The Ultimate ALNICO Pickup Test!! - A2, A3, A4, A5, and A8! 

That's truly THE comparison video I dreamed about all my guitarist life !

Busted out my monitoring headphones. Huge difference once you have headphones on. 3's are my fav

Clean: Alnico 2 - 2:58 Alnico 3 - 3:07 Alnico 4 - 3:15 Alnico 5 - 3:24 Alnico 8 - 3:31 Ceramic 8 - 3:39 Medium gain: Alnico 2 - 5:26 Alnico 3 - 5:38 Alnico 4 - 5:50 Alnico 5 - 6:01 Alnico 8 - 6:12 Ceramic 8 - 6:24 High gain: Alnico 2 - 7:50 Alnico 3 - 8:06 Alnico 4 - 8:22 Alnico 5 - 8:39 Alnico 8 - 8:56 Ceramic 8 - 9:13

I like the 2's. You can do tons of things to add grit, gain, and distortion. But not so much to clean up a dirty pickup.

I’m going to name my first son Al Nico

Personally I feel that Alnico 5 gives you the best of all worlds across the board. Most versatile tone capability for all genres.

this has to be one of the best comparison video's ever. Thanks Darrell for all the effort you put in your work. I'm leaning towards #2

AlNiCo-III was my favorite in all three tests. It just sounds warmer than the others to me.

Through my headphones the Alnico II just had a clarity I liked. Great video.

this is great thanks for sharing your thoughts. I have been really too concerned with the possible difference and as I live in remote Canada I want to order the right parts the first time. Thanks again, i know its painstaking work to do a true comparison like this

Excellent comparison Darrell. Thank you for posting this. This is great insight as how the pickups behave. Great job.

Super helpful! This explains a lot to me about what I like about Gibson Classic 57s. It’s the lower output and clarity of the A2 that for me I preferred in every instance!

Awesome video idea Darrell, thanks for that! You're a heck of a guitarist too brother!

I've never seen or heard a demo anything like this. It's genius. Well done.

I've been looking for a video comparison like this for YEARS. Thank you so much!

One of the most informative gear videos I’ve come across. Definitely in the top 5. Way to go!

Great video! I always wondered the difference between the alnicos. Thanks for doing this comparison, and your other comparisons. They are very informative and helpful! I found myself liking the 2 and 4, and sometimes 3. Interesting how it depended on the style. 5s are very good for all around, I think.

Incredible! I’ve always wanted a proper test between the different pickup magnet types, you nailed it here! The alnico III was perfection through your clean signal. Alnico II won out on both pushed tests to my ears. Awesome stuff, keep up the fantastic work! Pretty new here but, absolutely loving the channel!

Hey Darrel, Recently I watch a lot of your videos because I am building my own guitar. It is just so good to hear alle the different options. Just Awesome what you have put together. Thanks a lot!

Absolutely the best comparison video I've ever seen. This will really help me focus my pup choices in the future.

Really well done Darrell. I think this provides a very good reference for guitarists who want to get a basic familiarity with the tone differences of these different magnet alloys. You did a great job of performing the test riffs very consistently which helps make the tone comparison more objective. It's not that easy to repeat the riffs with that amount of precision ;-)

For me, it was A3, then A2... same as you. Finally, for the heavy test... that was harder to pick a preference. I'd probably go for A8. The surprise, for me, was the ceramic pickup... I actually liked it in all the tests, though it wasn't my favourite in any one test. Most of the stuff I play is either clean-ish or crunchy, so after listening to these tests I checked what magnets are in my Pearly Gates and discovered they use Alnico 2. No surprise, then, that it was the A2 magnet I preferred for test #2. It's nice to know my ears haven't deceived me.

This is the answer I’d been waiting for, for months! Thank you sir for this full rundown👍

Great video, Darrell. After reading about swapping out magnets in a JB etc., on various forums, I've been waiting for a comparison video such as this. Thanks!

Great video ,!!! thank you Darrel , without a doubt THE best youtube video about guitar pickups magnets xD

I was surprised, especially on the blues bit how warm and still chimey the Ceramic was. I like the saturated breakup of the Ceramic. Probably very dynamic using the volume control.

