Variation in sound of same model pickups? (Dimarzio)

[Dave Locher]

Is it safe to assume all Dimarzio Super Distortion humbuckers sound the same? (Recent ones, not vintage.)
I figure they are all wound by automated machines with very tight tolerances, right? Or could you get one that is bassier or more bloated than another?

 

[Tone-Analyst]

The Super Distortion was released in '72 so an older specimen would probably have a slightly weaker magnet and possibly sound a bit mellower I guess. I think the sound of ceramic magnet equipped pickups is probably more consistent than alnico magnet because the magnet material is more consistent. I'm almost certain modern alnico magnets don't have the same alloy given the ridiculous fluctuation in cobalt prices. I wrote to a few manufacturers and never heard back about that.

 

[Dave Locher]

So assuming we are talking pickups from the last 10 or 15 years they should all sound pretty interchangeable, I assume?

 

[DavidRavenMoon]

The Super Distortion was released in '72 so an older specimen would probably have a slightly weaker magnet and possibly sound a bit mellower I guess. I think the sound of ceramic magnet equipped pickups is probably more consistent than alnico magnet because the magnet material is more consistent. I'm almost certain modern alnico magnets don't have the same alloy given the ridiculous fluctuation in cobalt prices. I wrote to a few manufacturers and never heard back about that.

Ceramic magnets don’t weaken. My vintage SDHB sounds exactly like the new ones. They use exactly the same ceramic 8 magnets.

The price of Alnico fluctuates, but magnet manufacturers have to be consistent with the magnets. They don’t change at all.

DiMarzio does use automated winders, but there’s a trained operator running it that checks the coils after they are wound. They also check every pickup on a signal generator and oscilloscope.

They are very consistent.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tone-Analyst]

The price of Alnico fluctuates, but magnet manufacturers have to be consistent with the magnets. They don’t change at all.

It's been discussed before that alot of asian magnets don't have any Cobalt at all. They are AlNiCu (Cu for Copper). Manufacturers not wanting to discuss alloy consistency is dubious.