Stormy Mondays - opinions needed

[peterjasper]

Hi,

I'm looking to replace the burstbucker neck pickup on my les paul and I'm trying to find a neck pickup that will give me more clarity and a tighter low end.
Can somebody describe the difference between the Alnico II and the Alnico IV magnet for me? Or am i just just looking for a underwound mule?


I just noticed that you cannot choose the magnet in the online shop for the stormy mondays or the mules?

Thanks!

Peter.

[tomjackson]

I can only speak for the AII Stormy Monday's. They have a lovely sweet, warm vintage tone although I would not say they have a tight low end.  More warm and bloomy but never muddy.

[Fourth Feline]

Hello and welcome Peter !  :)

I have had both AII and AIV magnets in my Stormy Mondays - and as Tom has just said, the AII is warmer and sweeter , but perhaps softer in the bass strings than other pickups. They are not muddy, but neither are they notably  tight, but just articulate enough to not sound harsh against the relatively sweet sounding top three strings.

I tried an AIV magnet, which made the whole thing more detailed, but for the extra 'shimmer' and detail I gained in the bass with the AIV magnets, I found the top end now had a 'stiffer' and more 'toothy' sound. I changed back to AIIs - as for me that is the real Stormy Monday voice at it's best.

For your needs, I am thinking 'Mules' also ( or even something a touch hotter if really tight is your preference )  and do bear in mind that although the online shop does not ask which magnet you need in the Stormy Monday and assumes you want AII - you can contact Tim at B.K.P directly for 'special requests'- and of course excellent advice !  :)

The Mule is wound / voiced around an AIV magnet ( and very nice too - as I have a set in a Les Paul ). Unfortunately I cannot compare them to Burstbuckers, as my Lester came with 498/490 pickups. The Mules where profoundly better than those in the sweetness and clarity stakes .  8)

I did leave some sound clips of AII and AIV stormies in an Archtop in the Player's section last year, but I have not attached links to them at this stage , as they are in a fully hollow guitar, so the comparison between AII and AIV  is apparent , but the suitability for your purpose is not really confirmed by them as such.

[kevinr]

Peter, maybe you need a pickup with an AV magnet! what style of music do you play? BKP make some really great neck pickups and I'm sure that there will be a suitable one amongst them.

[peterjasper]

Peter, maybe you need a pickup with an AV magnet! what style of music do you play? BKP make some really great neck pickups and I'm sure that there will be a suitable one amongst them.

I mostly play blues.
I just figured out that the burstbuckers in my les paul are AII magnets, maybe i not just not a fan of those magnets?
I'm just looking to get some more crispness or focus out of my les paul if that makes sense, the current pickups just sound bland and unfocused.

Is it possible to get a underwound version of the mules?

Thanks for all your suggestions!

[kevinr]

I think that you may be on the right track with a AII Stormy Monday, I prefer the AII Stormy over the AIV Mule for blues and I prefer AV for most other styles that I play.

[Fourth Feline]

I think that you may be on the right track with a AII Stormy Monday, I prefer the AII Stormy over the AIV Mule for blues and I prefer AV for most other styles that I play.

Kevin's words reminded me, that in my Les Paul, the AII Stormy Mondays had greater overall clarity than the ( still clear but a touch more mid-rangey ) Mules that now live there. A friend of mine once picked up the AII SM'd Les Paul and remarked on their clarity thus :

" If I fitted these, I've have to practice much more "  :lol:  By which he meant of course that his fingering mistakes sound as defined as his 'good' notes.  Bear in mind that when I refer to the AII SMs as 'clear' in a Les Paul, I don't mean tooth shaking / crunchy bass riffs and chords, I mean a really open , clear and balanced sound across the fretboard.  The Maple cap on the Les Paul serves as a great intermediary between the Mahoghany body, and the Stormy Mondays.

It was not a mere co-incidence that I chose the AII Stormy Mondays for my second Jazz Guitar, given that the 'best of the best' regarding warm clarity now go into my Jazzers.  :)

[Telerocker]

When character counts, I would prefer the AII.

[Fourth Feline]

When character counts, I would prefer the AII.

Nicely put.  :drink: