I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

[CTN]

Alnico 5 has got to be my most hated magnet in humbuckers. I've tried a whole bunch of very different pickups that use A5 mags over the course of my guitaring life.

With the exception of the Full Shred, every other A5 humbucker I've tried has been either honky in the mids, shrill in the highs, too fat/warm/boomy in the lows or a mix of all of the above. Now I know that the wind, the wire, the polepieces, baseplate, yada yada yada all of has a huge effect on the final sound, but I just can't jive with most A5 pickups.

So I have to ask, why are they so widely used by pickup makers? Is it just the output (high but not too high)? I figure it must be, cuz IME, the EQ is probably the most unbalanced, unmusical of all the Alnicos I've tried (2, 3, 4, 5, 8)

 

[dominus]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

Breed?
Tone Zone?
AT-1?
Fred?
Liquifire?
Norton?

EMG 85?

 

[CTN]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

out of that list, only tried the tone zone and liquifire, and didn't like either of them.

The low mids sound super congested and too fat/warm for my taste.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

Because everyone but you likes A5 magnet pickups.

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

I tend to prefer A2, but I MUCH prefer an A5 in a JB/Custom Hybrid. Just strong, but not too strong, in every EQ range that is practical for guitar. This is in a super-strat by the way. I just don't like scooped midrange, which is the effect A5 has on most pickups in the Duncan line IME.

 

[chadd]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

Breed?
Tone Zone?
AT-1?
Fred?
Liquifire?
Norton?

EMG 85?

Screamin Demon

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

I disagree, A5 is my favorite magnet.

 

[Hank-]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

Have you not tried a C5 yet? That one doesn't get honky, it's not too loose in the low end either, the high end is more leaning towards presence than higher mids. Hard to describe, but that's one pickup I'd be surprised if it ever got honky by it's own in a guitar.

 

[AlexR]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

Just about any vintage type strat pickup....all GREAT with A5

 

[Inder_Cine_Mann]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

I used to rock stock 59/Custom Hybrid and a 59n in my semi hollow.

Recently swapped magnets, for different flavor, but still really liked both stock versions.

Especially the hybrid.

I think it's a comparitive thing to when people say they don't like ceramic magnets. Saying they are sterile or harsh.

Certain things work well for others and not for some.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

What about the A5 variants? UOA5? Roughcast?

 

[blueman335]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

Because everyone but you likes A5 magnet pickups.

Wrong. It's the magnet PU makers have gotten used to, likewise with many players. A lot can be done with other magnets, but there's a comfort level that exists with A5's. Don't forget that when it comes to magnets, PU makers are a conservative bunch, and prefer to dial in their tones thru windings instead. Many PU makers use only one kind of alnico in their whole line, a few will use two. Force of habit. When creating a new PU, they start with a few constants and change the winding rather than the magnet. Some of the less perceptive assume that that means the other alnicos have nothing to offer.

Like any magnet, it has shortcomings. It's frequently too bright and thin for the bridge slot, and often too bassy for the neck. It's popularity has more to do with it's fairly high output and firm low end than anything else. Alnico 2, 3, and 4 were also used in the original PAF's, proof that they're viable (Lindy Fralin is a huge A4 fan). As has been proven here, A8's can work out well in some bridge PU's.

This forum and others like it have a subtle influence on PU makers. We experiment with PU/magnet combinations, things that PU makers don't have the resources to do to the extent that we do. Since I've been here, Duncan has added an A8 and A3 PU to their line. Gibson has started using A3's. Little by little the other alnicos are becoming mainstream. They've sat on the back burner for decades, but are slowly being reintroduced to a new generation of players.

 

[JeffB]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

I like very few A5 magnet pickups for humbuckers.. Mostly old old Gibson pickups. Dont care for seymours a5 offerings at all, and just a handful of dimarzios. Some of the BK pickups sound good with a5. In genral I find a5s to have too stiff bass frequencies, and harsher midrange. They also tend to give a guitar a more narrow and focused frequency range, compared to a2, 4, or ceramics.

Single coils are a different matter. I like many a5 strat and tele pickups.

Overall, I am an a2 guy at heart

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

Since when does a magnet have a sound??
It is the windings(wire size) and magnet together that defines the final sound....

 

[audiocheck]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

Hey,
What's wrong with a little Honk?

In a Les Paul, I like a little honk. Dickey Betts' tone comes to mind!

 

[dominus]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

Breed?
Tone Zone?
AT-1?
Fred?
Liquifire?
Norton?

EMG 85?

Screamin Demon

I was posting pickups that don't suck.

 

[TimmyPage]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

It's familiarity for a lot of people. They sound how you'd expect a humbucker to sound, which may not be objectively everyone's idea of 'good' tone, but it's still tone your ear is used to.

I personally enjoy A5 bridge pickups a fair bit, almost all of my favourite bridge pickups so far have been A5 (JB, PATB-3, WLH). I don't think boominess is a trait of the magnet itself, but more the wind of the 59, as I've heard plenty of pickups that use the magnet which don't sound boomy.

Weirdly, all of my favourite neck humbuckers have been Ceramic magnets until switching to the WLH.. the Cool Rails and the Ibanez Super 58 (I think they are called) in one of my old semi-hollows.

I'm down with it, A5 has done nothing but good for me in the past. I find A4 a bit lacking for the tones I enjoy hearing. I wouldn't mind trying a nice A3 humbucker in the neck position of a guitar at some point though, did someone say that SD has released an A3 pickup in a production model now?

 

[DTrane]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

It does get annoying that 99% of guitars are made with a5's or ceramic magnets.

 

[CTN]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

Have you not tried a C5 yet? That one doesn't get honky, it's not too loose in the low end either, the high end is more leaning towards presence than higher mids. Hard to describe, but that's one pickup I'd be surprised if it ever got honky by it's own in a guitar.

I've tried a C5. It's not honky, no, but there ARE NO MIDS in that pickup, which sounds fine for cleans. I really like the cleans with a C5 actually. But throw on some dirt or high gain, and it absolutely cannot cut through a mix at all in a pleasing way that pushes out a nice full sound.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: I have to ask: Why Alnico 5?

^^^That. My personal evaluation of the C5 is that it's one of the worst pickups ever.

I like plenty of A5 Dimarzios and Bareknuckles, but Duncans with A5 magnets usually seem off to me. There's a few exceptions, but most are just too no mids for my tastes.