ASAR PICKUPS (ENGLISH VERSION): SDC-ND (STACKED DOUBLE COIL-NEODYMIUM) PROJECT, STRAT SIZED PICKUP WITH TWO STACKED COILS, NEODYMIUM MAGNETS.

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Is it possible to achieve the goal of obtaining a passive “Strat sized” pickup that has a single coil behavior (perhaps even more captivating than the usual suspects) but that, when necessary, can show off the output level and the “lyrical” timbre of a humbucker like, perhaps, not even the most famous “PAF sized”?

The answer is yes, absolutely. Before seeing how, let's try to make an overview of what is around and that has been conceived with the intent of uniting, in different ways, the peculiarities of both milestones in a single pickup.

First of all, let's take for granted some concepts that should be well known to any electric guitarist. The most common guitar or bass pickups are, in fact, essentially of two types: single coil or double coil (commonly called humbucker).

Single coils are made up of some support/frame in electrically insulating material but which is also transparent to magnetic fields. In the central position are the magnets (in the case of AlNiCo magnets, or the pole pieces if the magnets are ceramic or rare earth, with the magnet or magnets placed below the pickup and in close contact with the pole pieces themselves). From this point on I will refer to them simply as poles. A coil of enameled copper wire is wouond around the poles, from the ends of which the voltage signal is taken, containing the musical message produced by the strings (transduced), which is then directed towards the amplification system.

I will not describe the operating principle of this pickup here, both because it should already be known (and there is a lot of literature on the subject online), and because I myself have already attempted to talk about it in another article.

Double coil pickups or “humbuckers” (a term that means “hum eliminator”) are nothing more, practically, than two single coil pickups of the type already mentioned above, juxtaposed and usually connected in series in order to algebraically add their respective outputs. So much so that very often (always, when it comes to the models produced by me) it is possible to electrically exclude, via a switch, one of the coils to obtain a single coil for all intents and purposes.

The two single coil pickups juxtaposed to form a humbucker pickup (PAF type, but also JB or Hot Rails, the basic principle remains the same) have the following peculiarity: both the two coils and the two respective rows of poles have mutually opposite polarities. The result is that, from the phase opposition (therefore of 180 sexagesimal degrees) between the two coils, the algebraic cancellation of the mains voltage hum captured via the airwaves results, while the signal due to the vibration of the strings passes undisturbed (180 degrees due to the phase shift between the coils + 180 degrees due to the NORTH vs SOUTH phase shift between the magnetic fields = 360, i.e. 0). Even what has just been mentioned is largely in the "public domain" and, again, I have also spoken about it in another rant that I have already published on "these screens".

Good. As for the PAF sized humbuckers, given the dimensions of the two constituent single coils, which are in any case of the same “order of magnitude” as those of the single coil Strat pickups, it is quite easy to make them sound, when split, in a very similar way but, to house them in place of a Strat single coil on a Stratocaster, it is necessary to replace the pickguard plate and, possibly, widen the relative recess/s in the body if it is not already prepared. Furthermore, the classic SSS Stratocaster aesthetic, by adopting one or two PAF sized humbuckers, is inevitably altered. To be honest, especially in the case of the humbucker installed at the bridge and regardless of whether you choose to split the north coil (the one facing the middle pickup) or the south coil (the one facing the bridge) of the humbucker, the poles of the coil that is left active never assume the exact same positions, with respect to the bridge, which are found, instead, with a classic “tilted” single coil of a Stratocaster in SSS configuration. In other words, the string movement reading window never assumes the same position.

To maintain the visual impact of Strat single coil and their immediate replaceability (i.e. without having to replace the pickguard and without having to widen the recesses in the body), several manufacturers have created “Strat single coil sized” humbuckers with juxtaposed coils, also known as “mini humbuckers”. To achieve this, the only viable way was to geometrically squash both the two coils and their poles, in order to fit into the limited space available.

The main limitation of mini humbuckers compared to PAF sized ones, in fact, is mainly given by the reduced size of their coils and, therefore, by the amount of wire that can be wound around them. Consequently, the output levels cannot normally compete with those obtainable from PAF sized humbuckers. In the case of JBs, the pole pieces are also smaller, while in the case of Hot Rails they are of the blade type and in both cases different magnetic fields are developed compared to those produced by the 5 mm diameter cylindrical pole pieces (or M3 screws) typical of both single coil Strats and PAF sized ones. Added to all this is the fact that the flattened geometries of the coils also greatly influence the response of these pickups. At the end of the day, if even playing with both coils activated and connected in series the mini humbuckers can quite credibly mimic the character of the PAF sized humbuckers (for many guitarists they are even more satisfying), when you want to use them split the “single coils” that you get are not as credible. Starting with the output levels.

