Alnico II vs Alnico V (for early EVH)

[StuntDouble]

If I recall correctly, an A3 is actually weaker than an A2.

[jcs]

i dont know exactly the formula differences between all of the alnico mags.

tonally the a3 is more firm and a bit sharper top end than a2 but not as bottom heavy as a5..

i do have several a5 from duncans and the ones i got from jeff at highorder pickups.

i have yet to try various strengths of a5 but jeff tells me a5 can be much sweeter and smoother if it is degaussed some.

[jcs]

the a3 mags i got from highorder pickups are not weaker than the a2 i got from highorder pickups.

i have used duncan alnico pro 2 humbuckers (of course with alnico 2), i need to pull the mag out and send it back to jeff at highorder so he can compare since he has a magnet charger.

i can tell you this much,the highorder humbuckers i have that are 8.2k loaded with highorder alnico 2s are similar in character to the duncan alnico pro 2 model.

a3 changes the response entirely,but keep in mind i mostly own gibson mahogany guitars,none of my strats have humbuckers except for the 3 kramer focus 1000 (evh model from japan early 80s)..

[StuntDouble]

I put an A4 in my brother's Duncan 78 and it was pretty cool; he liked it better than the A2' of course he's going for a different sound than I prefer. I tried the A3 first and it was not happening; decreased the output a lot...very smooth, but no balls at all. I could see it used for a neck pup, but IMHO lacks the ummph you'ld need for anything EVH oriented in the bridge position.

[jcs]

stuntdouble, where did you purchase your magnets?

[StuntDouble]

I think it was allstar magnetics...but through an ebay store like "Matin's sixstrings or something"; been a while though so I'm not sure. I used a company in oregon...started with a W, can't remember the name though when I got my A8 mag. Might have been them too.

[908ssp]

Wymore Guitars magnets http://www.shop.wymoreguitars.com/categ ... egoryId=29

[Ruben]

How many of you actually tried the SD '59? I still think it's THE pickup for EVH tone!

[nitro]

Ive been using that pickup for many,many years,and never looked back.............

[rockstah]

the 59 is my fav and has been for a while.

[F#m7]

The '59 is the best mass produced pickup money can buy for Paf type tones IMO. I use them in alot of my guitars in the neck position. Great pickup. There are better pickups out there, but not for under a c-note.

[rockstah]

The '59 is the best mass produced pickup money can buy for Paf type tones IMO. I use them in alot of my guitars in the neck position. Great pickup. There are better pickups out there, but not for under a c-note.

ive tried afew have suggestion for a "better" 59?

i sd custom 5 looks good to me - thats next - a 59 with a little more and its a good indication as far as im concerned that the numbers dont change from the 59 to the custom 5 on seymours tone chart - so a 59 with just alittle more sounds interesting.

[jcs]

i've got several 59 bridge models even one with double row screws.

highorder pickups are under $100 but there is a long wait and you have to pay in advance last i heard.

have you noticed you rarely see highorder pickups for sale used?

[Mats A]

so we know go back to the debate of why his frankie and evh duncan are Alnico II......no one knows what his original pickup was BUT we all know what the frnakie and the evh duncan are so......I'll stay with Alnico II thank you!

The pickup that he supposedly took to Seymour Duncan had an A2 in it, but that doesn't mean that that's what he used exclusively. You know he had to have a million pickups laying around his workbench, especially when they started making money. Maybe that was one of a hundred PAFs he had. Your ear is a better way of determining what gets his old sound best, not what Seymour Duncan says or what they put in the frankie replica. If an A2 gets you the sounds you like then that's what's important.
Do you have any clips of the tone you're getting?

im not sure if im suppose to say this or not but marco talked to the guys involved in copying the frankenstrat guitar,they told him that the pickup they came up with was 14k wind with an alnico 2 magnet..if i had to guess it would be 43 guage wire...a standards paf wire would never fit on the bobbin at 14k..

What gauge wire is a standard PAF pickup?

[Mats A]

I have not read this whole thread but I think I agree with Rockstar. There were no A2 magnets back then... they were going for A8 and Ceramic as UPGRADES.
A5 yes... Gibson had bins of magnets in the 50’s and 60’s sitting together and some were over charged and some were discharged and weak.

Van Halens PAF if it was out of a ES335 would probably be the shorter type A5 2 1/8" not 2 1/4". Not bragging like I did anything great but I showed Seymour Duncan one of the shorter magnets for his first time FYI!

Maybe this is why guys like a A2, its close to a short A5... ?

Not to be an ass but have you guys ever owned a PAF.. I have owned them and played lots. I dont know what he is currently doing but Van Halen is in it for the money now.

I got an interview with Mr Seth Lover in a book and he says that they used Alnico V but also II and III when they couldn´t get Alico V´s. He says that they were all good magnets and the only difference was that the Alnico V retained it´s magnetism longer. They checked the pickups for inductance and DC resistance to get them standarised.