Magnets, two kinds in one pickup??

[surface54]

now since the alinco 8s kinda suffer in the high end but are great on the low end. couldnt you in theory have a normal size magnet bar, break that in half in a professional way, place a alinco 8 for the low strings and a lighter magnet like a alinco 5 or ceramic for the high strings. would this work or is this just nonsense in a practical sense???

[Al.C]

several years ago I tried just that with an A5 and A2 magnet in a sd custom pu. Initially I thought it sounded okay. I left it in a guitar I never played, I later gave that guitar to my brother and he complained about the crappy pu. He replace it and could not believe I actually thought it sounded good. Year or so later I read somewhere on this site that Seymour tried it as well and had problems with the mags interfering with each othe and demagnitizing or some thing. You are after all putting them together in such a way that does have repelling ends of the mags touching.

[Christopher Caruana]

I think the Gibson "Tony Iommi" have both an A5 and A2 magnets.

[blueman335]

I think the Gibson "Tony Iommi" have both an A5 and A2 magnets.

It has ceramic & A2. Probably a normal A2 under the coils, and two small side ceramic magnets (like on the 500T).

[Christopher Caruana]

It has ceramic & A2. Probably a normal A2 under the coils, and two small side ceramic magnets (like on the 500T).

How would having an A2 under the coils and two small ceramics on the outside effect the sound/output?

[surface54]

hmmm interesting. to bad it cant be done flawlessly though. it would be sweet if they could make a professional quality divide so the magnet types dont interfere with each other and just sound good.

[the guy who invented fire]

As pointed out the Gibson Iommi pickups have both alnico II and ceramic...I can't say what that does for the pickup since i've nver heard an Iommi with any other magnet set ups however I will say that the Gibson Iommi pickups are quite impressive.

[surface54]

like done on a practical level ya know? like in a JB, a5 for top and a8 for lower strings!

[jeremy]

i dont think you can really do it. the small ceramics on the sides of the iommi are set, wont change. the a2 in the middle is probably stable enough that it wont change. short bar magnets end to end sounds like some weak magnetism after a while

[idsnowdog]

I had a demon with 50/50, Alnico 5 and Ceramic. It was split lengthwise with the ceramic towards the bridge and A5 towards the neck. The ceramic filled out the demon.

[surface54]

or maybe like instead of one wound, have two smaller ones that are in control of the tone for the highs and lows.
a duel wound pickup.

[dr. ad]

It has ceramic & A2. Probably a normal A2 under the coils, and two small side ceramic magnets (like on the 500T).

they stole my idea!

[LtKojak]

now since the alinco 8s kinda suffer in the high end but are great on the low end.

You've never played any p'up with an A8 magnet, I can tell.

You don't need REALLY need two different magnets in a humbucking p'up.

And for me A8 in a bridge p'up is the next best thing since sliced bread.

At the moment all my HB guitars have a bridge p'up with an A8.

1980 MIJ Emperador 335 copy: '59b in the neck, C8 bridge.
1982 Vantage Les Paul Custom copy: JazzN, Jazz8b
1996 Mayones Maestro Custom Shop: '59n, '57 Classic+b A8
1991 Epi SG G-400 Custom: HB103n w/A5, HB 102b w/A8

HTH,

[surface54]

You've never played any p'up with an A8 magnet, I can tell.

You don't need REALLY need two different magnets in a humbucking p'up.

And for me A8 in a bridge p'up is the next best thing since sliced bread.

At the moment all my HB guitars have a bridge p'up with an A8.

1980 MIJ Emperador 335 copy: '59b in the neck, C8 bridge.
1982 Vantage Les Paul Custom copy: JazzN, Jazz8b
1996 Mayones Maestro Custom Shop: '59n, '57 Classic+b A8
1991 Epi SG G-400 Custom: HB103n w/A5, HB 102b w/A8

HTH,

i just traded a alternative 8 for a jb, ive had it for 8 months, played it all the time. read the reviews on the a8 magnet, they do suffer a little on the high dont you agree??

yeah its great for low end but i could never dial in shinny lead tones, it just always seemed so bassy and the sustain always seems bothered by it. i know my ears.

[Andrew Lamprecht]

As pointed out the Gibson Iommi pickups have both alnico II and ceramic...I can't say what that does for the pickup since i've nver heard an Iommi with any other magnet set ups however I will say that the Gibson Iommi pickups are quite impressive.

Yeah, they are very good.

[uOpt]

I am pretty sure that I have seen some form of Iommi pickups that has a second magnet on the bottom of the baseplate.

Or do I just mentally mix that up with a Gibson Superhumbucker?

[Sludgenutz]

The Gibson Iommi is a different kinda beast. It appears the AlNiCo is beneath the baseplate under the epoxy coating. I can see it is clearly a metallic magnet from other angles, leaving the ceramic configuration inside a mystery.

[LtKojak]

i just traded a alternative 8 for a jb, ive had it for 8 months, played it all the time. read the reviews on the a8 magnet, they do suffer a little on the high dont you agree??

yeah its great for low end but i could never dial in shinny lead tones, it just always seemed so bassy and the sustain always seems bothered by it. i know my ears.

So the A8 is NOT for you. Get an A5 then.

The A8 in my p'ups was the answer to my biggest problem: changing from the neck to the bridge keeping the same EQ. Using A5 p'ups, they were a little bit too bright... now they're just perfect.

But they don't "suffer in the highs", as you put it. They bite just the right amount and they cut through the mix like no other.

[EFK]

I once saw a pickup with two different short bar mags separated by a small brass spacer in the middle (right in between the two center poles). This would work, provided the spacer was narrow enough to allow contact b/t the magnets and the two center poles. Would be worth a try although I don't know how different eddy currents would factor into it.

[super rad stuff]

alnico8 in particular doesn't suffer in the high end department, but the alt.8 wind does. a8 in lower output winds, even the C8 as i understand, has a decent amount of top end to the point where it balances out alright with the amount of lows and mids it's got. i love a8 personally, i've got it in my SG's 490t and dot studio's PGb at the moment