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Post subject: Novelty? Not hardly.
Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2015 10:08 pm
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My mother came for a visit during Christmas weekend. She wanted to buy me a Christmas present, but she doesn't know music equipment at all.

As we were strolling through GC, all I could really think of was a good reverb pedal. But I'm really not too down with a lot of the newer ones.

Plan B: Pickups.
There was a fairly sparse group of them at this particular one. Duncan JB, Jazz, Dimarzio SD, Hot Rails, Emg 81, 85, blah blah blah. Same ol stuff. I've tried em all, still have a few.

But there was a Seymour Duncan APH-2 Slash set sitting there. And my thought has always kind of been,"Ok, another over priced signature model pickup". It's hard not to think that way when you see something like the EMG Zakk Wylde set as if it's something more than just a 81/85 set. But I decided on the Slash set. What the heck, I hadn't heard them before.

After installing them, I fired up the amps and took them for a spin.

The Slash APH-2 set is INCREDIBLE!! I didn't expect them to be as good as they are. Imagine a '59 set about 2-shades darker. The articulation is right there with Gibson Classic. Extremely good overtones. They can sing as well as any pickup I've ever heard.

If you ever get a wild hair to try a really good vintage rock or blues tone, don't be afraid to try this set. You won't be sorry. They're the real deal. I haven't been able to put this guitar down all week.

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Post subject: Re: Novelty? Not hardly.
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 5:47 am
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Thanks for sharing. Now I know the pups to put on my Ibanez Artcore. It is a beautiful guitar but the pups are lame. Might be a bit before I bite but, once my mind fixes on a solution for some of my gear it shows up not too long after. Having good pups would make playing that guitar a lot nicer. It needs tuning pegs too. I say needs, in it needs these things to be a true reliable professional instrument. I might fool others but, not myself. :lol:

Nice looking guitar.

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Post subject: Re: Novelty? Not hardly.
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 7:52 am
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Yea, these would be great in an Artcore.

Before buying this set, I would take '59s and swap the magnets. I never liked the briteness of '59s, but I like the attack, bite, and articulation. So I put an A8 in the bridge pickup to tame the highs, and I put an A2 in the neck for the same reason.

This set has those same attributes, but juicier flavor. The bridge pickup hits all of the sweet spots without being overly middy. It allows your amp to do the work to get what you want out of it. The neck pickup is one of Duncan's best. Realizing people have different tastes, I'd say it's in the top 3. It holds its own with Pearly Gates and '59. And has more clarity than a Gibson classic.

Whatever Duncan did, they hit a home run with the Slash set.

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Post subject: Re: Novelty? Not hardly.
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 8:29 am
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shred6 wrote:

Whatever Duncan did, they hit a home run with the Slash set.


That's how I feel about the SD/Bonamassa pups. They are my favorite humbuckers. I have a set of the Whole Lotta Humbucker in another guitar and I'm not crazy about them. I had to drop them all the way down before I could use them. They may end up getting replaced. I'll keep these Slash ones in mind if I make a switch.

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Post subject: Re: Novelty? Not hardly.
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 9:57 am
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shred6 wrote:
Yea, these would be great in an Artcore.

Before buying this set, I would take '59s and swap the magnets. I never liked the briteness of '59s, but I like the attack, bite, and articulation. So I put an A8 in the bridge pickup to tame the highs, and I put an A2 in the neck for the same reason.

This set has those same attributes, but juicier flavor. The bridge pickup hits all of the sweet spots without being overly middy. It allows your amp to do the work to get what you want out of it. The neck pickup is one of Duncan's best. Realizing people have different tastes, I'd say it's in the top 3. It holds its own with Pearly Gates and '59. And has more clarity than a Gibson classic.

Whatever Duncan did, they hit a home run with the Slash set.


After you posted I went and checked them out online and read reviews. Stellar reviews. I like that they can be used for clarity and definition as well as crunch. They sound very versatile. Perfect for an Artcore type of guitar.

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Post subject: Re: Novelty? Not hardly.
Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2015 10:21 am
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Over the past few years I've been noticing Seymour Duncan really hitting the pavement hard with their product/client relationships. They even put out a pickup that was the idea of a forum member who created hybrid humbuckers and would post his results in their forum.

They're listening to their clients. They're welcoming their ideas. I have them on Facebook, and every day they're asking questions and posting stuff like how to modify their own product. They're making a killing with their Nazgul and Pegasus in the Metal genre, and doing a great job with their vintage sounds. As a company, they're doing all of the right things.

Instead of just saying,"Here's your product, take it or leave it", they're saying "Here's what we came up with, is there anything you would change about it"? And they're listening and it's working.

DiMarzio hasn't been nearly as client involved.

The "Nazgul" is Duncan's latest best idea, and a great example of understanding the public and the Metal Genre. Directed toward down tuned metal, what kid DOESN'T want a pickup called "NAZGUL!!" I mean, c'mon, at that point the pickup only needs to be marginally good. But I've heard it, and it's great for that style. Chalk up another winner for SD.

After trying the Slash set, I'll be more inclined to try a Bonamassa set as well. Something tells me they didn't pull any punches with that set either.

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Post subject: Re: Novelty? Not hardly.
Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 7:22 pm
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shred6 wrote:
Over the past few years I've been noticing Seymour Duncan really hitting the pavement hard with their product/client relationships. They even put out a pickup that was the idea of a forum member who created hybrid humbuckers and would post his results in their forum.

They're listening to their clients. They're welcoming their ideas. I have them on Facebook, and every day they're asking questions and posting stuff like how to modify their own product. They're making a killing with their Nazgul and Pegasus in the Metal genre, and doing a great job with their vintage sounds. As a company, they're doing all of the right things.


I put a pair of Seymour Duncan "Black Winter" pups in my PRS shredder, and wow. Just wow. It doesn't lose treble details, like many of the high output pickups. It's not my first style of music, but I must say that what SD does with buckers these days is impressive. EMG? No thanks. Too clipped.


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Post subject: Re: Novelty? Not hardly.
Posted: Sat Jan 03, 2015 11:11 pm
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As I'm typing this, im listening to my friend play through my H&K with a 7-string that has the Nazgul. And we're both analyzing it. It's a high output pickup for down tuning Metal. It reminds me of a DiMarzio Super Dist. For 7-string. Ceramic mag with a frequency that allows it to cut and still hear separate notes.

Man, I don't know what it is with Duncan right now. But they're firing on all cylinders.

I just gave him my Schecter with the Slash pickups, and you instantly hear the clarity, but it still has a crisp distortion, and you can sustain a note for a month.

Just told me he'd like one of these sets. The Slash set is a mile above in tone. But it's not being used on a 7-string. Still, you hear the articulation is overwhelmingly different.

I'm not one to be a homer for any particular brand. For many years I've used Dimarzio as my "go to" pickups. But Duncan is out-shining them right now in my opinion. They're dropping a bomb on the pickup world right now with the Nazgul, Pegasus, and Sentient going 6-string. Although Metal isn't my genre, I understand it and I can appreciate what they're doing. From the outside looking in, this is almost Checkmate. Unless the others step up, they're going to corner the market by a huge margin. It's like the Invader times 3. Might as well make it Xs 4. Because the afore mentioned Black Winter is also very good as well.

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