A4 VS A3

[astrozombie]

I've really been enjoying the tones my les paul is giving me with burstbuckers and the a4 magnets I put in them.

A local tech told me that his favorite magnet is the A3, he commented that the tone was similar but that the guitar seemed to sound "prettier".

I DO like the a4s in my guitar, though at times they feel a little sterile.

I heard a recording of the beano album and thought that the texture of clapton's pickups was similar to mine, though it seems a little more rounded.

Would the A3 give me the same clarity that I get from the A4s, while EQing the sound nicely?

thanks!

 

[Myaccount876]

Re: A4 VS A3

The only pickups I've ever tried an A4 in are the Custom and the Jazz/A2P neck. The A4 Custom was pretty flat and uninspiring. I like a more colorful pickup - something with its own definite unique tonality like a Custom Custom with its pronounced mids/loose feel or the muscular sounding Custom with its sharp and tight highs/lows with a healthy amount of midrange grind. In the Jazz/A2P neck, I thought it'd sit in a mix better - more mids than a Jazz, and more highs than an A2P, but as a trade off it doesn't have the Jazz's bell-like clarity or the A2P's jazzy warmth. I like the Jazz/A2P neck with an A4 - fairly middle of the road between the two.

Ive never tried an A3. Supposedly it will be similar to an A2, but more highs and less output. Those are the reasons I've never tried it - that's usually not what I'm looking for. The clarity you're hearing may be from the flatter EQ or low output. I'd say the overall changes would be fairly minuscule though from A4 to A3. Nothing drastic like from A3 to A8.

 

[AlexR]

Re: A4 VS A3

The A4 shows off the quality of the wind more than any other mag, it being flatter in eq. A3's tend to have this property too, but without the full bass. But also the A3 is much lower in strength, which means you need the wind to really shine. I've found that you can easily get 'dull' instead of 'pretty'........and that the pickup might not like the closeness that it needs to sit to the strings in many cases.

I have found UOA5 is the better recipe when travelling away from A4. It has the mids alright, but the softened top-end can give a nice vocal note.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: A4 VS A3

A3's are a good choice for neck positions, but a bit weak for bridge positions. A3's are bright, transparent, focused and reedy sounding. They have really good pick attack and don't fart out when played hard.

 

[blueman335]

Re: A4 VS A3

A4's have a flatter EQ, which some players don't like. Most of us are used to an EQ bump, whether it's mids, highs or lows, which can be called a 'sweeter' tone. I think A4's are a great choice for neck HB's, as that slot already has a lot of meds and lows.

What A3's bring to the party is a bright, but rounded high end (as opposed to an A5's sharp high end). A3's have fat mids and a little less low end than an A2. They work well where you want those characteristics, which can be the bridge or neck. The output difference between an A3 and A2 is minimal.

BTW, A4, A3, and A2 are all unoriented.

 

[allbutromeo]

Re: A4 VS A3

I recently swapped the magnets in the stock pickups of my Gretsch Streamliner JR to an A4 in the bridge and an A3 in the neck. As mentioned the A4 has a fairly flat EQ it doesnt sound sterile to me, it IMO is a great balance between A2 and A5. The A3 IMO is a great magnet for the neck, especially if your pickup is too dark. It has a weak magnetic field so there is a noticeable drop in output, but it seems rather bright which gives it a nice clarity in the neck position. I only ever briefly played an A3 bridge pickup (the 57 Classic A3 in the LP Traditional Pro III), I felt that it was just too bright for the bridge.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: A4 VS A3

A3s translate really well both the "tone footprint" of the neck's p'up and the acoustic nature of the instrument, that's why I heartily recommend it for semi- and full-hollow guitars. For the record, two of my own axes host A3n/A2b mag combos

HTH,

 

[blueman335]

Re: A4 VS A3

A3s translate really well both the "tone footprint" of the neck's p'up and the acoustic nature of the instrument, that's why I heartily recommend it for semi- and full-hollow guitars. For the record, two of my own axes host A3n/A2b mag combos

I'm intrigued by the idea of A3's in the bridge slot, the Bonamassa set got me thinking. I don't like the sharp high end and scooped mids of the A5's of most PU's (in the bridge slot), hence my frequent use of 250K's there and/or warmer magnets. A3's would soften the top and fatten the mids, both desirable qualities. I need to play around with this.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: A4 VS A3

I don't recommend A3s for the bridge position in PAFs because of its inherent low power but it has helped to tame 498Ts and some generic 14K asian OEM winds.

