Rule of thumb? Pickup ingredients

GuitarMonkey

TheGuitarWeasel said:

GuitarMonkey said:

Apart from flux strength, what properties of the magnet material affect the sound?

The ratio of aluminum to nickel to cobalt changes the eddy currents in the magnets themselves and changes their resonant peak ... and thus how they 'filter' the sound. This is completely independent of their magnetic strength.

How do these eddy currents affect the pickup's resonant peak? I.e. what is the mechanism here?

OilCityPickups

GuitarMonkey said:

TheGuitarWeasel said:

GuitarMonkey said:

Apart from flux strength, what properties of the magnet material affect the sound?

The ratio of aluminum to nickel to cobalt changes the eddy currents in the magnets themselves and changes their resonant peak ... and thus how they 'filter' the sound. This is completely independent of their magnetic strength.

How do these eddy currents affect the pickup's resonant peak? I.e. what is the mechanism here?

This is where experts differ. The general consensus is that the different field densities and shapes 'molded' by the eddy currents, change the 'transfer characteristics' within certain frequency ranges and 'filter' the pickups response. Eddy currents definately have an effect on inductance ... which we know has a direct effect on the frequency transference.
As an experiment I have gaussed unmagnetized alnico 5 to the lower gauss reading of alnico 2, but the sound characteristic remains definitely alnico 5 (admittedly softened).

But it could be magic pixies