Pickup magnet comparison

[Weldaar]

A5 magnet vs A3 magnet for the neck. Anyone care to explain the tonal differences? Same goes for A5 vs A2 for the bridge.

 

[darthphineas]

A2 - warm, lots of mids, rounded top, great dynamics, loose low-end, low output.

A3 - similar to an A2 but with more treble. Not used a lot, but handy when an A2 is too dark, and an A5 is too much. Probably best in a neck PU.

A4 - balanced EQ, makes for a good middle ground between A2's and A5's. Medium output. Becoming more popular.

A5 - lots of treble and bass, mid-scooped. Tight low-end. High output. The most commonly-used alnico.

 

[DPaulCustom]

I'll take a stab, though other have more knowledge, & can explain better.
A5, being almost the strongest alnico magnet, tends to pronounce the lows & highs (mostly lows from my exp) with a mid scoop, while A3 being probably the weakest,, seems to amplify the character of the wind (not tending to over amplify bass/treble) being more neutral.

Bridge, A5, tends toward brighter/thinner (string vibration, or lack thereof being the reason), but boosts output. A2, while not as strong, tends to be more even, & will "thicken" the tone, (I like A2 for bridge, & a4/uoa5 for neck)

 

[Weldaar]

I am using WCR Crossroad pickups. A5 bridge and neck. The bridge sounds great but I would like the neck pup to be a bit brighter. 1 meg pot for the neck and 300K for the bridge. Still too dark on the neck. I have no cap on the neck and 0.47 on the bridge and the neck is still not bright enough compared to the bridge. This is why I am asking about the A3-A2 combo. I am hoping that will be the answer.

 

[DPaulCustom]

I won't ask if you've tried lowering the pup, or adjusting the poles, but might suggest a treble bleed.
Beyond that, an a3, or uoa5 "might" help.
There's a thread around here somewhere discussing ways to brighten the neck position.
It's been a struggle for me with both my lp, & sg. Both are all mahogany, & I just started winding my own, trying to get what I am looking for.
Hope you can get where you want to be.

 

[Weldaar]

Yeah, I've played with pickup heights and pole heights to no avail. That's why I went to the 1 meg for the neck with not much luck. There are many great winders here and I am sure someone will give their opinion soon. Might be a custom set, who knows.

 

[DPaulCustom]

Might be time to talk to one of the winders, if production models aren't gettin it done.
There's a lot out there that might work, but trial & error gets expensive, that's why, in cases like yours, I refer to the above suggestion. It's a bit more up front, but you get exactly what you want.

 

[Weldaar]

Thanx. I am waiting for one the them to chime in. The set I have is not over the counter, they are built by WCR. Then there is always the funds

 

[darthphineas]

Try an A3 or an A4 in the neck. Between those and adjusting overall height and pole pieces... if none of that works, go with a different pickup.

I've been having the same issues with the neck position. A MojoTone A4 low-output PAF Clone works well and the Bill-n-Becky L500C works well. I think that in both cases that a little more output wouldn't hurt anything. I'm about to move in to more of the DiMarzio options for the neck, just to be thorough.

 

[Weldaar]

A3 neck, A2 bridge? I do like the mids they should bring.

 

[DPaulCustom]

A3 neck, A2 bridge? I do like the mids they should bring.

If you go with an a2 for the bridge, you might want to change to a .02 cap, An a2 will be darker

 

[Weldaar]

Yes, I have some .022 and 0.15 caps. First I have to see how much the cost would be for the pickups. Being on a fixed income has it's limitations.

 

[RAG7890]

ThroBak Alnico Magnets - Made in USA - ThroBak Electronics

And I quote: -

"A2 long / Scooped mids, chimey highs, warm sweet tones, loose feel.
A2 short / Scooped mids, spankier tone than long A2.
A3 long / Very weak, nice clarity for use in P-90's but very low output for P.A.F.'s.
A4 long / Balanced mids, treble and low end, drier toned than A2.
A5 long oriented / mid dominant, focused tone, jazzy cleans.
A5 short oriented / mid dominant tone, fatter toned than long oriented A5.
A5 long unoriented (Illinois) / Great low end clarity with good mids.
A5 long unoriented (Indiana) / Less low end clarity more treble snarl, good mids."

 

[LeftyF2003]

I'm using an A2 neck and A8 bridge on a Brian Moore with an SD JB in the back and an SD Alnico 2 in the front. Sounds amazing, though the neck pickup can be a little hot and needs dialing back to keep from pushing the front end too hard (unless that's what you want). The JB had an A5 stock but I hated the way it sounded. The A8 rounded things out and gave it more range where stock it was very spikey. Funny too as I have an older JB in a BC Rich that's perfect as is (MJ wound).

 

[Pwrmac7600]

See and I find A5 in the bridge to add punch to the low end, tightening the whole tone up, as opposed to the A2 which is much more smooth all around.

I'll take a stab, though other have more knowledge, & can explain better.
A5, being almost the strongest alnico magnet, tends to pronounce the lows & highs (mostly lows from my exp) with a mid scoop, while A3 being probably the weakest,, seems to amplify the character of the wind (not tending to over amplify bass/treble) being more neutral.

Bridge, A5, tends toward brighter/thinner (string vibration, or lack thereof being the reason), but boosts output. A2, while not as strong, tends to be more even, & will "thicken" the tone, (I like A2 for bridge, & a4/uoa5 for neck)

 

[Weldaar]

I could live with the A5 in the bridge, and I do like my setting on the warm side, but when I set up for the best bridge tone, the neck tone is too bassy. That's the dilemma I am having.

 

[DPaulCustom]

I could live with the A5 in the bridge, and I do like my setting on the warm side, but when I set up for the best bridge tone, the neck tone is too bassy. That's the dilemma I am having.

Old rule of thumb says, set your amp for the best neck tone, then dial in the bridge with the guitar controls, the bridge will be too bright, but then dial back the vol a tad & tone a touch at a time, till you get back to the warmth that you like.
I have my amp set to bass 50%, mid & treb 75%.
Granted, I still can't get the neck tone I want, but it's far more usable set up like this.

 

[bryvincent]

ThroBak Alnico Magnets - Made in USA - ThroBak Electronics

And I quote: -

"A2 long / Scooped mids, chimey highs, warm sweet tones, loose feel.
A2 short / Scooped mids, spankier tone than long A2.
A3 long / Very weak, nice clarity for use in P-90's but very low output for P.A.F.'s.
A4 long / Balanced mids, treble and low end, drier toned than A2.
A5 long oriented / mid dominant, focused tone, jazzy cleans.
A5 short oriented / mid dominant tone, fatter toned than long oriented A5.
A5 long unoriented (Illinois) / Great low end clarity with good mids.
A5 long unoriented (Indiana) / Less low end clarity more treble snarl, good mids."

its kinda confusing when most(if not all) describes A2 as "middy" or "lots of mids" and Throbak describes it as "mid-scooped"?

the same with A5, most describe it as "mid-scooped" but Throbak describe it as "mid-dominant"

 

[Weldaar]

I will have to talk with one of the winders to see what exactly I should do. I really don't know very much about magnets, I just know what I want to hear.

 

[ARandall]

^ Quite frankly, you should never be thinking about which magnet you want in a new set. The winder knows his winds, and how to get the tone out of them that is needed. All you do with specifying a magnet you want is to confuse the issue by adding an amateur's opinion into the mix.
The winder will know FAR more than you about how to manipulate the specs to achieve the tone you want - especially as you will know absolutely nothing about the specifics of his winds. Even one winder vs another will know nothing about how another gets certain tonal aspects into their pickups.