The AlNico 8 SwampBucker:

Inspector #20

Inspector #20

Ambassador of Tone
Fallen Star
Country flag
So, I'm gonna work up something special for Adrian. I recently sent him a modified (long out of production GFS double slug) with an AlNico 2 slab magnet, with vintage wiring, but coming in at a whopping 15.8k...not to mention reversed magnetic polarity for OOP in the middle position.

So now, I'm putting together another little OOP humbucker for our esteemed colleague.

I'm gonna use a very old (Bill Lawrence wrote of this method often) trick and over wind one coil to make them unbalanced for broader frequency response, even use two different wire gauges in the two coils. Then, I'm going to use an AlNico VIII (8) magnet (which is the highest strength in the Alnico family) as an experiment.

Alnico 8 will always have a larger magnetic field compared to Alnico 2, 3 or 5. Larger, but not necessarily stronger, so my thoughts are a larger field will make the pickup more responsive to pick attack (like hyper-sensitive) but, more importantly, the larger field will have more influence over the neck pickup when in OOP mode, making the effect more dramatic.

But...the idea here is to create a pickup that still produces sweet tones when played by itself, so something beyond the usual one-trick pony approach, something that will clean up dramatically when the volume is rolled off with very articulate definition and character.

So, I am gleaning only the very best parts from my stock of pickups and parts for this little project.

And so, the SwampBucker is born!!!
 
The patient shown in recovery. The black bobbin was pirated from a Gibson 490 and it was de-wound. The cream bobbin was pirated from a GFS and was over-wound.

Coils are taped up tight. I converted it from 4 conductor to vintage Gravitt cloth push-back wire with outer ground braid.

AlNico 5 magnet shown for testing. Reading is currently 9.6k @ 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

20181003_132219.jpg
 
Now, here's an interesting bit of trivia. Virtually all the covered Gibson's are zebra's underneath. However, the old Gibson pickups had square holes near the ends of the bobbins:

PAF Square Holes.jpg

The newer, uncovered Gibson's now have round holes, like this 57 Classic:

Gibson 57 Classic.png

But wait!!! The covered Gibson's have a raised ridge around the large round holes, like the SwampBucker:

Von Herndon SwampBucker.jpg

But look at the higher-end Artec's - like the Milestone and Giovanni - both designed by Wolfgang Damm - Square Holes!!!

Artec Giovanni.jpg


Interesting to see the different styles of bobbins used!!!!
 
I've dabbled in pickup modifying for a little while now, since getting the 17kΩ Von Herndon Supre-Sonics built last year. I've spent some time with a local winder and I'm doing my best to learn from him and my notes from chats with Bill Lawrence. Recently, I was intrigued by a certain Les Paul at his workshop that had a very "sweet growl" to it. There are no other words to describe it. The winder explained to me he had made a custom set of PAF clones with AlNico 4 magnets.

Really??? AlNico 4??? Class was now in session and I was all ears!!!

As you most likely know, almost all aftermarket pickups are equipped with either AlNico 5 or AlNico 2 magnets. AlNico 2 magnets have a warm tone with what many describe as a "creamy mid" but slightly less output, while AlNico 5 magnets provide higher output, more lower end amphasis and searing top end frequency response. However, the less commonly used alnico 4 magnets have a balanced and clear tone with all frequencies present and even. If you compare two otherwise identical pickups with AlNico 4 and AlNico 5 magnets, the AlNico 4 will have slightly less output and more balance. The AlNico 4 also doesn't seem to have the shrillness when playing single notes high up the neck.

Now, when you combine the tonal characteristics of AlNico 4 with slightly mismatched coils (with the screw coil wound a bit hotter) you find more warmth, clarity, and complexity, because a different section of the string is being pickup up by the two differently wound coils and their vocal signature is quite different.

This is the aspect i am trying to nail with the SwampBucker...
 
Hackmaster said:
So Robert, in your opinion how does Alnico 8 comparto an Alnico 3 or 5?
Warmer, punchier, more clarity, mellower, softener, not as harsh?
Click to expand...

I would have to say this - while certain magnets do seem to have a particular quality, I must be careful in stating that "all ____ magnets sound like this," because the influence of the coils will also color the sound to some degree. What we do know, from scientific analysis is that AlNico 8 will have a larger and stronger magnetic field compared to AlNio 2, AlNico 3 and AlNico 5, but that's only a characteristic of the material. If we use AlNico II as our benchmark for this discussion - warm, clear and often paired with relatively moderate output coils, I would - from my notes, more than from my experience, would classify these magnets as such:

AlNico 3 seems to have more treble emphasis than AlNico 2, which would make it an ideal choice in the neck of a darker sounding instrument, providing the darkness is not caused by a pot/cap anomaly.

AlNico 5 seems to have much more treble emphasis, more bass emphasis and a somewhat scooped mid section, largely because of how the magnetic field influences the electromagnetic field in the coils. Almost everyone says AlNico 5 has a 'biting' or 'stinging' top end, but my ear doesn't really pick that up in an extreme sense. The AlNico 5 will increase output over an AlNico 2 or 3, and will usually have what many describe as "tighter" bass response. It is the most common of all magnets for guitar pickups.

AlNico 8 was originally popularized in the P-90. In a humbucker, it creates a much more aggressive tonal signature and increase in output, with a "firm" bottom end, slightly more "peaky" influence on the mids, but with a less harsh, "biting" increase in high end frequencies. It's often used with covers. Bill Lawrence first started experimenting with A8's in humbuclers in the mid 1970's. Bill's description of the A8 is that it featured the tightness of a ceramic, but still embodied some of the smoothness of AlNico 2. The A8 is well suited for leadwork and is almost always used in the bridge.

A word of caution: The A8 can effect intonation doe to it's very strong magnetic pull when placed closer than 6/21" from the pole pieces.

To address your question directly - and having played through 3, 5 & 8's recently, I would say the AlNico 8 is punchy and vibrant, with a defined midrange, having some of the edge of a ceramic, but with less harshness. The AlNico 4 is by far the most tonally balanced, the AlNico 5 (to my ear) has more low and high end punch, with less midrange emphasis and the A3 is more mellow, with much more clarity.

Summary - If I was playing Jazz or country, I would likely choose A3. For hard rock or heavy metal, I would lean towards A8 and A5 would work best in an AC/DC-ish classic rock setting.

Of course, this is all very subjective, (and we didn't even talk magnet gauss either!) but I believe it is affair and honest evaluation... :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top