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How many really believe.

#61
Honestly, OP, while I'm sure that generalizations can be made it's kinda like tonewood - there are so many variables that it's hard to say with real conclusivity. There are different ways to shape a magnet, different ways to wind the coils (different gauges of wire, too) different sizes of polepieces etc...

Would an ALNiCO pickup sound different from a ferrite ceramic one? Yeah probably, but two different alnico pickups would sound different from each other too. I've got a jazz with dimarzio model J pickups in it, and honestly - it sounds great. Couldn't even tell you what magnets they've got.

Would a guitar made of alder sound different from one made of ash? Yeah probably, but so does two alder guitars. Heck, grab a strat made from a single piece of decades old air-dried alder from an old-growth forest and compare it to one made of sixteen pieces of some cheaper kiln-dried stuff and it'll also sound different I'm sure.
 
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#63
gary mitchell said:
I want to know cheap are expensive, when it comes to jazz bass pickups do you really believe Alnico is better than Ceramic pickups. Be honest and give an honest opinion
Click to expand...

I like alnico ... I like the Seymour Duncan 1/4 pounders a lot

2e645b1332e5acffa1c2c69111865346.png
 
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#64
gary mitchell said:
Are there any are do you know of any high end basses being made with Ceramic magnetic pickups in them if so who are they.
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As someone else said, depends on what you mean by high end. Some examples have been given.
G&L instruments may or may not be seen as "high end", but they're certainly not low end. Their "Magnetic Field Design" (MFD) pickups are very intentionally made using ceramic pickups, designed by Leo himself (so there :)). G&L says, "Magnetic Field Design yield about twice the output per wind, making the pickup quieter while allowing a greater overall output. The sound of Magnetic Field pickups is slightly warmer with a broader frequency range."
The association some have for ceramics with the sound of heavy distortion guitar pickups may be giving ceramics short shrift, in terms of tonal possibilities. Leo's MFD pickups were actually a new spin on a very old design - the ceramic magnet Gibson P-90 pickup is prized by many guitarists for its tone, and of course its predecessor was the "Charlie Christian" pickup, which had a very round and mellow tone - the ground floor for "jazz" tone.
I think bass pickups have tended to be mostly alnico, but we've seen examples given, like Delano, that ceramics can sound great for basses. It's a big wide world of sound, so many choices. :)
 
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#66
Ceramics can be heavy. I think the Ray4 stock pickups weight was nearly 1/4 pound more than the Seymour Duncan replacement pickups. That's the only reason I might avoid the. I'm a wimp and every ounce matters.
 
#74
Regarding our choices in pickup magnets- as the Late, great Duke Ellington once said,
"There's two kinds of music, good, and bad"

I've heard the cheapest, most poorly assembled and mounted pickups on old import basses, that actually sound good. I've also heard some pickups, fairly expensive ones, too- that really aren't good sounding to me, at all. We all have our likes and dislikes. After decades of installing just about all the known pickups out there, I know what I like. I'll bet most of you do, as well.
 
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#75
When I played guitar in the 90s and played in a Christian metal and rock band I used a USA Jackson with EMGs EA/EA/81 set in it loved them played through a Mesa Boogie head and 2 412 cabs loved it but when I wanted to play clean I wanted my old Les Paul and my Fender Twin with lot of reverb. So your amp and the way you have it set makes a lot of different in your sound . So it’s also a must to know your equipment and learn to use it. At Church I write down the way the EQ is set on that amp is set and have it in the case of my bass and the sound man has a copy of it. I been playing bass in that church 15 years now. And last year I put a new GK MB 15 combo in there and the drummer and I spent some time setting the EQ on that amp.
 
#76
I have been swearing by AlNiCo magnets for a long, long time. If I ever got a bass that had Ceramic pickups, I’d immediately swap them out to AlNiCo replacements.
I recently bought a “cheap” bass to keep as a beater and experiment with. I added an MM pickup where a J used to be, and bought the cheapest ceramic MM pickup I coils get on Amazon - it was less than $13. This pickups actually blew me away. It sounds great, has excellent (extra thick) midrange, and also wonderfully brings out a lot of nuance from my playing technique through the amp. It is because of this pickup that I’m on a sort of love-affair with Ceramic pickups now, especially in the MM configuration. I have some AlNiCo MM pickups as well, and they sound awfully “nasally” in comparison.
 
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#78
eastcoasteddie said:
I have been swearing by AlNiCo magnets for a long, long time. If I ever got a bass that had Ceramic pickups, I’d immediately swap them out to AlNiCo replacements.
I recently bought a “cheap” bass to keep as a beater and experiment with. I added an MM pickup where a J used to be, and bought the cheapest ceramic MM pickup I coils get on Amazon - it was less than $13. This pickups actually blew me away. It sounds great, has excellent (extra thick) midrange, and also wonderfully brings out a lot of nuance from my playing technique through the amp. It is because of this pickup that I’m on a sort of love-affair with Ceramic pickups now, especially in the MM configuration. I have some AlNiCo MM pickups as well, and they sound awfully “nasally” in comparison.
Click to expand...
Hey, got a question for ya: I'm looking for a P-bass pickup to make my MIM Fender Zone sound more "Precision-y". You think using ceramic pups in a replacement P-bass pickup would to the trick? You mentioned an "extra thick" midrange from the ceramics, would this give more THUD, ergo, a more "Precision-y" sound? In your opinion (humble optional).

P.S. DUDE! I just sold my G&L L-2500 that looks JUST LIKE YOURS! The neck was birdseye maple, I can't see if yours is from the pic. Like most times I sell something, I am dying from REGRET. That bass had such a good slap tone it was CRIMINAL. No, that fact that I sold it was CRIMINAL. I should be arrested for crimes against humanity. That, and Being Stoopid. Oh, it hurts, it hurts...
 
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#80
pie_man_25 said:
Honestly, OP, while I'm sure that generalizations can be made it's kinda like tonewood - there are so many variables that it's hard to say with real conclusivity. There are different ways to shape a magnet, different ways to wind the coils (different gauges of wire, too) different sizes of polepieces etc...

Would an ALNiCO pickup sound different from a ferrite ceramic one? Yeah probably, but two different alnico pickups would sound different from each other too. I've got a jazz with dimarzio model J pickups in it, and honestly - it sounds great. Couldn't even tell you what magnets they've got.

Would a guitar made of alder sound different from one made of ash? Yeah probably, but so does two alder guitars. Heck, grab a strat made from a single piece of decades old air-dried alder from an old-growth forest and compare it to one made of sixteen pieces of some cheaper kiln-dried stuff and it'll also sound different I'm sure.
Click to expand...
Dude, I hate to tell ya, but in your avatar pic...that hat makes you look like a dog!

(Before you even think it, I actually look EVEN DUMBER than my avatar pic!)
 
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