Are people still using UOA5s, or have they fallen out of fashion

[SweetClyde99]

My favorite swap option for in place of A5. Mellows harshness and enriches the mids.
Loosens up the overall feel a bit too, especially in the lows.

Some have said they hear an odd harmonic character in UA5.
Might not be ideal for an already warm-sounding pickup either.

But for me it's been an improvement over A5 every time: 59B, 59N, Custom5, Perpetual Burn.
Recently got a double thick UA5 to try in place of the thick ceramic inside an overly bright SH-7 bridge.

Hmm. I think I’m hearing some of those odd harmonics in my Custom UOA5. I play with a lot of gain, which tends to exaggerate these things. I’m liking the UOA5 better in my PATB-1 so far, but there’s still a slight sort of nasal, cocked wah quality to it. I’ll spend some time playing them through my other gear before I form any hard opinions though.

[eclecticsynergy]

Hmm. I think I’m hearing some of those odd harmonics in my Custom UOA5. I play with a lot of gain, which tends to exaggerate these things. I’m liking the UOA5 better in my PATB-1 so far, but there’s still a slight sort of nasal, cocked wah quality to it. I’ll spend some time playing them through my other gear before I form any hard opinions though.

IME they definitely have softer highs than a regular A5. That can make the upper mids seem a lot more prominent. Maybe that accounts for the odd tone some hear after swaps to UA5. There are players who - especially in conjunction with PAF types - prefer a very small tone cap which rolls off only the highest highs, leaving the mids essentially untouched. I've heard several say that when backed off all the way this gives them an almost cocked-wah type of sound.

Here's a quote (it's from one of the guitar forums; wish I'd archived the source):
I do that with PAFs in most guitars as I find them too bright unless the guitar is naturally dark. I always do the .001uf tone control on the bridge and roll it down on a PAF, regardless of whether I use a 250k or 500k pot.
The .001uf is 1/22 the size of a standard tone cap. It rolls off the "harsh", giving a perceived midrange boost, but doesn't lose cut or articulation like a larger cap will. Try it, you'll hear some classic rock tones where you probably always thought it was a 'cocked wah' or something. You don't get that overwhelming low/low-mid thing like with higher output pickups, which can sometimes be annoying.
I've been keeping the stock PAFs in the bridges of my LPs since doing this, no need to change them with that cap in place and tone rolled down til it sounds good.
For bridge PAFs (7.5k-8.5k range 42ga wire) I find .001uf works great. For anything hotter, 750pf works great. Removes the obnoxious frequencies but leaves the cut and articulation.

[orpheo]

I pulled all UOA5's out of my pickups and went with A3 or A4. I like the lower output those mags give me and all over, work a bit better for me. The A3 adds a bit of air to the tone and A4 will smooth out the entire tonal spectrum. A2, 3 and 4 are becoming my favorite magnets. A JB with an alnico4, for example, is so nice... no more harshness or boominess. Just clarity and a howl under high gain that I love.