Seymour Duncan APS-2 Alnico Pro Flat

This is a passive single coil with A2 magnets, measuring about 6Kohms. Other information can be found at SD's website.

I put this pickup in the neck position of my 2006' Fender CIJ Stratocaster. The stock pickups measure just 4,3Kohms, and sound pretty weak, brittle and harsh. I got this pickup laying around, and wanted to try it, to see if it could improve the tone of my guitar.

When i plugged in, i was really dissapointed. The tone of this pickup can best be described as "weak". There is no mids to speak of, just a very loose bottom end, and a fizzy, sometimes absent treble.

It's really muddy, in a woody kind of way. It also lacks dynamics. I prefer being able to make my guitar sing by varying my pick attack and dynamics, but trough this pickup, everything just comes out of the speaker like a generic mess.

It's great for brainless country strumming and pop music, which i guess it was designed for. Takes the edge and character of everything, and puts the guitar way back in the soundscape.

I didn't like it at all.

If this pickup was destroyed or stolen, i'd get pissed, since i couldn't sell it.

I've been playing seriously for 13 years.

I don't really like anything about this pickup. The pole pieces won't even align up with my strings, which is really wierd, especially since i got a genuine Fender. I bought this pickup a few years ago solely based on reviews from Harmony Central, which i should never have done. People who think this pickup sounds good must either be pop\country strummers, or just tone deaf.

I'm gonna try the "Hot" or the "Cool Rails" next.

Pickup features: Single Coil , Passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Fender MIM Stratocaster
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: I replaced the Neck and Middle Vintage Noiseless PU's on my Strat
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncan Lil 59er
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Blues
Reason for pickup change: After buying a set of defective(The middle Pick Up didn't work) Vintage Noiseless Pick Ups from the Guitar Center in Seattle, I decided I wanted something that was a bit clearer and little brighter.

Perceived output level: Hotter than Vintage Noiseless pick ups but not extremely hot over all.
Tone: real balanced pick up.
Sonic evaluation: I use a Fender 2000 MIM Strat with 500k tone pots and 1 meg volume pot plugged straight into my Marshall Half stack. When I use effects I plug my guitar into a Jim Dunlop 535q and a Boss Super Chorus.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play Classic Rock, Hard Rock, and Blues and this pick up is a perfect match. Not suitable for Metal or and any sub genre of Metal

Comments: If this Pick Up was stolen or destroyed I'd easily buy another one. The only thing I hate about these and most other single coils is the noise but after a few shielding and grounding Modification (www.guitarnuts.com) then you will get a lot less hum and noise, then you'll get some pretty sweet tones out of it.

Pickup features: passive single-coil, Alnico II magnets, flat polepieces, RW/RP
Impedence or other specs: Check the website

Model of guitar or bass: Yamaha EG303 strat
Position: middle
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar: SD Lil Screamin' Demon (br), JB Jr (neck)
Artists using this pickup: a whole bunch
You musical style(s): rock, blues
Reason for pickup change: I wanted a strattier quack out of my strat.

Perceived output level: The APS-II is much lower in output than the other two pickups. Compared to the stock pickup, it's not a whole lot less.
Tone: By itself, it's crystal clear, and pretty bright even with the darker sounding Alnico II magnets. In the in-between positions, it quacks like a row of ducks.
Sonic evaluation: Guitar-->Zoom 505-->Crate VC110. I have a setting on the Zoom that sounds like a clean Fender Bassman/Peavey Classic. With this setting and pickup, the tones are VINTAGE (almost). On bluesier settings, the quack isn't heard as well.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This is not a heavy metal pickup. This is best for low to medium gain applications, like blues or country. I was surprised to hear how well the APS-II matched up tone-wise to the Demon and JB Jr.

Comments: This is a great pickup. I'd get a whole set of these if I get another strat. I'd really like to hear this pickup in the neck position or as a pair (neck/middle, middle/bridge, neck/bridge). I'm also curious to hear the staggered models. If you want your strat to sound like a strat, these are what you're looking for.

Pickup features: single coil
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1995 Fender Strat Deluxe Plus
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Lace Sensors (Blue/Silver/Red
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): Blues, Funk, Rock, Jazz, Country
Reason for pickup change: Lace's were sterile the way Fender had them wired in.

Perceived output level: low
Tone: vintage but compressed and not very full
Sonic evaluation: The SD's were one trick ponies and not versatile. They did not cover the many styles that I need to do. Their tone was not full and I was constantly tweaking my amp controls is search for the (Sound). The SD's did work for blues but did not grab me. Perhaps I should have tried SD's Vintage flats. After seeing the AGI-Lace website I reinstalled and rewired my Blue/Silver/Red Lace Sensors. The Lace sensors now have a great full tone after switching to 500k pots with the 333K mod on the volume pot. (push/pull pot for added PU combinations) I also got rid of the TBX tone control for the Silver & Red. I changed back to the Lace Sensors after using the SD Alinco Pro II Flats for a year (one trick ponies). Since I rewired the Lace sensors to what AGI-Lace recommends I can not put down the guitar. The versatility for a variety of musical style is astounding. I hated the Lace sensors the way Fender had them wired in (Sterile). Now the Strat is a great sounding guitar. I recommend the 500K pots with the 333K tone Mod to turn the Lace sensors into a great sounding PU.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: all

Comments: One pickup came in defective but was replaced. The APS-2's were okay but did not nail the traditional sound the way I hoped and were not versatile enough for what I do. I went back to the Lace Sensors after rewiring them according to AGI-Lace.

Pickup features: passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: unknown

Model of guitar or bass: Home built mongrel Strat copy
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: none
Other pickups on guitar: Seymour Duncon custom staggered in middle, DiMarzio HS-3 bridge
Artists using this pickup: unknown
You musical style(s): Gospel, R&B, blues, contemporary Christian
Reason for pickup change: I play rhythm guitar and use the neck pickup for most of my playing. I wanted something sweet and round sounding and a freind recommended this one.

Perceived output level: Moderate output
Tone: Very balanced and clear with a bright, open throated voice.
Sonic evaluation: I run my basswood-body Frankenstrat through an Orange Squeezer compressor, an MXR Phase 90, a DOD chorus pedal, and a Danelectro Daddy-O overdrive before plugging the signal into a 40 watt Fender Blues Deluxe.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Gospel (black and white), R&B, blues and contemporary Christian. Good match. Would not be suitable for hard rock or metal.

Comments: I would definitely buy this one again, although I just ordered a Lindy Fralin Vintage Hot to replace the DiMarzio HS-3 (short for horse s**t... it sounds terrible!)in the bridge position. I like the Alnico II Pro because it is a very clear, articulate pickup with glassy highs and a sweet, sweet balanced tone. "Sweet" is the word that describes this pickup. There is absolutely nothing I can find bad to say about it; except that it doesn't hold together well at super high gain, but I don't play that way live so it doesn't matter to me anyway. If you are into chordal jazz, clean blues and R&B, I think you will find this to be a very sophisticated sounding pickup. I've had non-players come up and tell me how good my guitar sounds, and that's because I keep the guitar switched to the AP II most of the time. It puts out lots of cluck in the 4th position when running tandem with the SD Custom Staggered thats in the middle. That's a pretty good pickup too, although it has a darker, more lo-fi sound than the AP II.
If I build another guitar I would definitely lean towards AP IIs in all the positions, although I am interested in hearing this Lindy Fralin I just ordered. But at under $60, this pickup is a steal!

Pickup features: Single coil - passive
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: G&L Legacy
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: Stock G&L (supposedly a SD vintage flat)
Other pickups on guitar: Stock middle p/u, APS-1 neck p/u
Artists using this pickup: ?
You musical style(s): Rock with blues, country, and folk influences
Reason for pickup change: The bridge pick-up was really bright (painfully so); I wanted smoother highs.

Perceived output level: A bit more than the stock pick-up (this is a bridge model)
Tone: Balanced, with smoother highs than the alnico V or ceramic magnets.
Sonic evaluation: I've used this guitar with a Fender BF Deluxe Reverb, SF Champ, SF Bandmaster Reverb, Mesa Boogie studio preamp and 20/20, and a homemade tweed bassman clone. Overall I like the tone of this pick-up alot. I actually had it in the neck of another strat and really liked it there too (it's a bridge model so it's hotter than the regular neck model). The alnico II just seems to take a bit of bite out of the highs without running the chime. I'd really like to see what the new Nasville Studios sound like.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play original rock music with country, blues, and folk influences. This pick-up suits it well. As I mentioned, I really like the sound of the bridge model in the neck position as well; in fact I think I liked the p/u in that position more than it's current position. Go figure....

Comments: Great value, especially for the price. Yes, I would probably buy it again, though I'd be really tempted to try the Nashville Studios instead since they seem to offer all the benefits of Alnico II & V, and I've also liked Brent Mason's tone (who they were originally designed for).

Pickup features: passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: 6.4k ohms.... i think

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Stratocaster... mexican made
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: stock
Other pickups on guitar: all 3 are SD APS-2's
Artists using this pickup: i dunno, to be honest
You musical style(s): blues, rock.... in a Hendrix vein
Reason for pickup change: i hated the stock pickups.... crappy, tinny, muddy in the middle and neck..... just overall lousy pu's..... I know it's a lower end guitar, but geez!

Perceived output level: about average..... it matched stock by adjusting them closer to the strings
Tone: very very balanced... just like they were advertised
Sonic evaluation: These are still wired to the stock 500k ohm pots which i'll eventually replaced with better quality pots..... I guess I prefer 500k so there's no tone loss. I run this guitar thru a Vox wah, 2 Arbiter Fuzz Faces (1 germanium and 1 silicon), a Rotovibe (for the moment... it's almost sold), and a newly acquired Black Cat OD-1 Freddie Fuzz.... all that goes into a Peavey Classic 20 all tube amp.
I still have to keep the treble a bit low... but I'm pretty sure that's the amp itself and not due to using single coils, per se. But these Seymour's are VERY VERY warm and creamy sounding.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play blues and rock.... again in a Hendrix... and Robin Trower... vein. The only thing I doubt they'd be suitible for is any metal type music..... or even SRV cuz they're not quite as loud and punchy.... a review once said SD sacrificed a bit of volume for tone's sake for these things.

Comments: I'd be crying in my beer for days on end if these things just up and died on me. I'm a big step closer to achieving my own sound.... I think so anyways. I do know fer sure though that these Seymour Duncans will from now on be an indispensible part of my tone. Only thing left to achieve nirvana were if they didn't make noise.... as all single coil pickups are prone to do. But I'm pretty much used to it.... well almost.

Pickup features: Single Coil, Active
Impedence or other specs: High Impedance, Alnico 2 Magnets

Model of guitar or bass: Fender Squier Strat
Position: all positions
Pickup being replaced: Cheap Stock ones
Other pickups on guitar: N/A
Artists using this pickup: ???
You musical style(s): Rock, Jazz, Reggae, Ska
Reason for pickup change: The old ones suck!!

Perceived output level: About the same as a typical Strat pickup
Tone: Well Balanced
Sonic evaluation: I used a Kustom Lead 40 and a Fender Bronco running a ProCo Rat and a Dunlop Crybaby

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: I play rock, jazz, reggae, and ska. They work well for what I do. The only time I would not use the pickups would be in any type of metal band

Comments: These pickups, to my ears, are sonically better than pickups with Alnico 5 magnets. Just raise the pickups up high enough that you get a fat sound( That took me 2 days to figure out).

Pickup features: passive single coil
Impedence or other specs: 6.4 kohm

Model of guitar or bass: fender japanese 50s re-issue
Position: bridge
Pickup being replaced: stock fender
Other pickups on guitar: ssl2
Artists using this pickup: jef beck
You musical style(s): blues, blues rock (primarily)..anything goes in the studio
Reason for pickup change: stock fender tone was kinda whimpy... a little too thin

Perceived output level: actually sounds louder than the strat with the antiquity
Tone: smoother sid-range type of accents... nice top end but not shrill
Sonic evaluation: Playing through Soldano SLO-100... this is a very cool pickup...and
for so little! It produces a very warm tone... Different from the
Strat Plus with an Antiquity (lacks the growl, and the "dimensional"
vibe of the Antiquity, but it costs about half as much)... The differences
between the 2 guitars are real, but they both have personality... This
type of subtle difference can be especially useful in the studio...

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: best for r/b, blues, blues/rock... might not be so good for live metal applications

Comments: overall rating is 9... especially if you consider price