A2 vs A5 -I'm lookin for sound samples
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Blille
Well-known member
A2 vs A5 -I'm lookin for sound samples
The Jazz and the A2Pro are the same pickup except for the magnet, so it's a good test case:
Jazz (A5) https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/jazz-bridge
A2Pro (A2) https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/alnico-ii-pro-hb-bridge?__uuid_ref=5d9a5a21f3b9e
Each page has sound samples at the bottom.
No need the apologize for your English, it's great and thanks for making the effort to use a foreign language to understand others and make yourself understood.
The Jazz and the A2Pro are the same pickup except for the magnet, so it's a good test case:
Jazz (A5) https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/jazz-bridge
A2Pro (A2) https://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/alnico-ii-pro-hb-bridge?__uuid_ref=5d9a5a21f3b9e
Each page has sound samples at the bottom.
No need the apologize for your English, it's great and thanks for making the effort to use a foreign language to understand others and make yourself understood.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: A2 vs A5 -I'm lookin for sound samples
You can't go by sound samples unless they're done with the same guitar thru the same amp, with the same EQ settings. The exact same PU will will sound very different in a Les Paul thru a Marshall, than it will in a Strat thru a Fender amp. Not apples to apples. You won't know how much of the difference is from each of the variables. Many players have been misled by choosing PU's based on sound clips, because the gear used in them is inconsistent.
You can't go by sound samples unless they're done with the same guitar thru the same amp, with the same EQ settings. The exact same PU will will sound very different in a Les Paul thru a Marshall, than it will in a Strat thru a Fender amp. Not apples to apples. You won't know how much of the difference is from each of the variables. Many players have been misled by choosing PU's based on sound clips, because the gear used in them is inconsistent.
freefrog
Well-known member
Re: A2 vs A5 -I'm lookin for sound samples
Hello,
English is not my native language either.
Now and regarding AlNi(Co) alloys, in my experience...
-two bars of a "same" alloy but of different origins tried in a same pickup might make it sound rather different (tonally, there's a noticeable difference between a vintage dark blueish rough cast A5 and a modern shiny silver sintered A5, for example; as if they were actually of two different alloys, while their Gauss measurements and their effect on inductance prove them to be effectively A5 magnets);
-a same bar magnet tried in different pickups won't necessarily affect their tone in the same way: an UOA5 might give a thin tone to a humbucker with machine wound coils but will give just the right sound to a pair of hand wound coils (and so on).
Throw in the mix all the differences between guitars, amps, strings, cables (etc.) and the tonal gap between AlNiCo's might appear as almost irrelevant sometimes.
All that being said, here is a comparison among others, involving an array of AlNiCo mags in a same bridge HB / same guitar / same amp settings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iL8eWtF-YU
FWIW.
Hi!
I need comparison sound samples A5 vs A2 bridge humbucker?
Do you have such a recordings? (possibly links to recordings)
If you have A3,A4 or UOA 5 comparison I will be gratefull too.
ps. sorry for my english
Hello,
English is not my native language either.
Now and regarding AlNi(Co) alloys, in my experience...
-two bars of a "same" alloy but of different origins tried in a same pickup might make it sound rather different (tonally, there's a noticeable difference between a vintage dark blueish rough cast A5 and a modern shiny silver sintered A5, for example; as if they were actually of two different alloys, while their Gauss measurements and their effect on inductance prove them to be effectively A5 magnets);
-a same bar magnet tried in different pickups won't necessarily affect their tone in the same way: an UOA5 might give a thin tone to a humbucker with machine wound coils but will give just the right sound to a pair of hand wound coils (and so on).
Throw in the mix all the differences between guitars, amps, strings, cables (etc.) and the tonal gap between AlNiCo's might appear as almost irrelevant sometimes.
All that being said, here is a comparison among others, involving an array of AlNiCo mags in a same bridge HB / same guitar / same amp settings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iL8eWtF-YU
FWIW.
Last edited:
Big Mike Blues
New member
Re: A2 vs A5 -I'm lookin for sound samples
Magnets are cheap enough, you should just try a few and hear through your equipment.
