Alumitone humbuckers

[Doughboy]

Does anyone here have Alumitone humbuckers in their guitars?

I'm about to order a Strandberg & they come stock with Alumitone humbuckers & I have no idea what they sound like or if I should get something else instead.

The online description has me a bit worried as they're supposedly supposed have a ton of HiFi low & high end, which can make it sound odd & shrill.

 

[zebra]

I have one.  I wouldn't describe it as "odd or shrill."  Some people call them dry or sterile, but "flat" is probably more descriptive.  Not that "flat" is a bad thing.  Good for those who like a really clean tone (jazz and country), like maintaining definition with lots of distortion (metal), those who do a lot of signal processing, or playing/recording in noisy situations.  I like them, but they're unconventional - people looking for 'vintage'sounds won't like them.  Amp settings that work with other pickups won't work with these.  However, if you like tone-shaping, you have a pretty clear and broad palette to work with.  I play mine clean through a solid state amp - a Yamaha G-100 that has a parametric EQ:  I like the cripsness and clarity, and how precise you can be with tone-shaping.  There are other threads already posted on the topic:

http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=22545.15

http://unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=9886.0 

 

[Doughboy]

Thanks for the links.

I've read everything from HiFi sound, to flat & lifeless to best sounding pickups ever.

It's hard to judge by reviews unfortunately, especially with something as new as this.

Do you think they're somewhat like EMGs, in that they are flat with an even uncolored response?

The Strandberg guitar I'm getting come with those as stock pickups. For an small charge, I can get something more traditional like Bareknuckles, Duncans etc.

 

[Cagey]

I've only worked with one, and was impressed. They're very accurate, but not in a sterile sort of way. You still get the harmonics you'd expect from a PAF-configured 'bucker, but without it sounding broken. You still get enough output to pound on things if you need to, but without the wild character changes you get out of some pickups when you let them off the chain. They're also not so wildly different from anything else that you can pick them out from a crowd, like you can with 'bucker vs. single coil.  It's tough to describe. I seriously doubt you'd be sorry if you bought into them, but if you're looking for a particular character, you may not get it short of using a modeller or a pallet load of sfx. I understand that's one of the reasons people use them - they're so... malleable? I can't think of a good word. Great signal source with a lotta utility.

 

[Doughboy]

Thanks Cagey. I'll go for the Alumitones then. The Strandberg is such a radial design, so I might as well go for a new radical pickup as well.

 

[fdesalvo]

Gorgeous!!