Alnico II vs Alnico V (for early EVH)

sadwings75 · Post by **sadwings75** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:02 pm

rgalpin wrote:
sadwings75 wrote:I just ordered an alnico 8 from the link posted; also curious to try out the alnico 3 and 4 so I ordered those as well.
I've got a JB, '59, and a '59/custom custom hybrid pickup to try these in; I'll let you know how the different magnets change the sound in these.
how do you secure them in the pickup? glue? rubber gunk stuff? what's it called? where do you get it?

In my experience, they stay in place because of the pressure put upon them by the four screws on the bottom of the baseplate once they're screwed in.
To change the magnet, you gently unscrew those baseplate screws and again gently tap the side of the magnet and it should just loosen up at which point you can just slide it out. If it won't budge it's because it's being held in place by potting wax, but just tap it a little harder and it'll come out.
Some guys will hold a hair dryer on the pickup after they change the magnet to get some wax flowing. I've never done that and have never had problems as the mag is held pretty tightly in there by the screws alone.

leadguy · Post by **leadguy** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:16 pm

Well I don't have my Super 70s anymore. I sold my Ibanez many moons ago for a Fender and I still regret it. What I do have are Greco pickups that were made by the same makers (Maxon) as the Super 70 pickups but my Greco pickups might not be exactly the same as the Super 70s but to my ears my Greco pickups sound very close to Super 70s. So I don't think I can be much help at the moment. I am trying to buy some Super 70s. I just missed out on a set about a month ago.

fivecoyote · Post by **fivecoyote** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:19 pm

Whoa. In the article accompanying the Shark pic Ed says his Destroyer was made out of korina, and he didn't like the newer ones because they were made out of "ash or mahogany" and "sound like s**t." Another infamous Ed misdirection or did he really have a korina guitar as some have speculated? I can't believe Ed didn't know exactly what that guitar was made out of so again, he's either misdirecting or really had korina.

Also the bridge pickup looks to me to be a Super Distortion in that pic w/ the article. What is the Mighty Mite Super Distortion -- was that a decent pickup?

rgalpin · Post by **rgalpin** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:25 pm

sadwings75 wrote:
rgalpin wrote:
sadwings75 wrote:I just ordered an alnico 8 from the link posted; also curious to try out the alnico 3 and 4 so I ordered those as well.
I've got a JB, '59, and a '59/custom custom hybrid pickup to try these in; I'll let you know how the different magnets change the sound in these.
how do you secure them in the pickup? glue? rubber gunk stuff? what's it called? where do you get it?
In my experience, they stay in place because of the pressure put upon them by the four screws on the bottom of the baseplate once they're screwed in.
To change the magnet, you gently unscrew those baseplate screws and again gently tap the side of the magnet and it should just loosen up at which point you can just slide it out. If it won't budge it's because it's being held in place by potting wax, but just tap it a little harder and it'll come out.
Some guys will hold a hair dryer on the pickup after they change the magnet to get some wax flowing. I've never done that and have never had problems as the mag is held pretty tightly in there by the screws alone.

thx!

fivecoyote · Post by **fivecoyote** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 12:28 pm

Sick, sick tone, Strat78. Great. I must get my hands on the same gear. I must get a second job.

Gainiac · Post by **Gainiac** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:34 pm

fivecoyote wrote:Whoa. In the article accompanying the Shark pic Ed says his Destroyer was made out of korina, and he didn't like the newer ones because they were made out of "ash or mahogany" and "sound like s**t." Another infamous Ed misdirection or did he really have a korina guitar as some have speculated? I can't believe Ed didn't know exactly what that guitar was made out of so again, he's either misdirecting or really had korina.

Also the bridge pickup looks to me to be a Super Distortion in that pic w/ the article. What is the Mighty Mite Super Distortion -- was that a decent pickup?

That article you just discovered is actually THE article that everyone points to as Example Numero Uno of either A. Ed's lack of knowledge of what he had or B. Ed's purposeful misdirection. The idea that he had a Korina Destroyer has been 100% disproven repeatedly over the last 30 years. Ibanez never produced a Korina Destroyer. It was a Korina finish, and was marketed as a Korina finish at the time.

Remember Korina is a trade name. There is no wood technically called Korina - it was a marketing ploy by a resaler of limba back in the 50s. Much like Chilean Sea Bass isn't what you think it is...

MARCO · Post by **MARCO** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:35 pm

Wasnt it ash....it sounds like a fat ash body....did I say "fatash"??

fivecoyote · Post by **fivecoyote** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 10:24 pm

Gainiac wrote:
fivecoyote wrote:Whoa. In the article accompanying the Shark pic Ed says his Destroyer was made out of korina, and he didn't like the newer ones because they were made out of "ash or mahogany" and "sound like s**t." Another infamous Ed misdirection or did he really have a korina guitar as some have speculated? I can't believe Ed didn't know exactly what that guitar was made out of so again, he's either misdirecting or really had korina.

