"Difference between Alnico & Ceramic Single coils"???

[zphunkz]

TOPIC: "Difference between Alnico Single coils to Ceramic Single coils"

Please share some tips how to distinguish "ALNICO pickups and CERAMIC pickups" SINGLE Coils for Strats and Telecasts 

[fraudulentzodiac]

magkaiba sila ng magnet hehe.

yung alnico pole pieces lang yata walang plate sa ilalim, yung ceramic meron.

[gitaristang_pusa]

ALNICO= Aluminum Nickel Cobalt- base on my experience usually ang mga alnico pick ups ko sa strat n tele ko mas responsive ang tunog... mas clear and mas twangy... responsive in a sense when especially when you are using an overdrive, nagrerespond yung pick up sa picking ko... unlike dati nung nka ceramic ako... walang response palaging matapang tunog. at ang mganda pa nito rechargeable ang magnet ng alnico... may bago na nga e SANICO hehehe Samarium Nickel Cobalt i think...

[Al_Librero]

may bago na nga e SANICO hehehe Samarium Nickel Cobalt i think...

that's SCN. Fender acronym for samarium cobalt noiseless or samarium cobalt neodymium or whatnot.

anyway, a magnet is a magnet. it doesn't emit any sort of sound by itself.

the reason why ceramic pickups have that bad rep is that pickup manufacturers slapped them on designs meant for alnico magnets. with the right design around it, a ceramic-equipped pickup is capable of matching anything an alnico pickup can come up with.

[bluenote]

http://www.kinman.com/html/toneWorkshop/perfectGuitar.htm#magnets

Everything you need to know...

[bluenote]

that's SCN. Fender acronym for samarium cobalt noiseless or samarium cobalt neodymium or whatnot.

anyway, a magnet is a magnet. it doesn't emit any sort of sound by itself.

the reason why ceramic pickups have that bad rep is that pickup manufacturers slapped them on designs meant for alnico magnets. with the right design around it, a ceramic-equipped pickup is capable of matching anything an alnico pickup can come up with.

According to all the things Ive read Alnico does influence the sound...

[Al_Librero]

Of course, it does. I'm not sure where I said otherwise.

Again, built using the same design, an alnico pickup will sound different compared to a ceramic pickup. The classic Fender single coil design was meant for alnico magnets, which is the reason the same design sounded "harsh" when ceramics were used.

So, what I am saying is that a pickup has to be designed differently when ceramic magnets are to be used in order to stand up to the alleged sweetness,  clarity and other such mojo associated with the alnico magnet.

[bluenote]

anyway, a magnet is a magnet. it doesn't emit any sort of sound by itself.

Of course, it does. I'm not sure where I said otherwise.

Ah Ok...

[Al_Librero]

Pare, magkaiba yata yung influence the sound kesa sa emit a sound by itself.

[bluenote]

Pare, magkaiba yata yung influence the sound kesa sa emit a sound by itself.

Yun na nga na gets ko na ibig mo sabihin kaya sabi ko ah ok

[nathanmanansala]

onga. they're magnets. walang silang sariling tone.

i expect you'll hear a lot of people say "alnico = warm, vintage. ceramic = hot, modern". thats cow dung. its a magnet wrapped in wire. it boils down to construction, i think. manufacturers can make pickups with alnico magnets sound just as focused and modern as an X2N or evolution. and they can make some with ceramic magnets sound as warm and open as antiquities. marketing lang yun. mas mahal kasi yung CO portion ng alnico. so they save it for particular sounds people would be willing to pay for. usually yung lower gain, less midrange-focused sounds like the old PAF/nancy/'54-'57 stuff catering to the crowd that'll pay for stuff made "the way they used to make 'em". suckers like me

take a ceramic and alnico magnet of the same size and strength. wind them up on the same machine with the same wire guage. an equal number of turns. kung meron man difference sa tunog yun, mas malaki pa siguro yung effect on tone ng pag adjust ng distance ng pole pieces from the strings.

[bluenote]

onga. they're magnets. walang silang sariling tone.

i expect you'll hear a lot of people say "alnico = warm, vintage. ceramic = hot, modern". thats cow dung. its a magnet wrapped in wire. it boils down to construction, i think. manufacturers can make pickups with alnico magnets sound just as focused and modern as an X2N or evolution. and they can make some with ceramic magnets sound as warm and open as antiquities. marketing lang yun. mas mahal kasi yung CO portion ng alnico. so they save it for particular sounds people would be willing to pay for. usually yung lower gain, less midrange-focused sounds like the old PAF/nancy/'54-'57 stuff catering to the crowd that'll pay for stuff made "the way they used to make 'em". suckers like me

take a ceramic and alnico magnet of the same size and strength. wind them up on the same machine with the same wire guage. an equal number of turns. kung meron man difference sa tunog yun, mas malaki pa siguro yung effect on tone ng pag adjust ng distance ng pole pieces from the strings.

