Bye Bye CC: Replaced it with a PG+

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Bye Bye CC: Replaced it with a PG+

Tell me more about the Custom 3. I may get around to trying a PG+, but my next thing will be using a new A-3 magnet I picked up from Wasteof02. How will the A-3 tone differ from the A2, A5, and A4. I've heard those, but don't yet know what to expect from the A3. I've heard of more people, yourself and Voodoo, liking the A-3's in the neck position.

[dr.barlo]

Re: Bye Bye CC: Replaced it with a PG+

Tell me more about the Custom 3. I may get around to trying a PG+, but my next thing will be using a new A-3 magnet I picked up from Wasteof02. How will the A-3 tone differ from the A2, A5, and A4. I've heard those, but don't yet know what to expect from the A3. I've heard of more people, yourself and Voodoo, liking the A-3's in the neck position.

A3 is a great very musical magnet. Excellent results with dark PAF clones in the neck and round (edgey) a2 (a5 respectively) pickups in the bridge.

Tonally it is very similar to an a2 but with some of the a5 characteristics. More uppermids, less lower mids, and a more thumb in the bass (less spongy). It is different from the a4 whcih actually sounds quite like the a5 with less thumb in the low side. My ears are telling me that a4's are bright and especially because that they do not have the thumb and bass of the a5's that makes that brightness quite noticable. Not my favorite.

In terms of the magnetic pull it is WEAKER than an a2 (and a4 or a5 obviously) but its magnetic field is more dense. (Thus in theory a3 has more sustain -due to less magnetic pull- and more output -due to the magnetic field being denser- than an a2 but I guess that's impossible to notice.) My sources have been Tim White and Steven Kersting. Actually here is the composition table of and some other information about (that Tim white gave) the alnico magnets. But it is missing info about their magnetic pull (I remember checking that over the various magnet manufacturer's sites, and the magnetic pull of a3 was lower than that of a2).

Here are the formula's. The filler has trace elements, but is mostly iron.

Alnico %AL %NI %CO %CU

1 12 21 5 -
2 10 17 12 6
3 12 25 - 3
4 12 28 5 -
5 8 14 24 3

Also alnico 1-4 are cooled outside of any magnetic fields which allows the magnet material to be magnetized in any direction. Alnico 5 is cooled inside of a magnet field and it's molecules want to keep that orientation when later magnetized (typically, sometimes it can be unoriented).

If you are familiar with a CC, and if you have not done so, check my thread in the clips section:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=35

In the brightest c5-guitar of yours, you gotta try one out! You already have an a3 no?

B