Difference between Alnico 2 and Alnico 5

[D'Mule]

To me, I notice the AV has a harder attack than the AII. Not as forgiving or compressed as AII, as mentioned above. Not as much note bloom as AII. Both pups can be equally musical in a good amp. With the wrong amp, AV can be harsh and AII can be muddy.

 

[efk]

"Both pups can be equally musical in a good amp." :3zone :3zone

The primary factor as far as I'm concerned!

 

[jcs]

Oh man, MUCH depends on the magnet charge as well.

I like degaussed A5 and fully charged A3 usually.

A4 can work well mixed with A2 in P90s especially the neck.

A2 need to be fully charged and in lower resistance pickups imo.

 

[cryptozoo]

Oh man, MUCH depends on the magnet charge as well.

I like degaussed A5 and fully charged A3 usually.

A4 can work well mixed with A2 in P90s especially the neck.

A2 need to be fully charged and in lower resistance pickups imo.

Truth.

 

[CL-10]

Pick-ups i currently have that came with A-5 are BB-Pro V, S.D.'59's, a few early Patent number PUPS. I changed the magnets to A-4 in the BB Pro-V and the S.D. '59s - and what an improvement in the overall tone. It really tamed the highs and lows in the BB Pro!!
I also now without hesitation, replace the magnets in my Antiquities, with A-4, and they just honk, talk, scream, moan and wail!! No comparison to the tone with A2's in them.
I have 2 sets of Throbak Ltd's that I changed out the stock A-5's, to Jon's unoriented A-5's. It was a big improvement in tone, but I'm about to go to A-4 in these as well. The Antiquities actually edge them out in tone and nuances with the A-4's installed.
For a reference point, I play through a '69 plexi, a '72 Super Bass, a '74 Super Lead, a Peavy Classic 30 and an old Bassman,

 

[efk]

There is definitely something going on with Antiquities and full-charge A4 magnets. There have quite a number of people who have tried it and I have yet to hear from one that did not think it was some of the best tone they'd ever heard, myself included. Seymour is not playing up the vintage-spec material angle, although for all I know they may be and frankly, as great as they sound, I don't care! I think he is doing his own pickups a great disservice by selling them only w/ those lame weakened A2 mags.

 

[Rossington fan]

I have a Duncan Custom in the bridge on my Epi, it has a ceramic magnet, would it make a big difference to switch over to a A-4

 

[bigtomrodney]

I have a Duncan Custom in the bridge on my Epi, it has a ceramic magnet, would it make a big difference to switch over to a A-4

Ooooh yes it would. I'll be honest, moving from ceramics to AlNiCo of any flavour is one of the best things you can do tonally. It's a move into the more musical and sweeter vocal side of tone. Ceramics can do the high output and ultra-clear thing but AlNiCo is where all that bluesy stuff comes from and I include all of your blues-based rock like Zep, AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac, Allmans...

What's the wind on the Duncan Custom like? If it's a high wind I'd put a stronger magnet in to it to drive the coils, say if it's 9K+ or 43AWG wound with something like 15K resistance I'd be trying a short AlNiCo 5 magnet. An AlNiCo 4 with a good charge would probably work but you'd lose top-end because of the larger coil. My own preference is for a 7.1K-8.5K with A4, A2 for anything less and A5 for anything more. Some leeway granted for mismatched coils, where I might choose a slightly weaker magnet.

You can probably grab a few short A5s for only a few quid on the bay or from Stewmac.

 

[Hamerfan]

My own preference is for a 7.1K-8.5K with A4, A2 for anything less and A5 for anything more.

Uum i haven't see too much 'buckers with less than 7.1k. Does that mean you do not like A2-Buckers??? :hmm

 

[bigtomrodney]

Sorry that was supposed to be 7.5K. I had the value of my Mule neck pup in my head when I wrote that. It is actually A4 and I do love it, though I suspect it'd sound just as good with A2.

 

[robinrockus]

Commenting on an old thread, but I acquired a LP Studio Tribute with a 490 r in the neck position and I really dig how it sounds. Adjusted the height and the individual screws and it has such a sweet honky sound. Previous owner put a SD JB in the bridge position and I am considering replacing it with a 490t. Volume wise the current match is good, but I can’t help wondering what an alnico II would sound like (at bridge position). Any thoughts or comments anybody? I’m Using a boutique 12 watt tube amp. Thanks in advance.

 

[Offshore Angler]

One needs to be careful with generalizations. I can design a pickup for Alnico 2 and one for Alnico 5 but I can match the outputs by adjusting the number of turns on the bobbin. Looking at the BR curves for both materials they are relatively flat, very linear in the regime they are operated in. So given you want an impedance of around 8 Ohms, what you will be probably hearing is the difference in inductance in the pickups because the A5 will require fewer turns for a given output.
That may explain why A2's seem to have a better chirp and bloom but without a scope on the output it's just a guess.