Let's move on to the “coil tap” single coils, which sound in every way like real single coil Strats (for the simple fact of being one) if used playing with the “low” or COOL output. When, however, they are operated using the entire winding of the coil (“high” or HOT output) they sound more like a P90, rather than a PAF sized humbucker. This is provided that the quantity of wire wound between the COOL output and the HOT output is quantitatively adequate, of course. If you use AWG 42, it is less likely that there will be enough space left on the spool to wind enough wire to make it possible to create a HOT output. Conversely, for those like me who use thinner wire (mainly AWG 44), this space is almost always available regardless of the type of spool used.

To better understand the operating principle of “coil tap”, let’s take two power transformers as an example, one of which has a secondary winding with a single 9V output (obviously in alternating current) and the other with a secondary that supplies 12V but which is also equipped with an intermediate tap positioned at the point of the winding corresponding to 9V.

Here, both transformers can be used to create power supplies that require 9V alternating at their inputs, but the second transformer can also be used to create power supplies that require a 12 VAC transformer, without taking anything away from the possibility of drawing only 9VAC. Now the difference between a traditional single coil and a “coil tap” single coil should be clear, in principle. I have seen that there is even someone out there who produces “coil tap” pickups equipped with not two, but three distinct outputs (which we could compare, this time, to a transformer with the secondary equipped with 6, 9 and 12VAC outputs or 9, 12 and 15 VAC, make all the hypotheses you prefer...) (SEE NOTE 1).

In the case of the coils of single coil “coil tap” pickups there is still an important consideration to make (listen up!..). The ability of a turn of conducting wire to produce voltage at its ends is proportional to the intensity of the magnetic field (variable over time) by which it is invested. Now it should be quite intuitive that in the coil of any pickup, as the turns are wound in the coil, their distance from the poles (which are in the central position) increases.

To be more explicit, given a “coil tap” single coil, the last turn of wire immediately before the contact of the COOL output is certainly at a shorter distance from the poles than the last turn of the entire coil, from which the HOT output is taken. Since the intensity of the magnetic field emitted by the poles/magnets of the pickup gradually decreases as we move away from the lateral surface of the poles themselves, it goes without saying that if from a COOL output taken after having wound 5 Kohm (SEE NOTE 2) of enameled wire (for example) we take an alternating voltage of 1V peak to peak, from the HOT output taken at the end of the winding of 10 Kohm total, with the same oscillation of the string, we will certainly not take 2V peak to peak. Rest assured. The output level will still be higher from the HOT output than from the COOL output, even if not by much. What is most evident is that the resonant frequency of the coil seen from the HOT output, having a greater number of turns (and therefore also a greater inductance), will be lower and a tone will be obtained that, consequently, will very closely resemble that of a P90 and, only more vaguely, that of a PAF sized humbucker. It will still be a more versatile pickup than a classic single coil Strat, leaving less regret for a humbucker when operating, with distorted sounds, in HOT mode and providing an alternative tone with clean sounds.

Also note that in a single coil pickup, normally, the mains hum captured by the unique coil is not cancelled out (or, better, counteracted) in any way, except when it is played simultaneously with another single coil with respect to which it has opposite electrical and magnetic phases.

In this way, the hum-bucking effect already known in the case of humbucker pickups is exploited again, an effect that occurs both in the case of series connection of the coils (as typically occurs inside a PAF sized humbucker or a mini humbucker) and in the case of parallel connection, as occurs, for example, in positions 2 and 4 of a Strat or in position 2 of a Telecaster (provided that the installed pickups are reciprocally Reverse Wound / Reverse Polarity, obviously).

Let's move on to the so-called "stacked humbuckers", "stacked coils" or "stacked humbuckers" if you prefer.

Another trick to counteract the hum of the 50 (or 60) Hz of the mains voltage captured via the airwaves by the coil of a single coil pickup consists in inserting, in the structure of the pickup itself, or in a separate location in the body of the guitar, a second coil with opposite electrical phase, but not equipped with magnets/poles and, therefore, not producing a musical signal (SEE NOTE 3).

