Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

[Drak]

New build I'm working on, 1/2 way done.
All Mahogany doublecut type body.
Mahogany/Ebony neck, 25.5" scale, TOM.
I'm going to use a Custom Custom in the bridge.
I have both a Pearly Gates bridge, and a set of APH-2's, neck and bridge here that I could use.

Just cruising for comments on which would be a better matchup.
I'm taking for granted 500K pots here.
Thanks.

 

[chadd]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

APH neck worked well for me, haven't tried the other two

 

[Demanic]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

You could make a Pearly/Custom hybrid.

Sent from my Alcatel_5044C using Tapatalk

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

If you have them all, why not try them all? You never know which one would work best in any individual guitar.

 

[Drak]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

If you have them all, why not try them all?
You never know which one would work best in any individual guitar.

True, very true, but basically:
Because it's a PITA I'd rather avoid if I can
Or am just totally not happy with choice no.1.
I like asking others who've been there before me
If I can hit it the first time, based on others' experience, why not do that
And finally, why the hell are we all here then if not to see what others' have to say?
:fing2:

 

[Mincer]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

Well, the APH and CC are among my favorite combos, so I'm going with that.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

In an all mahogany guitar, you might find the neck position a little dark, or at least that's possible. As much as I love the APH with the CC, I might go with the Pearly Gates in the neck for some added brightness and clarity. I know your Pearly is technically a bridge model, but it's not hot enough to be too hot for the neck position. I would try that.

Also, don't neglect your choice of capacitors. In an all mahogany guitar, my recommendation would be a .022uf in the bridge and a .015uf in the neck. PIO caps are my preference, but the value of the cap matters more than its construction.

Good luck.

 

[Drak]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

Well, there is an additional piece of information I should have added:
One volume, one tone, combined, after the switch.
However, I'm going to use a P model Megaswitch.
That does the inner-outer coil PRS thing.
I liked the idea of the unbalanced coils interacting with the 5-way idea.
The CC has unbalanced coils, as does the PG I believe.
I don't think the APH 2 does, but that's not a dealkiller, get the basics right first, then the icing.
I thought that, along with all being A2's, would be interesting.
So there's that twist on things.
And I already planned on a combined .02 cap.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

The APH coils are very balanced indeed. In general, Seymour is known for having very symmetrical coils on most of his pickups. Some pickups have a bit of unbalance between coils, but the difference isn't dramatic like with some other pickup winders. I don't recall which pups are more imbalanced, but I think the coil readings are available for most pickups.

I don't have any experience with megaswitches, so I'm not much help there. I just know that the PG has less bass and a brighter character vs the APH.

 

[STLMTLHD79]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

As Jeff_H commented, i would not recommend the CC in an all Mahogany guitar. It will be very dark. I HIGHLY recommend the 59/Custom Hybrid. You could even make one with an A2 mag, but again, it may go a bit dark, but not as bad as the CC.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

Alnico 2 magnets also don't lend that well to splitting, so I'd say spring for an A5 and a ceramic magnet and put the A5 in the neck A2P and the ceramic in the CC. Then you've got a poor mans Jazz/Custom combo. The wood/scale combo you have there is kinda odd, so if you go the above route, there is a possiblity you might prefer a 250k volume control to round off a few treebles.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

The good thing about the Custom Custom is that you can swap magnets and get many different predictable flavors out of it. Have a bunch of magnets on hand, and swap away.

 

[Jeff_H]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

The good thing about the Custom Custom is that you can swap magnets and get many different predictable flavors out of it. Have a bunch of magnets on hand, and swap away.

This is the best thing about the Custom series, other than they all sound great. It's probably the most magnet swapped range of pickups SD makes. This forum invented the C5 almost 20 years ago. Damn..... time goes WAY too fast. I joined this forum when the C5 had just become a production pickup and it was still all the rage. It was the first SD pickup I ever bought. Robert_S recommended it to me. I ultimately didn't like it, but it set me on a lifelong journey of pickup swapping, understanding how guitars work and the confidence to learn to work on my own guitars... not to mention all the friends I've made here over the years.

 

[Drak]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

Alnico 2 magnets also don't lend that well to splitting,
so I'd say spring for an A5 and a ceramic magnet
and put the A5 in the neck A2P and the ceramic in the CC.

I might not go down that exact entire road but that was a fascinating statement about A2's and splitting.
That gave me serious pause for thought.
Well said.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

I actually don't mind the A2P split, or the CC for that matter. I use both sounds.

 

[Drak]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

So I decided to pull the APH2 set out of the guitar they were in tonight.
Turns out it's a set of APH-1's, haha!
Been in there so many years I forgot...

So I'm thinking the APH-1 neck and swap in an A5 in the CC and give that combo a whirl.

 

[Wattage]

Re: Custom Custom Bridge...PG or APH2 for Neck?

CC/A2 work really well together but a PGn would be a great choice too