Re: A8 characteristics - what are they?
A8s got here today. made a C8 and a JB8.
1st time with a plain Custom. this has TB5G on the old school sticker. tried a C5 a few years back and didn't care for it. didn't try this Custom before doing the swap, so I don't have a frame of reference. I like the C8 fine. I put it in an alder ESP M-II with rosewood and a Full Shred in the neck. both pups indepently wired to split. the C8 didn't clean up when split on a clean amp setting as much as I prefer. other than that, it's fine. I wouldn't mind passing it around to a few different guitars to see how it reacts to mahogany or maple, but at first try I don't see myself throwing them in every guitar I have. it tested a little lower on the multimeter after the swap. from right over 15k to about 14.5k
been playing JBs since '85. I put the A8 in a TB5. this is the one with the label that was before the current one, with the 2 rows of code all over it... and after the old style label that looks like it's stamped with the maker's initial at the end. just plain TB5 on the sticker. this one tested at 17.99k on the multimeter before and after the swap. this was put in a mahogany Kramer Pacer Classic with a maple neck and a Full Shred in the neck. a single p/p pot to split them both at once. again, didn't clean up when split on a clean amp setting as well as a A5 JB. what really stands out to me on this one is that there is more sustain and the highs have a little more going on in a good way... can't decide yet if it's more presence or just what it is right now.
based on what it did to the JB, I can imagine what the normal custom might've been like. I do like the modded C8 more than the stock C5. there's a 3rd A8 mag that I'm going to spend some time thinking about before I put it to use. I was thinking about putting in a PATB-1 that's in a mahogany guitar w/ rosewood board at 25-1/2" scale, but I also have a Full Shred that also in a mahogany guitar w/ ebony board at 24-3/4" scale. anyone have any suggestions?
