Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

[Luxu]

Hi All,

I have an Alnico Pro II, APH-1 bridge that has a broken screw coil. I also have an unused Pearly Gates bridge. Have been looking into getting a replacement coil for the APH-1, but thought I might be worth while to see if I can use the screw coil from the PG. Any theoretical reasons why this might be a bad idea before I try it? Any suggestions as to what the effect might be?

Thanks.

 

[Demanic]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

Don't see why it wouldn't work.

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

 

[blueman335]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

Should, but as with anything involving PU's, individual taste is a big part of whether something 'sounds good.' When it comes to hybrids, there are thousands of coil combinations, the majority of which have probably never been tried. Those of us who make hybrids are pioneers.

I particularly like hybrids made from one coil of a bridge PAF and one coil from a neck PAF. The unbalanced coils (.5K) give a sharper high end, and I use them in the neck slot for a clearer PU. The two bridge coils you're considering won't give any wild change, and should work together fine.

 

[orpheo]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

it works fairly well but it's a really warm, sweet sounding pickup. great for bright guitars. or in a les paul, a happy marriage between slash and Gibbons

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

Should work just fine. Try it and see if the tone fits your desires. I would expect it to sound similar to the PG...might have a brighter high end to it.

 

[Leon Of Late]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

I'm actually intrigued and will wait patiently for the results. A2P, PG and the Seth are my favorite production neck pickups.... so far anyhow. I need to sample some more.

 

[Luxu]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

I'm actually intrigued and will wait patiently for the results. A2P, PG and the Seth are my favorite production neck pickups.... so far anyhow. I need to sample some more.

Hi Leon of Late,

I put the hybrid together and have been playing it off and on today when I can. I am going to put it back to the PG and then play that for bit so I can see what was different. Will get back to you soon with hopefully a helpful description.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

Yeah, this is an interesting combo. If you can post a before/after clip, that would be cool too.

 

[Luxu]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

Yeah, this is an interesting combo. If you can post a before/after clip, that would be cool too.

Thoughts on PG/APH-1 Hybrid Experiment:

A Les Paul Studio, wired with no tone control and a 250k pot, played through a Blackstar Club 50 and a 2x12 with a Vintage 30 and G12T-75.

Working with moderate-to-moderate/high gain signals, my impression is that the hybrid with the PG screw coil and APH-1 slug is not a great pickup and is noticeably inferior to a regular PG. Spending lots of time with various height and screw configurations, I thought the hybrid lacked a solid mid for this kind of tone and had a somewhat boomy low end, which I found hard to clear up. I did find some likable lead tones in there, but at the expense of an overall good sound. I always found myself a bit dissatisfied.

My opinion would be that if you are looking for moderate-to-moderate/high gain tones, and you already have a PG, this hybrid would probably not make you happy. And although I have not played with an APH-1 for a long time, I would still suggest, based on memory, that the hybrid is inferior to a regular APH-1. I did not, however, do much with lower gain or clean settings, and it would be beyond my “expertise” and the purview of the experiment to suggest the same conclusions if you are looking for those kinds of tones.

Unfortunately no audio samples.

Disclaimer:
Of course, an incredible amount of subjectivity involved here.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

Well, that is why we appreciate the results. It saves a lot of time for other people. Thanks for reporting back!

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

Those results are about what I would have expected...drop in mids giving a thinner brighter sound. I didn't anticipate the boomy lows (unless it just sounds that way because of the loss of mids).

 

[blueman335]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

I don't care for PG's, so I haven't used them in my hybrids. After reading this, I'm glad I didn't.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

And I like the Demon rather than the 59 in a hybrid. I haven't tried a PG either...I've never had a compulsion to try that one. It just "seemed" like it wouldn't give me a tone I would ever use.

 

[jtougas]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

Try it in the neck?

 

[SoundAt11]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

Try a 500K pot. 250K in an LP with an Alnico 2 magnet humbucker sounds like a recipe for mud-city.

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Would An APH-1 work well with a Pearly Gates as a Hybrid?

Magnet type aside, a drop in mids is NOT "a recipe for mud-city". Quite the opposite.

Just because a pup uses an A2 mag, doesn't mean it will sound muddy. Ex: Pearly Gates, A2Pro, Jazz with an A2, etc.

Plus you'll notice in his results he used a 250k pot and A2 mag and got a drop in mids giving it a bright sound but with a boomy low end. Mud is more closely related to mids. For example...the 59 has a bright high end, a drop in mids, boomy bass, but is definitely not muddy.