The Ultimate ALNICO Pickup Test!! - A2, A3, A4, A5, and A8!

[@thewomanwithnohead]

That's truly THE comparison video I dreamed about all my guitarist life !

[@trashpanda1350]

I have alinco V pickups on my squier SSS configuration like the one in my PF you see

[@joeysgear1419]

You should REALLY do a comparison video between alnico 2, 3 and 5 but where it matters: STRATS ;) Most strat pups are alnico 5, but the recently started doing some with alnico and they are amazing. The first strats were also alnico 3. I have boutique hand wound strat pups which are alnico 2 and they just have such a natural sound...more than alnico 5 and with more overtones. Teles also started with 3, in 52...then 5 took over there as well.

[@Pim3211]

Exactly! That was really interesting 😃

[@PeteKaster]

Would love to see this in the bridge position too!

[@billhillard]

Well, we all want you to get ahead.

[@priyonjoni]

I’m going to name my first son Al Nico

[@ansol68]

Yeah, I'm going to have my son name my grandson, Alnico II

[@Supperconductor]

Your child will rebel and call himself Ceramic.

[@shenjingbing2293]

@@ansol68 lmao

[@obicross]

@@Supperconductor sir amic 😁

[@Supperconductor]

@SQUIRE LOVA LOL!

[@RobertBakerGuitar]

Busted out my monitoring headphones. Huge difference once you have headphones on. 3's are my fav

[@Nghilifa]

Same here!

[@MrZachalewel]

Don't forget to add &fmt=18 to the URL for better audio (sometimes)

[@kimhansen6384]

@@MrZachalewel That is interesting, but I don´t know what you mean?? What is &fmt?

[@MrZachalewel]

@@kimhansen6384it is a url parameter for uncompressed audio. You paste it on the end of the URL, hit enter.

[@PrizmSeeR]

Yes. It had a great sound. Wonder if he just tuned them better or they just are great. I love a clean but driven tone. When you add lots of distortion it still sounds great.

[@nicovo9237]

Clean: Alnico 2 - 2:58 Alnico 3 - 3:07 Alnico 4 - 3:15 Alnico 5 - 3:24 Alnico 8 - 3:31 Ceramic 8 - 3:39 Medium gain: Alnico 2 - 5:26 Alnico 3 - 5:38 Alnico 4 - 5:50 Alnico 5 - 6:01 Alnico 8 - 6:12 Ceramic 8 - 6:24 High gain: Alnico 2 - 7:50 Alnico 3 - 8:06 Alnico 4 - 8:22 Alnico 5 - 8:39 Alnico 8 - 8:56 Ceramic 8 - 9:13

[@victorious2178]

you deserve a beer!

[@FuckinRiven]

Wouldn't call it high gain

[@jmsplm362]

Geez thanks man

[@mikepj1025]

You da man. Thank you.

[@lone-wolf-1]

Thank you

[@donald-parker]

I like the 2's. You can do tons of things to add grit, gain, and distortion. But not so much to clean up a dirty pickup.

[@yonikup2865]

That's the pickups slash uses and I have them on my Les Paul and I can totally back that statement. always easier to add dirt than remove it in my opinion

[@YesuAiNimen]

Me too

[@drewbarries]

Seymour Duncan Custom 4C Antiquities are Alnico IIs

[@bluenosemassmedia2996]

Donald Parker I’m with you. Extra hot winds suffer tonally. I love the Duncan 5 twos in a Tele

[@highanglelarry]

I run a 2 in the neck and a 5 in the bridge on my main dc lp. Wish he would have ran the bridge instead.

[@Fatherflot64]

Alnico II rules. I hate hot pickups. You can always add dirt. You can't add clean.

[@carlodevivomusicontent2138]

too mid-rangie for my taste

[@skillracoonful]

Yeah alnico II was a clear winner for cleans imho

[@vizzo7]

I prefer a balanced alnico V. and keep the guitar for long and then I will have sooner or later alnico II. But if you start with alnico II you will end up with Allshito . By the way all the pickup thing is quite voodoo thingy

[@dabman9688]

If only we had some way to turn the volume down....like a knob or something

[@TheGearaxyz95]

My Duncans don´t have that problem, actually.

[@BrunoPeixotoVieira]

Please do this comparison in the bridge pickup position

[@johnshannon6492]

Yes!!! Thats pretty much where I live!

