Pickup Booster Awesomeness

[JimmyO]

Just picked up a Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster to kick in for my single coil strats, so I can balance the level between their vintage output and my more contemporary humbucker equipped guitars. What I wasn't expecting was how useful the resonance control is. It thickens up that traditionally thin strat bridge tone so I can play some hard rock and classic metal all from my strat without switching guitars. Then I can turn the resonance off to get traditional strat tone. Never thought I'd be playing Maiden numbers from my 57 reissue strat without installing humbuckers, but it sounds awesome using the stock 57/62 pickups and the pickup booster. One caveat I do use a Boss NS-2 to tame those vintage single coils.

I'd say the Pickup Booster's a must have pedal for strat players. Very impressed.

[Mincer]

Re: Pickup Booster Awesomeness

You're right. It should have a permanent place on every Strat player's board. Happy you like it, too!

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Pickup Booster Awesomeness

I think the resonance switch works ok for the bridge pickup, but the same setting is garbage on the neck. I like the Booster for boosting, but very much prefer rolling back a dedicated tone knob to fatten up a bridge single.

[JimmyO]

Re: Pickup Booster Awesomeness

I think the resonance switch works ok for the bridge pickup, but the same setting is garbage on the neck. I like the Booster for boosting, but very much prefer rolling back a dedicated tone knob to fatten up a bridge single.

Haven't had any problems with the resonance control and neck pickups so far, though we likely have vastly different setups. I also put the strat bridge on a dedicated tone and usually roll it down to 6 or 7 while leaving the middle and neck up full. It's the first thing I do when I get a strat. I'm totally on the same page with you there. It does great to roll off brightness and ice pick highs, but for me sometimes it doesn't seem so fatten things up enough for heavier rock tones, so up until now I'd be using a humbucker guitar for the heavier stuff. The Pickup Booster really adds some extra meat and potatoes to the tone. I'll probably just use the clean boost most of the time but I like to be able to quickly switch on the resonance, there's been times playing live that for that night or venue your strat bridge sounds extra bright, so welcome the ability to fatten things up using the pedal. There's nothing like starting up a rocking ZZ Top number with your Strat in Hank Marvin and Buddy Holly mode!