I have a confession to make.

[misterwhizzy]

I love A2 pickups in the bridge.

I don’t think there’s any lack of complexity or output or dynamics, and the slightly-rounded top end fits my hamfisted picking technique. Stands up fine to gain and sounds sweet clean.

Who’s with me?

 

[jeremy]

Re: I have a confession to make.

me. 100%. almost every bridge bucker i use is a2. seth, ant, pg, custom shop offerings...

 

[Mincer]

Re: I have a confession to make.

A2 is great anywhere. It is my favorite magnet, either on a single coil or humbucker. For some reason it hits all of the frequencies I like.

 

[Bowtomecha]

Re: I have a confession to make.

It would depend on what I’m doing with it I suppose.

 

[David Garner]

Re: I have a confession to make.

I prefer A3 or A5 in Fender pickups, but I vastly prefer A2 to all others in humbuckers. They just sound right.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: I have a confession to make.

A2 is my favorite uo mag. It's sneaky. It's really organic and warm but still somehow retains treble and detail in the neck. Put it in a vintage bridge and it's plenty bright. My jazz guitar has a 59 with A2 spacers and it's awesome.

 

[Big Mike Blues]

Re: I have a confession to make.

Likely my favorite bridge buckers are A2.

 

[misterwhizzy]

Re: I have a confession to make.

A2 is my favorite uo mag. It's sneaky. It's really organic and warm but still somehow retains treble and detail in the neck. Put it in a vintage bridge and it's plenty bright. My jazz guitar has a 59 with A2 spacers and it's awesome.

I just A2ed the 59 in my Les Paul bridge, and it's all kinds of right.

 

[Cdwillis]

Re: I have a confession to make.

I'd only used Ceramic or A5 magnet humbuckers until recently when I got the set of Pearly Gates in my SG. Swapped in some A4 magnets, but went back to the A2 in the bridge. Might try an UOA5 just out of curiosity, but I can't imagine it improving the sound. The Alnico 2 just sounds fat yet clear and harmonics jump out all over the neck.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: I have a confession to make.

Depends upon the particular pickup and guitar. While I love A2 magnets, I generally like A5 or A8 in the bridge. I like the bridge to be bright and punchy. I do like the neck to be smooth and warm, however, so I've got A2s in a lot of neck pups.

 

[Juanhanglo]

Re: I have a confession to make.

I got my first a2 set recently. I am finding them more dynamic than I expected.

Are dynamics more coil or magnet related?

 

[Mincer]

Re: I have a confession to make.

In my experience, dynamics come from unpotted vs potted, and amount of coil windings. A low wind unpotted pickup is going to be super dynamic no matter what magnet. I tend to hear magnet swaps more as an EQ change than anything.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: I have a confession to make.

In my experience, dynamics come from unpotted vs potted, and amount of coil windings. A low wind unpotted pickup is going to be super dynamic no matter what magnet. I tend to hear magnet swaps more as an EQ change than anything.

Yeah, mostly an EQ change, but I think it also affects what I refer to as the "character" of the pup. In my mind that's different than "dynamics", so I would agree.

 

[BluesIsBlood12]

Re: I have a confession to make.

I just A2ed the 59 in my Les Paul bridge, and it's all kinds of right.

Always happy to welcome someone to the magnet swapping club. It's just as fun as trying new pickups, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper.