Medium output alnico pickup w grind and sizzle of ceramic?

[buller]

I get the the grind and sizzle with amps and pedals, and use alnico pickups. Some people prefer to get the grind and sizzle with ceramics, and then don't need to get it with the amp.

I've been running the Synergy Deliverance module in a PS-2A and boosting it with an MXR Custom Badass OD. The Deliverance is very raw and aggressive but not saturated enough on its own so the MXR gets it there without losing what I like about the core tone. I recently got the SLO II module to try something spongier with more give and saturation, but I'm not really getting along with it. I think l'm more in your camp of getting a lot of the punch, grind, and rawness from the amp and looking to just add a bit of give, sponginess, and dynamics with an alnico. So maybe something like the Godwood could be a good call

This 100%.
Try a BL L500, it’s a medium output alnico with killer clarity, touch sensitivity, and openness, with sizzle and grind similar to a ceramic.
If you buy new, buy from here, https://www.wildepickups.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoomsLjYv1G0Rkl314nUEqOet7anklb3FNo3gq7vb0QFKMgzEibX
You’ll be buying directly from Bill’s widow and daughter, not his ex partner at Bill Lawrence USA who screwed him over.

Oh yeah L500 does seem like a good fit for really aggressive alnico. Definitely would order from Billy & Becky / Wilde rather than BL USA, fuck that guy. When you mention the medium output alnico, are you talking about the L500L?


Planet Tone also seems like a good shout, I'll take a closer look at their stuff

 

[buller]

Try a Mighty Mite 1400 which is 9-10K ohms but it grinds like a mother is super aggressive yet still remains somewhat open and PAFish with killer low end chunk. If you need or want a little more output at 14k then the MM 1300 will be your pickup. The Mighty Mite are also USA made and made exactly as they were in the 1970's.

I feel any pickup over 13K is a high output pickup.

If you want more hot PAFish at 8.75-9K with a rough cast ALNICO 5 magnet then I recommend the SD Whole Lotta Humbucker that grinds but not as much as the MM1400/1300.

The 1400 is currently in my guitar and it's great! Haha maybe it would make sense to just stick with that, but curious to see what some alnico pickups would be like. You know how it is, grass is always greener

 

[psychic_driver]

Hey, that someone was me! Lol

Fuckin great rec man, I am very glad I took your advice

 

[Music&Chaos]

Check out planet tone pickups. Somebody on this forum put me onto them & they are fantastic.

I called with some questions & Jose from PT talked to me for over an hour, asking about my guitar, my amp, my style, asking for my influences, tone I am chasing ... He sent me examples of musicians that use his pickups for reference ... After we talked for a while he went to listen to records I brought up he was unfamiliar with & called me back two hours later with updated thoughts. He recommended different humbucker models of his for my neck & bridge, wound my bridge a little hot for push, drive & grind, wound my neck a little cold for clarity and sustain. Charged $75 a pickup for a custom set, tailored to my rig & my style.

My les paul sustains like twice as long now, has excellent clarity and dynamic response & maintains the low end balls for beef & chug.

Good people & quality product over at planet tone. Next I'm thinking of getting them to wind something to replace the black winter I use for black metal ...

Did you go with certain models he already had and tweaked them or did you get a complete custom wind/set?

I have installed over a dozen sets on my own and client guitars. Very nice pickups. Crazy pricing.

 

[psychic_driver]

Did you go with certain models he already had and tweaked them or did you get a complete custom wind/set?

I have installed over a dozen sets on my own and client guitars. Very nice pickups. Crazy pricing.

After much discussion he suggested 2 different models he already had & then tweaked them to better suit my needs

Crazy pricing indeed. There was a 20% off sale on that I ignored ... I wanted him to have the extra cash for taking so much time to explain stuff to me & wind shit to my specs

 

[Music&Chaos]

After much discussion he suggested 2 different models he already had & then tweaked them to better suit my needs

Crazy pricing indeed. There was a 20% off sale on that I ignored ... I wanted him to have the extra cash for taking so much time to explain stuff to me & wind shit to my specs

Oooh nice! If you dont mind and can recall, what models did you go with in each position and what mags do they use?

