Put A3 n my neck pup?

[gimmieinfo]

Epi LP standard, stock A2 pups about 8.2k and 7.5k bridge and neck respectively. Thats approximate, i can't recall exactly but it's close. Heres the question.....i have heard it said a few times that A3 will give a chimier clearer low end than other alnico and therefore am considering trying it on the neck pup I am happy with the bridge but the necks low end is just too overpowering and muddy and no adjustments have helped much. I have tried everything and i mean EVERYTHING. Even a bass cut cap. Also tried A5. But i do have a A3 bar i could try but before i go to all that trouble can anyone tell me if you think that it's very likely this will clear up the low end on the neck pickup? Second question, are A3 lower strength than A2?

 

[skelt101]

IME, yes A3 is lower strength compared to A2. Also, the mid emphasis is shifted up. Tighter low-end than A2, with chimey high-mids.

 

[beaubrummels]

Little bit softer top end also. Vintage-y sounding IME

 

[gimmieinfo]

Softer top is fine assuming it mainly affects the plains strings. But if there's a softness in the high end it usually affects the wound strings too and they might lose that percussive attack thats what i am trying to add more of.

 

[freefrog]

A3 doesn't contain cobalt. So it's magnetically weaker (Alni3 holding roughly half the charge of AlNiCo5).

Weaker magnetic field = lower output + flatter response.

As said above by fellow members, A3 also adds a wee bit of mids and soft compression / warmth to the mix (Inductance and eddy currents being slightly higher with A3 magnets than with A2/4/5 bars of the same size and mass).


That said:

-I've seen bars described as A3 magnets and charged too high to not suggest that it was another alloy, abusively sold as A3 (that's the problem with magnets: many look similar so errors or scams are possible).

-A magnet alone doesn't necessarily solve an issue of clarity. Other components and factors are to take in account IME and IMHO. I've already abundantly rambled about that in previous topics, FWIW.

 

[jeremy]

i swapped an a3 into the antiquity neck pup in my lp and i like it a lot. little less bottom and the overall tone seems a touch cleaner

 

[gimmieinfo]

Ok, enough remarks that seem like i should try it so i will. On a side note tho, i can't help but wonder why i have never seen even one HB stock or aftermarket that uses A3? Seems odd. I hope i'm not going to find what i did with strats which is A3 some how just doesn't work in them. Unlike HB's tho there ARE some A3 strat pups out there, but only a tiny fraction of A5 strat pups.

 

[jeremy]

for strats i mostly like a5 single coils. for buckers i mostly like a2, but the a3 swap in the lp works for me. i just swapped an a2 and de-aired a dimarzio 36th anniversary, i like it much better than with the a5. a2 to a3 wasnt a huge difference, but i liked the change

 

[gimmieinfo]

It's done, thanks for the replies. You all pretty much nailed it. It isn't a HUGE change but enough that it allows me to use the neck for clean to edge of breakup for rhythm which was not very usable before. However, there IS one con. For gainy single note lines up the neck, that hollow flutey tone suffers. Not as good as before. i can live with that tho because my main concern was the clarity and percussive low notes in chords and thats what i use it for the most by far. Maybe thats why few if any humbuckers use A3. On a side note, judging by the tone i dont think A3 would be very good in the bridge.

Anyways, i used a polished A3 but i also have roughcast ones. How would that sound compared to the polished? i assume it would go in the opposite direction that i was trying to accomplish, but thought i'd ask anyways.

 

[freefrog]

If some examples of A3 HB's are needed: Gibson Custombucker's, Duncan Skinner Burst, the older Ibanez Super 58... + a bunch of boutique models were / are all systematically or occasionally loaded with A3.

Regarding polished vs RC, magnetism is often more consistent and more even with polished bars but the look of a magnet doesn't suffice to predict a tone: it depends on the specs involved, varying themselves with several factors (foundry where a mag comes from, how and when it has been made then charged, and so on; A3 bars from vintage P90's, for instance, are not really like A3 currently sold by online suppliers ).

 

[Aceman]

I went A3 in an Epiphone Les Paul neck once. Loved the results. Go for it.

 

[Ascension]

Have a A3 in the 59 Neck in my 95 Washburn MG 102 and love it. Took away the mud in the bottom and cleared it up overall. In that guitar, it kills!
Used that guitar with the A3 neck swap here for most of the chimy harmonics and fluid little melody parts.
https://app.box.com/shared/3chz5vojtx

 

[gimmieinfo]

I went A3 in an Epiphone Les Paul neck once. Loved the results. Go for it.