[@svajesz]

Yes, please! 🤘🏻

[@torbenlysholm1]

Yeah, this comparison was nice ... but what a blunder that is. Almost everyone must now sit and "translate" this info and impression to what it could do for their bridge pickup. So, I'm off to find another comparison video with more relevans for me.

[@Ranger11413]

Personally I feel that Alnico 5 gives you the best of all worlds across the board. Most versatile tone capability for all genres.

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

This one was on my "to do" list for a LONG time! What were your favorite tones? I keep oscillating between A2 and A3. On some clips I like the warmth of A3, and on others the clarity and bite of A2 :)

[@cleberdossantosviotto7164]

I had the same opinion, a2 a3 and a5 are the best sounding pick-up settings at clean, on overdrive a2 a3 are awesome and a8/c8 got too much treeble imo. On High gain a3 and a5 kills it. C8 looks to be apropriated to metal 🤘

[@ToddsGuitarShop]

I'm really liking the A3!

[@franciscodanconia3551]

Through my headphones, the 4s were the greatest amongst a field of awesome in every test. 3 was my second favorite clean, 5 my second favorite for the middle test and 2 overdriven.

[@jw_au]

I'm with you, toss up between 2 and 3 for me...

[@thestratman9]

I liked them all for different reasons, and I personally use pickups with alnico 2, 5 and ceramic 8 magnets, but I really liked what I was hearing with alnico 4. I might have to try some pickups with that magnet.

[@MangaJosh]

I wish the last test would have been in the bridge position. There was just too much bass from the neck position.

[@SDPickups]

Before even watching this, you need to know one thing. There is NO standard recipe for any of the alnico grades. EACH manufacturer uses their OWN recipe. Now, as a pickup designer, this is a GOOD thing. It gives you a huge palette to play with. Example, I have A3 magnets that are super dark sounding, real warm and of course real WEAK, because A3 has no cobalt in it. I have A2 that is super super bright, and some that is really warm as well. So generalizations kinda don't work. A5 is usually quite strong and bright, but there are magnets like A5L which aren't super strong, nor bright. So, all we are hearing in this demo is magnets from ONE company in China. All magnets used in guitar pickups are Chinese, ALL of them. This is not a bad thing, it makes no difference. Back 20 years ago Korea made all pickup alnico, Chinese undercut the Koreans and sold for cost and killed the Korean market. We do have Arnold Magnetics in the USA, but in my experience, they are rather lifeless and bland sounding, back in the 90's, Arnold magnets gave Fender pickups a bad reputation for being just BAD. They hired someone to figure out why the pickups were so disliked, I don't know that they figured out Arnold mags were just nothing like what anyone was making or even vintage magnets, but I had those in my Strat and the sound was lifeless and bland. Vintage magnets are usually really very bright but can have a tiny bit soft top end. My company brought back rough cast alnico back in 2007 working thru Allstar Magnetics and Magnetic Hold. Rough cast has no magic, they just look cool, beware any hype being used there. Allstar went through Sensmag in China, Magnetic Hold wouldn't tell me who they used, and their 2nd attempt to make them completely failed as the magnets all came out extremely thick, we had to grind them down to thickness and the rough texture was ground away. Sensmag still sells my magnets and they are very good. Vintage magnets were all pretty much quite WEAK too. I've worked on tons of vintage PAF's and typically the magnets all measure about 400-450 gauss. By '61 the magnets were getting stronger as alnico technology improved, and some could reach 600 gauss in a hot recharge measurement. By '65 they were A5 magnets, very tiny and thin, but strong.

[@ipuya]

So do you have any experience with pickup magnets?

[@FiveOnTheSide]

Thanks for the information. Very interesting.

[@orde_plongo.3.0]

u should make vid 'bout that.. Maybe that vid will be your "one hit wonder" in Yt..

[@goneflying140]

@@orde_plongo.3.0 Dave has a hugely popular video series about PAF pickups. If you are interested in true PAF tone at all, you should subscribe to his channel and watch his videos. He knows more about PAF'S than ANYBODY.

[@curtrod]

@@goneflying140 I believe it, judging by how much his pickups cost!😁

[@electrofuzz7396]

ALNICO IV for me, clear note separation and warm at the same time.

[@shaggaroony]

Nice one, I thought exactly the same thing. They sounded really good.

[@zanshelby03]

And you get drive and fullness without the harsh fuzzy overdrive tone

[@nathanbrewer6032]

Came Standard in G&L's ALNICO "S" (for Session) ASAT, and why I bought it.

[@johnhmaloney]

AlNiCo-III was my favorite in all three tests. It just sounds warmer than the others to me.

