Ceramics do a great job where gain is involved but they're way to efficient for cleans or vintage tone and sound hard and clinical if used in a PAF type design.
Alnico V is a great magnet when used in the right context.I use it where power is required or a big wind needs to be powered. You try powering a DC16K sets of coils with A2,A3 or A4 and they'll sound like mush-all mids no highs.OK this is where ceramics come into their own but A5's too and if you want a more organic tone and sweeter cleans then A5s rule the roost.
Let's take TOs VHII now winging it's way over the water, the DC of the 52mm spaced coils is DC9.2K, wound with 42 AWG plain enamel-this is hot for that type of wire.Put an A2 under those coils and the definition goes, likewise A4, ceramic brings the bottom up way too much and turns the highs to glass, A5 sits just right.It's down to square peg,square hole.........I spent months winding, playing diferent versions of this one-HJM was involved too and had an early prototype.The wind evolved hugely and it features an unusal offset-I'm not trying to claim I invented the wheel here but the pickup is tuned totally by ear. OK, it's called a VHII and will get you into the early EVH tone ballpark-but it's a VERY versatile pickup and what you do with it is down to you as a player. It won't make you sound like Eddie-nothing will-you can go plug into Eddies rig with his guitar and you won't sound like him-that part of the tone is in the player.It will put you on the right side of the fence and deliver the vibe but it's capable of doing so much.
So, as with all my pickups, excuse my artistic licence with the names, I like to indulge myself alittle :D and give a hint of where you're starting from with one of my pickups.Where you go with it is down to you....................
