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Thread: Pickup mods: Magnet-Swaps and the "Half-Air" mod demystified

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    Thumbs up Pickup mods: Magnet-Swaps and the "Half-Air" mod demystified

    Another cool dude and source of info for all things guitar is @LonePhantom out of Australia. He has tons of DIY resource info up on his site from repairing cracked necks to electronic modes, and product reviews. Here's a very cool video tutorial he did on how to swap a pickup magnet on a humbucker (looks so much easier once you actually SEE someone else do it), so I asked if he'd mind if I reposted it here. The test subject is a PAF Pro in an Ibanez, originally A5, then he tried a ceramic and wasn't into it, finally decided on an A8.



    Here's the original blog with the written instructions, too:

    http://www.lonephantom.com/2009/11/modifying-pickups/


    Also of note is the Dimarzio "Half-Air" mod (by which something non-conductive is placed between the magnet and the polepieces, resulting in a more "open" sounding pickup. Good stuff!

    Modifying pickups – the half-air mod

    http://www.lonephantom.com/2010/07/m...-half-air-mod/

    After installing my DiMarzio Tone Zone in to my Ibanez 20th Ann RG550RFR, I had been reading about the “half-air” mod, which quite a few people have performed on their Tone Zones. I was curious about it as I was wanting to find a way to get rid of some of the boomy low-end that the Tone Zone produces, and thought I might try the mod just in case I had no luck sorting it out by adjusting the pickup heights, etc.

    I thought that before I pulled apart the Tone Zone that I might try it on a cheaper pickup in a guitar I don’t use so much. I have a Saga PRS-style kit guitar that I put together several years ago, which I had installed Mighty Mite Motherbuckers in to.

    I have always found that this guitar, which has a very dark and prominent low-end tone sounded way too thick with the Motherbuckers in. The Motherbuckers are also extremely high-output pickups. I installed a ceramic pickup, as per the instructions in one of my previous posts on magnet changes in pickups. This opened up my pickup a little, and tamed the wild output somewhat, but it was still a little too thick, especially while picking on the low E string.

    The “half-air” mod involves removing the bar around the screw pole-pieces in a humbucker, and sticking the magnet directly to the screws themselves, eliminating the contact the magnet makes with the lugs on the other coil.

    This idea is based on the “Air” range of DiMarzio pickups, where the magnet does not touch any of the pole-pieces. this results in an open sounding pickup with increased sustain. The “half-air” mod lowers the pickup output, and opens up the tone a bit, eliminating some of the lows, and increasing some of the highs.

    So how do we do this:

    As always, take particular care when working with the insides of pickups. The wires are extremely thin, and if you break any you may be in for a world of pain to fix it!
    Step 1:

    The first thing you need to do is get your pickup out of the guitar. Get the strings out of the way. This guitar has a tune-o-matic bridge and tail piece, so I de-tuned the strings, and unscrewed the tail piece, lifting all of the strings out of the way at once.


    Step 1:

    The first thing you need to do is get your pickup out of the guitar. Get the strings out of the way. This guitar has a tune-o-matic bridge and tail piece, so I de-tuned the strings, and unscrewed the tail piece, lifting all of the strings out of the way at once.



    Step 2:

    Remove the pickup ring or pickguard so you can get to the pickup.


    Don't lose your screws!

    Step 3:

    You don’t want to loose your screws and springs. I use a spare pickup magnet. They are not going to get lost when they are stuck to this.



    Step 4:

    Remove the pickup from the pickup ring or pickguard. You need to do this so you can remove the pickup’s base-plate.


    Step 5:

    Remove the pickup base-plate. There are 4 screws to remove. Carefully loosen the pickup tape around it with a stanley knife or small flat-head screwdriver so you can lift it right off the pickup bobbins. Remove the magnet from the pickup. Use a flat-head screwdriver to carefully lift it up. Take note of it’s orientation so you don’t make the pickup out of phase. I labelled it with some masking tape as you can see.



    Step 6:
    Carefully remove the metal bar from the pole-pieces. I used a flat-head screwdriver to pry it up from the bobbins.