[@ranchmanager9126]

I was surprised, especially on the blues bit how warm and still chimey the Ceramic was. I like the saturated breakup of the Ceramic. Probably very dynamic using the volume control.

[@droogii1142]

Through my headphones the Alnico II just had a clarity I liked. Great video.

[@jamesk1619]

I think they all sounded pretty good with subtle differences. I'd have to pick Anico V's for the best in all 3 tests. Alnico III's sounded very jazzy which I also liked. Kinda of an odd timing for this vid.. I've been thinking of picking up a Fender Player Strat that has the V's.. I may have to blame it on this vid when the wife sees the guitar...

[@IntoTheForest]

Personally alnico 4 was my favorite. They all sound great, just different sounds for different contexts. This was a great comparison for anyone looking into new pickups/ pickup magnets.

[@jimaubrey498]

Like 4 best also

[@stroopwafel6141]

I have Bare Knuckles Mules AIV. Best PAF 59-copies I ever played. Very balanced, dynamic and crisp but not shrill in the topend. AIII is too soft in the bass for me. Too bad we don't hear the bridgepickups with distortion.

[@anthonydavella8350]

@@stroopwafel6141 I agree. That riff was too close to the nut for a high gain neck Pup IMO

[@5150sux]

Same here A4 passed each test in my eyes.

[@deftonedigga]

I think that dynamics need to be taken into consideration also. That's where Alnico IV can step up.

[@niclastname]

I can say one thing for sure: Changing the magnet in the same pickup of the same guitar makes a _much_ bigger tone difference than _any_ tone difference anyone has ever shown from wood in an electric guitar!

[@whichgodofthousandsmeansno5306]

Would make sense as a solid body electric relies so heavily on the electronics once it's plugged in. But tests have shown the wood can make a difference in tone and sustain. Does that justify spending thousands more? Only someone really picky and with money to burn would think so. Or someone who wants to justify why they had to have an old expensive guitar when a properly set up newer inexpensive one can sound great too.

[@georgefromgreece4119]

I kind of disagree.

[@whiskerandojoe]

i hear notible difference in clarity of korina would guitars. I don't mean treble, but a lack of muddiness so you can distinctly hear all the tones singing instead of ringing.

[@benink5690]

Wood makes a noticeable difference e to anyone with a decent ear. Might wanna work on that ;)

[@niclastname]

@@benink5690 Should be really easy to prove by removing all variables and using waveforms then. I wonder why nobody ever does...

[@MarcCoteMusic]

For me, it was A3, then A2... same as you. Finally, for the heavy test... that was harder to pick a preference. I'd probably go for A8. The surprise, for me, was the ceramic pickup... I actually liked it in all the tests, though it wasn't my favourite in any one test. Most of the stuff I play is either clean-ish or crunchy, so after listening to these tests I checked what magnets are in my Pearly Gates and discovered they use Alnico 2. No surprise, then, that it was the A2 magnet I preferred for test #2. It's nice to know my ears haven't deceived me.

[@DChrls]

Not as much difference in them as I was expecting.

[@gingerjam2192]

Ordinaryavg.guy Quite the opposite for me.

[@Wesquire]

A2 and A3 were my favorites for clean and light gain. However, they lose too much definition with higher gain. A4 and A5 were best with higher gain.

[@scott7521]

agree

[@VictorMan289]

Bruh.. this video just had me realize i like A3 way more than the popular A5

[@MrRyeDaddy]

Me too

[@johncrapper366]

Yeah. Me too.

[@m.e.c.j.5125]

Try A4 !

[@larrybethune3909]

I put A3's into Burstbucker pros last night. Huge difference in frequency response and feel. Keeper!

[@kaeleppcohen3210]

Here are timestamps for each individual magnet test. Enjoy! CLEAN A2: 2:59 A3: 3:07 A4: 3:15 A5: 3:23 A8: 3:31 C8: 3:38 BLUES A2: 5:26 A3: 5:38 A4: 5:49 A5: 6:01 A8: 6:12 C8: 6:24 ROCK A2: 7:50 A3: 8:06 A4: 8:22 A5: 8:39 A8: 8:56 C8: 9:13 I personally don't hear a difference other than output volume.

[@mestresplinter2467]

Thanks a lot. Well, I'm hearing a lot of "sand" in the higher grade ones. Try to swap from 2 to 8 and back. If you listen in the order, maybe the gradient doesn't sound that different.

