pickup magnet materials/types

walters

New member
What magnet types/materials are used for guitars?

Why are these the only types that work with audio?

What does the different types/material changes the sound?
how does it change the sound from using different magnet types/materials?
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

Magnet wise, ceramic and alnico are the two most common. Ceramic yields a flat eq response, while alnico brings a little something to the table, with each of it's variants being slightly different.
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

Why is ceramic and alnico the only material/types used for guitar audio?

What happens when Alnico is Aged?
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

whats the difference between Alnico II, III, IV and V magnets ?

What are these types?
aluminum nickel cobalt [AlNiCo]
samarium cobalt
neodymium boron iron
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

First you need a different coils and/or blades to match others than alnico and ceramic. Check out Bill Lawrence he is the guy who uses things like samarium or neodyminum.
The difference in alnico make the composition of the metals, they give a limit to charge the magnets and obviously a different kind of enhencing different frequencies of the guitar. The last thing is not totally clear, since guys like BL say it only a function of strength and a side effect called eddy current.
As a thump of rule: The higher the Alnico number, the more bass and more highs you have on a given coil. The mids are drawn back in this order, because the highs and lows get more dominant.
Newer Alnico get aged in hundreds of years, older magnet seem to contain a filler material which are reported cause an effect.
If you want to get deeper, make a search in these threads.
Hope that helps
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

Thanks for the information


Whats the difference between these materials or magnets?
1.) alnico
2.) ceramic
3.) samarium
4.) neodyminum

They have different frequency Frequency Response ?

Whats the curves like?

They all have different notches/peaks?

They all have different "Q" points? but why?
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

hamerfan said:
The higher the Alnico number, the more bass and more highs you have on a given coil.

On a small technical note, this is a common misconception. Alnico numbers are assigned based on the date they were discovered/developed. Not on magnet strength. For example, for the common Alnico numbers:

A1: 7200 guass (isotropic cast)
A2: 7500 guass (isotropic cast)
A3: 7000 guass (isotropic cast)
A5: 12800 guass (anisotropic cast)
A5: 10900 guass (anisotropic sintered)
A6: 10500 guass (anisotropic cast)
A6: 9400 guass (anisotropic sintered)

A4 is a newer compound thats not on my list. Can't remember its guass.

Artie
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

ArtieToo said:
On a small technical note, this is a common misconception. Alnico numbers are assigned based on the date they were discovered/developed. Not on magnet strength. For example, for the common Alnico numbers:

A1: 7200 guass (isotropic cast)
A2: 7500 guass (isotropic cast)
A3: 7000 guass (isotropic cast)
A5: 12800 guass (anisotropic cast)
A5: 10900 guass (anisotropic sintered)
A6: 10500 guass (anisotropic cast)
A6: 9400 guass (anisotropic sintered)

A4 is a newer compound thats not on my list. Can't remember its guass.

Artie

I Love the A4 and it figures I'd pick the odd ball magnet....That makes me odd also....:smack: :laugh2:
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

I wonder where A8s fit on that chart?
I bet the A4s are something weird like kryptonite or moon rocks...best not ask too many questions..
Oop, gotta go. Some Men in Black at my door.
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

yeti said:
I wonder where A8s fit on that chart?
I bet the A4s are something weird like kryptonite or moon rocks...best not ask too many questions..
Oop, gotta go. Some Men in Black at my door.

My guess would be they're made of something like cobalt nickel and aluminium... I don't know why... just a feeling
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

Is it just different Mixtures of cobalt, nickel and aluminium?

What kind of magnets were in the fender's 50's guitars?
what kind of magnets were in the fnders's 60's guitars?

Does the magnet have alot to do with the twang or frequency response?

Or is it the number of wire turns thats makes the big difference?
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

walters said:
Is it just different Mixtures of cobalt, nickel and aluminium?

What kind of magnets were in the fender's 50's guitars?
what kind of magnets were in the fnders's 60's guitars?

Does the magnet have alot to do with the twang or frequency response?

Or is it the number of wire turns thats makes the big difference?

I'm pretty sure they used A3 on the original pickups in 54, at least Lindy Fralin says so. I'm pretty sure they used A5 and A2 mostly, with more A5s. By the 60s they were using all A5 magnets I believe, but I could be wrong, more then likely I am.

Both magnet and number of turns of wire, along with wire gauge, matter a lot in the voicing of the pickup. Starting with the EQ of the magnet, the gauge and number of turns can drastically change the EQ of the pickup, though it will still retain the magnet's qualities somehow. Take a Custom 5 pickup for example, which has an A5 magnet and a lot of wire turns. The A5 gives the magnet good high-end and low-end, but lacking in the mids. The many coils of wire should dampen the high-end and increase the mids and low-end, but still the Custom 5 has a good bit of treble and a lot of bass, the qualities of an A5 magnet.

I'm not sure if I'm right about all this, so don't completely take my word for it, someone who's been around here longer would know this stuff better then I.
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

Thanks for the help and information


"the EQ of the magnet"

What sets the EQ of the magnet?

What would be the EQ of a Twang magnet?

What does Aged magnets do different?
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

no sorry im just reading stuff on the internet but im still new to this stuff
so i do need some help
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

Can u help me get the twang magnets and magnet twang frequency responses where do i get this information?

I'm looking for magnets that produce twang? or midrange frequencys of twang range?
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

There is other people on this forum that want to help me out so why do u have to controll my threads
 
Re: pickup magnet materials/types

Why u think im jerking people around how ? im just asking questions about pickups so what am i doing wrong its a pickup forum
 
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