What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

GrabtharsHammer said:
Hey folks,

I am considering to buy a new magnet for my Seymour Duncan 59 Neck. I would like the pickup to have a more emphasized midrange, sweetened highs and less boomy bass. I am not a shredder, but I like slow, atmospheric lead guitar playing and want a sound that stays "sweet", defined and singing even with higher gain settings. The guitar is a PRS SE with mahogony body.

The 59 has an Alnico 5 which seems to have scooped mids and I am not sure if I should get an A2 or A4 instead. What are your recommendations? What magnet would be the best option to get more midrange out of the pickup?

From what I've already read, I think the A2 could suit me fine. But I am not so sure if it would exaggerate the 59's boomy low end even more and if it would keep a defined sound even at high gain settings. Perhaps the A4 would result in a more "controlled" and defined sound?!
Click to expand...

Leave the 59 as it is, then adjust the height of the pup to be closer to the strings in the side with of the thinner strings for more bite & midrange then lower the pup height for the thicker strings to reduce the bass or boomy low end.
 
Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

My vote would be rough A4. Great in a 59n. Sweet and woody, fairly tight. Sings when cranked, still has nice sparkle at low gain.
 
Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

Pepe,
Hi, you are so far over my head I didn't understand anything you said. I will journey to Wiki, but if your last sentence says
A roughcast can be made to cut your teeth and a polished one can be made smooth, why all the recommendations for RC A5's
or statements that everyone says like the polished A5's for example are all boomy and too sharp on the highs and the rough cast ones will smooth that out?
Off to Wiki
SJB
 
Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

SJ318 said:
Pepe,
Hi, you are so far over my head I didn't understand anything you said. I will journey to Wiki, but if your last sentence says
A roughcast can be made to cut your teeth and a polished one can be made smooth, why all the recommendations for RC A5's
or statements that everyone says like the polished A5's for example are all boomy and too sharp on the highs and the rough cast ones will smooth that out?
Off to Wiki
SJB
Click to expand...

There are always exceptions to any rule.

Generally, replacing a polished A5 magnet in a 59 with roughcast A5 magnet will round the treble, add texture to the mids and loosen/reduce the bass very slightly.

An unoriented A5 will take it even further in that direction.

A polished A2 will take it further in that direction still...and a roughcast A2 even further.

In my guitars, A4 has given my pickups a bright, stringy, groinky but articulate sound with very good note separation. Too much for my tastes. Its cool, but that could never be my everyday tone. It feels a little uncomfortable to me and lacks sweetness.

I like a sweet blues tone.

A4 is likely the magnet used in the PAFs that were in Clapton's '59 Les Paul and gave those searing tones on the Bluesbreakers album.

A5 is the magnet in the pickups in Clapton's SG and ES-335 that he used with Cream. A prettier sound, IMO.
 
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Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

Mythology.

Anyway, in the past, maybe it was some truth to it, due to the annealing process had to met a certain criteria or the mags wouldn't have the needed shrinkage to fit the room found in a humbucker p'up without compromise the assembling, being sandcast...but since the advent of digitalized foundries with their own mass spectrometers, it's a lot easier to recreate old, a-bit-out-spec mags, or (re)create your own the way you want.

HTH,
 
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Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

Lewguitar said:
There are always exceptions to any rule.

Generally, replacing a polished A5 magnet in a 59 with roughcast A5 magnet will round the treble, add texture to the mids and loosen/reduce the bass very slightly.

An unoriented A5 will take it even further in that direction.

A polished A2 will take it further in that direction still...and a roughcast A2 even further.

In my guitars, A4 has given my pickups a bright, stringy, groinky but articulate sound with very good note separation. Too much for my tastes. Its cool, but that could never be my everyday tone. It feels a little uncomfortable to me and lacks sweetness.

I like a sweet blues tone.

A4 is likely the magnet used in the PAFs that were in Clapton's '59 Les Paul and gave those searing tones on the Bluesbreakers album.

A5 is the magnet in the pickups in Clapton's SG and ES-335 that he used with Cream. A prettier sound, IMO.
Click to expand...

These observations are based on my own recent experiences swapping new magnets in new pickup sets: 59's, PG's, and Seth Lovers primarily.

I get my magnets from Addiction FX.
 
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Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

Mincer said:
I seriously dig roughcast magnets. I use one in a 59/Custom hybrid with double screws. I would also try an A2. Magnets are cheap, so it is always a blast to try different ones.
Click to expand...

