Tighter APH-2?

beaubrummels said:
"bridge pickup with similar voicing to the APH-2, but maybe with a little bit more output and a bit tighter." says Slash bridge to me.

My second thought was just a straight Custom, which is voiced like a loud PAF, but has some top end and tightness via the ceramic mag.

59/Custom would be a solid choice. IME maybe that would be a little thinner/flatter than the roundness of an APH.

A '78 Model might also do the trick, but now we're moving in the more bright, tight direction.

Custom 5 is solid, but more scooped and bright than an APH for sure, IME
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The Custom would indeed be tight and have more output, but it would be WAY brighter.

The 59/Custom would also sound thinner (less mids) and brighter.
 
I agree that the UOA5 might be a good choice. Or if you want to take it a step further to bright and tight than the UOA5 you could replace the A2 mag with an A8...brighter, tighter, and more output. I've tried this (A8 in a Jazz, which is the same wind as the A2P) and it sounds terrific.
 
A4 is tricky one. The pick up won't technically have more output, but because of the EQ shift, sounds like it has more output IME. Sometimes, that is all that was needed.
 
+1 for UOA5. From my own experiments, UOA5 was a more or less a louder version of A2. The EQ curve was almost identical, at least in the guitar I was swapping them in.
 
chadd said:
Nothing is going to sound similar and give more output. Pick your poison. I stand by that being the best option for what he stated, feel free to disagree.
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I'm not disagreeing with that at all. But the OP wanted "a little bit more output and a bit tighter"
 
GuitarDoc said:
I'm not disagreeing with that at all. But the OP wanted "a little bit more output and a bit tighter"
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So you're not disagreeing, yet you felt the need to be critical over something that can't actually be achieved? Great, thanks for contributing.
 
It can be achieved. More output is achieved with a double thick magnet. Tighter is anything tighter than A2, which is the chewiest mag. So anything that isn't too much of a departure from A2. Double thick A3, A4, UOA5, or A6.
 
Mincer said:
A tighter pickup would have less mids, more bass and treble. So the Jazz would be my guess, but if you want something more powerful, then the 59/Custom Hybrid would work as well.
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I wouldn't agree, personally. We all hear things differently, for sure, but I've always found that the less lows (and, consequently, more mids) you have *pre distortion*, always leads to a tighter tone. Exactly why people use tube screamers to tighten up flubby amps.

That being said, though, I have not got a lot of experience with A2 pickups, because I haven't liked any of the few that I've tried. But not because of their EQ curve, but rather, because they tend to be a bit less up-front and bold-feeling than A5.

I've always thought the impression that A2 is loose has to do more with low output, squishy compression, and less immediate feel rather than EQ.
 
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Rex_Rocker said:
I've always thought the impression that A2 is loose has to do more with low output, squishy compression, and less immediate feel rather than EQ.
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If that were true, most PAF-types like a 59 would be loose, too, and it isn't.
 
Mincer said:
If that were true, most PAF-types like a 59 would be loose, too, and it isn't.
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For a PAF-type, a '59 may no be. But compared to something like an EMG 81? It kind of is.

And I think exactly the reason why the 81 is soooooo tight is a. because of the compression and, most importantly, b. because it hardly has any low-end at all compared to pretty much all passives.

Then again, we all hear things differently. And I've never found any decently made humbucker can't be shaped into something usable in terms of tightness and clarity.

And just wanted to make the clarification that *I* don't find A2 magnets inherently loose. I was just saying those are some of the characteristics that may give pepole the impression that it's loose rather than EQ.
 
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chadd said:
So you're not disagreeing, yet you felt the need to be critical over something that can't actually be achieved? Great, thanks for contributing.
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What is your problem?!
I'm not being critical, nor am I disagreeing...just clarifying that the OP wanted more output, and THAT can't be achieved with an A4. It CAN be achieved in other ways, however.
 
:opcorn:
I know the OP has supposedly moved on to the Pegasus/Sentient combo, but what about taking the stock APH2 and adding ceramic booster magnets? How would that compare with some of the other suggestions here?
 
skelt101 said:
:opcorn:
I know the OP has supposedly moved on to the Pegasus/Sentient combo, but what about taking the stock APH2 and adding ceramic booster magnets? How would that compare with some of the other suggestions here?
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Wouldn't ceramic booster magnets degauss the A2?
 
I've used ceramic spacers with A2 in the middle, it works. If you like ceramic, you'd like that combo. It sounds pretty cool because you can hear the effects of both.
 
GuitarDoc said:
What is your problem?!
I'm not being critical, nor am I disagreeing...just clarifying that the OP wanted more output, and THAT can't be achieved with an A4. It CAN be achieved in other ways, however.
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My problem? I'm just calling you out on your behavior. I'm sorry if you don't like being held to the same standard you apply to others.

SNS set is the only Duncan humbucker currently offered with an A4 magnet and does have more output than the APH 1 or 2. I referenced the SNS in the initial post you quoted and said "won't give more output". So, yes, you were disagreeing on multiple levels, before you said you weren't disagreeing. Feel free to continue parsing words in an effort to try and convince yourself that you're right, it appears that your ego requires it.
 
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