software

Hey guys.
Has anyone tried any of these, and maybe compared them to eachother? I was looking into an Alnico ll Pro for the neck, and maybe a matching one in the bridge, if not the EVH custom shop for the bridge. I want the two to be pretty even in volume so one's not way louder than the other. Both are Alnico ll magnets, so I'm thinking they should blend well? These will be for an R7. The tone I want out of the neck is just a smooth, thick, Slash (sweet child, november rain) type tone, and also nice cleans. For the bridge I want to cover hard rock and classic rock like GNR and Van Halen and yet be able to do nice cleans and stuff like Santana. Also, that bluesy type of clean tone that just starts to break up. I guess versitility is what I'm looking for. I would also like a lot of clarity for both. I wanted to go with the alnico ll magnet pickups since they're lower output. I don't really like the sound of the higher output pickups.

Anyone compared the stock alnico ll's to the custom shop slash alnico ll's? How do they differ? Some people say he uses the stocks of the shelf, while other say he uses the custom wound ones so I'm not sure which one's I'm hearing when I listen to him.

Who has tried the EVH ('78) custom shop? How does this one differ from the stock alnico ll pro. I know it's supposed to be wound a little hotter, like 9k? Can you give some examples of how these sound?

I'm also looking for a bridge humbucker for a Strat. I was thinking of the EVH for this also since it seems like what I want from what I've read so far. The single coils in the neck and middle are SCN's from Fender, so I would like a humbucker that can work well with these. This Strat also has the S1 switching, so I guess I would need something that can work with this.

Thanks!

Never tried the EVh pups.
Only the Alnico II Pros (which slash uses)
Hmm, warm sweet tone...can sound big too.
Anyway. cant compare with the others u mentioned but i think the A2Ps are a good choice.

Lots of questions...tough to compare all. I own one of each...except for the Custom Shop Slash pups.

From what you describe sound wise, the APH is just what you want in the neck. It will do everything you want. I have the APH in the neck of 3 different guitars, it's my favorite neck pickup. I have it in an 03 LP Standard, a Dean Hardtail and in a double fat strat. IMO it's the sweetest neck pickup Duncan makes.

Bridge pups. Any of the pups you ask about will balance well, so no worries there. I have an APH set in my Dean Hardtail. I had the bridge position overwound to 8.43k, and that works out great for what I want. Just a tad extra oomph, but no lost sweetness. Any Duncan dealer can order it for you, and it will take about 4 weeks to get. It doesn't cost extra as I recall, but don't quote me on that.

78' (EVH) - I've only had it in my Les Paul, but I find it to be a tad to bright and shrill for my taste. To me it lacked the warmth of the APH. It was like taking an APH and decreasing the bass a bit and turning up the treble a bit. Not horrible, just not what I wanted. I need to try it in a different guitar. I think in a darker sounding guitar it would be great.

Sometimes the APH in the bridge can lack a little low end tightness and a tad bit of crunch...just a little. I've started to find that in a Les Paul, I like an A5 bucker in the bridge, and an A2 in the neck. Other than that, I'm pretty much an A2 kind of guy. I've currently got a 59'(n) pickup in the bridge of my Les Paul, and it sounds great. Slightly cooler than a bridge version, but nice crunch. Maybe something to think about.

I just sold my R7, with a set of Seth Lovers in it. Loved the Seth in the neck...eh on the bridge version. I would have liked to try a Seth with an A5, or just a 59' in that slot.

My first suggestion:

59'(b) / APH(n)
APH(b) / APH(n) get the bridge overwound slightly

Hope this helps a little.


Originally Posted by Jeff_HLots of questions...tough to compare all. I own one of each...except for the Custom Shop Slash pups.

From what you describe sound wise, the APH is just what you want in the neck. It will do everything you want. I have the APH in the neck of 3 different guitars, it's my favorite neck pickup. I have it in an 03 LP Standard, a Dean Hardtail and in a double fat strat. IMO it's the sweetest neck pickup Duncan makes.

Bridge pups. Any of the pups you ask about will balance well, so no worries there. I have an APH set in my Dean Hardtail. I had the bridge position overwound to 8.43k, and that works out great for what I want. Just a tad extra oomph, but no lost sweetness. Any Duncan dealer can order it for you, and it will take about 4 weeks to get. It doesn't cost extra as I recall, but don't quote me on that.

78' (EVH) - I've only had it in my Les Paul, but I find it to be a tad to bright and shrill for my taste. To me it lacked the warmth of the APH. It was like taking an APH and decreasing the bass a bit and turning up the treble a bit. Not horrible, just not what I wanted. I need to try it in a different guitar. I think in a darker sounding guitar it would be great.

Sometimes the APH in the bridge can lack a little low end tightness and a tad bit of crunch...just a little. I've started to find that in a Les Paul, I like an A5 bucker in the bridge, and an A2 in the neck. Other than that, I'm pretty much an A2 kind of guy. I've currently got a 59'(n) pickup in the bridge of my Les Paul, and it sounds great. Slightly cooler than a bridge version, but nice crunch. Maybe something to think about.

I just sold my R7, with a set of Seth Lovers in it. Loved the Seth in the neck...eh on the bridge version. I would have liked to try a Seth with an A5, or just a 59' in that slot.

My first suggestion:

59'(b) / APH(n)
APH(b) / APH(n) get the bridge overwound slightly

Hope this helps a little.

What didn't you love about the Seth bridge? I think its probably my favorite bridge pickup. I haven't tried the Antiquities though.

