Decisions Decisions........

[GuitarGuy503]

well..... I'm still stuck on what SD humbucker i should go with in my Fender american standard strat in the bridge. i listened to the sound clips for the invader, custom custom,duncan distortion, duncan custom,etc and the clips nearly sound identical to me. i just cant detect much difference between them. The JB is the only clip out of the 5 or so that i can distinguish by its sound with no problem. im really struggling, and i dont know if anyone else has experienced it but like i just want to feel like im buying the best sounding all around pickup that i can thats not so bassy and overkill. I'd hate to buy a pickup and have it installed and find out that its just not what i want. Trial and error could get extremely expensive lol. At this time im leaning more towards a JB. All the other pickups sound really muddy because of its large amounts of bass and mid. The jb sounds more clean and trebly to me and doesnt seem so overkill and as bassy as the others. The neck pickup i will be using is a SD 59'. just to help you help me i play alternative rock to some heavier stuff. Please add in any thoughts that you think might help me. Thanks.

[flank]

Re: Decisions Decisions........

i couldnt hear any differnce on those SD sound clips either......... but ill need more info on the music you play, and you amp and all before i could give you a good suggestion

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: Decisions Decisions........

I play anything from Blink182-Metallica. All rock based music. As far as my amp rigs go I have a MESA/BOOGIE Single Rectifier Head W/Mesa 4x12 Cab (equipped with 4 Vintage 30's) and a Line 6 Spider I 2x10

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: Decisions Decisions........

I was originally thinking of putting an invader in the bridge, but ive had alot of experience with invaders and it just seems so overkill. Not only that but i feel like its time to experience a different and more unique sounding pickup.

[John Wymore]

Re: Decisions Decisions........

This is why Duncan has a 21 day exchange policy. It's still a pain to swap pickups but at least if you don't like something you can swap it out and try another option.

[Jeff_H]

Re: Decisions Decisions........

I have the CC in the bridge of my double fat strat, and it absolutely smokes. It is not too mid heavy at all. It will go from crisp cleans to singing leads. If you click on my soundclips down in my sig...and go to "All Right Now", it's a cover of the song I did (no singing) and I used the CC for all the parts. The amp is my JCM800 2205 before I had it modded. Miked with a SM57 straight into my soundcard and Acid Pro. Just a little compression to the track....that's it.

I think it's one of the best pups for a strat. Really warms up the naturally thin sounding bridge position of a strat. I'll never take it out of my strat.

[BS123]

Re: Decisions Decisions........

well..... I'm still stuck on what SD humbucker i should go with in my Fender american standard strat in the bridge. i listened to the sound clips for the invader, custom custom,duncan distortion, duncan custom,etc and the clips nearly sound identical to me. i just cant detect much difference between them. The JB is the only clip out of the 5 or so that i can distinguish by its sound with no problem.

Hi GuitarGuy503, I agree with you about the sound samples. When I got my Tele pickups CD, I listened to the samples at low volume. I couldn't tell a HOt Stack from a Broadcaster. Then I put the CD in a good stereo, set the EQ flat, and cranked the volume. The subtle nuances of each pickup model will start to appear. It's the same with the humbucker CD. If you're listening to these samples through your PC, I would burn them onto a CD and listen to them through a good stereo.

[davguitar]

Re: Decisions Decisions........

I hate to say this, as I feel like you do about trying pickups and being dissappointed, but sometimes it's just a fact of life that you have to try a few pickups before you find the tone you're looking for. The thing about listening to samples is that the pickup might sound a certain way with a certain guitar and amp, but nothing like it would in your rig. I get more convinced all the time that the acoustic properties of even solid body guitars have alot to do with the tone reproduced by a pickup. After all, a pickup's function is to pick up the sound/tone off the strings.

Also, think about whether or not you're just looking for a specific lead/bridge tone, and how much the bridge pickup needs to blend with the other pickups' reproduced tones. The single coil sized humbuckers may be better for that. If you are mainly looking for "heat" from the bridge postition, then keep looking at the full-size buckers. Alot of people love JB's, even on Strats. Make sure your second tone control on your Strat is wired to the bridge pickup and not the middle pickup and then you can adjust the sound from the JB if it seems too bright.