I was really surprised how much difference just changing the magnets made. Good video, very thought provoking.

Great video.... you are dispelling myths with every video you come out with thanks for for all the effort!!

Really brilliant test. Not sure whether it'll influence future purchases but get way to test kudos to Darkmoon

This one was on my "to do" list for a LONG time! What were your favorite tones? I keep oscillating between A2 and A3. On some clips I like the warmth of A3, and on others the clarity and bite of A2 :)

this was fantastic. Really great comparison and I think this will help us figure out what we want in our pickups and how to explain why.

I really enjoyed this vlog! I am a big fan of the ALNICO V for pickups. I love the tone and output from them! Watching this is like rooting for your favorite team in the playoffs. I am glad they made a decent showing. Thanks for sharing your "experiment" and results!

Personally alnico 4 was my favorite. They all sound great, just different sounds for different contexts. This was a great comparison for anyone looking into new pickups/ pickup magnets.

Dang, this is indeed a very in depth comparison and analysis man! Now I want them all haha!

This was a very well done comparison, thanks for sharing!

I really appreciate what you do and the work you put into these videos and you channel. I can tell you love guitar as much as I.

My favorites were 3 for clean, 4/3 for blues rock, and 8/ceramic for high gain. Nice test. This stuff is invaluable

Amazing Effort, Darrel. Thanks for feeding our Gear obsession

Best compare I ave ever seen!...perfect!!. Answered every question I had on each magnet

I really really like how much effort you put into making sure the only thing you change is the thing you actually want to test!

Please do this comparison in the bridge pickup position

This made me want to buy 3 guitars with 3 pickup configurations. 3, 5 and 8. And I appreciated that you shared your thoughts.

Wow! That was a super test! Listened to it three times. And it has confirmed my inclination to A4 magnets in pickups. My favorites for clean were (from most favorable to less) A4, C8 and A2; for crunch A3, A4 and A2; and for gain I would choose A4, C8 and A3.

Another awesome video. Thanks very informative. I love your videos.

Excellent job! I liked the 4. I complained to you about my 498/490 stock pups, but I decided not to change because of your pup comparisons. I found that I simply have to use all the controls on the guitar and amp and I spent a little more time adjusting and listening to the height. I got them sounding the way I like them to. If you don’t have the money to buy new ones, work on altering your settings and adjustments and you might find they are just fine. Thanks again Darrell!

ALNICO IV for me, clear note separation and warm at the same time.

I would agree, 4 and 8 are similar... Totally not my cup of tea, but interesting to hear back to back. This backs up my preferences with 2 and 5 as the mags I like to use.

Dude, phenomenally well done. Like others have already said, this is what we all needed when we searched this topic!

I think they all sounded pretty good with subtle differences. I'd have to pick Anico V's for the best in all 3 tests. Alnico III's sounded very jazzy which I also liked. Kinda of an odd timing for this vid.. I've been thinking of picking up a Fender Player Strat that has the V's.. I may have to blame it on this vid when the wife sees the guitar...

Looking for new pickups for my guitar, so this video had a lot of really good information. Thank you for uploading.

Really great job, man! Exactly what i've been looking for. Thanx a lot!

As always, just a great video. I really wonder what the 4 guys that didn't like it had in mind.

DARKMOON IS REALLY AWESOME! I NEVER SEE THINGS LIKE THAT!

Just bought a loaded pickgaurd with 250k pots and these truly amazing vintage 60’s style pickups with Alnico 5’s for my Strat. Made locally here in Australia by this old guy. Blown away by them!! Amazing the difference between magnets! pretty impressed by the ceramics in this comparison btw. You seem to be a champion for ceramic pickups 😉

AlNiCo 2 FTW!!! Thanks Darrell, for doing this awesome and informative comparison!

Here are timestamps for each individual magnet test. Enjoy! CLEAN A2: 2:59 A3: 3:07 A4: 3:15 A5: 3:23 A8: 3:31 C8: 3:38 BLUES A2: 5:26 A3: 5:38 A4: 5:49 A5: 6:01 A8: 6:12 C8: 6:24 ROCK A2: 7:50 A3: 8:06 A4: 8:22 A5: 8:39 A8: 8:56 C8: 9:13 I personally don't hear a difference other than output volume.

I can say one thing for sure: Changing the magnet in the same pickup of the same guitar makes a _much_ bigger tone difference than _any_ tone difference anyone has ever shown from wood in an electric guitar!

Great job (three years late)! You answered all the questions I had on the magnets and more! Thanks a lot!

Darkmoon your badass! Darrell your badass!!!! Love this video man! Let’s see part 2 with the bridge pickup 😀🤘🏽

Alnico II rules. I hate hot pickups. You can always add dirt. You can't add clean.

Before even watching this, you need to know one thing. There is NO standard recipe for any of the alnico grades. EACH manufacturer uses their OWN recipe. Now, as a pickup designer, this is a GOOD thing. It gives you a huge palette to play with. Example, I have A3 magnets that are super dark sounding, real warm and of course real WEAK, because A3 has no cobalt in it. I have A2 that is super super bright, and some that is really warm as well. So generalizations kinda don't work. A5 is usually quite strong and bright, but there are magnets like A5L which aren't super strong, nor bright. So, all we are hearing in this demo is magnets from ONE company in China. All magnets used in guitar pickups are Chinese, ALL of them. This is not a bad thing, it makes no difference. Back 20 years ago Korea made all pickup alnico, Chinese undercut the Koreans and sold for cost and killed the Korean market. We do have Arnold Magnetics in the USA, but in my experience, they are rather lifeless and bland sounding, back in the 90's, Arnold magnets gave Fender pickups a bad reputation for being just BAD. They hired someone to figure out why the pickups were so disliked, I don't know that they figured out Arnold mags were just nothing like what anyone was making or even vintage magnets, but I had those in my Strat and the sound was lifeless and bland. Vintage magnets are usually really very bright but can have a tiny bit soft top end. My company brought back rough cast alnico back in 2007 working thru Allstar Magnetics and Magnetic Hold. Rough cast has no magic, they just look cool, beware any hype being used there. Allstar went through Sensmag in China, Magnetic Hold wouldn't tell me who they used, and their 2nd attempt to make them completely failed as the magnets all came out extremely thick, we had to grind them down to thickness and the rough texture was ground away. Sensmag still sells my magnets and they are very good. Vintage magnets were all pretty much quite WEAK too. I've worked on tons of vintage PAF's and typically the magnets all measure about 400-450 gauss. By '61 the magnets were getting stronger as alnico technology improved, and some could reach 600 gauss in a hot recharge measurement. By '65 they were A5 magnets, very tiny and thin, but strong.

Great video! Two was my favorite on each sound.

Great Video Darrell !! I am a big Fan of Alnico V

Dark Moon is a great company. High quality pickups at a reasonable price considering what some companies charge for custom would pickups. I have a cheaper Les Paul Tribute and I dropped Dark moon pickups in it and i love them.

I think I'd personally pair a set with Alnico III in the neck with Alnico IV in bridge, the distortion on the IV sounded really clear for me, not too saturated, hit in a nice way, but the III was very warm yet clear and could see that being thrown into a neck pup

I love the Alinco II's, especially on the clean and lower drive sounds, it's really awesome. Great comparison Darrell!

Props. Having done the experiment myself, this video is a colossal contribution to the guitar nerd world! Well done DBG

I wish the last test would have been in the bridge position. There was just too much bass from the neck position.

The 4's had the best pitch balance and clarity on what we are hearing from RU-vid. Both from my ear and the frequency analysis. I could easily see people preferring the 2's and 3's to get more accentuation on the high end and keeping the clarity. You can always add in some low end and dirt if you want too. The 5's are what they are. The 8's would need a lot of post work unless you just looking for crunch and dirt.

Thank you for this! It really helped me decide which type I want in the tele style guitar I just built!

Thank you for taking the time to do this. My ears still gravitate to Alnico IIs for best/most versatile overall PUP.

