Anyone tried other pickups in their AL?

[beej]

Fellas-

Looking to gather info on anyone that's tried other p'ups in their AL. I know we've all got favourite pickup vendors, so I'm not looking to get suggestions. Rather, I'd love to hear if anyone has found something they love better than the stock Duncan APS-II pickups, and if so ... why?

As much as I love the Duncans, I'm going to experiment for fun. I'd like to try a few noiseless ones in there too, just to see. Will probably start with the Dimarzio Area 58s, though I'm concerned about losing that twangy vibe in the bridge position. (Bonus points for anyone who has tried the Area pickups, in any guitar.)

 

[phatduckk]

Tyler switched PUPs in his AL... well, actually Ben did. search for threads started by oldtoe in the guitar section for ben's posts on the subject

 

[beej]

Oh yeah- good memory dude. I will check that thread. Thanks

 

[Sweat]

Beej, with your help I put the SD JB Jr. in the bridge, but I was looking to get rid of the twang, I like the results but I was looking for so punch, still tweaking it. I think Ben put the same PUP in tylers

 

[Norrin Radd]

I have not - yet. But I am eyeing up a set of Kinman Woodstock +s to drop in soon.

 

[robelinda2]

i spoke to Kinman late last year and tried some Woodstock's actually, he was actually trying to talk me out of changing them as he has a very high regard for the stock SD's, turned out he was right.

 

[mbgreene]

Tommy has put Lollars in his AL (and other guitars). But IIRC he only put them in certain positions rather than a full set.

 

[Headstock]

I had an AL that had Suhr V60lp's in it. They were great sounding pickups. I bought the guitar that way and the owner had removed the silent circuit when he installed them. They were extremely quiet pickups. I put the silent circuit put back in and I could tell a difference but it was really subtle, they were that quiet themselves.

 

[agt]

I have Area 58s in a Silo Special neck and middle and my AL is stock. The Area 58s are brighter, thinner, more delicate sounding if that makes sense. More glassy. The AL single coils are a bit warmer. Both sound great. It's not like I prefer one sound to the other; they are just different.

 

[Norrin Radd]

i spoke to Kinman late last year and tried some Woodstock's actually, he was actually trying to talk me out of changing them as he has a very high regard for the stock SD's, turned out he was right.

That's good to know! You might have just saved me some good $$$, Rob - Thanks!

 

[Spudmurphy]

If anybody takes the stock Duncan pickups out of their AL and are looking to recoup some of their outlay on new pickups please let me know and I'll buy the Duncans off ya?

 

[DrBob]

If anybody takes the stock Duncan pickups out of their AL and are looking to recoup some of their outlay on new pickups please let me know and I'll buy the Duncans off ya?

See,

Now here's interesting.

Until I sold my 94 Pinkburst onto Komp I had my all time favourite set of Rio Grande's loaded into it. I've been meaning to stick them into my new AL for months now but just haven't got around to it.

So this may be the very push that I need to get those SD's out of there. PM me if you're interested Spud and maybe we can do a deal !

 

[KungFu Grip]

I did. Put a full set of Rio Grandes in it first. They lasted two weeks. Next, put a SD Twangbanger in the bridge. It came out in a month. Been running the stock pickups for the last few years.

 

[beej]

Aweome, thanks for the responses guys.

i spoke to Kinman late last year and tried some Woodstock's actually, he was actually trying to talk me out of changing them as he has a very high regard for the stock SD's, turned out he was right.

Ok, so that's a negative on the Kinmans in there. That's very cool that he thought so much of the SDs.

I have Area 58s in a Silo Special neck and middle and my AL is stock. The Area 58s are brighter, thinner, more delicate sounding if that makes sense. More glassy. The AL single coils are a bit warmer. Both sound great. It's not like I prefer one sound to the other; they are just different.

That is very interesting- thank you. I keep wondering about the 58s- they're supposed to be the more vintage of the line, which I figured would be good replacements for the SDs. The body wood should make a big difference though- definitely worth a try then.

I did. Put a full set of Rio Grandes in it first. They lasted two weeks. Next, put a SD Twangbanger in the bridge. It came out in a month. Been running the stock pickups for the last few years.

So ... in a nutshell the word is that everybody likes the stock p'ups the most. I was playing my pinkburst all last night and the sound really is magic.

 

[DrBob]

Aweome, thanks for the responses guys.
So ... in a nutshell the word is that everybody likes the stock p'ups the most. I was playing my pinkburst all last night and the sound really is magic.

No, I'd have to say that in my instance I definitely prefer the sound of the Rio Grande's. Nothing wrong with the SD's, I just prefer the 'sleazier' (trying to describe tone is like trying to dance to literature) sound of the Vintage Tallboys.

Not for one second suggesting that I'm right, just a preference you know.

 

[beej]

trying to describe tone is like trying to dance to literature

Yes ... indeed that is the problem with these threads.

But very good to know.

 

[tommyindelaware]

i played a certain red silo on a few gigs w/ areas in it & it killed.

i LOVE the lollar blonde i put in my al. (just the neck position......i like the stock bridge & middle just fine. i found the stock neck position a little too dark for me personally).

Fellas-

Looking to gather info on anyone that's tried other p'ups in their AL. I know we've all got favourite pickup vendors, so I'm not looking to get suggestions. Rather, I'd love to hear if anyone has found something they love better than the stock Duncan APS-II pickups, and if so ... why?

As much as I love the Duncans, I'm going to experiment for fun. I'd like to try a few noiseless ones in there too, just to see. Will probably start with the Dimarzio Area 58s, though I'm concerned about losing that twangy vibe in the bridge position. (Bonus points for anyone who has tried the Area pickups, in any guitar.)

 

[beej]

Ah yes ... the VM Silo ... that's awesome

 

[mark_tampa]

I've got a nice new set of Joe Barden S-Deluxe's that I've been holding on to for awhile, purchased for a good deal and was wanting to build a strat clone, but guitar building is not for me. Might be time to make use of them in my AL..

 

[Butch Snyder]

My personal opinion is that the APS-2's (Alnico 2 Pro flat pole) are some of the best single coils made. I did do one mod though. Duncan makes a single coil called the Twang Banger. It basically an APS-1 (Alnico 2 staggered pole) with a little extra winds and a copper-plated steel baseplate. Now the APS-2's in the AL's come with a thin, little metal strip under the neck and bridge pickups. That helps with the Tele tone from the bridge pickup. I talked with Evan Skopp, VP at Duncan, and he sent me one of the baseplates from their Twang Banger production and I attached it to the APS-2 bridge pickup on my AL. It made a noticeable difference. There was more twang, punch, and sustain.