Magnets are cheap enough, you should just try a few and hear through your equipment.
BluesIsBlood12
New member
Re: A2 vs A5 -I'm lookin for sound samples
A2 will likely take the brightness out, but it may not be what you want for 80s glam metal. Generally A2 leans more classic rock. You never know until you try though. It might be perfect for your pickup/guitar/amp combo. It would cost you about $15 to buy an A2, A4, and UOA5 to experiment with.
A2 will likely take the brightness out, but it may not be what you want for 80s glam metal. Generally A2 leans more classic rock. You never know until you try though. It might be perfect for your pickup/guitar/amp combo. It would cost you about $15 to buy an A2, A4, and UOA5 to experiment with.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: A2 vs A5 -I'm lookin for sound samples
A2's have a richer, more textured sound, a rounded high end, and a looser low end. That's great for classic rock, blues, & jazz. For glam rock you need pickups with more clarity, that won't get muddy with a lot of distortion, and you want a tighter low end. A5's and ceramics are good for that.
A2's have a richer, more textured sound, a rounded high end, and a looser low end. That's great for classic rock, blues, & jazz. For glam rock you need pickups with more clarity, that won't get muddy with a lot of distortion, and you want a tighter low end. A5's and ceramics are good for that.
Re: A2 vs A5 -I'm lookin for sound samples
If it's too "icepicky" changing the cap isn't what you want to do...that only affects the frequencies of the treble that are reduced as the tone pot is rolled off. The first thing you should try is changing the vol pot to a 500k or even a 330k.
Also, changing mags to A2 from A5 will not only make a drastic change to the brightness (probably more than you want), but will also affect the feel/sponginess/quality of the tone as well.
So, stick with the A5; stick with the .022uf caps; change the vol pot to 500k (or even lower).
If it's too "icepicky" changing the cap isn't what you want to do...that only affects the frequencies of the treble that are reduced as the tone pot is rolled off. The first thing you should try is changing the vol pot to a 500k or even a 330k.
Also, changing mags to A2 from A5 will not only make a drastic change to the brightness (probably more than you want), but will also affect the feel/sponginess/quality of the tone as well.
So, stick with the A5; stick with the .022uf caps; change the vol pot to 500k (or even lower).
freefrog
Well-known member
Re: A2 vs A5 -I'm lookin for sound samples
I won't ramble about A2 vs A5: it could generate hours of useless discussion, since all mags and coils are not created equal IME (I've here at least two sets of A2 HB's which seem clearer / brighter than some of my other HB's with A5... BUT they are not Duncan"s. If your pickup is a Duncan Custom and if you try a generic A2 in it, the sound will do what our fellow members say . EDIT: BTW, what about the Duncan tone charts and sound samples of Custom vs Custom 5 vs Custom Custom?).
BTW, in my understanding / on the basis of my own humble experience, A2 in the (Duncan 78) Van Halen PU's was most probably a way to compensate the thin bright tone due to a Floyd Rose in a Fender scale guitar without tone pot...
ANYWAY...
-I support the idea to swap mags in PU's until it sounds good... but it's not without possible downsides if you play with gain: loose parts left by multiple manipulations risk to make a pickup squeal.
-keep in mind that if the resistance of your pot sets the height of your resonant peak (= the relative volume of harmonics), the frequency of your resonant peak is set by parasitic capacitance. Most of this parasitic capacitance is not in the pickup itself but in external parts, especially in the guitar cable used. See pics 14 and 15 in this page: https://www.buildyourguitar.com/resources/lemme/
So, if changing a cap on the tone pot is not what you want as Doc said, it might be interesting (I repeat: "might") to shift the prominent high frequencies towards the mids thanks to a low value cap (somewhere between 120pF and 2200pF) between ground and hot - or to use simply a cable with more stray capacitance, like a longer guitar cord.
Seymour mentioned these facts in his old Q & A's but it disappeared (added capacitance being a solution "under the radar" and not necessarily easy to control since it requires specific measurement gear). It doesn't change parasitic capacitance in an indifferent parameter: it's a spec that I systematically tweak personally when I want to "tune" a passive pickup.