[@MartinBuzon]

Amazing thanks for the TimeStamps, for me A2 and C8 are the cleanest and brightest. Pay attention to multiple strings sounding together you can clearly hear the difference. 5 and 8 sound wider than the rest but still to dirty, frequencies mix up too much.

[@joshuatreat8106]

That. Was. AWESOME! Today I like the A3. Tomorrow maybe the A2.😅

[@Darthhalitosis]

Be awesome if you could do the same with a bridge pickup :)

[@dalybaz]

What's stopping you?

[@wessoncolt1844]

Ok I need to make a point about Alnico VIII magnets. THEY ARE NOT ALWAYS TOO HOT FOR CLEAN TONES!!! A good example for this is the 70s and 80s MIJ pickups with Alnico VIII magnets. The early U-3000 pickups (the ones that were not marked on the back as U-3000) are some of the best sounding pickups ever and unless the magnet changed in 1976 (my Greco EG-900 is from that year) the pickups were recorded from 7.6 -7.8, making them amazing PAF style humbuckers suitable for any playing style!!

[@SomeplaceWonderful]

I've never seen or heard a demo anything like this. It's genius. Well done.

[@JonDeth]

*This is almost nothing but mysticism since the traits of the pickup come down to the wire gauge selected, whether it's symmetrical or scattered wound, the potting material and the number of winds. The impedance, henries, peak resonance and response curve will not change by switching magnets, only the flux density and therefore the concentration of flux lines cut that oscillate the electrons.* The string you pluck is either cutting more or less lines of flux, so it's almost exclusively going to be the magnitude of pitch as opposed to changing the tonal structure like an obvious and bold boost in midrange, or suddenly tremendously more bass. This simply isn't going to occur at any obvious level, unless you go straight from a 2 to an 8. You will see far more variety and changes based on your passive control circuitry, let alone if you use active. Passive can still be greatly altered by switching from audio taper to linear, increasing pot resistance value, wiring caps or caps and resistors in parallel across the logs, or adding a 3dB slope passive bandpass filter to them. *This is why I always favored super high output passives and getting the production curve and response you desire in your control circuit.* It's far easier and more versatile.

[@jeffreyradick6486]

I don't know if it's my 60 year old hearing or my headphones (beats studio, maybe 5 years old), or maybe just not knowing what to listen for, but aside from a gradual progression from "slightly cleaner" to "slightly grittier" I have a very difficult time perceiving much difference between these. Still, it's really interesting to see such a direct comparison and to have that in mind when viewing or reading all the inflated claims about this or that type of pickup. I have about 10 electric guitars, some humbuckers and some single-coil, and they all sound different (even listening to their acoustic sound not plugged in) but I remain fairly puzzled about how to account for the differences adequately.

[@TheTyphoon3737]

Also take into account that KZbin heavily compresses the audio, so you really aren't getting the full story (even with really neutral and clean high end headphones).

[@mindfall82]

Also depends on the wind, some manufacturers wind them hotter so you could get 2 dif A3s one higher and one lower output

[@scottjamable]

great video except I wish you would've done all of the distorted comparisons with the bridge pickup instead. They all sounded too muddy on the neck position. Cleans came through nice though.

[@AlexusDelphi]

I really liked: Clean: A4, C8 OD: A2 Saturated: A3, A5, A8, and C8

[@Otize1]

It's actually crazy how a little magnet can affect tone, I've now found my 3 favorites, Alnico 8, 5, and 3. It astonished me the subtle but also very apparant differences each had, I felt the Alnico 8 had more gain and just a more distorted tone which I adore, but I love the balance of the Alnico 5 and the Alnico 3 was a nice inbetween of the Alice 5 and 2 for me

[@bryantwalley]

The 4's had the best pitch balance and clarity on what we are hearing from KZbin. Both from my ear and the frequency analysis. I could easily see people preferring the 2's and 3's to get more accentuation on the high end and keeping the clarity. You can always add in some low end and dirt if you want too. The 5's are what they are. The 8's would need a lot of post work unless you just looking for crunch and dirt.

[@mendBOT]

The 8's are useless for clean tones, I have them on my guitar and it's almost impossible to get that "edge of breakup" tone, it's always too hot. I'll be changing them soon because it's really difficult to deal with that.

[@bryantwalley]

@@mendBOT yes sir. only good for crunch and dirt.