    Step 7:
    Put the magnet back in, noting orientation, and push it up evenly against the screws.



    Step 8:
    Put something non-ferrous in-between the magnet and the slugs. I used a thin sliver of rubber sheeting that I had available to me. This is to ensure that the magnet stays “aired”.

    Once this is done reverse steps 5 to 1, and tune your guitar back up. Plug in and find out what your newly modified pickup sounds like.

    I found that it tamed my Motherbucker a good amount. That was fine though, as I had plenty of space to increase the pickup height to get it really driving the amp again.

    The tone is definitely more “open” now and less a wall of sound, with the lows not so powerful, and a nice amount of highs added back to the sound. I am quite happy with how it turned out, and will definitely be leaving the pickup in this state.



    I’m still not sure if I’ll be performing this mod to the Tone Zone just yet, as I seem to have set it up just right for my ears. The mod is definitely worth trying though, not just to a Tone Zone, but to any other pickup that you might want to experiment with.


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    Thumbs up Hmmm....lots of views, no comments...BUT there's a bright spot, turns out!

    Well, this is going to come in handy for me, at least since I just found out I won (!) a set of humbuckers from Porter Pickups in their July giveaway...had a choice of anything in their line, so I chose the "Clear" humbucker set...got to specify the output, even - so I went for a medium/almost vintage output for the bridge position @ 9k and asked them if they thought 8 or 7.5 would match better in the neck...they come stock with Ceramic magnets, but if I decide I'm not completely knocked out with that (kinda leaning towards Alnico these days) I still have that stack of A8s in the parts stash...!


    http://porterpickups.com/humbuckers.htm


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    Very cool stuff, but waaaay beyond my skillset. I'm not comfortable working on my guitars.. I do have an old Kramer that's all apart, would make a good learner guitar.. hmmm....
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    Thumbs up You can rebuild it...make it BETTER than it was...you have the technology!

    Quote Originally Posted by VAiN View Post
    Very cool stuff, but waaaay beyond my skillset. I'm not comfortable working on my guitars.. I do have an old Kramer that's all apart, would make a good learner guitar.. hmmm....
    Gotta start somewhere, right?

    I just became obsessed with Ed's DIY guitars as a kid, and since I lived in a small town, it made more sense to learn to do whatever I could myself after I'd successfully built my first mutt Strat. That and there was only one really knowledgeable luthier in town who kind of took me under his wing once he heard me play and saw I picked up the tech shite quickly...he was like "Let me show you how to do this so you don't have to pay anyone to do it ever again. I'm not stingy with my knowledge." Totally cool guy.


    The only thing I'm really hesitant to delve into is fretwork, mostly because the necessary tools aren't cheap and the saying goes you have to screw up a few necks before you get it right.. I've yet to mess with pickup magnets, but from all the research I've done the only way you can screw up is if you put the new mag in w/the wrong polarity (easily fixed) or if you bust a coil wire - in which case you're kinda screwed, but I got a cheap Duncan off Ebay to practice on. Not sure how interested I am in trying the "air" mod, but definitely found it interesting!

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    Quote Originally Posted by jhale667 View Post
    or if you bust a coil wire - in which case you're kinda screwed
    not necessarily, j; i once broke a tele neck p/up when i took the cover off it. so i got a magnifying glass, a strong cup of coffee, and began gently unwinding. after a couple of hours, i had a big lump of copper linguine and a fixed pickup. when i put it back in another guitar, it had a toppier airier sound which i love. 14 years later it still works a treat! diy rules!!! btw, i probably know that lone phantom dude; i worked down there in canberra for years. cheers
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    Quote Originally Posted by ashstralia View Post
    not necessarily, j; i once broke a tele neck p/up when i took the cover off it. so i got a magnifying glass, a strong cup of coffee, and began gently unwinding. after a couple of hours, i had a big lump of copper linguine and a fixed pickup. when i put it back in another guitar, it had a toppier airier sound which i love. 14 years later it still works a treat! diy rules!!! btw, i probably know that lone phantom dude; i worked down there in canberra for years. cheers
    Interesting...you didn't notice a significant drop in output afterwards?

