Alnico ll Pro
- Thread starter dlc1953
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riserobotsrise
New member
Re: Alnico ll Pro
I have an LP with the opposite setup, A2P neck and PG bridge.
It's my experience that the A2P neck is pretty consistent from LP to LP. The bridge not so much, and I didn't find the Slash bridge different either. Very marginally hotter but feels and plays about the same. Where I liked the A2P bridge best was for those arpeggiated chords with a little bit of grit (my cleans are never really clean) - things Slash did a lot but also the guys from the old Alice Cooper Band. It just excelled at that and if I were making a huge album I'd definitely do a few tracks with an A2P bridge.
But on balance I like the PG bridge most of the time and it's not too bad in the area I just talked about. And as it happens the PG is my favorite bridge pickup in Fender types (the real PG, not the Fender-ized one or the little single coil sized things).
The output isn't super high which would be a problem for a lot of heavier players, but that's what amps are for (and other guitars).
I have an LP with the opposite setup, A2P neck and PG bridge.
It's my experience that the A2P neck is pretty consistent from LP to LP. The bridge not so much, and I didn't find the Slash bridge different either. Very marginally hotter but feels and plays about the same. Where I liked the A2P bridge best was for those arpeggiated chords with a little bit of grit (my cleans are never really clean) - things Slash did a lot but also the guys from the old Alice Cooper Band. It just excelled at that and if I were making a huge album I'd definitely do a few tracks with an A2P bridge.
But on balance I like the PG bridge most of the time and it's not too bad in the area I just talked about. And as it happens the PG is my favorite bridge pickup in Fender types (the real PG, not the Fender-ized one or the little single coil sized things).
The output isn't super high which would be a problem for a lot of heavier players, but that's what amps are for (and other guitars).
riserobotsrise
New member
Re: Alnico ll Pro
As to Slash's tone, it's very hot and very cold depending on the part he's playing at that moment. Even going back to the AFD days it was like that - his dirty cleans on the bridge were great, and the neck sound was signature, but mostly it was a middy mess with flashes of amazing.
As to Slash's tone, it's very hot and very cold depending on the part he's playing at that moment. Even going back to the AFD days it was like that - his dirty cleans on the bridge were great, and the neck sound was signature, but mostly it was a middy mess with flashes of amazing.
Snake Aces
Singlecut Slut
Re: Alnico ll Pro
I like Slash's tone a lot better in his VR days and now his solo work has pretty good tone usually too. For me though, I bought A2P pickups for the reasons I stated above, the pickups are so capable of doing so many styles of music. It's awesome that Slash made them popular to generations of players but at the same time it's tragic that so many people so closely associate them with only being used to chase Slash tones. These are truly great and versatile pickups IMO!
I like Slash's tone a lot better in his VR days and now his solo work has pretty good tone usually too. For me though, I bought A2P pickups for the reasons I stated above, the pickups are so capable of doing so many styles of music. It's awesome that Slash made them popular to generations of players but at the same time it's tragic that so many people so closely associate them with only being used to chase Slash tones. These are truly great and versatile pickups IMO!
orangecountycarl
New member
Re: Alnico ll Pro
Interesting. I bought one for my Ibanez AM93's bridge spot and there was way too much high end. I swapped it out for a Custom which was not so piercing.
Interesting. I bought one for my Ibanez AM93's bridge spot and there was way too much high end. I swapped it out for a Custom which was not so piercing.
riserobotsrise
New member
Re: Alnico ll Pro
They are great pickups but for my particular uses they aren't very versatile. I like the bridge in real specific situations where it's just incredible, but it's not the one I'd want to depend on full-time. In a playing situation I couldn't use it but again for recording parts here and there it's something to have in your arsenal. That's just my thing though. PG is my Alnico 2 bridge of choice for sure.
They are great pickups but for my particular uses they aren't very versatile. I like the bridge in real specific situations where it's just incredible, but it's not the one I'd want to depend on full-time. In a playing situation I couldn't use it but again for recording parts here and there it's something to have in your arsenal. That's just my thing though. PG is my Alnico 2 bridge of choice for sure.
