rned out so great that it eventually became a permanent part of the APG lineup. Then I routed a larger cavity at the bridge to fit a Dark Side. And honestly, it sounds absolutely beautiful. I’m very happy with the result. These are yet another set of pickups from APG in my guitars.
Show Less

. I tested many different pickups, and there was always some kind of compromise — more glassy and wiry split tones at the expense of the humbucker sound, great humbuckers whose individual coils sounded completely characterless or had a very low output. Not to mention having to take the winding and polarity of every coil into account to make sure as many of the possible combinations as possible would remain hum-free in the final setup. I had almost given up on the idea of achieving what I wanted. But while looking for interesting solutions and new pickup technologies, I came across APG pickups. Based on the description on the website, the Stratobucker Dual Tone set, with a noiseless Stratobucker single-coil in the middle position, seemed to be exactly what I was looking for. I had just picked up my guitar after having these pickups installed, and when I plugged it into a tube amp, my jaw dropped. The Dual Tone pickups in single-coil mode sound exactly the way I would expect good Stratocaster single-coils to sound, especially in positions 2 and 4 combined with the middle single-coil. The HB mode also completely meets my expectations. It delivers a convincing humbucker character even though the pickups are in a single-coil format. In this mode, you get a warmer tone and higher output; you lose some of the typical glass and wiriness of a single-coil, but the pickups remain clear and articulate, just as a good humbucker should be. The output is somewhat higher, but not enough to require you to immediately change your amp settings. With the right electronic configuration, in addition to S-S-S and H-S-H sounds, you can also get both outer humbuckers working together — in the style of Gibson-type H-H or superstrat configurations — or an S-S combination similar to a Telecaster. It’s also worth mentioning that all pickup combinations remain hum-free in every mode! By installing these pickups in a superstrat-style guitar, I ended up with an instrument that allows me to play virtually any kind of material without compromise. Maybe with the exception of the most extreme metal — but with the right gear, who knows? 😉 I wholeheartedly recommend them!
Show Less

setting. The power and knowledge of Andrzej. Hell yeah. Run to Poliakow as fast as you can. I wholeheartedly recommend it. Pastyl
Show Less

ej Poliakow — a model endorsed by guitarist Viktor Smolski of RAGE. As it happened, I now live and play music in Poland, and I’m also interested in the Polish rock scene. I heard the band Luxtorpeda and really liked their sound — it was definitely my kind of thing. I did a little research online and found out that Luxtorpeda’s guitarist plays APG humbuckers. I got in touch with Andrzej Poliakow, and he recommended the LITZA model — the signature pickup of Luxtorpeda guitarist Litza. The order was completed very quickly — literally by the end of the week, the humbucker was already with me. That same evening, I installed it in my Telecaster and plugged it into my amp. And I’ll put it this way — this was exactly the sound I had been looking for! Juicy, thick and spacious, with a sound that cuts through beautifully when playing with a band. When I play distorted chords, every note remains clearly audible — this humbucker is a perfect match for my band’s style! I’ve already ordered a second pickup from Andrzej — this time for the neck position! I recommend the LITZA humbucker to anyone who mainly plays riffs! Simply killer!!! P.S. Here’s a YouTube link — I recorded a short video during rehearsal. Even though it was recorded on a phone, you can still hear how great the guitar sounds with the LITZA humbucker! https://youtube.com/shorts/X0ioWTihPeY?si=0auITdq_OPw6tcZE And if anyone is interested in what I play — here’s a link to my band’s website: www.biaznazvy.com
Show Less

