Metropoulos Forum

So in my quest to find that late 60s early 70s strat tone I came across this study done by a physics class on something about electronics and there relation to music. It had a XML document, that I saved, that gave a scientific run down of alot of vintage pickups and new ones also. Now mind you, these are physics students and the class, not musicians full of shit who think they know everything. Yes most all of the earlier strat pickups were A3. The later ones from the late 60s/early 70s time frame were also Alnico 3!? Is this part of the secret to Jimi's tone? These pickups were also wound with plain enamel and hand wound and wound very light in the 5.2K-5.8K range. No magic Formvar wire.

I thinks I am about ready to order me a strat set with these specifications! A3!? Would have never guessed that one.

Could be. Alot of the PAF clone guys swear by them as well.

Interesting indeed.
Who will you have make them?

I'm thinking about going with my local guy, Jason Lollar. He makes great pickups and I'm keeping the money in the local economy here.


Hey JD, no "could be" to it. These pickups were tested in labs by nerds. Not musicians. So they did test each and every pickups magnets to see what type of metal it was. When a pickup maker tells me, it was a certain magnet, I tend to be sceptical, but when a scientist in a physics lab tells me it was a certain metal, oh hell yes I believe them.

I revised my post above. I went back and looked at that list. The 3 1954 strat pickups were Alnico 3 also. The other set they used was three pickups out of a 1974 strat that were Alnico 3. There is also two Fender lap steels that use A3 also.

Hey JD, on the list they didn't have any old humbuckers but they have some P90 from around 1952. They had A3 in them. But in the list is shows that in late 50s into 60s that Gibson switched to A5 in P90s.

Lollar - The man knows his stuff

Bluesgeetar wrote:I'm thinking about going with my local guy, Jason Lollar. He makes great pickups and I'm keeping the money in the local economy here.


Hey JD, no "could be" to it. These pickups were tested in labs by nerds. Not musicians. So they did test each and every pickups magnets to see what type of metal it was. When a pickup maker tells me, it was a certain magnet, I tend to be sceptical, but when a scientist in a physics lab tells me it was a certain metal, oh hell yes I believe them.

I revised my post above. I went back and looked at that list. The 3 1954 strat pickups were Alnico 3 also. The other set they used was three pickups out of a 1974 strat that were Alnico 3. There is also two Fender lap steels that use A3 also.

Hey JD, on the list they didn't have any old humbuckers but they have some P90 from around 1952. They had A3 in them. But in the list is shows that in late 50s into 60s that Gibson switched to A5 in P90s.

"Could be", as in, that could be why some pickups/guitars sound a bit different, and could be why Hendrix had a certain sound. But you can't disregard the amps and tubes (not to mention guitars and technique) he was using at the time either.

Hmmm...that is really interesting on the P-90s as all the "gurus" state they used Alnico V. Gibson unquestionably used all different kinds of Alnico in the PAF bar magnets, so it is reasonable to assume they did on the P-90s as well. I'd like to see the complete writeup on the testing.

Fralin Real 54's used Alnico 3.