Snake Aces
Singlecut Slut
Re: Alnico ll Pro
PG has too much mids for my guitars and uses but they are great pickups for some guitars and styles.
That being said, I do not know anything about you or your uses of an A2P but it is considered an extremely versatile pickup by most people's standards.
PG has too much mids for my guitars and uses but they are great pickups for some guitars and styles.
That being said, I do not know anything about you or your uses of an A2P but it is considered an extremely versatile pickup by most people's standards.
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riserobotsrise
New member
Re: Alnico ll Pro
I don't know what other folks's subjective experiences are with what pickups but I can give my own. A little bit more output on the bridge to roll back from would have made it much more flexible for sure, and splitting the bridge coil just didn't sound good. The PG does a better job at both and while it has more mids but I think that's a good thing in a band setting, more so when so many people tend to like the mids rolled back on the amp end. I'd expect the criticisms of the PG to be more about the high-end if anything.
I don't know what other folks's subjective experiences are with what pickups but I can give my own. A little bit more output on the bridge to roll back from would have made it much more flexible for sure, and splitting the bridge coil just didn't sound good. The PG does a better job at both and while it has more mids but I think that's a good thing in a band setting, more so when so many people tend to like the mids rolled back on the amp end. I'd expect the criticisms of the PG to be more about the high-end if anything.
Snake Aces
Singlecut Slut
Re: Alnico ll Pro
It's cool, I don't know what you consider a versatile pickup to be and yes these matters are all opinion based and subjective. It has been my experience that the Alnico II Pro neck and bridge humbuckers have been some of the most versatile pickups I have ever used. If your argument is the difference in output, well that's cool but they are both basically side by side in terms of output. The biggest difference between the PG and A2P is the A2P has slightly more bass, slightly less mids and slightly less treble than the PG. Their output is almost identical with only a slight edge to the PG. In fact, the A2P neck humbucker has a bit more output than the neck PG while the actual Slash signature A2P's have more output than the PG neck and bridge while also matching their mids as well as retaining the same smooth treble & big bass of the A2P .
I have found the split coil sound of the A2P to be great, one of the best I have used (right up there with the Jazz). I can easily play everything from jazz, country, funk, surf, Hendrix, Zeppelin all the way up to modern hard rock and new age folk with an Alnico II Pro set. To me, that is a versatile and flexible pickup. I even know a few guys who use it for metal. I do not know too many players at all who roll the mids back on their amps at all. My mids are usually dialed in between 4 and 7 on my amps depending on which guitar I am using. Never below 4. I certainly have nothing bad to say about the high end of the PG as I use a Jazz set in one of my guitars which has more high end than a PG.
I get what you are saying, it is subjective. However, the PG and A2P are not all that different of pickups. Not like comparing a JB or Duncan Distortion would be compared to the A2P bridge anyway which would be apples to oranges. The A2P and PG are definitely like comparing apples to apples and both pickups are great IMO.
It's cool, I don't know what you consider a versatile pickup to be and yes these matters are all opinion based and subjective. It has been my experience that the Alnico II Pro neck and bridge humbuckers have been some of the most versatile pickups I have ever used. If your argument is the difference in output, well that's cool but they are both basically side by side in terms of output. The biggest difference between the PG and A2P is the A2P has slightly more bass, slightly less mids and slightly less treble than the PG. Their output is almost identical with only a slight edge to the PG. In fact, the A2P neck humbucker has a bit more output than the neck PG while the actual Slash signature A2P's have more output than the PG neck and bridge while also matching their mids as well as retaining the same smooth treble & big bass of the A2P .
I have found the split coil sound of the A2P to be great, one of the best I have used (right up there with the Jazz). I can easily play everything from jazz, country, funk, surf, Hendrix, Zeppelin all the way up to modern hard rock and new age folk with an Alnico II Pro set. To me, that is a versatile and flexible pickup. I even know a few guys who use it for metal. I do not know too many players at all who roll the mids back on their amps at all. My mids are usually dialed in between 4 and 7 on my amps depending on which guitar I am using. Never below 4. I certainly have nothing bad to say about the high end of the PG as I use a Jazz set in one of my guitars which has more high end than a PG.