Tha'ts a pro-level comparison right there! There's just one thing I think you could improve, and it's not hard at all: do quickier A-B's between a pair of magnets, instead of whole chunks of music. This way we can have a better feeling for the difference in the spot

I really liked: Clean: A4, C8 OD: A2 Saturated: A3, A5, A8, and C8

I’m really liking both A-II, A-III. I can’t see more than A-IV. Ran it back n forth several times with earphones. Thanks, Darrell for this cool, very well done test.

I love Alnico V and on the last test was the best so far (my taste). Thank you so much for the best comparation I've ever seen, the most accurate it on RU-vid as you always do.

Neck position on a LP can be mushy, loved the A2. Bridge is where A5 rules. Thanks, great test!

It seems that they get progressively hotter. Would be interesting to see this done with single coils, if that were possible. Great video!

👌🏻🤘🏻 I believe that this has become the only thorough video of how the sonic of different magnets work in the pickup. Really, it gives a better understanding, even to a simple person like myself who has tried to understand the inner workings over 25 years. The one opinion that I have with any of this, is that it would be wonderful for you to follow up and do a video of them in the bridge position as well - just to give people an idea of how to complement different magnets together for their styles and tastes.

Very informative, really illustrates the differences. I listened 3 times, first on the phone, in ear phones, full size Pro quality headphones. It backs up my choice of A2 or A5 single coil or humbuckers. A3 and A4 were also good in places. A8 and C8 do not seem to be much use for those that want a wide range of tones (clean to distorted).

That. Was. AWESOME! Today I like the A3. Tomorrow maybe the A2.😅

I've always liked a3 magnets better, especially in a neck humbucker. I like a2 and a4 in bridge pickups. I rarely like a5 pickups in any position. You should do the same comparison in P90s.

Oh thank you I've been waiting for this forever !!!

One of the most informative videos!! Thanks.

Alnico III for me. When it comes to overdrive and distortion I believe the bridge pickups would have been a better choice to model.

Alnico 5s for me. Alnico 2s sound really good too.

Alnico II and Ceramic VIII for me - very polarised but these two were (used in different scenarios) my favourite out and out tone.

Phenomenal production quality. Kudos!!!

Great video. My ear prefers the A2.

I don't know if it's my 60 year old hearing or my headphones (beats studio, maybe 5 years old), or maybe just not knowing what to listen for, but aside from a gradual progression from "slightly cleaner" to "slightly grittier" I have a very difficult time perceiving much difference between these. Still, it's really interesting to see such a direct comparison and to have that in mind when viewing or reading all the inflated claims about this or that type of pickup. I have about 10 electric guitars, some humbuckers and some single-coil, and they all sound different (even listening to their acoustic sound not plugged in) but I remain fairly puzzled about how to account for the differences adequately.

Thanks Darrel, very enlightening. The differences are very subtle. But what amazed me most is how slight the differences are. Obviously the stronger magnets create a louder signal, but not very much. Ceramic is not twice as loud as alnico II.

Alnico II has always been a favorite of mine. They tend to make the pickups sound more open. Like you said, they do not drive the amp as hard. V's are also pretty sweet. Hard to go wrong with either of those. All that said, one of my favorite humbucker pickups is the old Dimarzio Super Distortions from the 70s and 80s. Those have ceramic magnets and were pretty hot for the times, yet they cleaned up pretty well with the volume. They seemed to add some bottom end and really shine on solos.

Bruh.. this video just had me realize i like A3 way more than the popular A5

Great video, but what about A5 unoriented❓

Interesting pickup magnet test, good job Darrell!

Thanks for this test. One of your best.

This might be one of the best things on RU-vid, can we now put tone wood to bed and accept it’s the pickups and scale length that make up most of the tone 😊

Be awesome if you could do the same with a bridge pickup :)

Top notch video that's foreshore so much work goes into this sort video thanks you so much, Alnico 3 sounded great but in my opinion, for live performances, Alnico 5 is my preferred choice

This comparo mirrors my own personal tests, which helped me to decide on alnico II for my vintage pups, alnico V for my mid output pups and alnico VIII for my high output pups. I may use this video when asking clients to describe the tone they want. Brilliant.

the Paul Harrell of the guitar world lol. For those of you who know, you know. Keep up the great work!