why doesn't seymour use other magets?

Re: why doesn't seymour use other magets?

More magnets equals more inventory to carry & manage, and more complications on the production line. If there's not a significant demand from from the public, why take on the extra costs & complications?

Some small boutique PU makers use a bigger variety of magnets, magnet combinations in P-90's.

Personally, I'd like to see alnicos 1 thru 9 commonly available in the replacement market, and more variety used in factory PU's. But numbers talk, & we're in the minority; most guitarists have no clue about magnets, and are content with A5's & ceramics.
 
Re: why doesn't seymour use other magets?

Like he said, because most guitar players don't give a **** about what kind of magnets are being used in their pickups, and most people who don't play guitar probably don't even know guitars have pickups, hence they have no idea that pickups have magnets.

Then there's us of course haha!
 
Re: why doesn't seymour use other magets?

Legend has it that Seymour doesn't like A3 or A4, and that he said he can get close enough to their properties by degaussing A2 and A5.
 
Re: why doesn't seymour use other magets?

actually, there's three production alnico 8 pickups now; the alternative 8, the custom 8, and now the p-rails hot.

however, even though SD doesn't produce that many, or any, pickups with the magnets you mentioned, at least through this forum you've found that they can be swapped and you also now know where to get aftermarket magnets;)
 
Re: why doesn't seymour use other magets?

Waste of his time I should think.

Most of us know how to swap out magnets at this point, so why should he put out a different production model for every magnet under the sun? He's been generous with Alnico 2,5,8 and with ceramics, really.
 
Re: why doesn't seymour use other magets?

Hey, Seymour Duncan just added a second production A8 (P-Rails Hot). Give it time, they seem to be coming.

Wymore does floor shop customs of the Custom 8, I wouldn't be surprised to see that one added to the standard catalog if demand grows for it.
 
Re: why doesn't seymour use other magets?

Like most everyone else said, it comes down to supply and demand. Who would want an unusual magnet in their pup - with the exception of the pup geeks on this forum?

At the end of the day, each production model needs to be profitable.
 
Re: why doesn't seymour use other magets?

I really think most of what 99% of guitarist want to hear with a humbucker can be acomplished with the A2, A5 and Ceramic. The A8 is also cool, which is why it's becoming more popular - but IMO it's less versatile than the other three. Customers want the sound and feel that they recognize.
 
Re: why doesn't seymour use other magets?

I really think most of what 99% of guitarist want to hear with a humbucker can be acomplished with the A2, A5 and Ceramic. The A8 is also cool, which is why it's becoming more popular - but IMO it's less versatile than the other three. Customers want the sound and feel that they recognize.

I don't agree that 99% of guitarists needs can be accomplished with A2, A5, and ceramic magnets. There are many HB's that turn out not to have the desired EQ's for individual guitars and woods (and tastes). Many of us have bough PU after PU trying to get the tones we want; sometimes we find it, sometimes we just settle for something less than ideal. As we have learned on this forum, magnets can solve most (but not all) of those issues.

The problem is the average player has no idea what's available magnet-wise, or that he can even change magents at all. There is a valid use for having a variety of replacement magents available; the members here have proven that. But without the communication to the average player, the demand's not there, so he'll buy and sell PU's in frustration instead of tweaking them. Look at how many JB's are on the used market (I sold a few myself); but with an A8 or A2, the JB turns into a very different PU. Or how many guys have sold ther C5's for being too bright & scopped, when a C8 would have given them what they wanted.

Versaility is also a factor. While A5's & ceramics are the most versatile, with A2's close behind, A8's don't really work in neck PU's, and A3's are a little bright & weak for the bridge. Manufacturers like magnets that work in both the bridge & neck slots. That still doesn't explain the scarcity of A4's, which some of us find very useful, for when an A5 is too bright and an A2 is too dark. All of the magnets have valid uses in certain situations, and can mean the difference between keeping a PU or selling.

I agree with the comment "Customers want the sound & feel they recognize" but not in the way you're saying that it justifies less magnet choices. Many times to get 'the sound & feel we recognize" in our guitars, thru our amps, we need to use different magnets to acheive that. If you want to sound like a guy that used a 1960's Marshall Plexi, and you're using a different amp & guitar than he did, just buying the same PU he used probably won't get you sounding just like him. Wood is far too variable for that to happen. That's where magnets can shift the EQ to where you want it to be.

The need for more magnets is real. The knowledge of what can be done with them is privy to few of us, so the demand is small. One day that may change.
 
Re: why doesn't seymour use other magets?

maybe, but i think we are in a small minority. most people buy a guitar that they like the sound of and thats it. right or wrong, thats what they do.
 
Re: why doesn't seymour use other magets?

why doesn't seymour use any a3, a4 or more a8's in any production model pickups?

A4 and A8 do lack what I call "musical overtones" that A2 and A5 have, and I'm not the only one saying it. The pickup fiddling professionals on this forum are more inclined to a) want something special and b) have the means to make it sound good. But that is only a small minority of the audience.

A8 is also louder than the other Alnicos.

A3 sounds like degaussed A5 to me. Not different enough to risk a dealer riot.
 
Re: why doesn't seymour use other magets?

In short Seymour sez its all in the wind and wire. He can even make a bright and non middy muddy neck pup with A2 - the PG.
BTW Blueman, you have to get yourself a PGn. Its the best neck pup in my LP: clearer then the 59, smoother than the Jazz and more ball than my SethA5.
 
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