I get what you are saying, it is subjective. However, the PG and A2P are not all that different of pickups. Not like comparing a JB or Duncan Distortion would be compared to the A2P bridge anyway which would be apples to oranges. The A2P and PG are definitely like comparing apples to apples and both pickups are great IMO.
uOpt
Something Cool
Re: Alnico ll Pro
I never made up my mind about what I think about that high end sizzle of the PG. It's fine but not required I suppose.
But the low-mids push in unwanted to me in many situations. Especially in the neck of a hardtail.
The PG really shines with a tremolo with sustain block, though, because it partially fills the tremolo hole back in.
I never made up my mind about what I think about that high end sizzle of the PG. It's fine but not required I suppose.
But the low-mids push in unwanted to me in many situations. Especially in the neck of a hardtail.
The PG really shines with a tremolo with sustain block, though, because it partially fills the tremolo hole back in.
koshikas
New member
Re: Alnico ll Pro
just saw A2P neck paired with JB in ESP E-II Mystique QM model, and left me wondering why its always Jazz/JB people opt for. the genres this combo is used with might favor the Jazz neck bit more due to output and clarity under gain. but i think A2P are not much of a slouch under gain either, after all its the same coils with A2 mag, and it still retains much of its high-end brilliance (not annoyingly so, as some ppl find with the Jazz)
just saw A2P neck paired with JB in ESP E-II Mystique QM model, and left me wondering why its always Jazz/JB people opt for. the genres this combo is used with might favor the Jazz neck bit more due to output and clarity under gain. but i think A2P are not much of a slouch under gain either, after all its the same coils with A2 mag, and it still retains much of its high-end brilliance (not annoyingly so, as some ppl find with the Jazz)
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Alnico ll Pro
JB's, Customs, and Distortions aren't particularly versatile either. They're good for metal, that there's a lot more music people play than metal.
JB's, Customs, and Distortions aren't particularly versatile either. They're good for metal, that there's a lot more music people play than metal.
Snake Aces
Singlecut Slut
Re: Alnico ll Pro
I do not play metal myself, but I do play music heavier than GNR and Zep using A2P's for a few songs. They can handle loads and loads of gain flawlessly. I am a player who plays a wide array of styles so I need my pickups to be able to cover that ground.
I do not play metal myself, but I do play music heavier than GNR and Zep using A2P's for a few songs. They can handle loads and loads of gain flawlessly. I am a player who plays a wide array of styles so I need my pickups to be able to cover that ground.
Demanic
PenultimateTone Member
Re: Alnico ll Pro
I just saw a vid of some folks covering Rush's "Limelight" with a Distortion in the bridge of a LP, not what I would consider "metal" and yet it did the job phenomenally.
I just saw a vid of some folks covering Rush's "Limelight" with a Distortion in the bridge of a LP, not what I would consider "metal" and yet it did the job phenomenally.
blueman335
Mojo's Minions
Re: Alnico ll Pro
That would seem to be the definition of versatility. No PU will be a good choice for every genre, but some can do more well than others.
That would seem to be the definition of versatility. No PU will be a good choice for every genre, but some can do more well than others.
Snake Aces
Singlecut Slut
ItsaBass
New member
Re: Alnico ll Pro
The A2P is far more versatile than any of those other pickups you mentioned.
The A2P is far more versatile than any of those other pickups you mentioned.
Wolfshead
New member
Re: Alnico ll Pro
Meh, I didn't think so. The JB, Custom etc you can dial back the gain and get a good rock tone from them. A2P I didn't think you could get enough gain from them. You can play Rush with a Distortion but I don't think you can play Behemoth with an A2P.
Meh, I didn't think so. The JB, Custom etc you can dial back the gain and get a good rock tone from them. A2P I didn't think you could get enough gain from them. You can play Rush with a Distortion but I don't think you can play Behemoth with an A2P.