A2 in a JB what changes?

[ehdwuld]

Its in the title.

Can someone describe the difference an A2 magnet makes in a JB ?
Compared the the standard A5?

 

[jeremy]

to my ear it smooths out the top end, shifts the mid peak down a bit, and softens the bass. its not a drastic difference, but i like it. ive been meaning to throw an a3 in my jb to see how that sounds, but havent changed strings on that tele in quite some time

 

[zizyphus]

I agree with the above
It's still aggressive, but less so. Less sharp, but also less bass thump. A smoother sound overall, also with more sag - more of a vintage rock tone than a modern metal tone.
Try it and see how you like it. Our ability to describe tones is, unfortunately, quite limited.

 

[uOpt]

To me the difference is pretty major. With A2 the JB becomes a mid-pusher, although not nearly as much as the Custom with A2.

FWIW I ike it.

 

[jeremy]

i like it too, but it still kinda sounds like a jb

 

[Chistopher]

This isn't the best comparison, but if you play the same notes, an A5 JB tuned to C# will sound similar to an A2 JB in standard

 

[Mincer]

Honestly, the stuff I don't like about a JB is still there. It wasn't enough of a change for me.

 

[Sam SG]

While we are magnet swapping JBs. Im thinking on sticking a rough UOA5 in a JB in a strat. Anyone tried that befor?
Smooth out the clunky mid spike a bit?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

 

[beaubrummels]

IME JB/A2 is like a really loud Whole Lotta Humbucker. Sounds like a refined, produced, sweetened rock and roll pickup. Kind of needs everything on 10. Slash 1.0 bridge is a near neighbor in tone, but missing the heat the JB has. (My experience was in an LP Studio through a typical Marshall plexi MIAB.)

 

[GuitarDoc]

It still sounds just as bad as a stock JB. When I first tried a JB I couldn't stand the horrible sound. I tried every magnet I had (A2, A3, A4, A6, A8). The A2 and A8 made the greatest difference in tone, but they still sounded just as bad as the original JB.

I get why some people like the JB, but it's just not my cup of tea, or coffee, or soda, or milk, or even water. It's more like a cup of paint thinner.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I've never tried it, but it does sound nice on that vid I posted.

 

[xxxplorer]

I liked it the best out of any JB. That being said... still don't use it lol.

 

[Aceman]

I prefer the A8. I'd say it fixes more of what people don't like about the JB. But it also is not a JB anymore...
I guess an A2 is a "different" kind of JB maybe?

What about an RTM vs a stock JB?

 

[AdrianSD]

It still sounds just as bad as a stock JB. When I first tried a JB I couldn't stand the horrible sound. I tried every magnet I had (A2, A3, A4, A6, A8). The A2 and A8 made the greatest difference in tone, but they still sounded just as bad as the original JB.

I get why some people like the JB, but it's just not my cup of tea, or coffee, or soda, or milk, or even water. It's more like a cup of paint thinner.

To quote @Aceman - you got the wrong amp, worse: you got the wrong rig

 

[Butch Snyder]

What would be the tonal and output difference between an A2 JB and a Custom Custom?

 

[GuitarDoc]

To quote @Aceman - you got the wrong amp, worse: you got the wrong rig

Bogner, Marshall, Vox, Egnater, and 3 others. The JB with any magnet sounds bad through all of my amps. Other pups sound great...even cheap pups.

 

[Mincer]

What would be the tonal and output difference between an A2 JB and a Custom Custom?

The mids of the CC are shifted lower, and the output is lower, so there is less compression than a JB. There is also less high end in a CC than an A2 JB.

 

[GuitarDoc]

The mids of the CC are shifted lower, and the output is lower, so there is less compression than a JB. There is also less high end in a CC than an A2 JB.

For all those reasons I prefer the C5 than the CC or JB.

 

[beaubrummels]

What would be the tonal and output difference between an A2 JB and a Custom Custom?

IME JB/A2 has thicker upper mids but little to no treble compared to a CC. Sounds like a generic rock pickup, somewhat vocal.
Custom Custom has wider, rounder mids (like an Alnico 2 Pro), not as peaky as the JB/A2, and has more treble than the JB/A2.
JB/A2 is loud, e.g. I'd have to roll my volume back to 7-8 to be about like the level of a CC.

My comparison with both was done in an LP Studio through MIAB pedals/rack into a clean amp (Carl Martin Plexi, RambleFX Marvel Drive, SansAmp PSA-1)