In fact, in addition to not producing a musical signal, the famous "ghost" coil or "dummy coil" as you want to call it, adds parasitic resistance and inductance in series or in parallel to the coil that instead works actively, with negative repercussions on the output level and above all on the dynamics of the signal produced.

I suppose this structure characterizes the so-called "noiseless" single coil pickups. I have never opened one to look around (and I never will), but I don't see how else they could work. In fact I have another idea, but I won't talk about it here.

From the diagrams found online it doesn't seem like you can actually understand much and I don't think it's worth wasting time on them anyway. (SEE NOTE 4)

We finally get to explain why, except for the absence of any hum canceling effect, I say it and I underline it right away, with the SDC-ND project I managed to bring home the best of both the Strat single coil and the PAF sized in a single Strat sized pickup equipped with two distinct and separate coils, but stacked and both producing musical signal (no “dummy coil” between your feet, then).

A pickup that, rather than defining a humbucker – simply because as already said it cannot exploit any hum canceling effect – I would prefer to define as “Stacked Double Coil”. This title should also help in imagining two distinct coils stacked and wrapped around a single row of poles. It should be noted that this time, unlike what was examined in the case of the “coil tap” single coils in which the turns that go from the COOL output to the HOT output are at greater distances from the pole pieces than are the turns that go from the ground end (start of winding) to the COOL output, the turns of the two separate coils of an SDC are at the same relative distances from the same row of poles that passes through both of them. It follows that the two coils will produce signals with completely comparable levels and tone. Not exactly the same only because during the development phase of the project I chose, in order to achieve the desired results, not to make them completely identical but, to a certain extent, different both in height and in the consequent quantity of wire respectively wound.

The ace up the sleeve of this ambitious project, once again, is the exploitation of a powerful magnetic system based on the wonderful and innovative neodymium magnets. In fact, although I confess that I do not have detailed knowledge of the vast panorama of pickups offered on the market, I am not aware of any model with a double stacked coil in which both coils produce a useful signal, moreover with neodymium magnets.

Perhaps because the poles that pass through both coils must be relatively long, with the usual magnetic materials you would not guarantee fields powerful enough to obtain satisfactory results. Mine is just a hypothesis. Personally I cannot be sure because I developed mine directly with neodymium and some real cannonballs came out of them. Maybe one day I will also try with ceramic magnets, at least out of curiosity. Who knows...

In fact, if I wanted, I could also produce the SDCs with ceramic magnets, but almost it would be a like choosing to make a Diesel cycle racing engine, when no one forbids you to do it with an Otto cycle (petrol...) and without any limitations whatsoever (except the space inside the "hood" of a Strat single coil, in the case of this project). For goodness sake, each type has its own reason, in fact in the case of regularity races, Diesel-powered cars can go even better than petrol-powered ones. But I, in our guitar context, believe that there are already too many "regularity" cars around and I prefer to compete directly in "Formula 1" (where, until proven otherwise, Diesel has never managed to participate), with a decidedly small number of actual competitors. I don't know if I made myself clear.

Motoring parallels aside, it is enough to compare the tabular characteristics of neodymium magnets with those of the usual ferrite and AlNiCo (of any grade) to immediately understand that this is a material that, given the same geometry and net dimensions, can eat them for breakfast. Try it and believe it. After all, anyone who only produces pickups, even when they put some models with neodymium magnets in their catalog, will never be so self-destructive as to exclude pickups with AlNiCo magnets from production. Even less will they to say how things actually are today. Instead, it would be better for them to try to extol the "mystique" of every type of magnet available and try to argue that "the truth" cannot be all on one side but is, rather, spread "a little here, a little there...". Everyone has their say, of course. So I'll do it too.

Now let's get back to "bomb". As already mentioned, an SDC pickup, even though it has two coils that “pedal” separately to contribute to the production of the musical signal (unless you want to use only one), unfortunately cannot – but it doesn't seem like a drama to me – exploit any hum cancellation effect. In fact, they can produce hum at levels similar to those of P90s, if placed in the immediate vicinity of a source of disturbance (such as an amplifier power cable). Yet, compared to a PAF sized humbucker, in addition to boasting similar output levels (indeed, rather “high output” compared to the average of PAF sized humbuckers, having up to 20 Kohm of wound AWG 44) they present a characteristic that is part of the character identikit of Strat single coil and that ours continue to boast even when they are operated with both their coils activated. I mean the detail, not to be forgotten, that any humbucker with juxtaposed coils, PAF sized as well as, albeit with reduced distances, i.e. the Strat sized mini humbuckers already mentioned, detects the movement of the strings through two distinct and necessarily distant reading windows. In a double single coil SDC, however, since the two coils are stacked, the signals produced by them are relative to a single reading window on the strings, exactly as happens in any single coil pickup (Strat, Tele, P90 & others). For this reason, they inherit from single coils, therefore, a certain characteristic "incisiveness" and response to the touch even when operating with both coils.

