I put Alnico V's in my Antiquities

[plaintop]

Guitar Y2K-R9.......I raped a brand new P-100 of it V's that I picked up in a trade......The bridge sound is incredible to say the least. It really opens up the PU giving an overall boost in volume. Very usuable tone, sweet, wide and woody. It sounds very vintage and powerful. The string to string dimension is even and wide yet complex. Sounds just like ACDC, Free and Zeppelin....I love it! The neck is real warm and double tone with a rich complexity. I was unable to "crank up" last night which is the only way to truley test the PU's but at first listen. They Rock! Thank you toni, Dave P, Gaston G.

 

[60burst]

It appears this magnet swapping mod makes a really big improvement in tone. Everyone seems to like it. Thanks for sharing it guys.........:60burst

 

[Mark Kane]

Maybe I'm crazy but all the descriptions I keep hearing about this mod sounds like you could get about the same result by putting a stock Tom Holmes in your guitar. Not trying to be a smart ass 'cause I like swapping things around as much as the next guy. Mark

 

[60burst]

Try it, Mark, and post the results here. We are always interested in pickups...........

 

[Tonesnob]

60....
I might be ordering a Holmes very soon... but i'm not going for the PAF clone-tone, i want a gritty rock 'bucker that's well balanced.

 

[tonejunkie]

I really don't get it! Why did this mod seem to work for everyone but me???? I had switched to the 57 Alnico II and was fairly happy with it when I tried the Alnico V at Toni's urging. I was really hoping for yet another big improvement. I got a new P 90 at GC (so I could take it back if it didn't work), tried the mod with the bridge pickup and it was just all wrong. Yes, it was a lot warmer, woody and midrangy but the high end was completly gone. Even with the tone knob all the way out, the lead tone was just too dark and mushy--no definition. I use vintage Marshalls, but I don't think that's it. I listened to it clean through a black face Deluxe and it was the same thing. There was a big midrange hump and no high end. The pickup did not sound the least bit balanced. It sounded so bad I quit the experiment at that point. The guitar is an R8 that is not dark sounding in the least. It has oil in paper caps and OLD centralabs. I like the sound of the Alnico II but I have to roll the tone way back to get it to where I want. The Alnico V sound like what I'm looking for. I don't get it? The only thing I didn't do when I pulled the magnet from the P90 was remove the TINY bit of wax potting. Could that be the difference? I didn't want to take it off so I could keep the P90 as intact as possible if I had to return it. I took the pickup back. Should I get another one, remove the potting this time and try it again. It sounds like something that should work for me. Why am I the only one who had this mod suck so badly?

 

[plaintop]

tonejunkie ......................I haven't tried it at a high volume. So far it seemed articulate in the highs. I will go another round tonight. I am not trying to sound like this is the end all mod and I will continue not to reference the term PAF when describing it. I am very critical of tone and will not hesitate to let you know my feelings or actions taken if I am not happy with this mod.

 

[tonejunkie]

Did the Alnico V have any wax potting on it, and if so, did you remove it ?

 

[Mark Kane]

60burst, Actually on this past Sunday I spent three hours or so Swapping out pickups in my R8. After pulling the stock pickups I tried Harmonic Design Vintage Classic humbuckers uncovered. These are real fat, similar in "fatness" to the Fralins but with much more complexity and a more vintage type tone. These pickups are the most sensitive to distance forn the strings I've ever tried. You can really dial in the amount of highend you want with these by adjusting their heigth. I next tried my long time favorites the Antiquities with covers(unmodded) and they had that cool, clear smooth smoky tone that I've always liked. After hearing the HD's though a few warts showed up on these for the first time. Noticably less output, very clear but not as complex as I remembered them as being and the bridge was a little thin sounding. Next the Holmes 450 and 455 with covers. Great punch, sweet slightly rolled off highend, lots of bottom end and still great clarity and warmth. All in all I would describe these much as the modded Antiquities have been described, hollow, woody, full, etc..I ended up leaving these in for now with the neck pickup lowered slightly below the ring. In the middle position with the pickup set this way a got a neat almost out of phase sound, real nice. Anyway, once I buttoned this gutar back up I dug out the '69 deluxe(modded to a standard) with covered Antiquites and a/b'd them. The '69 had everybit as much punch and balls as the R8 and was more complex and hollow sounding. Now, this is what I think of when I think about antiquities. I still need to swap magnets in this loose set of antiquities I guess to learn the rest of the story. And different pickups react differently in different guitars too, I guess. What did I learn, the antiquites still kill in my old LP and the Holmes sound fine in the new one although I have a feeling the HD's are gonna get another ride.

