Vintage APH1_J vs Modern APH-1

[ZachcNJ]

Hey All,
New to the forum and figured this was the best place to ask before buying.

I’m a really big fan of the mids and warmth of the APH pickup (though only heard them, never had them installed in a guitar of my own).

I recently picked up an 80s Les Paul and thought that it would be a great guitar to throw some APH pickups in.

Im thinking I want to hunt down some vintage APH1, preferably 80s, to stick with the era for this LP.

Is there much tonal difference between vintage and modern APH1s? Is it worth hunting for them and paying for the vintage ones or are the moderns just as good?

Thanks for all the help!

 

[jeremy]

some people will tell you the old ones sound better or different, if it was me, id just buy whatever i found for a good deal

 

[Mincer]

Over the years, SD used different companies to supply magnets and other parts. There might be a small difference between pickups in any era, but in my experience, the difference isn't great enough to worry about. I bet that LP will sound great no matter what era APH-1 goes in there.

 

[Chistopher]

A 50 year old A2 magnet is going to sound different than a brand new one, that is unless you recharge it. An A5 or a ceramic won't have near as much a differemce

 

[Mincer]

Pickups from any era will sound different. Better? Worse? Enough to matter? I've used 50 year old A2s, and modern ones. They both sounded great. Not the same.

 

[ZachcNJ]

Thanks so much for all the advise and insight everyone! Found a used set of newer aph1’s on reverb and have saved searches for MJ wound Aph1’s. The joy of the hunt! Excited to get the new ones in and cannot wait for the vintage ones!

 

[Mincer]

I bet the new ones sound great. It is my favorite neck pickup.

 

[STLMTLHD79]

This is the answer to your question:

 

[Aceman]

I'm thinking nothing a tweak of the Eq/gain on the amp wouldn't make the same...

Just get a set of whatever A2P's, adjust them to perfection, and rock on.

 

[Anficht]

I'll be honest, I was on the same hype train and since I was obsessed with the sound of Slash at some point.
Eventually I got a Vintage APH1-1N-J and APH-1B-J after searching for months.

I compared it to the modern versions and found very little (if any) discernable difference in sound. Ok, they look awesome (since they are 40 years old now), they have a Maple spacer, single conductor wire, long legs and just a great vibe just from the looks.
But truth be told, they sound indistinguishable from the modern pickups, after an A/B comparison. There might be some variances, but it's certainly due to tolerances between each sample and now aged magnets...

They're still cool for the vibe though.

But nowadays, I would be happy with either one and it would get me the desired result - the #34 or #36 Slash sound.

Full disclosure: I kept mine for sentimental value