However, since DSCs are hybrids ideologically derived even from humbuckers, they also carry with them that part of their sonic character (in addition to the output levels) due to the fact that the musical signal in output – with both coils working – is the sum of the signals produced by two distinct coils.

To make the available space for the coils sufficient, given that the dimensions of a single coil Strat are not, again (see the aforementioned mini humbuckers), those of a PAF sized, in sizing the bobbins I made the most of the available space in height. Consequently, I can only produce these pickups with closed covers. In this way, I managed to beat commercial mini humbuckers such as JB and Hot Rails also in terms of the amount of wire that can be housed in the bobbins. After all, there are already some Strat sized pickups that, due to their particular internal structure, are only produced in the “closed covers” version, like the Lace Sensor, just to give an example.

At the same time, I used AWG44 wire to wind the coils. Being thinner than AWG42 and 43, it allows to wind more wire (lengthwise) inside the same bobbin. This fact, synergistically with the power of the neodymium magnetic systems, determines the high output levels of these pickups. The choice of AWG44 was not the result of any compromise, as it is the wire diameter that I use most even when "apparently" (my Strat single coil and PAF sized models first and foremost) there would be no need given the larger spaces available, with tonal results that never leave you regretting the AWG42 + AlNiCo (or ferrite) combination.

With this structure I will produce the SDC-ND for neck and bridge, while in the complete sets (or pre-wired on pickguard) SSS the middle pickup will have a classic Strat single coil structure (with a single coil), but with such quantities of wire and magnetic system as to make it balanced with the two neighbors, when they are working with a single coil.

In fact, my reference configuration, when it comes to guitar pickups, is the Strat SSS, which is not even perfect in every way. To make it so, in terms of versatility, it is necessary that the neck and bridge pickups can, without taking anything away from the SSS functioning, transform into powerful and screaming “humbuckers” when needed. Et voila... done! Oops, I forgot to say that, staying on the subject of versatility at the highest levels, the middle single coil must be able to disappear on command, so that you can also play with the neck and bridge pickups connected in parallel (like a Telecaster or a Les Paul can do, for example). Et voila, again, making one of my pre-wired pickguards around a set of SDC-NDs.

Are there already similar projects on the market? Frankly, I don't know and, if so, I don't really care. I don't brag about my ideas, because, as should be obvious, there is no originality at the base. I just put them into practice. All it takes is a little bit of sagacity and, above all, a lot of patience and a certain manual skill. After all, we are talking about guitar pickups, "machines" that are simpler than this, conceptually, only nails and screws. So there is really no room for further bursts of genius, compared to what has already been seen and reseen over the course of so many decades. I experiment on my own and if I see that the idea is valid and feasible, I put it into practice.

My interest is mainly in analog amplification systems, both tube and solid state. Having noted the superiority of neodymium magnets (this also applies to the speaker sector), however, it did not seem nice to me to try to make astonishing amplifiers (at least for those who are used to the same old warmed-over soup, circuit-wise, that is, the vast majority of guitarists) leaving exposed a major bottleneck such as the pickups of an electric guitar or bass. The best must always be associated with the best, when possible.

WIRING

The single DSC pickup is wired with four wires shielded by a bare. Just like my humbuckers of the SHB-UD series (Splittable Hum Bucker – Ultra Distortion).

The red is the positive of the entire pickup, the black is the negative (which must be soldered to ground, as well as the shielding bare). The yellow and the white must be soldered together and to a contact of a switch whose other contact must be connected to ground. When the switch is ON (closed contact) only one coil works, because the other finds itself with both terminals short-circuited to ground. Vice versa, when the switch has the contact open, the DSC works with both coils working and connected in series.

The upper coil contains a little more wire than the lower one, and it is desirable that, when the pickup is operated in “split mode”, it is this one that remains functional. This is also what I put into practice by installing a set of SDC-UD on a pre-wired pickguard. Everyone is free to do what they think is best based on their own tastes, of course.

