Your favourite magnet in a neck humbucker?

Funkfingers

Correct.

The same goes for the Distortion, JB and Holdsworth humbuckers.

FWIIW, my tastes in neck/Rhythm position humbuckers are:

A2 in a Duncan SHPG-1N Pearly Gates.
A4 and a cover on an SH-1N '59.
A4 in a Gibson '57 Classic.

ICBM

Rocker said:

When I first saw the heading for this post, I assumed that it was a piss take.  A bit like asking what is your favourite screws to secure the scratchplate?  But when @ICBM replied, I can only conclude that there is 'something' in the magnet question.  It did not keep me awake last night so whatever magnets are fitted in the pickups of my guitars will remain there.  And the types fitted to the guitars will probably remain a mystery.  YMMV.

There certainly is - it makes as much difference as the coil windings.

But it's fine to not know or care - generations of players have been perfectly happy with their stock pickups without knowing what the DC resistance (often wrongly used as the defining characteristic of a pickup) is, let alone the magnet type.

Philly_Q said:

thegummy said:

I've heard from pickup experts that the magnet type isn't what determines the sound of a pickup. I think maybe people want it to be the case because it makes it convenient for choosing one but I reckon the pickup experts are right about it.

True, but if all else stays the same, changing the magnet does make a difference.  I think the Duncan Custom, Custom Custom and Custom 5 are good examples - same pickup, three different magnets, and they don't sound anything like each other.

Exactly. Anyone who doubts how much difference it makes should compare these three pickups. They are three quite different sounds, all with exactly the same coils - so also exactly the same DC resistance.