Could someone explain to me the differences between the alnico 2, 3, and 5 magnets?



*disclaimer - this may be a completely ignorant post, i know nothing of the subject

Different alloy blends. Some people say it affects the sound. I say - not to be noticed on a racing horse.

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They are obviously, all Alnico (Aluminum-Nickel-Cobalt) magnets. The number denotes the strength of the magnetic charge. The higher the number, the higher the charge.

An Alnico II will have a sweet, midrangy sound with a soft high end and a spongy bass. These sustain the longest due to them having the lowest magnetic pull.

An Alnico III sounds pretty much like an Alnico II with a tad better string separation due to slightly less midrange and slightly more treble.

An Alnico V will have a crisp, tight bass, plenty of high end, less pronounced midrange; enhanced string separation vs. the other two strengths is immediately noticeable.

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thanks martian, i really appreciate the help

Any time!

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I did not know that!

Like my father used to say, "See, you learn something new every day!"

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Especially from Martian!! I'm always on the lookout for his pup and electronics post so I can try to learn and most important retain his wisdom in these areas!!

I'm humbled (again).

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No need to be. When you know your stuff you know your stuff!!

Martian, wow you know your stuff Can I ask with the above into consideration, where do SCN's fit into all of this? I assume they arent alnico pick-ups?

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Alnico 2 an 3 are isotropic magnets and can be magnetized in either direction. Alnico 5 is anisotropic magnet and has a preferred direction which gives them a greater magnetic orientation. Alnico 5's are oriented doing the cooling process.

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Im saving this one for my book of Q's and A's. Thanks Martian.

SCNs are ceramic magnet pickups. Cutting through the nice, 'high brow' name, Samarium and Cobalt are rare earth materials. Rare earth materials are what ceramic magnets are composed of. There are others rare earth materials which ceramic magnets can and are composed of too.

As I've stated a few times before, there is a 'sweetness' or 'musicalness' associated with Alnicos which ceramics simply don't have. Ceramics can be brittle sounding, especially in a high output pickup. The SCNs aren't high output and so, they are able to mimic a crisp sounding Strat pickup but again, not with any kind of vintage type warmth, per se.

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