[@rouillardrock1213]

If you have a different magnet 🧲 on the other(s) pickups, you may get different results. Some frequency have tendency to disappear when a low output pickup get exited by a string shared with high output pickup. The stronger magnet build strong magnetic field. That field some time could restrict the movement of the strings. This could alter some frequency ranges and they're volume output. With an already lower output coil, the situation could lead to some weak range on the equalizer. Sorry for the weird English writing (second language) Nice 👌 video 📹 you are doing great 👍.

[@Wayneextremity]

Amazing Effort, Darrel. Thanks for feeding our Gear obsession

[@DavidBrown-it9ig]

Neck pickups should never be hot. Even when playing fairly heavy music. I would be way more interested in the effect on bridge position

[@misinformationwithrandy]

This made me want to buy 3 guitars with 3 pickup configurations. 3, 5 and 8. And I appreciated that you shared your thoughts.

[@SaxJockey]

I have a Strat with stock A5 and a second Strat (bargain) that I am going to fit A2 (Tonerider AII Blues).

[@clockwork914]

Great video, but what about A5 unoriented❓

[@dyamariv3628]

Awesome video idea Darrell, thanks for that! You're a heck of a guitarist too brother!

[@MrDomPolito]

Alnico III for me. When it comes to overdrive and distortion I believe the bridge pickups would have been a better choice to model.

[@unacuentadeyoutube13]

Clean: Alnico 2 - 2:58 Alnico 3 - 3:07 Alnico 4 - 3:15 Alnico 5 - 3:24 Alnico 8 - 3:31 Ceramic 8 - 3:39 Medium gain: Alnico 2 - 5:26 Alnico 3 - 5:38 Alnico 4 - 5:50 Alnico 5 - 6:01 Alnico 8 - 6:12 Ceramic 8 - 6:24 High gain: Alnico 2 - 7:50 Alnico 3 - 8:06 Alnico 4 - 8:22 Alnico 5 - 8:39 Alnico 8 - 8:56 Ceramic 8 - 9:13

[@SkyscraperGuitars]

I would agree, 4 and 8 are similar... Totally not my cup of tea, but interesting to hear back to back. This backs up my preferences with 2 and 5 as the mags I like to use.

[@j11smith]

this is great thanks for sharing your thoughts. I have been really too concerned with the possible difference and as I live in remote Canada I want to order the right parts the first time. Thanks again, i know its painstaking work to do a true comparison like this

[@jeffwyatt2256]

Incredible! I’ve always wanted a proper test between the different pickup magnet types, you nailed it here! The alnico III was perfection through your clean signal. Alnico II won out on both pushed tests to my ears. Awesome stuff, keep up the fantastic work! Pretty new here but, absolutely loving the channel!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Thanks Jeff!

[@RC32Smiths01]

Dang, this is indeed a very in depth comparison and analysis man! Now I want them all haha!

[@jefdamen2977]

Lol yeah great info but still hard choices

[@andrewbendahan1379]

You can throw out your overdrive pedals if you have AIII magnets

[@jimmiguitarz4222]

Great video. My ear prefers the A2.

[@harryharry9526]

2) 3:00 3) 3:07 4) 3:15 5) 3:23 8) 3:31 C) 3:38 2) 5:27 3) 5:38 4) 5:50 5) 6:01 8) 6:13 C) 6:25

[@cristilepadatu79]

Clean: A5 Medium Gain: A2 High Gain: C8 Best Overall: A4 A3 seemed to me like it had a mid-range honk. Which might sound very good through mid-scooped amps like black-face Fenders... A4 seemed to me like the most versatile of the batch. Given the tone pots are subtracting, you might tame the top-end of A5/8 with the tone knob...

[@teedub127]

How about the same comparison with the bridge pickup?

[@EXATTIC]

One of the most informative gear videos I’ve come across. Definitely in the top 5. Way to go!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Thanks!

[@sccloser]

Alnico II has always been a favorite of mine. They tend to make the pickups sound more open. Like you said, they do not drive the amp as hard. V's are also pretty sweet. Hard to go wrong with either of those. All that said, one of my favorite humbucker pickups is the old Dimarzio Super Distortions from the 70s and 80s. Those have ceramic magnets and were pretty hot for the times, yet they cleaned up pretty well with the volume. They seemed to add some bottom end and really shine on solos.

[@jeffreyeagen4896]

Great video! I always wondered the difference between the alnicos. Thanks for doing this comparison, and your other comparisons. They are very informative and helpful! I found myself liking the 2 and 4, and sometimes 3. Interesting how it depended on the style. 5s are very good for all around, I think.

