DiMarzio FRED Mag Swap Question... UOA5 or A8?

[Drak]

Hi All.
I just finished up this guitar a few weeks ago.
Tele style w/ a HB bridge assembly.
Fred in bridge, Barden middle, Lawrence L-290 bridge in neck.
Body is 1/4" Oak over Cherry body, Cherry being just <this> side of Maple tonewise.
410k volume, 250k tone, .01 tone cap.

So...I'm relatively happy with the overall balance and outcome.
Fred is playing very nicely with the SC HB's, no massive volume difference.
It's there, to be expected, but it's not overwhelming, so I'm happy with that.
But the Fred is just lacking a 'leedle something'.
It seems a little 'tight-assed'? A little 'constricted'?
Good mids, but I think it's lacking some bottom and balls.
It may very well be because of the Cherry body, I get that, but it is what it is.

I bought a bunch of mags about a month ago.
I bought two of everything more or less, minus ceramics and A2's.

I already used both UOA5's I had, one in a Custom, one in an APH-1.
It worked out Great in both situations, so I'm not taking either one out.

I have A8's here I haven't used.
I have A2's, 4's, and 8's.
Yes I can swap, but I'd like to do it only once.
And I know someone here has been there in front of me.
If someone says an UOA5 just murders the stock A5, I'll be happy to buy a few more.
If someone says an A8 is like magic dust, I'm there, I'm on it.
I'd LIKE to only do it once, as we all would.
Any feedback appreciated.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: DiMarzio FRED Mag Swap Question... UOA5 or A8?

Read here:

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?189758-FRED-magnet-swap

 

[Drak]

Re: DiMarzio FRED Mag Swap Question... UOA5 or A8?

I did read some old threads about it but seemed to miss this one in particular.
I'll swap in an A8 and see what happens then.
And keep in mind I can possibly lower the volume pot as well if needed.
Thanks!

 

[blueman335]

Re: DiMarzio FRED Mag Swap Question... UOA5 or A8?

I was a big A8 fan for years, because of their warmth, full mids, & firm low end. However, once Addiction FX joined this forum, I tried their UOA5's and much prefer them for their rich A2 sonic texture. They're not as high output, so they're not as in-your-face as A8's. UOA5's are like an A2, but with a little sharper high end, and not a bit less midrange and low end.

Being a classic rock/blues player and a big PAF fan, UOA5's are a great fit, my magnet-of-choice in the bridge slot and often in the neck. If you're playing harder rock, go with A8's.

BTW, I've used a Fred in making hybrid HB's, and they have a big difference in coil resistance. That gives a certain amount of single coil sound, mixed in with humbucker. Combined with the stock A5 magnet, that's a bright pickup without much mids. great for metal and heavy distortion, but it needs a warmer magnet with some other genres.

 

[Drak]

Re: DiMarzio FRED Mag Swap Question... UOA5 or A8?

Ha, I was hoping you'd find your way here.
Thanks for chiming in.
The UOA5's have worked very well in both applications I've swapped them into so far, replacing A2's in both the Custom Custom and APH-1 bridge.
And using both for bridge positions.

I kind of wanted to try a UOA5 here, but I didn't know how much difference I'd see since the Fred already has a A5 in there.
However, keeping the balance between Fred and the SC/HB's is important too, which leans me to the UOA5 instead of an A8.
That's where I was having a conundrum, I didn't want to instantly overpower the SC/HB's since the balance is fairly good at the moment.
And I didn't know if it would be a waste of time swapping an A5 for an UOA5, if there was much of a difference there.

PS, I measured the Fred coils individually before I installed it.
One coil was ~4.3k as I remember, the other was about ~6k I think.

 

[blueman335]

Re: DiMarzio FRED Mag Swap Question... UOA5 or A8?

You'll get a richer tone with an UOA5 in a Fred, but you're not going to get more 'bottom and balls.' It has less output and less low end than a regular A5. With the significant resistance difference between coils adding high end and thinning out mids, I think Fred's may require an A8 to get what you want. You could try an A8 and lower the PU a bit to equalize volume.

 

[Drak]

Re: DiMarzio FRED Mag Swap Question... UOA5 or A8?

Ah yes, the UOA5 being between the 5 and the 2, got it.
Well, I guess it's time to make a Satchur-8!
Thanks.

 

[blueman335]

Re: DiMarzio FRED Mag Swap Question... UOA5 or A8?

I think you'll like an A8. UOA5's are between an A2 and A5, but much closer to an A2.