copy of a Gibson Marauder and turn it into a Gibson S-1-style guitar, so I wanted to make sure the experiment wouldn’t end in disaster — the shorter Gibson scale, different body material and weight (mahogany), etc. Let me tell you — every time I speak with this man, the experience is fantastic. He is an incredibly kind person with extensive knowledge in this field and a real passion for what he does. The pickups sound fantastic. They are extremely clear, very responsive to articulation, and all positions are very well balanced. P.S. I recently bought another old Japanese guitar in which the bridge pickup unfortunately wasn’t working. So I called Mr. Andrzej and asked if he could take a look and see what could be done to repair it. The man makes his own pickups and is now also starting a company where he will be building guitars under his own brand. He could easily have brushed off some random guy with a broken pickup by simply saying he didn’t have the time — but he didn’t. He had no problem telling me he would take a look and see what could be done. I wholeheartedly recommend this man and his products.
Show Less

original Gibson pickups. As we all know, no two guitars are the same, because wood never grows in exactly the same way throughout its life. Even wood taken from the same tree trunk can have different acoustic properties. That is what still makes this work so fascinating — in reality, no luthier can know 100% what the final result will be, even though experience should give us the ability to get as close as possible. I can wholeheartedly recommend basically all APG pickups, but these are particularly well suited to Les Paul-style guitars, as I mentioned at the beginning. Have a nice sound!
Show Less

ven in a thick mahogany body. Compared to the popular SH-4, there’s less harshness in the upper frequencies while maintaining similar output, along with a noticeable low end that really hits hard with palm mutes. In my opinion, they’re in a similar league, with a slight edge to APG. Highly recommended!
Show Less

was basically given a complete overhaul. It turned out really great. And on top of that, you can have a good chat with Andrzej — he’s a really nice guy. Best regards!
Show Less

s perfectly in both solid-body and semi-hollow-body guitars. In semi-hollow instruments, however, I use 250kΩ pots to bring out that desirable “lower midrange” in the tone. The cleans are not overly compressed, which gives you greater clarity. What I mean here is the presence of the guitar in the mix, because many guitarists forget that when playing in a band, they should be one of the members who are not simply standing on stage as placeholders, but actually have a real impact on the overall sound and character of the band. When the Litza pickup is switched to parallel mode, you get a tone straight out of the rhythm & blues world, and it works extremely well alongside single-coils. And by “single-coils”, I also mean APG pickups in a humbucker-in-a-single-coil format. That way, you don’t lose that desirable “glass” in position 2 of the pickup selector. I should point out that for me, position 2 means the bridge and middle pickups together in a Stratocaster. I know it’s numbered the other way around in the USA, but hey — we live in Poland. 🙂 So... for anyone looking for an open-sounding pickup with the ability to switch between parallel and series modes, this is a great choice. Someone here in the reviews described it as being on a world-class level, and that is exactly how I see it. Of course, I’m not taking anything away from other pickup manufacturers — they have an impressive body of work as well — but what I value most is the fact that I can discuss a customer’s requirements directly with Andrzej. That gives us possibilities that other companies may not be able to offer. After all, before finding the pickup we really like — the one that sounds the way we expect in our particular guitar — we often have to buy several different models, install them, and then sell the unwanted pickups second-hand. We simply lose money in the process, because nobody is going to buy them back from us for the same price we paid. As a luthier with 25 years of experience, I recommend all APG pickups, among other things because we can discuss exactly what we want from a pickup directly with Andrzej. I would also add that in situations like this, it is important to tell Andrzej what kind of wood your guitar is made from and what kind of music it is intended for.
Show Less

decided to purchase this set. The result exceeded my expectations — the pickups are fantastic. I also own an original Fender with all its original hardware, but the pickups I bought from Mr. Andrzej are on another level. I’m convinced that anyone interested in purchasing pickups will receive professional advice when speaking with Mr. Andrzej and will be able to work out the right specifications to make the guitar sound the way they envisioned. I wholeheartedly recommend getting in touch with Mr. Andrzej. He is helpful and highly professional, and I also highly recommend APG pickups.
Show Less

lean tones. I use it together with the TeleBucker Dual Tone Bridge, and it sounds great in every switch position. I’m absolutely thrilled with it.
Show Less