. 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!
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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!
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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!
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t sounds great in both coil configurations: parallel and series.
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ith the option at the time to switch the operating mode of the bridge pickup. Back then, I was installing pickups from companies such as BKP, Lollar, Seymour Duncan, DiMarzio, Kinman, Q-tuner and others — basically the absolute top of the standard and custom guitar market. I even had Kinmans and a set of BKP BlackDogs in one of my own guitars, which cost me a small fortune. So, once I had finished putting the client’s guitar together, I plugged it into an amp — and I simply couldn’t put the guitar down. Not because I had built some kind of masterpiece (it was a normal guitar, built with heart and to the best of my ability), but the sound coming from the speaker completely caught me off guard. The amount of harmonics coming from the speaker made me decide to get in touch with the person who designed these pickups. That’s how our collaboration began, and it continues to this day. I should add that APG has gone through further stages of development since then, resulting in other pickups that now power my guitars as well as those of other players. He’s a lifelong seeker of the Holy Grail, just like me. Obviously, the companies I mentioned above also make fantastic pickups. But with them, I don’t have the possibility of discussing the pickup parameters directly with Andrzej and having them tailored in such detail to a specific guitar and the client’s requirements. I think this is the most important thing — it saves us money when searching for the right pickup for our “axe”. The fact that Andrzej Poliakow used to build guitars himself (and has returned to that profession in recent years) means we can discuss all the parameters of the guitar in relation to the pickups. Sometimes you have to convince a client that their vision for the construction of the guitar will not work well for the sound they want to achieve, and that is also part of our job — to explain it properly. I’m very happy to have the possibilities I mentioned above, because the client ends up with a guitar configured specifically for them. And then they have years of playing ahead of them — playing a guitar like that can completely disrupt your daily routine 🙂 because it’s hard to put it down. And the wives get angry 🙂 But what can you do — the guitar is the greatest love, and no woman can replace it. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of the guitar that started our friendship... which is a shame. But I’ll post photos of other guitars I’ve built with APG pickups! Cheers! 🙂
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e at the neck, in the version designed for 500k pots (somewhat similar in character to a P-90). 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.
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heavier rock styles and fluid lead playing, I use the bridge pickup, which sounds very good, and with the switch we can make it brighter and more aggressive. After the first tests following the modifications, the guitar took on a whole new dimension. I’m very happy with the result and I highly recommend APG pickups. Mr. Andrzej is a very friendly person with extensive knowledge of both guitar tone and guitar construction, which means that you can learn a lot simply by talking to him. Highly recommended. Zdzisław Sołowiej
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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.
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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.
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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.
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