So the upper coil has the red wire as positive and the white wire as negative. The lower coil has the yellow wire as positive and the black wire as negative.

The neck pickup is RW/RP both with respect to the middle single coil and the neck pickup. This means that the hum cancellation effect can be exploited when either the neck and bridge are operated simultaneously (both in single coil and “humbucker” configuration) or when the neck and middle are operated simultaneously. Having to choose between the neck and middle and middle and bridge combinations, I chose the first simply because I prefer it (de gustibus...).

Without appreciably changing the frequency response of the DSCs at higher frequencies (however generously extended thanks to the neodymium magnets), the coils are also equipped with an electromagnetic shield in copper foil, connected to the bare of the connection cable. Even if this is what I consider a necessary act, its presence is useful against higher frequency disturbances that travel via the airwaves. Its effectiveness against mains voltage induced hum, however, is almost zero because to effectively shield against very low frequency disturbances, several millimeters thick shields would be needed (which would still create other problems, if they were actually implemented).

Featured on Reverb (ASAR Boutique Amplification & Pickups): https://reverb.com/item/84117912-hand-wound-strat-sss-pickup-set-handmade-stacked-double-coil-neodymium-sdc-nd-model-for-neck-bridge-pu-s-not-noiseless

As soon as I can, within a few weeks, I'll try to make some decent demo videos to publish on YouTube...

NOTE 1. In practice, to make a “coil tap” single coil, you normally wind the desired amount of wire onto the bobbin, corresponding to obtaining a certain sound that more or less closely recalls the typical sound of a Strat single coil. At that point, you stop winding and proceed to solder, on the wire you are winding, a branch made with a piece of wire (always enameled, obviously) to which the COOL output wiring will then be connected. Once this is done, you will resume winding the coil until you have reached the total amount of wire through which you want to make the pickup sound in HOT configuration. The end where the winding starts will act as the ground for the entire coil and both the COOL and HOT outputs will be referred to it. The (positive) wire ends corresponding to the COOL (intermediate) and HOT (corresponding to the entire winding, at the end of it) outputs will be connected to the side contacts of a SPDT selector, whose central contact will instead be connected to the appropriate contact of the five-way selector (in the case of Strato, obviously) representing the pickup output in both cases.

NOTE 2. As you have seen, I prefer to refer to the quantity of wire wound in a coil by relating it directly to its series resistance (the famous Rs), after having declared what type of wire it is (i.e. AWG 42, 43, or 44). The liturgy of the “official” religion of the average guitarist, instead, commands to refer, rather, to the number of turns wound.

At this point we must ask ourselves the reason for my “heresy”. Well, when the pickups produced in the past decades have become an absolute reference as if there were no tomorrow, it became legitimate to refer simply, or simplistically, to the number of turns wound to give the quantitative idea of the wire compared to standardized models, given that the same identical basic structure is always reused (even for the “experimenters”), given that even the type of wire used (usually AWG 42) always remains the same.

In fact, pickup gurus, typically referring to a certain model of Fender Strat single coil (for example), which have, I don't know, 8000 turns or so of AWG 42 wound, can wind, numerically, 5 - 10% more or less and then actually find some sonic difference compared to the reference model. As usual in each pickup we have six nice AlNiCo cylindrical magnets/poles that act as a supporting structure for two bakelite bases (high and low) that act as a geometric limit to the coil of wire that will be wound there.

This, roughly, is what is still in vogue thanks to a certain "conservative right" of orthodox practitioners.

The fact is that there are not only Strat single coil or PAFs with AlNiCo magnets, but substantial variants can be made starting as a reference from the aforementioned ones and such variants can be characterized by: different type of magnets (ceramic but also and above all rare earth); bobbins of different sizes and construction materials; enameled wires of different diameters.

Even if we want to make a Strat single coil whose coil geometry is exactly the same as a vintage Fender reference, if we replace the AlNiCo magnets with the same number of pole pieces with a ceramic, samarium-cobalt or neodymium magnet attached underneath, even with the same type of wound wire (and same number of turns), the pickup created will sound very different than the vintage AlNiCo. And up to this point it should be obvious to everyone.