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    I've been thinking of tinkering with magnet swaps. Good notes!
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    I will always entrust fret jobs to the professionals.

    But, when it comes to other stuff like adjusting the truss rod, wiring the guitar myself, installing pickups, and creating my own customized pickguards, I do all that stuff myself.
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    Never pry the covers off a old P-90. I found out the hard way what happens. The whole damn bobbin unwinds and all you have left is one big fucking unfixable mess.
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    OK, after a few emails back and forth with Brian at Porter Pickups, decided on the "Classic" (A5) neck pickup to pair with the "Clear" (ceramic) in the bridge. F-spaced, 4-conductor wiring, zebra coils. They'll start winding them sometime next week. It was really cool to be able to custom-spec a set of pickups....STOKED!



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    OK, based on the soundclips I think I'm going to like the choices I made with the Porters sans mag swaps on the neck at least...

    http://porterpickups.com/classic_humbucker_neck.mp3

    Can't really tell about the bridge yet since the amp in the clip used sounds nothing like my Boogie...the basic tone in that neck clip I can get with the clean channel all day long, but my overdrive sounds are a bit more aggressive... I wanna see how the lower output pickup reacts with it...

    http://porterpickups.com/Clear_Lighter_Distortion.mp3

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    The PU's in the samples sound like single coils.
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    Yeah, think the amp was really weak on the bridge clip, but that's kinda what I dig aboot the neck pickup clip, it's like a fat single-sound... wondering how the "Clear" model will compare to, say a Duncan '59B... I have a feeling I might be trying an A8 in the bridge pu down the line... Still dying to try the Custom 8 too.

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    there was definitely a drop, i wouldn't call it significant, no. but the tone was better to these ears

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    Quote Originally Posted by ashstralia View Post
    there was definitely a drop, i wouldn't call it significant, no. but the tone was better to these ears
    File that under #winning, then!

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    yes mate! one caveat though; when you solder the coil wires back onto the baseplate, use a very low wattage/heat setting on your soldering iron.

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    Decided to up my options choice-wise one more...in addition to the A8 and A5s I have on hand, picked up a UOA5 on Evilbay this morning...which is supposed to have the best qualities of the A5 and A8...





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    Thumbs up Soon there will be mass tonal fun...

    The UOA5 showed up yesterday...I'm SERIOUSLY tempted to spend the day swapping it and a A8 out for the A2 in the Custom Custom I have in my Koa Warmoth, but being that's my primary recording guitar, I don't want to change my rhythm sound until I'm totally through tracking rhythms with it. Guess it'll have to wait until the KnE body comes back from RCA guitars and make it the swap-o-rama guitar.


    In other news, got a pic of my Porter Pickups Custom-wound set that shipped yesterday...



    I'm going to try the bridge pickup in the Charvel/KnE for giggles, but the set is going in my Kramer when it's done.

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    Fuckin A bro. Looking forward to some audio samples...

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    Arrow Meawhile...

    Figured this was the best place to post this, wasn't really worth a separate thread, and is pickup-variation related... Here's a shootout of Duncans (newer stuff like the Alt 8, their active Blackouts as well as the Dimebag pickup, the Invader and the venerable Distortion) some guy did that's pretty cool:



    In other news, the (Boogie Bodies) neck has been ordered for the Kramer I'm going to use to check out the Porter pickups...think I still need to order a set of black tuners, but otherwise pretty much ready to go when it shows up...



    Looks pretty cool with the Charvel neck on it too...



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    Quote Originally Posted by jhale667 View Post
    Figured this was the best place to post this, wasn't really worth a separate thread, and is pickup-variation related... Here's a shootout of Duncans (newer stuff like the Alt 8, their active Blackouts as well as the Dimebag pickup, the Invader and the venerable Distortion) some guy did that's pretty cool:

    Is it just me or are those surprisingly similar sounding?