Sure is fun. I am digging rough cast A8 in the bridge and polished A8 in the neck with my double 14mm M5 hex poles with circa 8k wind. I honestly expected no difference but the rough cast is noticeably warmer at the top end, less bite which is what I needed.


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Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

Okay, I just put the roughcast Alnico 4 in the 59/neck. Wow, what a difference! The pickup now has a lot more mids, the highs are softer and the lows not so boomy anymore. And the combination Custom/bridge and 59/neck sounds so much more balanced than before. Exactly what I hoped to achieve. Perfect!

I also ordered an Alnico 2. But I don't even feel the need anymore to try it too, because I'm so happy with the RC A4.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. Your suggestions were very helpful! :-)
 
Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

In a few weeks, try the A2. Just to see...plus, it might help some other people considering the same thing.
 
Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

GrabtharsHammer said:
Okay, I just put the roughcast Alnico 4 in the 59/neck. Wow, what a difference! The pickup now has a lot more mids, the highs are softer and the lows not so boomy anymore. And the combination Custom/bridge and 59/neck sounds so much more balanced than before. Exactly what I hoped to achieve. Perfect!

I also ordered an Alnico 2. But I don't even feel the need anymore to try it too, because I'm so happy with the RC A4.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. Your suggestions were very helpful! :-)
Click to expand...

You gotta try rough cast A8 in the bridge and polished A8 in the neck too.


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Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

RC A8 in the bridge is insane!

I went mag crazy in my hsh this week. I changed the A5 to RC A8 in my JB/Custom hybrid and I loved that so I stuck with it. I changed the A2s in my Phat Cat to A5s liked that and stuck with it. Then I tried A4 in my uncovered Antiquity/Seth hybrid and it indeed sounded ultra accurate but understated and not harsh. Not too much of any frequency. Tried A3 and it had a similar crisp and accurate but not overly bassy or trebley sound like A4 but a little sweeter like A2 but with tight bass. I really liked the A3. But I had to go back to the antiquity A2 magnet. Degaussed as you know and smooth but weathered - beat up with some nicks and slightly rounded corners. Sounds so good in that pickup. The best pup I've tried.
 
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Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

Thanks for the sourcing information. I have a pair of RC A4s on the way. They will go into a Prestige Musician Pro (semi-hollow) that has a JB and a 59 in it. I want to mellow it out just a bit. I will try to post some thoughts in due time.
 
What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

Clint 55 said:
RC A8 in the bridge is insane!

I went mag crazy in my hsh this week. I changed the A5 to RC A8 in my JB/Custom hybrid and I loved that so I stuck with it. I changed the A2s in my Phat Cat to A5s liked that and stuck with it. Then I tried A4 in my uncovered Antiquity/Seth hybrid and it indeed sounded ultra accurate but understated and not harsh. Not too much of any frequency. Tried A3 and it had a similar crisp and accurate but not overly bassy or trebley sound like A4 but a little sweeter like A2 but with tight bass. I really liked the A3. But I had to go back to the antiquity A2 magnet. Degaussed as you know and smooth but weathered - beat up with some nicks and slightly rounded corners. Sounds so good in that pickup. The best pup I've tried.
Click to expand...

Still got to try A8 though. I love them in my Maxons - 7.9k neck 8.1k bridge. I will get round to recording it, but in the meantime here's a clip of some old boy posing a law suit LP with Maxon Super 70s, even though the recording is low-fi and distorts in places the tone comes through and I love it.

https://youtu.be/AY0vmYGo8M4


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What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

Here's the Maxon super 58 vs super 70.

It's the same pickup (as above) the difference is the 58 uses A3 and the 70 used A8. Both really good tones.

( I am a big fan of Maxon pickups)

https://youtu.be/YmQN6rsCvAo

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Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

What Lt. Kojak said above.


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Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

I'll agree with the others who have suggested the A4. I have it in a set of 59s and also in a set of BKP Mules. If you want to hear what your guitar actually sounds like, the A4 will let you know. It has a rich texture to the tone. Works extremely well with 50s wiring. It's not going to punch you in the gut like an A5 will, but it just has this thing about it that brings a smile to my face.


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Re: What magnet to get more midrange out of a 59 in neck position?

Regarding the A4 bringing out more mids than the stock A5...why does the EQ description of the Saturday Night Special neck (A4) show a scooped out mid?
 
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