If we make a single coil pickup with a “Strat sized” footprint but with a different coil geometry than a vintage Fender (for example, see my MINI P90s), even if we want to keep the use of AlNiCo magnets at all costs, the reference to the number of wound turns goes a bit haywire. Why? Because wound 6000 turns (for example) of a certain type of wire in a P90 bobbin and 6000 turns of the same type of wire in a single coil Strat or Tele single coil type bobbin means having wound two different quantities of wire. Sic et simpliciter. If you try to unwind them, the 6000 turn coil wound in the P90 will have a certain length in meters (and a certain resistance in kohm, at a certain ambient temperature), the one wound in the Strat single coil bobbin will have another length and another associated series resistance.

Having said all this, I prefer, to give an indication of the quantity of wire wound in the coil of a pickup made by me, to declare the resistance in Kohm (Rs) of the same, even if it may vary a little over the course of the year due to the variation in ambient temperatures.

Each wire has its own specific resistivity which is essentially due to four factors: 1) the type of metal or alloy with which it was made, 2) the thickness; 3) the shape of the wire itself; 4) the temperature of the wire.

In our case the wire is copper, its shape is cylindrical and its thickness can be 0.063 mm (AWG 42), 0.056 mm (AWG 43) or 0.050 mm (AWG 44).

Someone attentive, at this point, might ask me how I know exactly when I have to stop winding the coil of the unborn child, since I don't count the number of turns while I wind a pickup and also since the amount of wire that I have to wind is already decided based on the project of the pickup itself and is certainly not random.

Well, during the work, I use simple linear calculations and the data collected by a certain tool that is easy to find and affordable, but I won't tell you which one. Maybe someone who comes up with it themselves will write to me privately to give me satisfaction, okay.

NOTE 3. The humbucker invented by Seth Lover, that is with juxtaposed coils, in addition to algebraically canceling the hum captured before it can exit the pickup itself, in order to also play must necessarily detect the movement of the strings through two distinct windows, corresponding to a row of poles for each of the two coils.

In this humbucker the coils are reciprocally inverted in the winding direction, that is, assuming in both the terminal of the start of the winding, for example, as ground and the terminal of the end of the winding as positive (as I normally do) , if the two coils have been wound one clockwise and the other counterclockwise, it can be said that they are wound in phase opposition. If you want, you can also wind the two coils of a humbucker in the same direction and then assume the ground and positive terminals in a reciprocally opposite way (that is, for one, the terminal of the start of the winding is assumed to be positive and for the other, the terminal of the end of the winding). The result will be the same.

However, if you want your humbucker to sound when you pluck the strings, it is essential that the poles inserted in one coil point their magnetic north towards the strings, while the poles inserted in the other coil must point their magnetic south on the same side.

Having said that, it should be clear that having only one row of poles available, as in the case of the DSC-ND presented here, poles that must necessarily point the same magnetic polarity towards the strings, it is absolutely not possible for them to present opposite phases. If I tried to wind the two coils in phase opposition in one of my DSCs, it is true that I would obtain, as in the case of the humbuckers, the cancellation of the hum captured by them but, at the same time, I would also obtain the cancellation of the sound produced by the vibration of the strings. Frankly, I wouldn't know what to do with such a silent pickup, in the broadest sense of the term... If you want to exploit the hum cancellation effect by having two stacked coils, the only possible solution is for the poles or magnets to pass only through the upper coil, while the lower coil must not be involved in the production of a musical signal, but must only act as a "dummy coil" for hum cancellation and... as a ballast for the useful signal produced by the upper coil.

Unfortunately, you can't always have everything in physics either.

NOTE 4. Some of the more attentive might object that a pickup like the SDC would never have been produced by anyone because in addition to having to forcibly give up the hum-bucking effect, the poles must be relatively long to be able to pass through the two, even substantial, coils and, consequently, the relative attenuation of the magnetic field produced by such poles would lead to a quantitative reduction in the amplitude of the signals produced. If this is true using traditional magnetic materials, I would like to remind you that here I used neodymium magnets and sized everything ad hoc, remembering that the pickup must work (and very well!) both with one and two coils operated......

In fact, let's take as a reference a magnetic pole of a Strat single coil, entirely and typically made of AlNiCo (let's also assume the V type). A magnetic field of directly comparable intensity can also be obtained by replacing the 5 mm diameter cylindrical magnet with a carbon steel pole piece (therefore not equipped with its own magnetic field) of the same size, under which a small neodymium magnet of a few millimeters thick is attached.