    Left me thinking you get good pick ups and shit ones and there isn't much difference between the good ones.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Seshmeister View Post
    Is it just me or are those surprisingly similar sounding?

    Left me thinking you get good pick ups and shit ones and there isn't much difference between the good ones.
    I would have to sit in a dark room and concentrate to tell the difference. So just skip buying the signature model and buy the boring one and save some money.

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    The sound of a pickup is based on how many coils, the strength of the magnet, and the how many windings of wire you have and the guage of that wire. When people tell me different magnetic materials sound different I have a good laugh. It's the strength of the magnetism and the shape of the field that make the difference. You get higher output with a stronger magnet and/or more coil windings. There is a lot of hocus pocus to get you to pay more. It's like the wine industry.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Nitro Express View Post
    The sound of a pickup is based on how many coils, the strength of the magnet, and the how many windings of wire you have and the guage of that wire. When people tell me different magnetic materials sound different I have a good laugh. It's the strength of the magnetism and the shape of the field that make the difference. You get higher output with a stronger magnet and/or more coil windings. There is a lot of hocus pocus to get you to pay more. It's like the wine industry.
    To quote John McLaughlin - WRONG!

    While all the factors you mentioned are important, you simply cannot say the magnets don't make a difference - particularly when one of Seymour Duncan's biggest lines is the Custom series - each one the exact same coil wind, wire gauge etc - the SAME F*ing pickup - with different magnets (ceramic, A2, A5 + A8 and UOA5s being all the rage in the DIY circles). Each magnet has a distinctive character.

    To Sesh's point, the one that sounds DRASTICALLY different to me is the Alt 8 (A8 mag, shocker)...definitely different sounding on the low notes. The Blackouts and Dimebag didn't sound that different from the good ol' standby Distortion model IMO...

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    Quote Originally Posted by jhale667 View Post
    To Sesh's point, the one that sounds DRASTICALLY different to me is the Alt 8 (A8 mag, shocker)...definitely different sounding on the low notes. The Blackouts and Dimebag didn't sound that different from the good ol' standby Distortion model IMO...
    Yeah that's the only one that I could really pick out.

    I had put it in the shit category though...

    I do obviously notice a big difference between say a stock Epiphone even Ibanez verses a Dimarzio or Seymour Duncan.

    Seems to be a real diminishing returns thing once you get to the upper end though and much less important compared to the amp, effects or how you play.

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    Years back I played around with making my own pickups. I made a real cool bass pickup that actually has only one winding in the bobbin and it's passive. Then you use a selective transformer to change how much it puts out.

    The windings have the most to do with the drive and tone of a pickup. Also how that pickup is positioned on the guitar. Magnets don't really have that much effect unless of course you go from a high powered one to a low powered one and vice versa. The problem with too powerful of a magnet is it will dampen your strings so I always found it was better to overwind the bobbin if you wanted a hotter sound. I think it sounds warmer as well. You can mellow out a sharp sounding pickup by moving it a tad from the bridge.

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    That's because each magnet has a different magnetic field and level of magnetism. Magnetism is magnetism period. It's the shape of the field around the coils and how strong it is. What the magnet is made of determines that but also how the magnets are positioned. You have all those factors. Seymour is a smart marketer. He makes what people want and also promotes some of the hype himself. It's marketing. You could play around with various magnetic designs and have a ceramic sound close to an old aged alnico.

    Want to have some fun? Get an old sewing machine and turn it into a bobbin winder and make some of your own pickups and play around. Pickups are way overhyped. It's the magnetic field in relation to the coils and the stings. Not what the magnets are specifically made of. Magnetism is magnetism it's just that a modern ceramic magnet is stronger than an old aged alnico magnet.

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    It's the kind of thing I would do if I was marooned on a desert island with only an ACME consignment of 'make your own pick ups' equipment.

    Around about year 3.

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    What would you plug your amp into? A coconut?

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    So I take it Shesh doesn't want a pickup winding machine for Christmas.

    http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Sp...t=2&xsr=i-1465

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    I always thought Duncan should have come out with a bass pickup called the Seymour Butts for that big bottom end.

