A2 pickup with more low end

[Sleeping Martyr]

So I tried the CC in my Les Paul and liked the overall tone of it but couldn't quite get over the lack of bottom end and response . . . so I went back to the C-5 yet again (such a mainstay). SO the question is: What other A2 pickups are there that would have a bigger/tighter low end response than the CC??

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

Don't know about bigger, but the PGb is definately tighter, if you can get past the aggressive high mids.

 

[bryan the rocker]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

I think a 59 or alnico pro like one used by slash, plus a good amp will suffice, Its more of The guitar player, than the equipment,

 

[hamerfan]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

Dont laugh, but the only way to get more bass but retain a little bit of A2 feel is a heavily degaussed A5. Get a Neo Disk and discharge the C5.

 

[ErikH]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

Gibson '57 Classic and Classic Plus. They have the best mix of A5 and A2 qualities in an A2 pickup.

 

[hanumanlangur]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

Also, you can degauss an A2 magnet, and that will bring out more bass and treble. The result is pretty tight and balanced, but still has A2 warmth and harmonics.

 

[jimijames]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

If you're just looking for a tighter low end, swap out the fillisters for hex screws on the wound strings. Works like a charm. It's a pretty common mod to the CC and I think you'll dig it.

 

[theodie]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

The Alnico II pro has about the most tightness out of the Duncan A2 bucker's.

 

[theodie]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

Don't know about bigger, but the PGb is definately tighter,

Can we agree to disagree? I think the PGB is loose as crap. The CC is not tight at all but, IMO not as a bad as the PG.

 

[theodie]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

So I tried the CC in my Les Paul and liked the overall tone of it but couldn't quite get over the lack of bottom end and response . . . so I went back to the C-5 yet again (such a mainstay). SO the question is: What other A2 pickups are there that would have a bigger/tighter low end response than the CC??

You need to try a PATB. It has the fatness of a A2 pickup but, the tightness, clarity, and bass of an A5 pickup.

 

[Sleeping Martyr]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

Well i don't wanna alter my C-5 in any way . . . I love having it as is too much ahha, BUT I have a C5/59 hybrid lying around and an A2 mag, I didn't care for the hybrid as it had a weird high end spike or some frequency that didn't agree with me, how would an A2 hybrid compare?? How harsh is the high end on the PG?? I've long been interested in the PG pickups/set

 

[jimijames]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

The A2 59/Custom in a les paul is pretty ridiculously fat unless you degauss it some. But when you do, it's my favorite pickup in a les paul. Sounds vintage enough to play the blues, but hot enough to pull of some metal-esque riffing. Degaussed, It's as tight as a similar pickup in my strat that has A5. (VHPAF/Custom)

 

[DesertRat]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

Well i don't wanna alter my C-5 in any way . . . I love having it as is too much ahha, BUT I have a C5/59 hybrid lying around and an A2 mag, I didn't care for the hybrid as it had a weird high end spike or some frequency that didn't agree with me, how would an A2 hybrid compare?? How harsh is the high end on the PG?? I've long been interested in the PG pickups/set

I don't find the Pearly Gates to be that harsh. I do run the bridge PG at about 6-7 on the guitar tone control in most cases. The nice thing is that the PG with the tone control rolled back gets warm, not dull and lifeless.

 

[blueman335]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

Can we agree to disagree? I think the PGB is loose as crap. The CC is not tight at all but, IMO not as a bad as the PG.

I agree. Would you say it's mostly due to what an A2 brings to the table? In the right guitars they work, bridge or neck, in others they don't.

 

[hanumanlangur]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

The degaussed A2 '59 is pretty tight, and keeps the warm A2 tone.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

Can we agree to disagree? I think the PGB is loose as crap. The CC is not tight at all but, IMO not as a bad as the PG.

Dunno mang.

The PGb does some pretty good chunky hard rock and metal riffs that you can feel kicking you in the pants (through the right amp). The CC you can hear, but not really feel lik is the case with the PGb.

 

[MikeS]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

I agree with half of your assessment, Benjy. The PGb has a chunkier and fuller bottom end than the CC. What I don't see is how that chunkiness equates to tightness. The PGb was one of those pickups that from the get go I wanted to like because the tone wasn't at all bad, but I had a tougher time getting that pickup to play nice in my rig than the CC. Both just have flubby bottoms. The saving grace of the CC is that the flubbiness is overpowered by the huge mids.

So, just one man's opinion, to the OP, I find the PG to have a stronger (bigger) bottom end, but I don't hear it being any tighter than the CC. Hopefully there's a happy medium in there somewhere for you, perhaps with another pickup or a deguassed A5 magnet.

 

[Ningirsu]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

After reading all the posts there,I'm almost shocked that nobody came out and clearly called Alnico II Pros as an answer to your problem. In reality,all vintage Alnico 2 pickups and the Stag Mag of Seymour Duncan has a bigger bottom end than Custom Custom but most of the time what creates a tight feeling to a pickup is the level of mids on it. You would see that any tight sounding pickup would have much higher presence on treble and bass ends than the mids level. Thus,Pearly Gates and Stag Mag,having very close rates on mids should be eliminated. From two others,I personally suggest to go with the Alnico II Pros but if you don't love it,which I highly doubt, you can always go and try a Seth Lover.
The thing is you don't have to gauss/degauss magnets in order to get the sound you want as long as you'd accept that no Alnico 5 pickup would ever sound exactly the same as an Alnico 2..

 

[jimijames]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

After reading all the posts there,I'm almost shocked that nobody came out and clearly called Alnico II Pros as an answer to your problem. In reality,all vintage Alnico 2 pickups and the Stag Mag of Seymour Duncan has a bigger bottom end than Custom Custom but most of the time what creates a tight feeling to a pickup is the level of mids on it. You would see that any tight sounding pickup would have much higher presence on treble and bass ends than the mids level. Thus,Pearly Gates and Stag Mag,having very close rates on mids should be eliminated. From two others,I personally suggest to go with the Alnico II Pros but if you don't love it,which I highly doubt, you can always go and try a Seth Lover.
The thing is you don't have to gauss/degauss magnets in order to get the sound you want as long as you'd accept that no Alnico 5 pickup would ever sound exactly the same as an Alnico 2..

Ok, it's true that A2 will never sound like A5 and vice versa, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't degauss them - it's just variations on a theme. Do you like the sound of A5 but find the treble too harsh? Degauss it. Do you like the looser response of A2 but dislike the massive mids? Degauss it. Do you like A8, but dislike that harsh ceramic thing it has going on (I hear it in the treble frequencies as well, kind of like A2 with ceramic sizzle)? Actually, don't degauss it, it just gets worse (at least to my ears, A8 sounds best fully charged). So don't completely discount degaussing, if magnet swapping is like a new pair of shoes, degaussing is like changing up the shoelaces, if that makes sense.

 

[OlinMusic]

Re: A2 pickup with more low end

Don't know about bigger, but the PGb is definately tighter, if you can get past the aggressive high mids.

I AGREE 1000%

I would still take it over the CC if I was looking to do more than just "Santana-like" leads