custom Alnico 3: some thoughts

[orpheo]

I don't think I ever made it a secret that I do not like the custom series.

The custom itself is too congested, too hot, overpowered and too 70ies for my taste. I love the 70ies era of music but these pickups, not for me.

The custom custom is even worse. it's so much fatter, less sparkle, saggier and squishy. I see no use for that pickup, at all.

The custom 5 is not bad! coaxed some very good tones out of that one.

Now, the custom 8, that's like a custom custom and custom all rolled in one. The power of the SH5 but with the sag and loose bottom end of the customcustom.

Last weekend I tried the custom 3 and that pickup is actually really nice! The high end sparkles, the low end is tight but the custom wind really shines here. It's classic and paf-ish but hotter for sure than PAF. Harmonics are a breeze and this pickup plays really well alongside 2 singlecoils.

So if you're like me and the custom is only good for you as a hybrid, try it with an alnico 3 before you tear it apart.

 

[Warlag]

Re: custom Alnico 3: some thoughts

Interesting! I’ve been thinking of getting a custom 5 for one. Of my Ibanez guitars! I never tried an Alnico 3 magnet.. I’m curious now after reading this!

 

[Tone Meister]

Re: custom Alnico 3: some thoughts

... I tried the custom 3 and that pickup is actually really nice! The high end sparkles, the low end is tight but the custom wind really shines here. It's classic and paf-ish but hotter for sure than PAF. Harmonics are a breeze and this pickup plays really well alongside 2 singlecoils.

So if you're like me and the custom is only good for you as a hybrid, try it with an alnico 3 before you tear it apart.

I don't have a dog in the fight with regard to the Custom series. But I have to ask, what are some specific examples of tones you like and shoot for when building and playing?

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: custom Alnico 3: some thoughts

A3 is the last resort to tame an overly wound pickup. It's a very weak alnico. All you are doing is reducing the output of the pickup, in the hopes that it interacts more cleanly with your amp. It doesn't "re-tune" the coils, but it can change your tone by simply making the pickup hit your amp less hard.

If a pickup is too hot, not even A3 will "save" it. But it probably does make the Custom wind better.

Just the other day, I was wondering in my head what an A3 '59/C Hybrid would be like.

 

[Toejam]

Re: custom Alnico 3: some thoughts

What about an Alnico 4 magnet in the Custom?

 

[orpheo]

Re: custom Alnico 3: some thoughts

A3 is the last resort to tame an overly wound pickup. It's a very weak alnico. All you are doing is reducing the output of the pickup, in the hopes that it interacts more cleanly with your amp. It doesn't "re-tune" the coils, but it can change your tone by simply making the pickup hit your amp less hard.

If a pickup is too hot, not even A3 will "save" it. But it probably does make the Custom wind better.

Just the other day, I was wondering in my head what an A3 '59/C Hybrid would be like.

Yes, that is exactly what the A3 does. I didn't mean to say it retunes the coils. Not at all, that wouldn't make sense. But it does lower the inductance quite a bit compared to A5 or even A2. And saying 'an a5 is midscooped with tight lows and piercing highs' is ofcourse general statement of what a magnet type will do to a pickup.

I am curious to learn how a 59/C A3 sounds like too. Don't have that pickup, unfortunately.

@Toejam: an a4 is a bit boring, to be honest, in this wind. A bit flat. I love the A4 in certain winds. IMHO a '59 A4 is a great choice because it fills out the mids, softens the highs a touch but leaves the tightness in the low end alone. Or a jazzN A4: superclean, flutey overtones and glassy top end. But in a bridge pickup, it just falls a bit flat sometimes.

@Tonemeister: good question. For example, I love Iron Maiden, the Darkness, Thin Lizzy, Appetite for Destruction (very specific, I know), but also Ronnie Wood's tone on the first few Rod Stewart albums or his work with the Faces, I enjoy the higher gain tones by Circus Maximus but also the slightly dirty twang by Brad Paisley. I use a Revv Generator 120 since last year as my main (and only) amp to coax almost every single tone I want. I love the 70ies and 80ies style music, the 60ies isn't really my thing to be honest and the 90ies makes me wanna dig a hole for myself (the 00's is imho just a reiteration of older work and that's fine, but 'modern' pop, like what Spotify is trying to shove down my throat, should be banned as a crime against music).

 

[Toejam]

Re: custom Alnico 3: some thoughts

Cool. Thanks for the info. I'll have to do an A4 on a '59, that sounds great to me. The A3 Custom sounds interesting, too.