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    It's a bit of a shame that anyone who could have been amused at my last post would never have got that far in the thread...

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    Rather thans start a whole new thread, figured this would be a good place to post the review I did of the Porter Pickups...

    Id been hearing a lot of good things about a boutique US pickup winder called Porter Pickups earlier this spring via some guitar blogger friends on Twitter, so when I noticed in July they were having a giveaway in which you could spec your very own custom-wound set of pickups, I didnt hesitate to enter. However, Im not the type that usually wins contests, so I promptly forgot about it, and never saw any sort of winner announcement. Had it not been for a kind alert email from the contests 2nd place winner, (thanks again, dude!) a month later, I would not have known I actually won!



    As soon as I found out Id won I got in contact with Brian at Porter Pickups, who was a joy to deal with, and we quickly came up with the specs for a set of low-to-mid output humbuckers (Trem-spaced, zebra coils, 4-conductor wiring): A Classic model for the neck position wound to about 8k IIRC, and a Clear model wound to about 9.5-10k for the bridge position. I usually use higher output humbuckers but wanted to try something with more of a vintage feel. Brian said itd take a couple of weeks to get them wound and shipped, so I started getting the guitar I was going to put them in ready: A 1983 US Kramer Voyager body Id been holding onto since high school and was already in the process of resurrecting. I quickly ordered a Boogie Bodies neck to complete the instrument and installed the pickups once it arrived. I wired it to explore the most tonal options available, using push-pull pots to utilize the coil-taps on each pickup, with a master volume and tone.



    I must say Im impressed with both pickups, but the A5 Classic model in the neck position is the real standout for me. I told Brian I was into classic woman tone neck pickups and wanted something ala John Sykes smooth and soulful neck tone, and this pickup delivers. It is warm and creamy when distorted, but just bright enough to retain presence when used with clean tones, which is especially apparent when in split mode. Its quite versatile.



    The bridge pickup is an interesting beast. It reminds me of some actual PAFs Ive heard, even though it has a ceramic magnet it is indeed as Clear as the name implies. Its extremely organic tone-wise, allowing the natural character of the wood of the guitar (in this case Alder) to shine through. It distorts well, but its not a distortion class pickup by any stretch of the imagination. Through my amp, a 1986 Mesa-Boogie Mark III which usually has more gain than mere mortals can control in the lead channel it still soundsclean. The closest parallel I can draw is (and not to compare my tone or playing in any way shape or form to the master, BUT - ) if youve ever seen the footage of Van Halens set at the US Festival in 1983: EVH sounds as if hes playing through a wall of Marshalls on the verge of meltdown, yet theres still this articulation and clarity you just dont get with high output humbuckers. You hear every nuance, every variance in picking dynamics. It definitely makes you work harder to play fast, precise runs, but youre rewarded with this HUGE tone that says Im not hiding behind a wall of gain, this is ME. You can tell when youre digging in or laying back on a note, whereas with higher output models it all kind of smears together (and by default is more forgiving of mistakes). Not happening with this baby. It's single-coil tones are bright and punchy without the nasal grit of hot single coil pickups. Very pleasing overall.



    Id never custom-specd a set of pickups before, and all in all Im thrilled with the results. Id highly recommend checking Porter Pickups out; though they have a few standard models you could order, the real fun is using those models as a springboard to get exactly what you want!


  38. Thanked jhale667 for this KICKASS post:

    Diamondjimi (12-12-2011)


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    Here's a cool vid of Seymour Duncan restoring the Alnico II Pros in Slash's original "Appetite" LP copy....


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    OK, I finally broke down and did the A8 magnet-swap in what was a ceramic Duncan Custom in the Charvel/KnE "Bomber"...WOW. It retained all the low end tightness and clarity (or at least enough of it that any loss was negligible) and totally smoothed the jagged edges of the high end, leaving it still present, but way more pleasant. Seems the mids are a bit fuller too. At any rate, I can't ever see myself changing it back to the ceramic magnet!

