. 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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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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harder. A huge plus is also the whole service — professional approach, expert installation and attention to every detail. You can see that everything is done with passion and to the highest standard. Both the pickup itself and the complete service are top quality. I definitely recommend APG!
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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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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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quality is definitely top-tier. And a big plus for the service as well - everything taken care of from A to Z, great communication and complete professionalism.
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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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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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