 

[psychic_driver]

Oooh nice! If you dont mind and can recall, what models did you go with in each position and what mags do they use?

I've got a legacy humbucker, alnico V, wound hot in the bridge & a 59 special, alnico II, wound cold in the neck.

To me the greatest guitar sound of all time is when Sunn strikes a new note after like 10 min of sustain & feedback ... The slow pick attack, the massive sounding & incredibly rich depth of distorted sound ... Chewy & thick, grim ooze ... But i also want definition for death metal chugs & nasal grinding leads.

So I needed pickups that offer a compromise between maximum tonal range, depth & clarity (typically a PAF type "vintage" pickup wound colder) and the tight aggression and drive of the "modern" metal sound. Jose fuckin nailed it. My les paul is far clearer than before, articulate without folding all the harmonic information into a flattened & focused midrange like a super high output ceramic pickup would

 

[Music&Chaos]

I've got a legacy humbucker, alnico V, wound hot in the bridge & a 59 special, alnico II, wound cold in the neck.

To me the greatest guitar sound of all time is when Sunn strikes a new note after like 10 min of sustain & feedback ... The slow pick attack, the massive sounding & incredibly rich depth of distorted sound ... Chewy & thick, grim ooze ... But i also want definition for death metal chugs & nasal grinding leads.

So I needed pickups that offer a compromise between maximum tonal range, depth & clarity (typically a PAF type "vintage" pickup wound colder) and the tight aggression and drive of the "modern" metal sound. Jose fuckin nailed it. My les paul is far clearer than before, articulate without folding all the harmonic information into a flattened & focused midrange like a super high output ceramic pickup would

I have experience with both of those base pickup builds in customer guitars and I have a Legacy bridge installed on one of my main guitars. I can basically hear your set without needing to hear them - that's slammin! Like you said - a huge breadth/spectrum of sound presented. Super dynamic pickups.

 

[Beyond Black]

I've been running the Synergy Deliverance module in a PS-2A and boosting it with an MXR Custom Badass OD. The Deliverance is very raw and aggressive but not saturated enough on its own so the MXR gets it there without losing what I like about the core tone. I recently got the SLO II module to try something spongier with more give and saturation, but I'm not really getting along with it. I think l'm more in your camp of getting a lot of the punch, grind, and rawness from the amp and looking to just add a bit of give, sponginess, and dynamics with an alnico. So maybe something like the Godwood could be a good call


Oh yeah L500 does seem like a good fit for really aggressive alnico. Definitely would order from Billy & Becky / Wilde rather than BL USA, fuck that guy. When you mention the medium output alnico, are you talking about the L500L?


Planet Tone also seems like a good shout, I'll take a closer look at their stuff

Yes, the L500L. The XL is the highest output version,

From the website

The L-500 comes in four versions:
C = 2.8 Henry
R = 4.8 Henry
L = 6.8 Henry
XL = 9.2 Henry

The original set was L500R and L500XL with chrome housing and cream coils, but black coils quickly became players’ general preference.

The L500R has the inductance of a traditional humbucker, and both the L500R and L500C can be used in any position to fit your tonal needs and application. The L500L and L500XL are typically recommended for the bridge position due to their high inductance. For the widest variety of tonal options with the L500L and L500XL especially, we recommend the Q-filter, which can add substantial versatility by lowering the highend volume while preserving and extending the range of response. This makes the Q-tone like a crossover for using a lower inductance pickup for your highs, rather than the dramatic highend rolloff associated with traditional tone controls.

The L500 models may be used with 250k or 500k pots, with the exception of the XL that requires 500k. This allows both drop in replacement generally for most guitars with humbuckers, but also flexibility in mixing with our Noisefree Singles for Fender-style guitars. The L500L with 250k pots is tonally similar to the L500XL with 500k pots.

The L500 is a 5 conductor pickup that easily be installed for series/parallel, split coil, and reverse phase.