Hello everyone, and welcome to the neck version of the Fleor Alnico 5 set, which I reviewed the bridge version of a few weeks ago. I’m sure you’ve all noticed the significant increase in the quality of affordable Far Eastern pickups, in parallel with inflation, economic crises, and the decline in purchasing power worldwide. I had given a rather positive review of the Fleor bridge version. While it didn’t make it into my top 10 bridge humbuckers, I mentioned that its price/performance ratio was remarkable. Let’s see how its neck version sibling performs. Let’s dive in and find out!
The Test Guitar
My test guitar for that Fleor set is my Charvel Model A guitar. Because it had Seymour Duncan Jazz&JB combo just before i swapped them. The guitar features a mahogany body, quarter-sawn maple neck, ebony fretboard, 25.5" scale length, Floyd Rose tremolo with steel block (JT580LP), nickel silver frets, CTS&alpha 500K pots, Elixir Optiweb Strings in E-std tuning, a 5-way Ibanez (2502N) switch. For two hb guitars that switch has totally useable inner positions that you don’t need anything else. Its primary (unplugged) tone is warm.
Evaluation
I’ve heard many things about those Fleor pickups but never could tried before. Finally, during a discount period on Amazon, I came across it. I thought it would be a good alternative to try and placed an order. It arrived within a few days, but since I had other pickups to test at the time, I only got the chance to try it out a few months later.
First of all, there is no clear information or detailed description about the pickups. All I could find was a broad range of DC resistance values, and that’s it. Of course, as the model name suggests, it comes with Alnico 5 magnets.
FLEOR High Output Alnico 5 Neck
Magnet – Alnico 5
Advertised DCR: 7-8 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 7.86 K Ohm (Series)
Measured DCR: 4.01 K Ohm (Screw Coil)
Measured DCR: 3.86 K Ohm (Slug Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 3.86 H (Series)
Inductance @100Hz: 1.62 H (Screw Coil)
Inductance @100Hz: 1.68 H (Slug Coil)
Measured C: -35 nF (Series)/ -63,8nF (Screw Coil) / -68,8nF (Slug Coil)
Output: Low/Medium
EQ (B/M/T) –
Gauss: 380G screw, 360G slug (measured at top center of D&G pole pieces)
When we visually examine the pickup, the first thing we notice is Fleor Neck looks like a regular humbucker. Nothing fancier nor worst. When I measured the resistance of the coils, I noticed a slight asymmetry. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence, a production flaw, or an intentional design choice, but the north coil (slug) read slightly fewer windings. The difference was around ~3.75%, which might still fall within production tolerances, I’m not sure. However, it felt to me like something done deliberately, with a specific purpose in mind. In terms of magnetic flux density, I measured normal Gauss values compared to the regular alnico 5 humbuckers. It aligns with the standard polished Alnico 5 specification.
In the review of the bridge version, I had said:
“When you see a pickup set with 7-8K resistance in the neck, Alnico 5 magnets, a traditional humbucker design (screw 'n slugs), and a nickel silver baseplate, what’s the first pickup combo that comes to mind? Of course, the Jazz/JB. Naturally, that’s exactly what came to my mind when I read the specs of this set”. For this reason, the main theme of my Fleor A5 bridge review focused on whether it was a JB copy. Similarly, in the review I’m writing for the neck version, I’ll focus on whether it’s a Jazz copy and/or how it differs.
First of all, If you compare the masurements (only) of Seymour Duncan Jazz and Fleor A5 Neck, you can see a great similarity. Not as similar as Donlis DH53 yet still so close.
Looking at the measurements, a few important differences catch my attention. First and foremost are the DCR and inductance values. I’ve never seen a Jazz neck pickup with a DCR at 8K, but the Fleor is almost 8K. However, despite this, its inductance is lower. I’ve observed this in some other China-made pickups as well. My guess is that it’s due to either the Fe ratio in the magnets or metallurgical or dimensional differences in the component parts.
When we examine the EQ spectrum audibly, I can start by saying that the lows are tight and rich. The mids are relatively scooped, and the highs are pretty plentyful. Yes, this pickup is very bright.
Now, let’s compare it to the Jazz. I’ll keep it short—if you’re familiar with how Seymour Duncan Jazz performs in the neck, it’s very easy to guess. Friends, the Fleor neck pickup can be summarized as a slightly clearer version of the Duncan Jazz. The Duncan Jazz is already one of the clearest mass-produced neck humbuckers on the market. The Fleor is even clearer. I believe the lower inductance I mentioned earlier makes an audible difference here. The Fleor neck pickup, in a way, feels like a Strat single-coil that thinks it’s a humbucker :) It’s very dynamic. Moreover it’s not powerless. In terms of output, it seems to be somewhere between the PAF (DP103) and PAF Pro. Therefore, I can’t confidently describe it as a "PAF-output" pickup, but a bit louder.
If i evaluate the Fleor A5 in terms of dynamic range, i can say that its pretty much alive humbucker. Hard or soft pick attacks, finger or picks or different phrasing manouvers can get the result. Moreover, even it’s full humbucking mode, it behaves like this. In the parallel mode, it gets more. But this pickup is so bright, you really don’t need parallel or split modes.All you have to do is to drop the volume pot down and you get cleaner sound.
The Fleor A5 neck pairs exceptionally well with many brighter bridge pickups; there won’t be too much contrast, i believe. Fleor neck would pair pretty well with Duncan range humbuckers like Custom, Custom 5 and Distortion and even JB.
I haven’t used it on lower tunings yet but i am sure it will work well.
Clean tones? Listen to my demo video on my youtube channel. They are pretty well for a humbucker.
Conclusion
Neck pickups are essential devices for achieving a clear neck tone. The neck position, due to its unique characteristics, has the potential to produce beautifully distinct tones, but with the wrong pickup choice, it can easily turn into a muddy mess. Of course, the guitar’s own attributes play a significant role here as well (tonewood doesn’t affect the sound, right? It’s all the pickups, right? Yet somehow, when I move a pickup that sounds normal in Guitar A to Guitar B, the tone can get is muddy—strange, isn’t it?). As you know, some guitars are naturally more prone to muddiness in the neck position. In such cases, if you need clarity, the Fleor A5 Neck is a perfect match. While the neck of my test guitar isn’t particularly muddy, its tone is relatively warm, so I’ve been opting for slightly clearer pickups. I had a Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck position for a long time, and to my ears, the Fleor A5 Neck sounds even clearer. In fact, I had been especially curious to try the DiMarzio Humbucker from Hell in my Charvel, but after hearing the Fleor, my curiosity has diminished quite a bit! :)
If you have a warm-toned guitar, struggle with muddiness in the neck position, or want a neck pickup that behaves almost like a powerful Strat single-coil, the Fleor A5 Neck will be your remedy. In this regard, it has the potential to meet your needs across a wide range of genres, from blues to rock, metal, and many other rock subgenres.
And on top of that, the price… Honestly, I see no reason not to get one!
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