 

[el84ster]

A little different experience

I tried putting alnico Vs in my Fralins (which Fralin says are alnico III) and found them to be too harsh for me. There was more clarity, but the high sounded way too harsh. I switched back to the albico IIIs.

 

[roadrunner]

Pickups and mods

I've got a set of modded Antiquities in one of my R9's. Got a set of Holmes pickups that Tom is making me and a set of Fralins coming. I guess I'll be able to get to the bottom of this tone thing :lol !

I ordered the Fralins and Holmes pickups to try in my other (stock) R9, I can't imagine they'll sound any better than the modded Antiquities... I love those pickups. Haven't had any lack of high end with 'em either. They get the "double note" and have a nice, very musical top end; the mids are fat and articulate and the lows are perfect for me.

 

[Des Howl]

60burst: (unrelated.)

Nice avatar! But it's making my eyes hurt... gonna lose my lunch if I keep staring at it.

 

[Charlie R57]

So did I

I installed the Alnico V magnets about 2 weeks ago.
The Bridge pickup now sounds great,
It was a bit to harsh with the Alnico II's
I hardly ever used the bridge P/U, but now
It's my favorite.
The neck now sounds a bit too Muddy.
Maybe I'll use the II in the neck and the V
in the bridge.
Thanks to All who continued with the Mod
Experiment. :wail:

 

[60burst]

Mark and Des Howl

Mark, Great post. This is the kind of information we can all use. I some HDs in a Tele and I like them pretty well. I have heard the Fralin PAF and it is a very nice sounding pickup but it is darker than the real deal and sounds different then a PAF but is a nice pickup anyway. Keep the tests coming. There are a lot of us that are always very interested in these pickup tests.:dude :60burst

Des Howl, I feel the same way you do. The damn thing spins around and is hard to watch. I am guessing that Lily gave it to me because it has sunglasses and I always wear glasses when I play. I just logged on and there it was. STOP SPINNING DAMMIT!!!
Maybe Lily will see this and help us out? :60burst

 

[plaintop]

Charlie I agree the bridge with the V just flat out rocks. Very usable tone. The neck with the V is a little muddy........ you are right. I couldn't put my finger on it but now that you mention it, it is a little muddy. Thanks!!

 

[toni]

Roadrunner,
i'm curious about how those T Holmes pickups compare to moded antiquities (alnico V). If they are good, it would be good for me to have a different tone for my other Historic.

60Burst,
do you think Fralins fall into the PAF range "qualitywise" ? ...are they "breathy", warm, and clear enough ?

 

[dgk]

what amps?

hey all...these posts re: pickups and mods are vey interesting..thanks to all for posting.....i find myself wondering what amps/speakers some of us are using and what recorded sounds we are referencing...i imagine that might account for some of the different responses and think it would be helpful to know what gear say, gaston and toni are playing thru and maybe even how the amp is set..considering the difference in say live duane allman and live jimmy page tone with essentially the same gear, this seems relevant ..( i know i know different model of marshall but still...).again thanks for the input..great stuff!!!!

 

[Mark Kane]

Toni, not 60burst but have had Fralins in a couple guitars. They are great sounding pickups but not all that vintage sounding. They excell at fattening up a thin sounding guitar. IMO they impart more of their own characteristics to a guitar than other after market pups. Maybe you'd say they aren't as transparent. They are great pickups though. To fatten up a guitar and still retain more vintage tone the HD's are killer! Hope this helps.

 

[60burst]

Toni

I agree with Mark's post above. He has described the Fralins accurately. The Fralins are good sounding pickups but I don't think they are what you are after. They are warm to the point of being a little dark. Good sounding but not vintage sounding. I heard them about 3 years ago so I hope my memory is correct? I liked the stock Antiquities EdR had in his Historic, better. :60burst

 

[scooter]

scooter

I recently got one the new Gibson "Angus Young Signature" pickups that seems to be very close to a '57 Classic but has the Alnico V magnet in it. Comes in nickel (which I bought) and gold.

I have to tell you that I'm very impressed with it. I loaded it onto a Standard that I have and it's pretty damn nice! Actually thinkging about putting one in the neck position as well.

Got it a Musician's Friend.