All that being said, the tone of your treble strings is a bit bright to me, the rhythm sound of your bass strings is pleasing to my ears and I like your playing. Good luck in your quest!
EVENING EDIT in order to share a few links…
http://www.billlawrence.com/Pages/All_About_Tone.htm/CableandSound.htm
[COMMENT - the important part is not about cables but about the effect of their stray capacitance on icepick frequencies and how to emulate this cable capacitance with cheap components...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2sjeVQpS94
[COMMENT - an average 10’ cable measures 330pF to 450pF. So, when the guy goes from 75’ of cable to 0’ @ 6:50 and 8:50 in the vid above, it’s as if he was disabling a cap measuring from 2475pF (2.4nF) to 3375pF (3.3nF), permanently connected between hot and ground.
This capacitive effect can be handy when it comes to tame harsh frequencies, if it's properly dosed, with a rig whose character/gain doesn't hide too much the original guitar sound.]
And to conclude on a funny note, there’s the well known good old story told by Cesar Diaz about SRV and Radio Shack cables:
http://www.marshallforum.com/threads/cesar-diaz-the-last-great-interview-srv.77833/
"LOL".)
I won't ramble about A2 vs A5: it could generate hours of useless discussion, since all mags and coils are not created equal IME (I've here at least two sets of A2 HB's which seem clearer / brighter than some of my other HB's with A5... BUT they are not Duncan"s. If your pickup is a Duncan Custom and if you try a generic A2 in it, the sound will do what our fellow members say . EDIT: BTW, what about the Duncan tone charts and sound samples of Custom vs Custom 5 vs Custom Custom?).
BTW, in my understanding / on the basis of my own humble experience, A2 in the (Duncan 78) Van Halen PU's was most probably a way to compensate the thin bright tone due to a Floyd Rose in a Fender scale guitar without tone pot...
ANYWAY...
-I support the idea to swap mags in PU's until it sounds good... but it's not without possible downsides if you play with gain: loose parts left by multiple manipulations risk to make a pickup squeal.
-keep in mind that if the resistance of your pot sets the height of your resonant peak (= the relative volume of harmonics), the frequency of your resonant peak is set by parasitic capacitance. Most of this parasitic capacitance is not in the pickup itself but in external parts, especially in the guitar cable used. See pics 14 and 15 in this page: https://www.buildyourguitar.com/resources/lemme/
So, if changing a cap on the tone pot is not what you want as Doc said, it might be interesting (I repeat: "might") to shift the prominent high frequencies towards the mids thanks to a low value cap (somewhere between 120pF and 2200pF) between ground and hot - or to use simply a cable with more stray capacitance, like a longer guitar cord.
Seymour mentioned these facts in his old Q & A's but it disappeared (added capacitance being a solution "under the radar" and not necessarily easy to control since it requires specific measurement gear). It doesn't change parasitic capacitance in an indifferent parameter: it's a spec that I systematically tweak personally when I want to "tune" a passive pickup.
All that being said, the tone of your treble strings is a bit bright to me, the rhythm sound of your bass strings is pleasing to my ears and I like your playing. Good luck in your quest!
EVENING EDIT in order to share a few links…
http://www.billlawrence.com/Pages/All_About_Tone.htm/CableandSound.htm
[COMMENT - the important part is not about cables but about the effect of their stray capacitance on icepick frequencies and how to emulate this cable capacitance with cheap components...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2sjeVQpS94
[COMMENT - an average 10’ cable measures 330pF to 450pF. So, when the guy goes from 75’ of cable to 0’ @ 6:50 and 8:50 in the vid above, it’s as if he was disabling a cap measuring from 2475pF (2.4nF) to 3375pF (3.3nF), permanently connected between hot and ground.
This capacitive effect can be handy when it comes to tame harsh frequencies, if it's properly dosed, with a rig whose character/gain doesn't hide too much the original guitar sound.]
And to conclude on a funny note, there’s the well known good old story told by Cesar Diaz about SRV and Radio Shack cables:
http://www.marshallforum.com/threads/cesar-diaz-the-last-great-interview-srv.77833/
"LOL".
)
Last edited:
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