![single coil vs humbucker clean single coil vs humbucker clean](https://bothners.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/FI_Pickups.jpg)
Other alnico humbucker types seem more "polite" to me even if they have a higher impedance than the PAFs. The "hottest" pickups I have had, meaning those that hit the front end of the amp the hardest, have been PAF variants (typically with an impedance reading of between 7.5 - 8.5, which by modern standards is quite low, but these pickups also have the ability to clean up really well when you back off the volume) and ceramic "distortion" type pickups that generally have a really high impedance rating. The "heat" of a pickup seems, to me at least, to have a lot less to do with the impedance (which always seems to be the standard of comparing pickups for some reason) and more to do with the inductance, which is something less tangible because it is harder to measure. There is definitely some art to designing pickups. The total quality of the pickup's sound is a function of the entire build, not just the magnet. However, the Seymour Duncan pickups (with alnico magnets) I put in my Jackson were noticeably brighter than the stock Jackson pickups with ceramic magnets.
![single coil vs humbucker clean single coil vs humbucker clean](https://thumbs.static-thomann.de/thumb//thumb1000x/pics/cms/image/guide/es/pastillas/03_01_single_coil_esp.jpg)
Many quality pickups by Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, and others use ceramics.Ĭeramics are usually considered to result in a brighter tone and alnicos are generally considered to result in a warmer tone. But, it would be erroneous to just cast off ceramics as cheap. They also lose less of their magnetic strength over time.Īlso, ceramics are less expensive, thus their association with cheap pickups in cheap guitars. However, the actual strength has to do with how strong of a magnetic field the magnet was originally built to exert. This stronger field allows the pickup, as a whole, to be quite sensitive. Getting to ceramics, ceramic magnets can usually be built to exert a stronger magnetic field, thus their association with "hot" pickups. Good point about the magnet having no inherent tone. Think of it more like this: the string’s vibration in that particular Alnico magnet’s magnetic field will translate differently from one another and generate a signal that comes out of the guitar’s output jack and into your amplifier – and you’ll hear the different tones."
![single coil vs humbucker clean single coil vs humbucker clean](https://www.samash.com/media/spotlight/single-coil-diagram-1.jpg)
What these different percentages alter is the magnet’s strength, which will affect the end result tone-wise… That being said, the magnets don’t have a “tone”. "Alnico magnets – Aluminum + Nickel + Cobalt – come in several variations which have different percentages of aluminum, nickel and cobalt in their overall makeup.
![single coil vs humbucker clean single coil vs humbucker clean](https://static.gibson.com/product-images/Gibson/IMP4T/IMP4T-BS_front2.png)
Here's an interesting description from Romain Pickups: I would point out that there are different varieties of alnico, such as Alnico II, Alnico V, etc, that are composed of differing alloys, allowing them to be magnetized to different levels. It has to do with how the actual magnet is magnetized. Ceramic and Alnico are not inherently stronger or weaker. But, there is more to the output than just the length of wire.Īs for whether there is a sound difference between ceramic and alnico, I refer to this page by Bill Lawrence:Ĭlick to expand.Yes and no. So, because of this, the DC resistance of the pickup is generally cited as an indicator of the pickup's overall output. So, the more wire, the higher the resistive value value that pickup will read. Yes, the output is determined by the number of turns of wire, the gauge of wire (as that has an impact on current flow), magnetic strength, and "focus" of the magnetic field (which is, essentially an element of the magnetic field strength impinging on the string).īTW, the DC resistance (ohms) of a pickup is NOT, I repeat is NOT, the pickup's power output! The reason that figure is often used to describe a pickup's output is because the strength of a pickup is generally affected by the number of coils. Yes, a pickup with more output will push your amp into overdrive sooner.