I already did. See my post #9 above.

 

[Butch Snyder]

The Fender CS 51 Nocaster pickups, both have A3 magnets. IMO, they're are some of Fender's best pickups.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Ok, enough remarks that seem like i should try it so i will. On a side note tho, i can't help but wonder why i have never seen even one HB stock or aftermarket that uses A3? Seems odd. I hope i'm not going to find what i did with strats which is A3 some how just doesn't work in them. Unlike HB's tho there ARE some A3 strat pups out there, but only a tiny fraction of A5 strat pups.

Gibson Custombuckers do, I think.

https://www.gibson.com/en-US/p/Pickup/PUCBDBNC2-SET/PUCBDBNC2-SET?variation=PUCBDBNC2-SET

 

[gimmieinfo]

Well, this is the last thing i imagined liking but now i have A3 in BOTH pickups ! Just tried one in the bridge too. I liked the A2 a lot there, but when i started thinking about how it tightened up the neck, it hit me the low end in the bridge has the same issue just not as much as the neck did. So knowing i have another A3 bar i tried it in the bridge and i'll be damned....the bridge is richer sounding and while the lows are not as improved as i hoped, they are slightly better but the big surprise was the overall tone is better. So the A3 helped both pickups a bit to make the lows a bit tighter, neither is improved in that regard as much as I'd like but good enough. But in the bridge it's a real improvement in pretty much all respects. Neck too to a very small degree tho. It mostly helped with the low end there. I've never liked A3 before very much except in teles, and even in those i have only been fully happy with a particular A3 pup. I thought in the bridge it would be too much high mid and a lot of extreme highs, but if anything it seems almost opposite. More sizzle with gain than the A2. Anyways, thanks again for the replies.

 

[marcello252]

my ideal magnet for neck is defintely A2 , I tried almost everythiing, A3 is clear but it hasn't enough body for my taste.
A3 is indeed phenomenal in a vintage wound HB in my Telecaster bridge, it has the character of a tele sSC pickup in a HB beefed format, I didn't expect a result so good.

 

[GuitarStv]

my ideal magnet for neck is defintely A2 , I tried almost everythiing, A3 is clear but it hasn't enough body for my taste.
A3 is indeed phenomenal in a vintage wound HB in my Telecaster bridge, it has the character of a tele sSC pickup in a HB beefed format, I didn't expect a result so good.

I find A2 sounds too soft in the neck for my tastes. A5 has the sharpness and flutey quality that I like there, but sometimes can be overpoweringly loud. I've always been curious about A3 as maybe a little less soft than A2 and less powerful than A5.

 

[gimmieinfo]

I find A2 sounds too soft in the neck for my tastes. A5 has the sharpness and flutey quality that I like there, but sometimes can be overpoweringly loud. I've always been curious about A3 as maybe a little less soft than A2 and less powerful than A5.

A2....same here. A5, yes, too loud and way too much bass too. I use neck pickups mainly for cleaner rhythm things, usually with a edge of distortion. And A5 gets really loud and too distorted in the bass. If i lower the amp gain then the bridge has too little. So A3 was a good change that keeps the bass in check and overall output is lessened. Not perfect, but i think it's just the sound of a LP standard and if you go too far and get the rhythm sound perfect you will sacrifice that flutey lead sound. With A3 in this 7.5k or thereabouts neck pup i have not lost that flutey thing. At least not to a degree i can't live with. But man, i'm still amazed at A3 in the bridge. I would never have considered putting one there till i tried it in the neck to fix the mud and began thinking it could possible work in the bridge. It did more than just work, it worked great. Truth is, i'm a fender and LP P90 special guy so humbucker LPs are hard to get used to for me. This has really gotten mea long ways to being more comfortable with it tho.

 

[gimmieinfo]

my ideal magnet for neck is defintely A2 , I tried almost everythiing, A3 is clear but it hasn't enough body for my taste.
A3 is indeed phenomenal in a vintage wound HB in my Telecaster bridge, it has the character of a tele sSC pickup in a HB beefed format, I didn't expect a result so good.

It's really dependent on your sty;e of not only play but sound. What works for you can do a 180 if you changed say from a mostly distortion guy to a lean or even jazz guy. Amp type too. A clean fender is hyper crisp while a master volume marshall is thick rich distortion. Those 2 things alone will lad to completely different needs in a pickup. I'm into classic rock distortion and my volume is my clean to distortion know. Thats a real test for a neck pickup in a LP.