Check mo yung link ni Kinman na pinost ko sabi nya meron talagang influence ang alnico sa sound unlike ceramic na walang effect sa tone...

[tejadster]

the materials used....

[zphunkz]

ok nalinawan na ang mga katanungan ko..mga ser baka naman may pics kau dyan ng alnico and ceramic? kasi wala ako makita sa internet na view ung ilalim na magnet na sinasabi nyo eh..pakki post naman mga ser kung ok lang po.

[mojahista]

i think the difference lies on the concentration of magnetic fields emitted by the materials. weak or strong magnetic field could definitely affect the sound produced on the induction of current on the coil itself.

[nathanmanansala]

Check mo yung link ni Kinman na pinost ko sabi nya meron talagang influence ang alnico sa sound unlike ceramic na walang effect sa tone...

ah ok.

oddly enough, though, yung dimarzio breed (bridge, alnico 5) and ibanez powersound (bridge, ceramic) both act the same way pag nilalapit ko sa refrigerator door. they both stick.

[titser_marco]

I agree with nate's and al's points. Since these two magnets have different magnetic properties, a dsigner would definitely have to base his designs - number of windings etc - on the properties of the raw material. Now, it does make sense that using a design meant for alnico magnets will not work with ceramics, and vice versa.

I believe that this is also the case for the debate between ceramic and alnico speakers.

[toybitz]

so I guess, ceramic PUs are discriminated?

Jeff Beck's tone is very much to die for, his SCs are ceramic if I remember correctly.

I don't know on the comment on dynamics and response, but my best greco strat (w/c I stupidly sold but wisely needed to) had ceramic PUs that I found later on before selling it.  I never even noticed it was ceramic, and it was a match made in heaven against the wood and craftmanship.

[erniebong]

konti pa at magiging debate nanaman ito nag preference hahaha.

yeah I'l go with Al's... their just magnets they are not pickup themselves

syempre alnico magnets influence the tone or sound in general, but to say ceramics don't? I think is incorrect to say that. they might sound different yes since they do have different physical properties.

if theres any difference i guess its because the nature of 6 individual alnico pole piece magnets vs a single ceramic... surely they will behave differently thus Al's point in designing the Bobbins to match them

Try em all and see whats work for you... I have ceramics and I have Alnicos and I like them both

[deadlifted]

oooh zombie thread!

ontopic: mag-actives na lang kayo hehehe.

[toybitz]

ernie,

do have a guitar w/ has a combo of alnico and ceramic?

[erniebong]

yup dude, a strat wt alnico sa neck and bridge tapos ceramic sa mid... works for me

the alnicos are from a very old strat that broke down I think its a Maxon The ceramic was from 90's Jap esquire.

why?

BTW nagutom ako sa avatar mo Bits hehehe

[rednas]

Hmm... how can you tell if you have Alnico or Ceramic?

[toybitz]

yup dude, a strat wt alnico sa neck and bridge tapos ceramic sa mid... works for me

the alnicos are from a very old strat that broke down I think its a Maxon The ceramic was from 90's Jap esquire.

why?

BTW nagutom ako sa avatar mo Bits hehehe

hahaha! yeah, I love food bossing!  I'll eat any except for those served in the Fear Factor menu.

on topic, I have a strat, you know, the traditional specs..alder body, vintage trem..etc.. it has a ceramic neck and middle PU, which, is pretty ok for me and as for the bridge, I'm going to install an SD alnico (SSL5) on the bridge..I wonder if its going to compliment.  Though, I want to try out better PUs because the stock ceramics come in cheap but the wood is excellent.  Strummed unplugged, ganda ng resonance, and I wouldn't want the PUs to be a constraint to its potential.

I can't afford to change the neck and middle for now, and I'm curious if there's a celebrity out there using such combo.  I want a reference of how these interact together, how they sound when flicked to other positions.

Having alnicos for the n/m with a ceramic for the bridge is a bit popular..but what if its the other way around.

[skunkyfunk]

ALnicos are weaker in general than ceramic, neodymium and samarium cobalt.  In the output department, you need bigger chunks of alnico to strengthen the magnetic force that the coil reacts with to produce a more compressed sound.  Ceramics are more compressed in nature (not necessarily stronger).  Neodymium is very strong but they can be very piercing for audio transducer purposes (i.e speakers, mics, pickups).  That why the Celestion neos are very light since they have smaller magnets.  Not very popular with pickups.

Haven't heard a samarium cobalt pickup yet, or an optical pickup.  Can't comment as yet.

MUSICALLY SPEAKING, I prefer the sweetness of alnico pickups and using some pickup booster after the guitar to a high output ceramic which sounds very compressed and in some cases, brittle, unless I want to play metal through a high gain amp.