by a few hundred winds, this means that the coil readings in terms of resistance and inductance will be close enough to identical that variations in material tolerances could be enough to offset it.

The only difference between the Pros and 1/2/3 is that the Pros ship with an A5 magnet and whilst the standard Burstbuckers are not potted if they are bought aftermarket, the Pros are always potted.
 
Chistopher said:
The only difference between the Pros and 1/2/3 is that the Pros ship with an A5 magnet and whilst the standard Burstbuckers are not potted if they are bought aftermarket, the Pros are always potted.
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Any idea if the A5 is rough, polished, or 'sandcasted' which looks like is only rough on one side? My BB3 A2 was the latter.
 
krovatron said:
Any idea if the A5 is rough, polished, or 'sandcasted' which looks like is only rough on one side? My BB3 A2 was the latter.
Click to expand...

If I recall Gibson uses weird magnets. I think it was that they used sandcast magnets. Either that or the dimensions were funny.
 
Chistopher said:
If I recall Gibson uses weird magnets. I think it was that they used sandcast magnets. Either that or the dimensions were funny.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I should take a pic of it. It maybe a bit shorter but the roughness was just one sided...never seen a magnet like it before.
 
Interesting! I'm still struggling to find the right neck pickup to match with my 500T.

The Duncan Distortion Neck and Evolution neck have been close... but I haven't been 100% sold on either.
 
Just took apart my 2021 BB1 and was expecting a sandcasted magnet but it is polished with a red stripe. Wondering if it is A5 or A2
 
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