Also the bridge pickup looks to me to be a Super Distortion in that pic w/ the article. What is the Mighty Mite Super Distortion -- was that a decent pickup?
That article you just discovered is actually THE article that everyone points to as Example Numero Uno of either A. Ed's lack of knowledge of what he had or B. Ed's purposeful misdirection. The idea that he had a Korina Destroyer has been 100% disproven repeatedly over the last 30 years. Ibanez never produced a Korina Destroyer. It was a Korina finish, and was marketed as a Korina finish at the time.

Remember Korina is a trade name. There is no wood technically called Korina - it was a marketing ploy by a resaler of limba back in the 50s. Much like Chilean Sea Bass isn't what you think it is...

Ah, the Patagonian toothfish (yes I looked that up). Thanks for the info Gainiac. It's funny: I'm sure I've read that article before -- might even have it someplace -- but none of it really sank in. Anyhow, given the se bass nature of it, I'm voting for misdirection. I think Ed would know if a fly took a s**t on the 19th fret one morning, so I don't believe for a minute he was ignorant. I'd also have to believe that if he loved korina/limba that much, he would have pursued that route a little harder -- or maybe he did and I'm unaware of it.

leadguy · Post by **leadguy** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 2:24 am

1976 Ibanez catalog with the Destroyer http://s93105080.onlinehome.us/Ibanez-C ... 6-2/02.jpg

The Destroyer had changed by 1981/1982.

1982 catalog with the Destroyer II http://www.guitartechcraig.com/ibanez/8 ... /82dt2.jpg

And here is a 1976 Greco Destroyer catalog http://thkomae731.s19.xrea.com/a7602.html

And here is a 1978 Greco Destroyer catalog

http://thkomae731.s19.xrea.com/a7803b.html

http://www.geocities.jp/studiogreco1/a7807b.html

I don't think Ed knew about the wood. Ed's just a hack when it comes to gear. Did Ed have a Ibanez catalog? I think what he was trying to say was the Ibanez Destroyer was just like the Gibson Destroyers and they do look very similar but it turns out according to catalog specs that they do have different wood.

Gainiac · Post by **Gainiac** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:03 pm

Ibanez prints a history of itself in a book format. It's pretty thorough. You got it free if you bought a Prestige series Ibanez a few years ago. In that book, it describes exactly what was in these guitars.

sadwings75 · Post by **sadwings75** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 10:34 am

Anyone thinking about trying the A8 mag should check it out. I got mine yesterday and it has a very nice sound. I put it in a SD '59 neck pickup that I use in the bridge position.
This magnet could have been used on some of the tracks from Vh I, and not just in the Destroyer. It would partially explain the more aggressive high end.
Even though this pickup only measures 7.43k it sounds pretty hot with this magnet. Definitely changes the feel of the pickup and the way it responds to your picking. Could explain how Eddie got such a hot sound while still retaining clarity

leadguy · Post by **leadguy** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:12 am

I agree. It's a very aggressive sound in the mids and the top end but it also has clarity. Ed liked the Ibanez Destroyer sound so he could have easily put a Ibanez Alnico 8 magnet into a DiMarzio or a Gibson PAF or maybe used a Super 70 pickup for VH1. If he used the Alnico 8 in the Strat he didn't stay with it for long and probably went back to a Alnico 2 or 5 for VH2 which would explain the difference in Strat sounds between the albums. Also the Destroyer had a different pickup by VH2, he says because he was trying to get it to sound good after he did the Shark mod by trying different pickups (from the stock pickups). In the Warner Bros demos from 1977 the Destroyer has the VH1 sound but the Strat sounds more conventional to me and doesn't quite have the VH1 sound. Ed would try something and if it worked he'd use it for a while then get bored with it and try something new. It's not like Ed gets a sound and that's his sound for life, he's always doing different things especially in the early days.

sadwings75 · Post by **sadwings75** » Sat Apr 19, 2008 11:44 am

I agree; this magnet had to have made its rounds through Eddie's setups.

Ruben · Post by **Ruben** » Tue Jul 08, 2008 5:49 pm

Update: ordered another zebra 59 pickup to go with my main Les Paul.

After playing the Hybrid for a 'long' time with an full strengt A2 I seem to prefer the cheapest Seymour Duncan available

There's just something missing when playing an A2...maybe it's because the Hybrid (59/custom) is rated at 11,5 Kohm. Tried an A5 in the Hybrid but yuck....to much compression.

Although the '59 mids are a bit strange, it just opens up the sound.
Well, got a Boss GE-10 to compensate for the mids and boost some.

Just wanted to share!

fivecoyote · Post by **fivecoyote** » Wed Jul 09, 2008 10:07 am

Gainiac wrote:Ibanez prints a history of itself in a book format. It's pretty thorough. You got it free if you bought a Prestige series Ibanez a few years ago. In that book, it describes exactly what was in these guitars.

What does it say? Ash? Sen? What else?