[@Furtheronmusic]

Really brilliant test. Not sure whether it'll influence future purchases but get way to test kudos to Darkmoon

[@alanwalker1698]

I've always liked a3 magnets better, especially in a neck humbucker. I like a2 and a4 in bridge pickups. I rarely like a5 pickups in any position. You should do the same comparison in P90s.

[@DogFoodTunes]

Neck position on a LP can be mushy, loved the A2. Bridge is where A5 rules. Thanks, great test!

[@pantreus7622]

I have a LP Studio Deluxe with a horribly mushy neck (490r). That’s got an Alnico II. I’m considering swapping it for a V. Hopefully it’ll brighten things up a bit.

[@CrankCase08]

@@pantreus7622 An easy means of giving the neck humbucker pickup more clarity is to insert a 0.04 mfd capacitor in series with the 'hot' lead. It filters out the low frequencies that cause mush and boom.

[@michaelmccasland]

Ted Riggs My suggestion would be an A4 instead of a 5. I have a 496, which is basically a 490 with a ceramic, that I swapped for an A4 and I'm in love. From clean, to overdriven, to high gain, it sings. Very nicely rounded tone, without too much treble or bass, while keeping single note definition during full chords.

[@TheChadPad]

My favorites were 3 for clean, 4/3 for blues rock, and 8/ceramic for high gain. Nice test. This stuff is invaluable

[@claudiosuarez1256]

Great video ,!!! thank you Darrel , without a doubt THE best youtube video about guitar pickups magnets xD

[@williamolsen20]

Dark Moon is a great company. High quality pickups at a reasonable price considering what some companies charge for custom would pickups. I have a cheaper Les Paul Tribute and I dropped Dark moon pickups in it and i love them.

[@godzilla964]

I found that the alnico III pickups were the cleanest sounding magnets.

[@willd5105]

They all sound like legitimately good tones in their own context of desired output, but I am surprised how well the Alnico 5 stands out in comparison after hearing first the great sounding Alnico 2. The more bland/neutral A3 and A4 in between makes the A5 sound like a clear winner in the category of best of both worlds, the tone of the A2 with more output but not so high like the A8 and ceramic that the pole pieces have become over-saturated/less dynamic.While this test was executed with great skill in keeping the static conditions perfectly unchanged so that the variable could be examined in depth, there is one fault with the experiment in that the nature of side-by-side humbuckers to sum and cancel the extreme highs and lows. This is not a criticism because this question is meant to educate guitar players of what effect magnet types have in a humbucker, but to really 'hear' the effects of magnet composition, some sort of single coil made from a moulded plastic bobbin (to be able to pull out and replace rod magnets) or a P90 would display some seriously interesting audio artifacts to compare against. I'd do a video of it myself if I had the quality of video/audio recording available to me that you have; in the meantime I'll just subscribe to your channel, all sorts of interesting stuff I see. Take care and thank you.

[@nanettejameson4279]

I liked them all, depends what music you are playing just need more guitars to put them in.

[@Rollermanfromspace]

the Paul Harrell of the guitar world lol. For those of you who know, you know. Keep up the great work!

[@leicesterblackthorne9699]

Paul and Darrell for when you really want to know.

[@bateman2112]

To my ears A2 - 5's fundamental timbre all sound the same. The differences all seemed subtle, almost ancillary or accidental. Sort of like if you were to replace the burger patties from a bunch of different burger joints with patties from Burger King. The base flavor is the same but the toppings change the overall taste. When the tone shaping starts the subtle differences vanish, again to my ears. The 8s are a slightly different story. I can absolutely hear a difference between the 8s and the others. I can't hear a difference between the 8s however. Interesting stuff.

[@TheRosswise]

Alnico 5s for me. Alnico 2s sound really good too.

[@michaelgrahamwongacutemadness]

I heard that there’s an alnico 6, but not 7 or 9+; I don’t think there’s a 1 either.

[@vdoundakov]

As always, just a great video. I really wonder what the 4 guys that didn't like it had in mind.

[@davidbuzzin426]

👍🇺🇸❤I ALREADY KNOW THIS 100%........👍A2👍

[@FluidRat]

I think I'd personally pair a set with Alnico III in the neck with Alnico IV in bridge, the distortion on the IV sounded really clear for me, not too saturated, hit in a nice way, but the III was very warm yet clear and could see that being thrown into a neck pup

[@qua7771]

I'm getting ready to do that to my Pearly Gates pups as soon as the magnets arrive.

