gimmieinfo
Active member
What is the tonal difference, and can it be considerable or always very subtle? Also, how about rough vs polished A5?
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A3 rough vs polished?
- Thread starter gimmieinfo
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beaubrummels
Well-known member
Re: A3 rough vs polished?
Rough softens the top end. Also has some inexplicable complexity In the sound. Some call it texture. For me it's a strange mix of clarity and lack of clarity when playing chords. Some kind of odd comb filtering kind of sound. More useful in the bridge as the bridge already has a singular unified punchy sound in that position so roughcast just breathes additional life into it.
Choice of mag grade is more like a choice of EQ filter for the pickup/wind. The original character/frequency response of the pickup/wind will be there but filtered/attenuated by what EQ effect the magnet brings.
Rough softens the top end. Also has some inexplicable complexity In the sound. Some call it texture. For me it's a strange mix of clarity and lack of clarity when playing chords. Some kind of odd comb filtering kind of sound. More useful in the bridge as the bridge already has a singular unified punchy sound in that position so roughcast just breathes additional life into it.
Choice of mag grade is more like a choice of EQ filter for the pickup/wind. The original character/frequency response of the pickup/wind will be there but filtered/attenuated by what EQ effect the magnet brings.
Re: A3 rough vs polished?
Just be aware that magnets from different sources are likely to have some different characteristics. Not only overall but in the way the surface affects tone - sometimes you can get zero difference from polished vs rough. Other times there is a difference.
Just be aware that magnets from different sources are likely to have some different characteristics. Not only overall but in the way the surface affects tone - sometimes you can get zero difference from polished vs rough. Other times there is a difference.
PicoRiveraTele
New member
Re: A3 rough vs polished?
Whether the surface of the magnet is polished or not doesn't matter. If they are different at all, it's because the magnet itself is manufactured differently, apart from whether or not it's polished. Not all AlNiCo 5 is the same, not all AlNiCo 2 is the same, etc. There are sub-types within the general classifications.
Whether the surface of the magnet is polished or not doesn't matter. If they are different at all, it's because the magnet itself is manufactured differently, apart from whether or not it's polished. Not all AlNiCo 5 is the same, not all AlNiCo 2 is the same, etc. There are sub-types within the general classifications.
gimmieinfo
Active member
Re: A3 rough vs polished?
So i installed my 59/H last night and played it a while. Same issues i don't care for still there as the last time i tried it. So i thought having a rough A5 in the parts drawer might be worth a shot, hence this thread. Anyways, did that this morning and what i think i hear is a darker sound that seems to affect the plain strings and has little effect one the wound. the reason i think this is what i didn't like about this pup in the past is the wound strings always sounded dark and lifeless to me, while the plain stings were bright and therefore i heard a overall sound where the plains and wounds were tonally out of balance with each other. What the rough A5 seems to have done was sorta good, sorta bad. It seemed to darken the tone so the plains aren't as bright without having the same effect on the wounds, at least not to a noticeable degree. So now the tonal balance is better. The bad is that the overall tone is now rather dull and it seems to have lost complexity. I also wish it was lower output so i think i'm sticking to my initial plan to try a DMZ 36th.
So i installed my 59/H last night and played it a while. Same issues i don't care for still there as the last time i tried it. So i thought having a rough A5 in the parts drawer might be worth a shot, hence this thread. Anyways, did that this morning and what i think i hear is a darker sound that seems to affect the plain strings and has little effect one the wound. the reason i think this is what i didn't like about this pup in the past is the wound strings always sounded dark and lifeless to me, while the plain stings were bright and therefore i heard a overall sound where the plains and wounds were tonally out of balance with each other. What the rough A5 seems to have done was sorta good, sorta bad. It seemed to darken the tone so the plains aren't as bright without having the same effect on the wounds, at least not to a noticeable degree. So now the tonal balance is better. The bad is that the overall tone is now rather dull and it seems to have lost complexity. I also wish it was lower output so i think i'm sticking to my initial plan to try a DMZ 36th.
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