Help please - Mules with Alnico II or IV?

[fbloke]

Hello,

I was thinking about getting a PG blues set but I don't want to clone Peter Green completely, I'd prefer to pursue my own tone.  From what in I can gather Mules with Alnico II's would be similar (not "out of phase" in middle position) and Alnico IV's would be a bit hotter/fuller?  I'm looking for vintage and bluesy with bite but I really don't know how different Mules sound with II's compared to IV's. Can anyone give their take on the difference in tone?

Many thanks.

[Simon D]

From what I can tell, the Alnico II magnets will give a slightly 'softer' sound, a bit more mellow if you like. To the best of my knowledge, there is no difference in output, other than the obvious slight differences between sets inherent in hand-wound pickups.

I went for Alnico IV in mine, because I wanted them for blues and classic rock. In all honesty, whichever you go for, I doubt you'll be disappointed - the Mules are some of the most discussed pickups here, and I can't recall seeing a post where anyone wasn't happy with the tone (doesn't mean there aren't any, but I haven't read them all!).

Hope that helps a bit.

[PhilKing]

PG Blues are based on an AII Stormy Monday set, not the Mules.  They are a little thinner than Mules.

[froglord]

If you're after bite, I'd recommend going with Alnico IV Mules. I've got them in my Eggle and they're lovely. Alnico II is supposed to be slightly softer (see Tim's sticky on magnet types at the top of the Pickups forum for more details).

[misfits7783]

I asked Tim the exact thing and he said he wouldn't recommend mules with Alnico 2 magnets. here is his message
 ------I'm not keen on AII in Mules, the bass sounds too soft in a LP and the high end losses definition.AII Mules are fine in Strats but that's about the only time I'll go with AII in a Mule.SMs are a brighter pickup all round and sound lovely and sweet with AII.l-----
so choice is up to you I guess

[Fourth Feline]

Hello,

I was thinking about getting a PG blues set but I don't want to clone Peter Green completely, I'd prefer to pursue my own tone.  From what in I can gather Mules with Alnico II's would be similar (not "out of phase" in middle position) and Alnico IV's would be a bit hotter/fuller?  I'm looking for vintage and bluesy with bite but I really don't know how different Mules sound with II's compared to IV's. Can anyone give their take on the difference in tone?

Many thanks.

And don't forget, you can always do what a few of us on here have done and get an standard  set of ( 4 conductor wiring ) BKP humbuckers but fit a push / pull DPDT switch into one of your tone pots to put the pickups out of phase with each other in the middle toggle position when you like.

It worked well with both SMs and Mules for me . That way you can have the best of both worlds .  :D

[Henk]

I asked Tim the exact thing and he said he wouldn't recommend mules with Alnico 2 magnets. here is his message
 ------I'm not keen on AII in Mules, the bass sounds too soft in a LP and the high end losses definition.AII Mules are fine in Strats but that's about the only time I'll go with AII in a Mule.SMs are a brighter pickup all round and sound lovely and sweet with AII.l-----
so choice is up to you I guess

Tim said something similar to me, about lower magnet grades not being strong enough for hotter winds. Anyway, the Mules are voiced for an AIV magnet and the stormy's for AII, pretty much the same pickup allthough the SM is a bit less hot which you can expect anyway from an AII magnet compared to an AIV.

If your looking for more bluesy sounds i would say, go with the PG or SM, if you want more of a vintage rock sound go with the Mules. Mules are most versatile/neutral of these IMO.

You can discuss your hesitance towards the PG set with Tim, afaik the neck pu can be wired as a 4 conductor and you can decide if you want to wire the set out-of-phase or as a normal set. This way you can choose for yourself.

Just a tip, Tim does a very nice trick to unpotted/covered pickups to make them much less prone to microphonics, works great on my Mules set....

[robbo]

Hello,

I was thinking about getting a PG blues set but I don't want to clone Peter Green completely, I'd prefer to pursue my own tone.  From what in I can gather Mules with Alnico II's would be similar (not "out of phase" in middle position) and Alnico IV's would be a bit hotter/fuller?  I'm looking for vintage and bluesy with bite but I really don't know how different Mules sound with II's compared to IV's. Can anyone give their take on the difference in tone?

Many thanks.

And don't forget, you can always do what a few of us on here have done and get an standard  set of ( 4 conductor wiring ) BKP humbuckers but fit a push / pull DPDT switch into one of your tone pots to put the pickups out of phase with each other in the middle toggle position when you like.

It worked well with both SMs and Mules for me . That way you can have the best of both worlds .  :D

wiring diagrams or it doesn't exist  :D

[fbloke]

Thanks everyone, your comments have been really helpful. I think a bit more research into SM's is on the cards.