magnet advice

[Supernautilus]

Hey guys, I’d like to hit up the forums for some magnet advice again.

This time I’ve got an HH Tele. I’ve got an SH-18n for the bridge position and an APH-1n for the neck. Weird combo, I know lol. But these are pups left over from previous projects and I’m just trying to find a home for them haha.

Anyways, what would be a good magnet combo for this set? Any suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

[Supernautilus]

Oh, I forgot to mention they’ll both have nickel silver covers. Thanks!

[jeremy]

how you tried them with the stock magnets? the aph1 is a good neck pup in lots of guitars. ive never tried the wlh neck in the bridge. especially since they have covers on em, id pop em in and see what ya think. 7.5k a2 and 8.2k rca5 could work pretty well together!

[Supernautilus]

how you tried them with the stock magnets? the aph1 is a good neck pup in lots of guitars. ive never tried the wlh neck in the bridge. especially since they have covers on em, id pop em in and see what ya think. 7.5k a2 and 8.2k rca5 could work pretty well together!

Not yet, no. The pickups are currently uncovered and on the bench. I’ll be putting covers on them before I install them. I was just trying to decide what mags would work good before I fit the covers.

I know the stock APH is nice. But I just finished another guitar with a stock Seth Lover in the neck and I was thinking something else besides A2. But you make a good point. A2 and RC5 could work ok together.

Do you think a covered Seth Lover is different enough to a covered APH in tone to warrant having both in two different guitars?

[jeremy]

they do sound different. i think different enough to use them both, ymmv. if i was going to change it, i would go a3. a5 makes is a jazz neck if you wanna try a bigger change.

[Mincer]

The APH-1n is my fave pickup ever, so I'd give that a try before swapping.

[Supernautilus]

they do sound different. i think different enough to use them both, ymmv. if i was going to change it, i would go a3. a5 makes is a jazz neck if you wanna try a bigger change.

Ok cool, thanks. I’ll try stock first and then maybe A3 on the neck if I’m not happy with it.

One last question if you don’t mind. I don’t think ever used two neck pups like this before. Does that affect anything like the polarity or phasing or anything? And is the slug coil always north no matter if it’s bridge or neck? The two pups currently have the mags removed and I want to make sure they’re installed correctly.

[GuitarDoc]

Yes both pups have the magnet oriented north to the slug coil.

[Supernautilus]

Update: I got that HH Tele set up. That pickup combo worked out better than I expected. The difference in DCR was very small so I was concerned the SH-18 would not be loud enough. But it was MORE than loud enough. I actually had to lower it a bit so it didn't overpower the APH. Once I got the heights dialed in for both, it sounded really good. Very snappy sounding, even with covers. I like it so far.

The only issue I have now is the string spacing on the bridge. As you can see in the pic, it's fairly off center. I don't know how much that is affected the tone though. What's strange is the neck pickup appears to be pretty much dead on. Oh well, it's probably not a big deal. Perhaps I can find a different bridge with more adjustable spacing or something.

[Mincer]

A Trembucker would have the poles line up better, but if you are not hearing the low E as quieter, and you like the sound, just keep it.

[jeremy]

yeah, i wouldnt worry about the spacing if it sounds good.

[beaubrummels]

I have a standard-spaced humbucker in my Jackson and I just raised the outside E poles to balance, and raise the A and B a little bit. Works fine.

[AllHailDIO]

Nice Tele! I have a Deluxe myself FYI, that's normal: the string spacing narrows the closer it goes up to the nut. So the polepiece spacing is narrower at the neck pickup than the bridge pickup.

As already suggested, trembucker spacing at the bridge pickup would line up better. Some people think its important, some do not. I recommend trying it out yourself and see for yourself. I have mild OCD so I need my polepieces lined up, regardless of the sonic results

That said, if you love the WLH, might as well play it until you get an itch to try something else. And only until then can you try a trembucker. Maybe a Seth Lover

[marcello252]

Never heard any differences with different poles spacing, never

[Supernautilus]

I have mild OCD so I need my polepieces lined up, regardless of the sonic results

Haha, thanks for that. I feel validated now lol. I'm the same way. I wasn't going to post this before because I felt silly about it, but yeah...I couldn't stand looking at the pole spacing mismatch. It was driving me nuts. And I didn't feel like buying a trembucker. So I kinda gave up and went with a standard Tele bridge setup. I used a STL-2b that I already had on hand, and moved the WLH to the neck position. Which, by the way, is a GREAT combo, as I soon discovered. Sadly, the APH was not loud enough to keep up with the STL so I put that on the shelf. But the WLH matched almost perfectly. They balance volume wise and sound great blended. So everything turned out ok.