Conversely, if the AlNiCo magnet/pole were to be replaced outright with a neodymium magnet of the same size, the field produced by these would be of such intensity as to create insurmountable problems, therefore unusable in a pickup.

Returning again, however, to the combination of pole pieces + neodymium magnets, it is possible to vary the relative dimensions of the two elements and also the arrangement of the magnets themselves with respect to the pole pieces (a single magnet in line with the pole or two arranged in a “sandwich”). Moral of the story: by adopting small neodymium magnets, applied under the pole pieces, it is possible to produce pickups with a sonic output similar to that of AlNiCo magnets; vice versa, even by directly (and typically) adopting poles entirely made of AlNiCo V (you can't get any more than that!), you can't reach the performance possible with neodymium magnets, not even remotely. Got it? In fact, I had the opportunity to make several "American-style" comparisons between my pickups, made of neodymium, and similar famous ones equipped with AlNiCo magnets, and from these you could always hear relatively compressed dynamics and euphonic colorations (I would say shrill, typical). Of course, I say, if the magnets adopted don't produce sufficiently intense fields, it can't be otherwise. Besides, notoriously, it is not possible to get blood out of turnips. Unless you have ever seen what real blood is like, turnip juice can also be passed off as such, in fact. But things change when the “vampire” finally gets a taste of what real blood is like...

It must also be admitted that, on the other hand, at least as far as “vintage” single coils like Strat or Telecaster are concerned, the colorations introduced by AlNiCo magnets were “the winning ace”, going to do “pendant” perfectly with those typical clean sounds, to the point of making them even legendary. In practice it is the usual broken clock that tells the exact time twice a day or the Diesel that wins regularity races, but we must not make the mistake of considering AlNiCo magnets (or similar more recent magnetizable alloys) a sort of “ace takes all”, despite what some would have you believe, because it's not really the case. Much better to equip yourself with a precise and reliable clock from which you can read the exact time at any time of the day. Don't you agree?

Just to stay in the “Strat single coil” field where the poles are the AlNiCo magnets themselves, to “do research” and continually find new wonderful sounds, the “gurus” continue to always follow the same liturgy: 1) choose between the different grades of AlNiCo (most often II, III and V, I think); choose the wire (almost always AWG 42) based on the type and thickness of the enamel coating, the brand and year of production, as if they were fine wines; choose the number of turns to wind on each coil (SEE NOTE 2, AGAIN); choose the “winding pattern”, or the way in which the wire is guided in the coil during winding. Then there are also the materials the closing tape and the insulation of the termination wires are made of, let's not forget them... Oh, again: waxing yes (and with what composition), waxing no. For me, producing a pickup without waxing is equivalent to exposing oneself to the almost certain risk of squeal when playing at a significant volume. Proponents of “no wax” try to get around this problem by maximizing the tension of the wire during winding, which increases the chances of wire breakage over time (the pickup may no longer sound) and further increases the parasitic inter-windage capacitance, resulting in greater loss of higher frequencies in the signal produced.

Ok, everyone is free to live their passion (or profession) as they see fit, of course. Those who think they can spend 500 dollars on a set of AlNiCo single coil Strats because who knows who made them, perhaps to "replicate" the "unattainable" who knows what, go ahead. He's happy...

Maybe there may also be someone who spends large sums to buy hi octane gasoline to get who knows what difference in the performance of his small car, but he will never ever be able to compete with any Ferrari, even if it runs on the worst standard 95 octane gasoline...

To be really mean to the core, I also want to point out that AlNiCo is an alloy that does not have its own magnetism (unlike ceramics and "rare earth" magnets), but must be magnetized through the physical approach of electromagnets or external permanent magnets. The problem (in my opinion this is also a problem...) is that just as it is relatively easy to magnetize them, it is equally easy to demagnetize them, even accidentally, always due to external magnetic fields. It is true that when this happens the problem can be solved by magnetizing them again, but it is still a real pain, don't you think? It is not exactly like going into the grocer's for a moment and having some vegetables.

I have said my piece and I am sorry if more than one person will show that they do not agree or will even consider themselves offended, in various ways, by my statements. I take note of this in advance and I do not want to listen to them or even reply, as I do not believe I add or remove a comma from what has been stated above. Also because I did not arrive from the moon yesterday, so to make me change my mind we would need tangible facts, not chatter. But I do not pretend that everyone can agree with me either. The few brave ones would already be enough for me...