alnico from china

[copperheadroads]

does anybody use alnico or any pickup magnets from china i was wondering about the quality & consistency

[Chris Klein]

Search Sensmag. Lots of people here do.

[belwar]

Virtually all alnico comes from China. There are 2-3 american manufacturers that make it due to military contracts, but the price is rediculous.

Sens makes great magets particularly bar magnets for buckers. Plus it doesnt break the bank. If you want small quality of sens mags just order from Allstar Magnet.

bel.

[Possum]

...

The Chinese basically shut down most Korean and American alnico makers. I read a long article about this on an industry site here in America. They sold for almost below cost for a bunch of years and no one could compete with that and most places stopped making it. Chinese stuff used to be pretty bad, I remember when I started Lollar told me to stay away from it, that alot of if wouldn't hold a charge over time. Well, the magnet sellers over here and magnet makers sent guys over there to teach them how to make good magnets, Koreans probably did too. Chinese magnets are very good, its best to shop around as all alnico makers use their own formulas so alnico 5 from one place doesn't sound like the same from another, which is kinda cool I think, gives you alot variety to work with. Mojotone sells magnets by singles and so do some other guitar parts companies, otherwise you have to buy minimums that get quite expensive. Buying direct from China is expensive, minimum shipping charge for anything is $88 and bank transfer fees as well. If you buy larger quantities it can be cheaper maybe, but places like Magnetic Hold can beat their pricing if you buy say 250 magnets or more.

[copperheadroads]

ok thanks guys

[t-minik]

a new question about a Chinese manufacturer :

does anyone had already tested Yuxiang Magnetic ?
pickup magnet/guitar pick-up magnet/humbucker magnet/humbucker AlNiCo magnet/pick-up ceramic magnet

if yes, are these magnets good sounding, it seems to be very cheap !

Eg : 0.12$ pcs for 1000 Alnico5 Rods 5mm dia x 17.5mm Length (0.197"D x 0.688"L) + 75$ shipping

Thanks

[David King]

y-minik,
Your $.12 quote sounds a bit high, I've gotten quotes as low as $.065 ea from other places. It's sometimes hard to know if you have a manufacture or just a reseller with a fancy website. These may sound great and be worth the extra or they may just be repackaged mags from another company.
Besides Sensmag, I've been getting a lot of emails from Shenzhen Antaida Magnet Ltd. There are probably dozens of factories but I doubt if all of them are interested in tiny overseas orders. It would be cool if we could purchase samples as a group and distribute them so that everyone could find their favorites.

[Possum]

You are better off probably dealing with US resellers like Magnetic Hold. They buy in bulk so you don't end up absorbing the bulk of shipping costs. AllStar Magnetics is another if you can deal with their overpricing and attitude. Communicating with Chinese direct can be difficult and you have to spell out everything as clearly as possible and you pay huge shipping costs on small orders. Sensmag makes some good stuff and some stuff that is super shrill sounding thats almost unusable. You have to pick and choose and get a feel for what each company offers. Arnold Magnetics is a US company that says they make their own magnets, but some think their raw materials are from China, or they're making over there and making claims that they're not. Those guys are difficult to deal with and some of their stuff isn't all that great. I have a stash of their alnico 2 that just sounds weird, they are the only magnets I've not found a good use for yet except holding notes on the fridge ;-)

[achase4u]

I think Dave has it about right.

I've used several Chinese companies, and Arnold over here. I dig the arnold A3 and A5 alright, but whether its worth the extra $ or not is subjective.

Shea at magnetic hold is great. Sens mags are also good sounding, but you dont have someone over here to talk to.

I ordered about 6600 magnets from Shea completely custom recently. It was nice to be able to spec it all out however I wanted, with a guy over here in the states.

[t-minik]

thank Guys for your reply.

I'll take a while of reflection before ordering.
I did some microphones with spare parts from Mojo.
it sounds very good but as I expect to do a few more I think it's too expensive.

actually I am a "real French" , it's a joke but, for me, speaking English is also complicated with a Chinese or an American.
shipping is almost the same if i buy in US or in China.

so if you can advise me a good reseller for reasonably low quantities (like 1000pcs) but with good sounding A3 and A5, it would be very cool !

[achase4u]

Magnetic Hold/Sensmag

[t-minik]

Ok, you're right !

they are known for good quality Alnico, i'll try with them.

[EFK]

IIRC, and this is based upon a conversation @ 6-8 months ago, Arnold told me flat out that their 4 and 5 (I think) were made in US, and their 2 was made in China and finished here. I may have it backwards, but suffice it to say they were up front about some being entirely US production and some of it being Chinese.