japanstrat
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2006
- Messages
- 879
- Reaction score
- 5
The U-1000 pickups from the "Super 70" classic period (which is around the mid/late 70s), have Alnico 8 magnets.
The U-2000 had an Alnico 5 magnet btw.
The Maxon made "Super 70" and the Maxon made U-1000 were the lowest pickup model in the available pickup model lines and the lowest Maxon made pickups got Alnico 8 magnets.
The photos below show a U-1000 pickup from 1976 with an Alnico magnet (not ceramic) and anyone who has played a guitar with a U-1000 pickup will know that it's basically a Super 70 and the magnet is an Alnico 8.
The pickup specs changed when Fujigen took over pickup making from Maxon in late 1981.
There might be a possibility that later made Maxon U-1000 pickups from the late 70s/early 80s might have had ceramic magnets, I do not know because I've only had experience with 1977 and 1976 U-1000 pickups that had Alnico 8 magnets.
If someone doesn't like the Alnico 8 sound too much, then i's pretty easy to buy an Alnico 2 or Alnico 3 or Alnico 4 or Alnico 5 magnet and just replace the Alnico 8 magnet with whatever magnet.
Dry Z's are probably Alnico 3 because Maxon was also using Alnico 3 for the "Super 58's" but Alnico 2 and Alnico 4 and Alnico 5 all sound PAFish as well in various ways.
Gibson didn't use Alnico 8 or ceramic in the early PAF's.
Greco Maxon U-1000 pickup from 1976, and the Alnico magnet is pretty easy to see (bright shiny metal magnet).
Alnico magnets are metal and ceramic magnets are different, and alnico magnets can be tested with a multimeter signal continuity tester (place the multimeters probes on 2 different points on the magnet) as the metal will conduct the multimeters continuity signal (usually the multimeter beeps when there is continuity of the signal) and the ceramics will not conduct the multimeters continuity signal.
The U-2000 had an Alnico 5 magnet btw.
The Maxon made "Super 70" and the Maxon made U-1000 were the lowest pickup model in the available pickup model lines and the lowest Maxon made pickups got Alnico 8 magnets.
The photos below show a U-1000 pickup from 1976 with an Alnico magnet (not ceramic) and anyone who has played a guitar with a U-1000 pickup will know that it's basically a Super 70 and the magnet is an Alnico 8.
The pickup specs changed when Fujigen took over pickup making from Maxon in late 1981.
There might be a possibility that later made Maxon U-1000 pickups from the late 70s/early 80s might have had ceramic magnets, I do not know because I've only had experience with 1977 and 1976 U-1000 pickups that had Alnico 8 magnets.
If someone doesn't like the Alnico 8 sound too much, then i's pretty easy to buy an Alnico 2 or Alnico 3 or Alnico 4 or Alnico 5 magnet and just replace the Alnico 8 magnet with whatever magnet.
Dry Z's are probably Alnico 3 because Maxon was also using Alnico 3 for the "Super 58's" but Alnico 2 and Alnico 4 and Alnico 5 all sound PAFish as well in various ways.
Gibson didn't use Alnico 8 or ceramic in the early PAF's.
Greco Maxon U-1000 pickup from 1976, and the Alnico magnet is pretty easy to see (bright shiny metal magnet).
Alnico magnets are metal and ceramic magnets are different, and alnico magnets can be tested with a multimeter signal continuity tester (place the multimeters probes on 2 different points on the magnet) as the metal will conduct the multimeters continuity signal (usually the multimeter beeps when there is continuity of the signal) and the ceramics will not conduct the multimeters continuity signal.
