Are Alnico Magnets Better Than Ceramic For Picukups
Alnico tends to produce a very musical pickup in most.
Are alnico magnets better than ceramic for picukups. You often hear that the sound of a pickup is dominated by the choice of magnet used in its construction. Alnico v has more scooped mids and tighter in the low end. There are fantastic pickups on the market which utilize ceramic magnets such as the dimarzio titan and the seymour duncan black winter. Whereas ceramic is used in metal as it sounds tight loud and cool.
You see ceramic is easier to come by than alnico making it a cheaper magnet to make. Magnetically speaking ceramic magnets produce a stronger field than alnico. The result is a slightly hotter sounding pickup with more treble response. A lot of people automatically say that alnico is superior to ceramic in pickups.
Alnico is nice and warm and great for blues. However this is simply a misconception. Alnico ii is a lower output magnet that is smooth and usually has just a bit of warmth. They provide a different flavor from alnico.
Technically more efficient ceramic magnets took over in a wide variety of commercial applications starting in the 1960s but ceramic magnet guitar pickups were found to have a generally harsher more brittle sound with sharper peaks than their alnico predecessors. Provides some bite and sparkle. These magnets are softer than ceramic magnets and provide a weaker magnetic field. There are different numbers associated with alnico magnets such as alnico 2 or alnico 5.
The weaker magnetic field created by alnico magnets is said to give them a warmer smoother quality than a ceramic magnet but at the cost of reduced gain.