The magnet selection most definitely has an effect on tone.
Ceramic magnet pickups vs alnico.
Ceramic magnets are made from ferrites often iron oxides.
Provides some bite and sparkle.
Alnico has a higher inductance due to the iron content technically ferrite magnets are made from iron oxide so to generalize alnico will increase the inductance a bit and sound a bit warmer than a ceramic in the same pickup.
Alnico vs ceramic magnets.
Just remember that this is only one factor that goes into designing the tonal characteristics of a pickup.
A lot of people automatically say that alnico is superior to ceramic in pickups.
To crown a winner in our alnico vs ceramic magnets shootout we would need a way to accurately compare the two which is not an easy task.
The result is a slightly hotter sounding pickup with more treble response.
Ceramic magnet pickups generally have a hotter output level as well often with a lower resistance rating.
A magnet by itself has no sound and as a part of a pickup the magnet is simply the source to provide the magnetic field for the strings.
Magnetically speaking ceramic magnets produce a stronger field than alnico.
There s always a trade off even between different types of alnico.
Pickups with alnico v magnets that are voiced more aggressively than pickups with ceramic magnets and alnico ii pickups that sound totally different from other alnico ii pickups definitely exist.
Ceramic magnets have a lower inductance since they are not metallic.
Most magnets used in pickup production are either alnico v ii and ceramic however you will also see alnico iii.
Alnico stands for aluminum nickel and cobalt.
Whereas ceramic is used in metal as it sounds tight loud and cool.
Ceramic can get a bit plastic or sterile.
Alnico 3 sounds sweet and even but little punch.
Alnico viii is generally between ceramic and alnico v with quite a bit of magnetic pull punchy with upper mids but a little more warmth than ceramic.
Alnico ii is a lower output magnet that is smooth and usually has just a bit of warmth.
Alnico seems to be the popular favorite but on the other hand there is no shortage of popular recordings that feature ceramic.
Alnico ii this provides the warmest tone as well as decreased dynamic range.
Alnico tends to produce a very musical pickup in most.
So we often hear.
Alnico 5 has more punch but can be too crispy.
Alnico is nice and warm and great for blues.
Pickups made with alnico magnets do sound different from those made with ceramic the fact that the magnets are made with dissimilar materials u is u a variable that makes an audible difference.
Neo is punchy but a little too hot and tough to control.
Alnico v has more scooped mids and tighter in the low end.
The important factor is the design of a magnetic circuit which establishes what magnet to use.
There are harsh sounding pickups with alnico magnets and sweet sounding pickups with ceramic magnets and vice versa.