[@BoozyBeggar]

A2 and ceramic for the cleans. Underwind the neck with a ceramic, like 7.5k from the 9.2k or whatever it was, and it'd probably improve it. A2 and A4 for the slight drive. I wanna reiterate what I said about the ceramic earlier. I'm no expert, but it seems like just lower winds would improve the tone, or maybe just turn the volume knob down a tad, or bring the pickup down a little with the sidescrews. A2 sounds the best with the high fuzz, but they all sound passable. And thus ends my two cents.

[@noahdupont8440]

Those tones are TASTY to my Ears.That ceramic will surprise you, pending on the guitar.mmmm

[@pakiw2]

On AliExpress alnico 5 magnet costs 1.5 buck. Recently installed two, cool. No need swap pickups.

[@spkay31]

Really well done Darrell. I think this provides a very good reference for guitarists who want to get a basic familiarity with the tone differences of these different magnet alloys. You did a great job of performing the test riffs very consistently which helps make the tone comparison more objective. It's not that easy to repeat the riffs with that amount of precision ;-)

[@henrykelly1183]

I have Gibson 57s (A2) and do find it a bit muddy in the neck. I think an A2 in the bridge to keep some of that warmth and AV in the neck for clarity would be my perfect combo.

[@lukegoffkat]

For me, I love the 90's country tele sound, so a very bright pickup in the bridge and good solid clear but warmer tone for the neck, making the middle switch a perfect blend to get that "tele" sound.

[@jasong546]

Excellent job! I liked the 4. I complained to you about my 498/490 stock pups, but I decided not to change because of your pup comparisons. I found that I simply have to use all the controls on the guitar and amp and I spent a little more time adjusting and listening to the height. I got them sounding the way I like them to. If you don’t have the money to buy new ones, work on altering your settings and adjustments and you might find they are just fine. Thanks again Darrell!

[@launder0]

Tha'ts a pro-level comparison right there! There's just one thing I think you could improve, and it's not hard at all: do quickier A-B's between a pair of magnets, instead of whole chunks of music. This way we can have a better feeling for the difference in the spot

[@lukegoffkat]

I agree! Really need quick switching so the ears don't forget the last tone.

[@cpamiseso]

DARKMOON IS REALLY AWESOME! I NEVER SEE THINGS LIKE THAT!

[@666RitaRita]

THIS was an excellent demo !!!

[@dannyvarga236]

After 40 years of live gigs and recording and having 40 plus guitar models, I can say that magnets or pickups mean very little! Why?...simple ...with a good compressor and EQ you can tone shape any pickup , humbucker or single coil. A small EQ cut or boost here, a little bit more compression and presto! instant tone shaping.

[@pallecla]

Very true.

[@slpsteve2618]

I also agree. EQ tweaking can get you similar if not the same results.

[@somebodyelseuk]

Yep and the majority who piss about with this sort of stuff then go and undo their work with pedals that change the frequency curve anyway, usually to where they would have been without the pedal and the original magnet.

[@SomeplaceWonderful]

Like a properly chosen microphone, a properly chosen guitar means less need for EQ, compression, or any other processing. Less gak between the pickups and the tape is the ideal.

[@somebodyelseuk]

@@SomeplaceWonderful Agreed. They used to say the difference between a man and a woman was when a man meets a woman, he wants her to stay the same for ever. The woman wants to change him. Modern guitarists buy a guitar and then start modding it... draw your own conclusions ;) Hank Marvin wannabes are a prime example. They buy a Strat, change the pickups to something with no mid range, eq the highs and lows down, boost the midrange... they;re back where they started, £150 poorer and they increased back ground noise.

[@edt.5118]

I wonder what jazz guitarists would prefer for clean articulate output?

[@edt.5118]

Probably the original Gibson neck humbucker for most of the old school and many of the second generation of jazz guitarists. It wasn't the only pickup.

[@donovanowen3089]

It seems that they get progressively hotter. Would be interesting to see this done with single coils, if that were possible. Great video!

[@simonr7097]

In a single coil, the magnets are the pole-pieces, unlike a humbucker where the pole-pieces are just metal in contact with the larger magnet that we see in the video. This means that you can't just swap the magnets in a SC, you have to change the whole pickup.

[@donovanowen3089]

@@simonr7097 but could you do the same thing and have the magnet on the bottom? That's how ceramic single coils are.

[@CharlesWillisBonsai]

@@donovanowen3089 that's basically what a P90 is

[@RookCity94]

Alnico 8 all the way, as much as I love pickups with a good high-end, I can't shake this love for mid-range punchiness.

