Pro quality Alnico 5 fully magnetized polished cast bar magnet used in humbucker and P90 pickups. Bar Magnet is marked customer color to distinguish magnet grade and north orientation.
In terms of magnetic strength the Alnico 5 is the strongest of the three when compared to Alnico 2 or Alnico 3. Bright, glassy tones with a punchy aggressive attack, a more tighter sound overall. While the lows are tight, the highs can sometimes tend to be a bit more chinky.
Alnico 5 magnets really are the “go to guy†for most of us when it comes to our first real pickups, and turn up incredibly often, on 90% of pickups out there. Tonally, they give a nicely defined voicing, often scooping the middle fairly heavily which really “cleans†the final product, giving great definition and bite in the top end – normally what people are looking for after dealing with the woolly, muddy tones on entry level pickups.
Here at HSMAG, we like to use Alnico 5s (or Vs) for pickups intended for a lot of lead work, especially with Humbuckers, so you’ll often see them matched up with a higher output coil and coil tap options. They really do lend themselves to a modern style, and cope especially well with effects, with the scooped mids allowing the notes to cut through all but the very heaviest distortion.
