UOA5 question

S

SJ318

New member
Hello,
For years now, there have been a few but persuasive folks who think the UOA5 is the way to go for the more PAF type sound. I have tried all of the mags available and tend to like A4, RCA5 for bridge, A5 for most brightness in the neck. I like lower wind, Seth Lover type p'ups.
I decided to try tha UOA5 and it is very different to me. It still has that crackle when pushed hard into a medium tube amp. And at cleaner settings the notes seem to be the most separated and even across the board. Chords and single lines, cranked Albert King type of blues, everything sounds better to me.
My question is, using Seth Lover p'ups in an SG and like amount of mahogany LPJr., the RCA5 sounded a little raspy to me in comparison with the UOA5, HOWEVER - the UOA5 sounds louder, even though the S.Lovers are the same in output. UOA5 seems louder, along with better touch sensitivity I forgot to mention earlier. I got both mags from the eBay supplier FX.
Is this possible, or is my mind playing tricks on the volume? I A/B'd those p'ups for a long time, over a couple of days, I even swapped bodies and got the same results.
Opinions or facts would be nice.
Steve B.
 
Re: UOA5 question

You have gauss level to consider firstly......and the precise formulation from the foundry.

Then add in the way the pickup wind and the amp/speaker work together to make things seem loud. Plus the room and your ears come into it too.
 
Re: UOA5 question

Pickup wind should be the same, they were bought around the same time, floor models, and as I said I did switch p'ups from one guitar to the other and got the same results. The amp and settings were exactly the same. The distance from sting to pickup coil and screws were exactly the same.
Gauss level and formulation from the foundry I would know nothing about. The amp/speakers ears and room are set as I check from the same chair for these comparisons. I hope that helps you to help me, but I don't know what else to add.
Thank you for answering,
Steve
 
Re: UOA5 question

The pickup wind however does not produce the same output level for all frequencies. Hence if you have a mag that emphasises frequencies at a place where the pickup is also possibly strong too, then you will get a double whammy....especially if the other mag is much more subdued at that point.

Then add in the natural sensitivity of the ear into the equation....yet another natural point where a small change can make a big difference in perception.


Lastly, the mags from A2 inclusive through to A5 seem usually to make only an eq shift, despite the considerable gauss differences. It is different with A8 and ceramic however.
 
Re: UOA5 question

Just glad to see more people being converted to the uoa5 cult. We have the best tones and the best kool-aid.
 
Re: UOA5 question

A3 neck and UOA5 bridge is *almost always better than A2s in a PAF if they come with A2s. There are many who like the A4 neck and A8 bridge combo as well, but I prefer my first option.
 
Re: UOA5 question

ive used rca5 and uoa5, i like them better than polished oriented a5 sometimes. usually in the bridge. i still prefer a2 to damn near anything in my buckers, although a3 in the neck can be nice
 
Re: UOA5 question

I replaced the magnets in my Gibson 498T/490R pups with rough cast UOA5's last year. I have no intention of ever removing them.
 
Re: UOA5 question

AlexR-
Good explanation. And I believe it. Makes sense. Nagisa, Christopher, jeremy - thanks for chiming in. I guess I am now the newest convert to UOA5 mags. in the bridge.
It really makes a big difference to me. For all the reasons AlexR said. The feel of it is dramatically differently *to me*. I should try one in my Hybrid C/59.
Thanks very much,
Steve
 
Re: UOA5 question

I make a set with UOA5, but only recently been able to get hold of some roughcast versions to try out in the bridge position. I get a bit of an upper mids spike if digging in hard, but that goes if either swapping the fillisters under the plain strings for hex screws, or changing to A4. My Lil Texas speaker speaker tends to emphasise that area too, though I've not noticed the same thing when trying UOA5 in other pickups, and isn't WLH UOA5, or was that just rumour?
 