A couple of thoughts -- what about the CC in the bridge? It would give you that EVH sound and the a2 magnets would match well. It might be a little hotter than you want though. You could also try an Antiquity. They usually run a little hotter than a Seth.

I'm sure that they could make that EVH with an a2 magnet. I also know that Stevo has an a2 Deco (at 10k) from the Custom Shop that might get you a little closer to the sound you're looking for, with a decent match. Check out his clips of the Deco-- he and Jolly rule when it comes to clips! You can find them in his sig.

I've got a A2P in the bridge slot of my Heritage (LP) and absolutely love it. The mids are perfect the treble cuts, and the low end has just the right amount of bounce and sag. If I had to make a picture of what I heard it wold look like this. _____
_____-------- Just the right amount of cut as you go up the fretboard
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[ Good mids girth
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
---o---o---o---o--- Rounded yet a slight bit of sag and or bounce,

Luke


Originally Posted by gripweedWhat didn't you love about the Seth bridge? I think its probably my favorite bridge pickup. I haven't tried the Antiquities though.

Just not quite enough bite, at least in the Les Paul I had it in (57' RI GT). In all fairness, it was a bridge position that had an ohm rating that was nearly identical to the neck Seth I had. Perhaps I would have liked it if it was just a tad bit hotter. I don't like a harsh bite in the bridge at all, it was just too soft an attack in this partictular guitar.

The 78' is made standard with an A2 magnet, if memory serves.


Originally Posted by Jeff_HJust not quite enough bite, at least in the Les Paul I had it in (57' RI GT). In all fairness, it was a bridge position that had an ohm rating that was nearly identical to the neck Seth I had. Perhaps I would have liked it if it was just a tad bit hotter. I don't like a harsh bite in the bridge at all, it was just too soft an attack in this partictular guitar.

The 78' is made standard with an A2 magnet, if memory serves.

I guess I thought that the EVH was made with a5

I'm a vintage sort of guy, but I thought the Seth was plenty hot. Maybe mine is slightly hotter than normal? I still think its a great pickup. I never felt as though it had a harsh bite -- the '59 approaches that IMHO. Interesting how different people react differently to pickups! Of course there are always a lot of variables when it comes to pickups!

Like Jeff, the APH-1 in the neck position is one of my fav's.


Originally Posted by Jeff_HSometimes the APH in the bridge can lack a little low end tightness and a tad bit of crunch...just a little. I've started to find that in a Les Paul, I like an A5 bucker in the bridge, and an A2 in the neck.

So why not an Alnico 5 Pro? Try it, you'll LIKE it...


Originally Posted by ZhangliqunSo why not an Alnico 5 Pro? Try it, you'll LIKE it...

I think I read one of your posts where you suggest this. I think I'll give it a try. Do you think it will make the pickup more like a 59', or will the coil windings of the APH prevent that?

why not just a rio grande bbq?
just kidding

I had the Slash A2P for awhile, but I recently sold it. I just didn't have a nice enough guitar to put it in and take advantage of it's full potential. It's a really nice, thick, warm, smooth pickup. I really liked it, but I could basically get the same tone out of normal A2Ps or even a 59.

MJ

A2P neck - '59 bridge


Originally Posted by ZhangliqunSo why not an Alnico 5 Pro? Try it, you'll LIKE it...

Yes, you get a jazz bridge, mmmm tasty!

Luke

Hey guys.
Thanks a lot for the tips and info so far. Keep em coming if you can! I'm pretty set on putting an APH-1 in the neck, just deciding if I should go with one in the bridge, or something else like an EVH or maybe even custom shop APH-1. As long as they match up pretty close volume wise I think I'll like it.

Can anyone tell me what the difference in scatterwound vs. regular is? What difference does it make tonally? What actually is scatterwound?

Oh yeah, i've read that Slash uses the stock APH-1's and also that uses the Custom shop slash model APH-1's. Does anyone know for sure? I remember reading that when he got his '59 replica before recording the AFD album there were two APH-1's in there. Anyone know if the APH-1's of today are same or close to what they were tonally back then? I love the tone on that album from both his bridge and neck pickups.

Thanks!

I think it was said that most of the time, Slash uses the stock ones but he DOES have (used) the custom shop ones too....I think.

MJ

the aph's are wonderful. I hear Slash uses them, but in my guitar, it sounds nothing like Slash's sound. Mine is a lot warmer, bigger, rounder. Like a giant stick of buttah. The best neck pickup I have tried from SD. The best neck pickup, period.

Thanks!
I just need to decide on what to use in the bridge now.

A lot of Slash's tone on the AFD album came from the Marshall he used to record, the infamous quot;Stock #39quot;. Search the Amplifier forum. The story is in there. He has never come close to getting that tone since although his tone on quot;Contrabandquot; is probably the closest he has gotten to getting that tone again.

Pickups are only part of the formula.

That said, go for the APH set. If you don't like the bridge, get a 59 Model. I personally like the Custom Custom the best. It may be hotter than the APH and 59 but it doesn't behave like a 14.4k pickup. It cleans up well and cuts through like no other. It will match up well with the APH neck.

Thanks!
Yeah I read about that amp. I think it was over at the LP forum.

Right now I'm leaning towards two Alnico ll's. The neck for sure though. Probably the bridge too, unless there is something else with great clarity, warmth, and all that good stuff. I'm a little worried that bridge APH-1 might not be able to get crunchy enough according to some posts. Is this always the case, or should it be cool with a medium-high gain amp?