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    With ceramic magnets is they put out a strong magnetic field and retain it for a long time. Alnico magnets are weaker and lose their magnetism. I collect antique motors and have quite a few outboard motors from the late 1800's up to the early 1950's. The real old ones you need a battery to run the ignition and then in the 1920's Johnson invented the flywheel enclosed magneto which all small engine now use. In those old flywheels the magnets get weak to the point that it causes a weak spark in the ignition. I actually had to fabricate a flywheel magnet recharger. Also if you shock those old Alnico magnets by hitting them with a hammer they will lose magnetism. So you really want to treat an old fly wheel careful and not smack it around.

    Inside of pickups those old magnets lose their magnetism over time which ceramics don't. It seems like most players like a weaker magnet with more windings in the coil. If you are a real metal head out for huge power chords then you are going to like the ceramics. Also when you change the magnets you change the shape of the magnetic field the strings are in. That might have an affect on the sound as well.
    Last edited by Nitro Express; 12-12-2011 at 12:15 PM.

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    A8's are known for being nearly as strong as a Ceramic, but still retaining the AlNico "musicality" - which is pretty much what happened here... it still handles gain & does palm-mutes well, but power chords don't cut your head off, which is nice!

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    Quote Originally Posted by jhale667 View Post
    A8's are known for being nearly as strong as a Ceramic, but still retaining the AlNico "musicality" - which is pretty much what happened here... it still handles gain & does palm-mutes well, but power chords don't cut your head off, which is nice!
    Ceramics have always had harsh highs. Good for chunking out big power chords and tearing it up death metal style but if you want more of a classic rock sound or the guitar to clean up by rolling the volume knob down, Ainico is the way to go but to get the power you have to up the windings and that also affect the tone and will make your cleans sound more honky. The A8's sound like the holy grail. Ainico tone with ceramic stability and power.

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    Thumbs up Try 'em!!

    Quote Originally Posted by Nitro Express View Post
    Ceramics have always had harsh highs. Good for chunking out big power chords and tearing it up death metal style but if you want more of a classic rock sound or the guitar to clean up by rolling the volume knob down, Ainico is the way to go but to get the power you have to up the windings and that also affect the tone and will make your cleans sound more honky. The A8's sound like the holy grail. Ainico tone with ceramic stability and power.
    I'm convinced they pretty much are; I intentionally left my amp settings dialed in to what works for the Koa Warmoth to see how the new guitar reacted to the same gain structure and EQ - best way to know if they're pretty much interchangeable for gigs - and it sounded great with the ceramic, though a little harsh on the top-end...but I'm STILL flipping out over how good the A8 sounds...cranked it again last night, my opinion has not changed, if anything it's been reinforced..



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    Quote Originally Posted by jhale667 View Post
    I'm convinced they pretty much are; I intentionally left my amp settings dialed in to what works for the Koa Warmoth to see how the new guitar reacted to the same gain structure and EQ - best way to know if they're pretty much interchangeable for gigs - and it sounded great with the ceramic, though a little harsh on the top-end...but I'm STILL flipping out over how good the A8 sounds...cranked it again last night, my opinion has not changed, if anything it's been reinforced..


    My dad owned a house in Maui in the early to mid 70's. I can remember they still had guys making outrigger canoes by hand the old fashioned way. There was a place right on the beach they made them and I remember seeing them go and and come in riding the surf. Very cool. You just don't see that in Hawaii hardly anymore. Anyways, they were making an entire outrigger out of koa wood. They left the finish natural. It was a beautiful thing to see. It would cost a fortune now.

    I can also remember there would be a line of cute Hawaiian girls when you got off the plane and they would put a lai of real orchids around your neck and kiss you. I always used to run because I didn't want to be kissed. I was a little kid then and that shit was still gross. I also remember the Dole pineapple packing plant had a drinking fountain of pure pineapple juice. Now they grow the pineapple mostly in Asia because the labor is cheap. Last time I was in Hawaii I couldn't believe the pineapple fields were gone.
    Last edited by Nitro Express; 12-14-2011 at 01:35 AM.

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