Re: UOA5 question

I have a standard spaced JB with a RCUOA5 in a set neck mahogany Schecter Blackjack. Perfect for this guitar. The guitar has plenty of low end and sustain on it's own. The stock JB was good, but swapping in the other magnet really enriched the character over all. It still has plenty of chunk for rythm, but the mids for leads are much more complex, while retaining the cutting quality that makes the JB the JB. It also splits really well.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk
 
Re: UOA5 question

SJ318 said:
HOWEVER - the UOA5 sounds louder, even though the S.Lovers are the same in output. UOA5 seems louder, along with better touch sensitivity I forgot to mention earlier. I got both mags from the eBay supplier FX.
Is this possible, or is my mind playing tricks on the volume? I A/B'd those p'ups for a long time, over a couple of days, I even swapped bodies and got the same results.
Opinions or facts would be nice.
Steve B.
Click to expand...

When I test Addiction FX AlNiCo bars with our lab teslameter, UOA5 mags exhibit the strongest magnetic field in Tesla - logically followed by A5, then A4, then A2, then A3, which is 40% weaker than UOA5. In the same time, inductance shifts of 0.2H between A5 (lowest inductance) and A3 (highest inductance): it's not enough to "pay back" in warmth the lower sensitivity due to a weaker magnetism.

So, you experience doesn't sound absurd at all to me.

That said, generalizations about mags are something that I personally avoid since, IME...
-a "same" alloy from different suppliers might give different tones to a same pickup;
-a same bar mag in different humbuckers can yield vastly different results (what sounds good with hand wound coils might seem unpleasing with machine wound ones and reciprocally)...

So, I plead for empirical choices: with any pickup, I swap the mag until it sounds as desired, regardless of the AlNiCo alloy involved.

FWIW. YMMV.
 
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Re: UOA5 question

Thanks freefrog,
That also makes sense. And thanks to the rest of you I have'nt mentioned. This has been a great thread, I feel vindicated and not told It's in my head. Y'know, I am not sure wether mine is rough cast or not. I'll look and get back tomorrow night or soon.
I just saw UOA5, but I have mags that say A5 that are RC or Polished. You obviously can tell by looking, so some marked, some not. All my mags have come from ADDFX over the years, or an RCA5 I requested on a Custom shop Seth Lover.
Thanks again.
Steve
 
Re: UOA5 question

Off topic a bit, but my brother Bruce owns Mission Amps in Denver and he asked me to bring over two of my favorite guitars to test a new amp he was building a couple of weeks ago.

I brought two PRS Custom 22 guitars, both with Duncan Antiquity pickups.

One set has the stock Roughcast A2 magnets and the other set has Polished A2 magnets that I put in them.

Bruce much preferred the sound of the Polished A2 and so did I.

Clearer and more articulate.

The stock Antiquity pickups sounded a little murkier and blurrier...although they still sounded really good.

So in terms of Alnico 2, I like Polished over Roughcast.

But that’s for Alnico 2.

For Alnico 5 I prefer Roughcast. More mids and a thicker less edgy sound than polished A5.
 
Re: UOA5 question

There is no single way to go for the PAF (or any) sound. Too many variables, not least of which is the guitar's tonal personality, string gauge, pick composition and thickness, playing technique (especially where and how you hit the strings along their length and how deep you dig in) and that's before you get to pots, caps, amps, etc.
 
Re: UOA5 question

Zhanglioqun -
What you say is true, but getting close is good enough for me. The UOA5 is proof of that. To a question I said I would answer, I found the second UOA5 that came with the one I am using. It is not polished like an A2 or like an A5 that is on a lot of SD pup's. It is not totally rough like the RCA5 I asked for from from the custom shop OR addfx. It is somewhere in between. Some smooth areas and some sandcast looking areas in the middle, lengthwise. I have no idea of that helps anything, but there is the answer I was asked.
Thanks,
Steve.
 
Re: UOA5 question

SJ318 said:
I guess I am now the newest convert to UOA5 mags...I should try one in my Hybrid C/59.
Click to expand...



Definitely an UOA5 in the '59/C hybrid, or any hybrid for that matter. Unbalanced coils reduce the 'humbucker effect" (more mids & output - less treble and clarity), so a bridge hybrid with a regular A5 is too bright for me. UOA5 or RC A2 is the way to go for me.
 
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