Alnico speakers produce a sweet, warm, vintage tone. They sound best at low levels and are great for blues, jazz and mellow rock. Alnico speakers respond quickly, giving the musician a “one with the amp” feel. They are world renowned as the premium speaker with the best tone. One of the first speakers ever used in a guitar amplifier was a Jensen® Alnico speaker - the P15N.
Alnico is a type of alloy made up of iron with aluminium (Al), nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co).[1] The name is an acronym from Al-Ni-Co. Alnico may also contain copper and sometimes titanium.
- Definition of alnico: a powerful permanent-magnet alloy containing iron, nickel, aluminum, and one or more of the elements cobalt, copper, and titanium First Known Use of alnico.
- If you want something more fusion driven, Alnico is it. My friend and I got the fried chicken and waffles and were both happy and super full from it. VERY generous portions for the chicken wings. We asked for hot sauce on the side which is my preference for sweeter Korean fried chicken.
- Shape anisotropy in Alnico magnets derives from acicular particles of the high-moment phase and the difference in demagnetization factors along long and short particle dimensions. The magnetostatic anisotropy energy density, Ems, can be calculated as follows: E ms = μ 0 Δ N 〈 M 〉 Δ M s 2.
- Alnico magnets are made primarily from aluminum, nickel, cobalt, copper, iron and sometimes titanium. They can be either cast or sintered. Not sure if alnico is the best material for your application? Review our Permanent Magnet Materials comparison for more information.
Alnico alloys are ferromagnetic (a mechanism by which some materials form permanent magnets). Alnico alloys also have a high coercivity (they do not easily lose their magnetism) and are used to make permanent magnets. Before rare-earth magnets were developed in the 1970s, alnico magnets were the strongest type of magnet. The development of Alnico began in 1931 when T. Mishima in Japan found that an alloy of iron, nickel, and aluminium had double the coercivity of the best magnets of that time. (the coercivity of Alnico is 400 oersted).[2]
Properties[change | change source]
Alnico alloys can be made magnets by strong magnetic fields. Rare-earth magnets like neodymium and samarium-cobalt are the only easily found magnets which are stronger than alnico magnets. Alnico magnets produce very strong magnetic fields at their poles (a pole is one of the two ends of a magnet) as high as 1500 gauss (0.15 tesla which is about 3000 times stronger than earth's magnetic field.
Some types of alnico magnets are isotropic (properties are same in all directions) and can be properly magnetised in all directions. Other types like alnico 5 and alnico 8 are anisotropic (properties change when direction changes) have a preferred direction (one direction would be better than other directions) for magnetisation. Anisotropic alnico alloys will make stronger magnets in their preferred direction than an isotropic alnico alloy.
Alnico magnets are the only magnets that have useful magnetism even when heated red-hot.[3][4]
Alnico 2 Vs Alnico 5
In 2008, the cost of Alnico magnets was about $44/kg ($20/pound).[5]
References[change | change source]
- ↑Hellweg, Paul 1986. The Insomniac's Dictionary. Facts On File. p. 115. ISBN0-8160-1364-0.
- ↑Cullity B.D. & Graham C.D. 2008. Introduction to Magnetic Materials. Wiley-IEEE. p. 485. ISBN0471477419.
- ↑'Arnold-Alnico Magnets'. Archived from the original on 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
- ↑Hubert, Alex & Schäffer, Rudolf 1998. Magnetic domains: the analysis of magnetic microstructures. Springer. p. 557. ISBN3540641084.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- ↑'Frequently Asked Questions'. Archived from the original on 2019-03-12. Retrieved 2011-06-01.
Alnico speakers produce a sweet, warm, vintage tone. They sound best at low levels and are great for blues, jazz and mellow rock. Alnico speakers respond quickly, giving the musician a “one with the amp” feel. They are world renowned as the premium speaker with the best tone.
One of the first speakers ever used in a guitar amplifier was a Jensen® Alnico speaker - the P15N. The first Fender® Bassman® and Bandmaster® amplifiers were loaded with Jensen® P15N Alnico speakers. In fact, Fender® and other amp manufacturers originally used Alnico speakers exclusively in their amplifiers . The P10R was the signature speaker in Fender's legendary Super Reverb®.
Alnico speakers are made with magnets containing aluminum, nickel and cobalt. They are often featured in print as “AlNiCo”, symbolizing the three respective elements. Cobalt is difficult to procure these days resulting in Alnicos being the most expensive speakers in the Jensen® line.
All Jensen® Alnico speaker model numbers begin with the letter P, and are therefore often referred to as the P series. Next in the model number is the diameter of the speaker. Alnicos are available in the following diameters: 8”, 10”, 12” and 15”. Following the size is a letter which traditionally is used to designate the speaker power rating. For example, R (25 watts), Q (40 watts) and N (50 watts).
Therefore, a P12Q speaker has an Alnico magnet, a 12” diameter and is rated at 40 watts. After determining what impedance is needed, you are ready to choose your Alnico speaker!
Alnico Guitar Pickups
Alnico speakers are available with or without an end bell (purchased separately). The end bell is for aesthetics only and has no effect on the sound of the speaker.