The Dark Wolf
New member
Was thinking about the new SD/Ibanez pickups, and how the bridge uses ceramic magnets, and the neck uses Alnico (5, I believe). Made sense to me, and got me thinking....
I have a JB 7-string in my Ibanez RG2027 at the bridge, and a Dimarzio Air Norton 7 at the neck. The JB uses Alnico, the AN7 uses ceramic. Maybe I should swap the magnets? The bridge likes a good powerful output, and the neck likes to be sweet.
Swapped the magnets. Observations.
SD JB-7 - The AN7 uses a smaller ceramic, which I put in the JB-7. So now I guess the JB is a JB JR/DD Lite 7-string! I also put black hex screws in the screw polepiece holes. Sound is still JB... sparkly, bright, clean, beautiful. It seems a bit more compressed, not quite as "sweet", with a bit more crunch and scream. Still has that lovely growly purr, though. Basically a more metal JB. Low strings are a bit tighter/crisper, and have a delicious snarl. Leads RIP.
Dimarzio AN7 - Put the A5 in the AN7, and also put some black hex polepieces in it (the AN7 looks just like a JB bobbin/polepiece-wise). This made the AN7 just about perfect. I always loved this pickup, but side-by-side with the JB, it sounded a bit cold and sterile... sorta compressed. The A5 made it a tad quieter, bass is smoother, but it has a more even, organic midrange now it seems, with the trademark "bloom" of the A5 magnet (which the JB also still seems to have quite a bit of, despite (?) the ceramic magnet). Sounds almost like an old-school Strat single-coil mixed with a smooth jazz neck humbucker. And it still has that AN clarity, just a bit more buttery. Heavy distortion (the AN does heavy better than any neck pup I've heard) still sounds great... maybe better, as it's smoother and punchier.
I now I was a bit worried doing this, as I'v never swapped magnets before, but I took my time and it worked out great.
I have a JB 7-string in my Ibanez RG2027 at the bridge, and a Dimarzio Air Norton 7 at the neck. The JB uses Alnico, the AN7 uses ceramic. Maybe I should swap the magnets? The bridge likes a good powerful output, and the neck likes to be sweet.
Swapped the magnets. Observations.
SD JB-7 - The AN7 uses a smaller ceramic, which I put in the JB-7. So now I guess the JB is a JB JR/DD Lite 7-string! I also put black hex screws in the screw polepiece holes. Sound is still JB... sparkly, bright, clean, beautiful. It seems a bit more compressed, not quite as "sweet", with a bit more crunch and scream. Still has that lovely growly purr, though. Basically a more metal JB. Low strings are a bit tighter/crisper, and have a delicious snarl. Leads RIP.
Dimarzio AN7 - Put the A5 in the AN7, and also put some black hex polepieces in it (the AN7 looks just like a JB bobbin/polepiece-wise). This made the AN7 just about perfect. I always loved this pickup, but side-by-side with the JB, it sounded a bit cold and sterile... sorta compressed. The A5 made it a tad quieter, bass is smoother, but it has a more even, organic midrange now it seems, with the trademark "bloom" of the A5 magnet (which the JB also still seems to have quite a bit of, despite (?) the ceramic magnet). Sounds almost like an old-school Strat single-coil mixed with a smooth jazz neck humbucker. And it still has that AN clarity, just a bit more buttery. Heavy distortion (the AN does heavy better than any neck pup I've heard) still sounds great... maybe better, as it's smoother and punchier.
I now I was a bit worried doing this, as I'v never swapped magnets before, but I took my time and it worked out great.
Haven't tried it but your report seems right in line with that.