HTH,

 

[AlexR]

Re: A4 VS A3

^ I think pickups need to be wound around an A3 much more. Other mags can be swapped in/out and be ok.

The best pickups with A3's for me have been those with them with that mag as stock.

 

[LtKojak]

Re: A4 VS A3

The best pickups with A3's for me have been those with them with that mag as stock.

Can you give an example?

 

[Shooter.556]

Re: A4 VS A3

A4s are Holy Grail of PAF tone and A3s ain't.. That's the difference or so I am told..

 

[AlexR]

Re: A4 VS A3

Can you give an example?

2 in fact.

The BKP Apache singlecoils, which are REALLY nice, and my Sigil Bluesman Roots set (NOS wire version) which are A3.

 

[AlexR]

Re: A4 VS A3

A4s are Holy Grail of PAF tone and A3s ain't.. That's the difference or so I am told..

A3's are the holy grail of 50's p90's........some would put them above PAF's. However modern A4 and A3 don't even resemble the mags from the 50's so its quite academic really.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: A4 VS A3

A4s are Holy Grail of PAF tone and A3s ain't.. That's the difference or so I am told..

Don't believe everything you read.

Have not tried A3.

But I have had two sets of A4 Tom Holmes pafs. Still have one set in my 335.

Sold my other set after trying to love it for 15 or 20 years. Sometimes I did. Sometimes I didn't.

Nice in a warm semi-hollow body but in a solid body: Too much treble and empty sounding mids. Just not thick enough for me. Steely.

Thats Clapton's tone with the Blues Breakers according to some and I like it when I hear him getting that sound but it's a less than completely satisfying sound under my own fingers.

Alnico 2 does it for me.

Love both sets of my nickel covered Pearly Gates.

 

[blueman335]

Re: A4 VS A3

A4s are Holy Grail of PAF tone and A3s ain't.. That's the difference or so I am told..

There's other factors involved too. The coils were wound randomly and were usually mismatched to some degree. You can't attribute a PU's sound entirely to the magnet. Any serious winder will tell you the winding plays a huge part.

 

[AlexR]

Re: A4 VS A3

^ +1

Much more than the mag. Put a 50's mag into a modern pickup and a PAF it certainly doesn't make.

I'd put the wind at 70-80% of the tone given PAF clone vs real PAF vs generic low output pickup (which sums up all of Gibsons recent offerings)

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: A4 VS A3

I've owned a bunch of real 50's Gibson pafs.

They don't all sound the same. Everyone knows that.

But it wasn't until I started using Seymour's alnico 2 Seth Lovers, Antiquity and Pearly Gates that I started hearing my favorite 50's paf tones from a modern pickup.

I'm sold on nickel covered Pearly Gates pickups.

They get my favorite 50's paf tones.

And they have the feel too.

That slightly elastic or rubbery tone that I can shape with my pick and with my guitar's tone control.

I'm totally satisfied with the PG's and I'm even thinking of putting a set in my ES-335 that currently has A4 Tom Holmes HB's.

I'm sure other players might prefer 50's pafs that used A3 or A4 or A5.

But to me, A2 gets the sound I liked best from the guitars with 50's Gibson paf's that I owned back in the day when a '59 Les Paul or ES-335 was a treasured instrument but still just 10 year old guitar.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: A4 VS A3

^ I think pickups need to be wound around an A3 much more. Other mags can be swapped in/out and be ok.

The best pickups with A3's for me have been those with them with that mag as stock.

Fenders Deluxe Drive and 51 Nocaster pickups have Alnico III's stock and they are excellent pickups.

 

[blueman335]

Re: A4 VS A3

I'm totally satisfied with the PG's and I'm even thinking of putting a set in my ES-335 that currently has A4 Tom Holmes HB's.

then again, you could break out of the mold and try that A2P set you've been talking about. Shake it up a bit Lew.