A magnetic tour

misterwhizzy

misterwhizzy

Well-known member
Well, I just can't help myself. I decided to try to go with a little more of a classic Les Paul sound, so I got a pickup with the Custom wind and a full swath of magnets and over the course of a week tried them all.

The Custom came with an A2, and I didn't even try it at first. "It's mushy and loose in the lows," I had read. Who wants that? So I went for the ceramic. Guess what? It sounds like a ceramic. Clinical tightness in the lows, and there's something clangy on the low E that no amount of EQing could dial out. But really a very good tone overall, but still too hot. It wouldn't quite clean up with the volume knob like the Crazy 8 I had in there before.

The next stop was the Custom 8. A mag swap, a retune, etc. Very similar overall vibe, but shaved a bit of the highs, pushed the mids a bit, but I still hear something in it that I just don't like, and again, pretty hot. More output than I'm looking for.

So Custom Custom gets the next shot. At this point, I realized my guitar just likes Alnico 2 magnets. They work. The Custom Custom sounded nearly perfect, but I have these unoriented roughcast A5's I just ordered too. And everyone here seems to think they're the second coming in the pickup world. Long story short, I don't exactly agree. That weird low E string clank is back and just as bad as ever. Ain't nobody got time for that.

Well, call me crazy, but since the A2 seems to work so well, how about a Crazy 2? Not a good idea. You guys and/or MJ got things right with that wind and an A8. Crazy 2 is crazy boo.

So after all that, I'm back with an A2 Demon, and I'm reminded of what a great pickup that is. Time to go learn to play better.
 
Re: A magnetic tour

The Custom Custom is one of my favorite bridge pickups, no matter how others describe it. It is especially great with 1 guitar bands, or power trios. It occupies a lot of sonic space.
 
Re: A magnetic tour

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Re: A magnetic tour

UOA5, bro. That’s where it’s at for the custom. Once you UOA5, you won’t go back...alive. (My rhymes are tight, don’t laugh alright)
 
Re: A magnetic tour

I've loved UA5 with every humbucker I've tried it in. And if it weren't for this forum I probably never would've learned about it.
 
Re: A magnetic tour

After reading what you guys had to say, I went ahead and swapped one of my new roughcast, unoriented Alnico 5's into the Demon, and I think for the time being, it's a winner. Liking it slightly better than the A2. I have a very hard time describing exactly what it is about it I like better. Complexity is the best term, but that's so nebulous I don't think it's a descriptive enough term. But for now, it's a keeper. Much better than the standard, polished A5. And I guess I just like that wind in this guitar better than the Custom wind.
 
Re: A magnetic tour

misterwhizzy said:
After reading what you guys had to say, I went ahead and swapped one of my new roughcast, unoriented Alnico 5's into the Demon, and I think for the time being, it's a winner. Liking it slightly better than the A2. I have a very hard time describing exactly what it is about it I like better. Complexity is the best term, but that's so nebulous I don't think it's a descriptive enough term. But for now, it's a keeper. Much better than the standard, polished A5. And I guess I just like that wind in this guitar better than the Custom wind.
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One if us! One of us!
 
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