(Log in to disable ads.)

This question is directed at the pickup experts here:
Since the Tonerider Rocksong bridge pickup has an Alnico 2 magnet, what can I expect sound-wise from it if I were to replace the magnet with an Alnico 5 or a ceramic magnet, considering it has a 12K DC resistance, and therefore a medium output pickup right?
Will there be any noticeable difference in tone and power?
    dan77 wrote: This question is directed at the pickup experts here:
    Since the Tonerider Rocksong bridge pickup has an Alnico 2 magnet, what can I expect sound-wise from it if I were to replace the magnet with an Alnico 5 or a ceramic magnet, considering it has a 12K DC resistance, and therefore a medium output pickup right?
    Will there be any noticeable difference in tone and power?
    Alnico 5- tight treble, scooped mids, strong defined bass and more output than A2
    Ceramic- very tight but strong treble, more mids than a5, defined bass and waaaay more output than the A2

    The A5 is gonna be ballsy, and raunchy. Think heavy rock.
    The ceramic is gonna be loud, tight and slightly compressed. Not so good clean but under high gain is where it shines. Think most metal. Good for palm muting and screaming, searing solos.

    The 12K reading is hot but because the bobbin is wound with thinner 43AWG wire it's more or less comparable to a 9 - 10K pickup with regular 42AWG wire. With the thinner wire you'll get less treble and more mids. So use this along with the magnet type to determine what sound will be the most accurate overall.
      5 days later
      Hi all, just a bit of feedback.
      I replaced the magnet of a Generator neck with a ceramic one and mounted this into the bridge position of an Ibanez Artcore. Got this from Andre at Tonerider. Actually he did the magnet change for me. Then I became VERY adventurous with my Weller soldering set! ? I removed the black tape from another generator neck, working with a pair of tweezers, unsoldered the connections while doing the drawings of the colour coding connections, and then I rolled off roughly 500 turns off each bobbin before soldering everything back together as per my drawings. Measured the total dc resistance on the Kilo Ohm scale of my Fluke and got 0 Ohm! ☹ Luckily I still had the tape off at the time of measuring and started checking the connections. I found the red had broken off just where I soldered it to the coil wiring. Fixed this and did the testing again and measured 6.9 Kilo Ohm. Voila! Fixed all the tape and stuff and mounted it into the neck position of the Artcore.

      End result - Works perfectly! The bridge pickup sounds like a souped up PAF and the neck is clean and mellow tone that's really clear and sweet.

      So there you go, I've become a "pickup-tweaker" in a day! ?
        Write a Reply...