[@davidcudlip6587]

I have a dog ear p 90 in a Les Paul Jr. with an Alnico 8. Drives the amp hard but can clean up nicely when the volume is rolled off. Very versatile pickup for a one pickup guitar.

[@yurimodin7333]

call me crazy but I liked the Ceramic

[@simonj.1812]

I love the ceramics in my Made in Mexico Strat, like them better than the American Strats

[@sisajtegabre]

You are nor crazy you are just smart and have good ears, Ceramic is better and it doesn't change during the time period also it have constant sound no matter were you play, with alnico in a sunny hot day VS cold day sound will be different. People listen pickups gurus who have interest in selling things, but ceramic rules. There are other options but IMHO go with ceramic you will be just fine, better clen sound and for sure better OD and DS.

[@sisajtegabre]

@@simonj.1812 those are great pickups, unfortunately people throw them out due to BS and nonsense served by profit hungry producers. One of the problems why ceramic pickups are so hatted is due to in 70's and 80's in japan some superior ceramic versions of single coils and humbuckers appeared, of course you can guess who didn't like that.Since then hunt against ceramic is on. Another reason is that ceramic is cheaper but it wasn't' like that always. My favorite uber stupid reason is ''alinico is more natural'' ☺ LOL alnico is aloy while for ceramic you could say it is made out of natural iron oxide. So keep those mexicans and enjoy that is my honest opinion as person who deal with pickups almost 30 years.

[@shumailkhan7205]

Feel like the ceramic 8 are not getting enough love.

[@Fernando.Canal2]

I always watch these sound comparison and I always get the same conclusion: Doesn't matter.

[@pops1981]

this has to be one of the best comparison video's ever. Thanks Darrell for all the effort you put in your work. I'm leaning towards #2

[@UmbertoRonco]

To me sound gets darker aumenting the numbers of the alnico.

[@glenngardin3561]

Is it wrong to hit like before actually watching the video? Me thinks not!

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

😂👍

[@MarcoPozza]

Alnico 2 - clean: 02:59 overdrive: 05:26 distortion: 07:50 Alnico 5 - clean: 03:23 overdrive: 06:01 distortion: 08:39

[@Barncaster1]

Hi Darrell, I wind pickups and I love the fact that you did this comparison. I have two suggestions however if you want to pull some variability out of this experiment as done. First, use magnets that are charged to similar gauss levels. The bars sent to you were all over the place for gauss levels. Similar gauss levels will allow you to listen to differences in the formulations unconfounded by varying gauss levels. Secondly, the pickup they sent was wound with a medium/high resistance level. Gibson PAFs from back in the “Golden Era” were right around 8k. This is pretty much the benchmark for humbuckers. Food for thought if you want to go down the rabbit hole further. I’d be happy to help.

[@theAxehound]

Agree and its super easy to gauss and degauss.

[@QuiteTheGentleman]

is there a video for bridge position?

[@reiniervanzwieten7092]

I like how they all sounded simular but just with a little more bass or treble but the A-VIII had a specific character which was kinda nice.

[@rveurope]

Great Job! A2, A3, A5 all the way!

[@bobbyjnotk]

A2 2:58 A3 3:07 A4 3:15 A5 3:23 A8 3:30 C8 3:38

[@batmandeltaforce]

A8 for me:) I was surprised at the mids in the C8... but MIDS is what you want. You CAN NOT survive without mids:)

[@AikiBudo22]

Crap! I enjoyed the Alnico 5 the most overall and that's exactly what my guitar has! What ever shall a gear-head do? I guess PRACTICE PLAYING more instead of constantly hunting for the "perfect" gear....

[@CarlosLauterbach]

I'd rather like to see the difference in the bridge cuz more treble and those magnets have way more differences when it comes to treble. but thank you for the video

[@Frapzoid]

Alnico 2 and 3 were the best.

[@jaredt3985]

Ever since playing a SD Alternative 8 I’ve been a huge fan of Alnico 8 magnets. This isn’t the best video to highlight them imo, but still well done. I mainly play metal, and have played many A5 and Ceramic pups over the years, from bad to great. I love the warmth from the A5 and the attack from Ceramic, but never found a perfect combo. Until I played an A8 pickup. They actually resemble an A2 in frequency curve more than an A5 to my ears. Nice vocal and sweet midrange. But you get the tightness and attack of a ceramic mag, I just love A8 magnets.

Absolutely, without a doubt.....NO APPRECIABLE DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER!!!