Taming a middy pickup

B

Blobby

New member
So I got the Dimarzio Titan 6 string set, and I want to tinker. It's a very mid focused pup as advertised, but I'd like to play around with taming that some. It's a ceramic magnet, so the 1st thing that comes to mind is an Alnico 5 swap. Or maybe Alnico 8?

How about size? I imagine it won't matter much, but looking at the offerings from Mojotone, I think a few different lengths should fit in there. And then there's "Rough Cast" and also "Un-Oriented".

So any thoughts about where to start tinkering here?
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

Smooth A5 is the most scooped. Unoriented makes it more chewy. Roughcast adds some slight texture to it. A8 is just as middy as ceramic or more.
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

Yep, you're gut was right telling you to go for an Alnico 5. Its a rather scooped-sounding magnet.

An alnico 8 would not accomplish what you're going for, and in fact might do the opposite. They give you very muscular mids, and good bottom end. A ceramic magnet also does this, but ceramics also have more treble and more attack. The net result is that the A8 will sound warmer and more middy than the ceramic will.

An un-oriented A5 will also NOT do what you want. UOA5 is like a cross between an A5 and an A2 (all A2 magnets are unoriented). The UOA5 has the spongey bass and mids galore that an A2 has, but also has more treble than an A2 for less sweetness and more zing. If you want to get rid of mids, the UOA5 will not do it.

As far as smooth vs. roughcast goes, roughcasting magnets supposedly smooth the treble off of a given magnet, so a rough A2 will have a little less treble than a smooth A2, and a rough A5 will have a little less treble than a rough A5. I've also seen debates on whether this was actually true, or if its just nonsense and the differences in tone that people "hear" are either psychological or due to tolerances at a given magnet foundry, or variances between different foundries. I don't know one way or the other. I've tried both, but I don't have enough of a sample size to settle this score on my own.

Anyway, sounds like an ORIENTED A5 is what you're looking for.
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

You could try an A9. But I don't know as it would tame the mids as much as emphasize the top and bottom so much that the mids seem reduced.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

A9 is hella middy. Kind of like A8 but the mids are shifted up.
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

Not a heck of a lot you can do to tame mids on a ceramic pup that is already too middy.
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

Thanks for the info guys, but I missed a little info with my opening post.

Looks like I'll try the smooth A5 for the bridge, but I'm a bit more up in the air about the neck. I would like it less middy, warmer, but also with enough top end to not sound dull.

I'll order two A5's, but wouldn't A2 be an even warmer option in the neck? I know there's A3's and 4's I believe, but I know nothing about those.
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

There's A2,3,4,5,uoa5,6,8,and9. A2 is the warmest, but has mids. A3 is the next warmest. A5 is the only really scooped mag. 2,3,6,uoa5 have pillowy mids, while 8,9 have aggressive mids. A4 is dry.
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

While I wait an eternity for mags to get here during this time...one more question. Should I expect much difference in top end from ceramic to A5? I was under the impression that A5 would be a little smoother up top, not so harsh. Accurate?

Thanks again everyone!
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

Blobby said:
While I wait an eternity for mags to get here during this time...one more question. Should I expect much difference in top end from ceramic to A5? I was under the impression that A5 would be a little smoother up top, not so harsh. Accurate?

Thanks again everyone!
Click to expand...

That is my experience.
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

Mission accomplished. A5 seems better for me on this pickup. Mids are tamed, and highs somewhat too, but there's still cut-through bite for my typical higher gain playing.

Fwiw, the A5 is a different size, if that matters much. A5 = 2.446" long, .123" thick. Ceramic = 2.257" long, .220" thick.
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

So, the original magnet in the Titan is a short thick ceramic. Interesting.
Glad that the new mag works for you.
I do now wonder what a regular dimension ceramic would sound like in one.

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Re: Taming a middy pickup

ItsaBass said:
Use an outboard e.q. unit.
Click to expand...

I should try that again. I got a 10 band, cheapo, but it's super noisy. Looms like it's based off the MXR, but I can't imagine the MXR is this noisy. Does make me wonder if I can solder in some better components and make this thing usable...

Got any recommendations of a decent EQ?
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

My Behringer 7 band eqs work surprisingly well for $25 new. Totally silent and you can barely notice any coloration at all. :dunno: If Behringer freaks you out, there's always Boss.
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

ItsaBass said:
Use an outboard e.q. unit.
Click to expand...

I use a rack-mount Behringer when I need outboard e.q. I got it for bass (has frequency adjustable HPFs and LPFs in addition to many bands of graphic e.q.), but occasionally I'll put a guitar through it. It's stereo too, so I don't even need to mess up my bass settings when I put a guitar through it. I just put the guitar through the second channel. The number of e.q. bands and the second channel are overkill, and cause it to take up twice as many rack spaces as I originally had in mind. But it had the best HPF and LPF on a rack e.q. in my price range, so I accepted these things. I grew to like having the second channel, for the reason I stated above (can put guitar through it without changing my bass settings).

I like the pedal version of the Mesa 5-band, but it's pricey, and very simplistic. There are cheaper pedals that offer more bands.
 
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Re: Taming a middy pickup

Well I see Behringer has a rack eq called the Ultragraph Pro that should be very versatile and fun to tinker with. I'll profess some ignorance though. I think of something like that as probably a "Pro Audio" device. Maybe not compatible as an inline device to use simply going between my guitar and amp (no fx loop on this amp either). I've always been a simple pedal guy, but it's about time I learn more about the audio scene.

Don't know about all the terminology like balanced, unbalanced, trs cable, speaker cable...and I've heard mixing and matching the wrong things can result in melt downs :headache:
 
Re: Taming a middy pickup

Blobby said:
I should try that again. I got a 10 band, cheapo, but it's super noisy. Looms like it's based off the MXR, but I can't imagine the MXR is this noisy. Does make me wonder if I can solder in some better components and make this thing usable...

Got any recommendations of a decent EQ?
Click to expand...
Are you adding or subtracting wit it? Cutting what you don't want will be less noisy than adding what you do want
 
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