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I just installed several pickups today. I replaced the stock Fender pickups on an SSS American strat, and a Seymour Duncan JB/Little 59 on another. The SSS strat received a Breed set and the other strat received a Norton/Chopper combo. I removed the middle pickups from both guitars and only wired to switch between bridge and neck pickups.
First of all, I must say that the Breed is an AWESOME pickup. When I first installed it, the expectations I had of a warm mid range pickup were met. However, after changing the pick guard again, I installed the bridge pickup the opposite way than when I had it. Now it's brighter and tighter, but still as warm. It's as bright as a Custom Custom, but where the Custom Custom lacks low and mids, the Breed picks up. It's all sweet beefy tone but with articulation and great dimension. It sings beautifully and the tone blossoms a bit. It's kind of smooth in the way an Eminence Governor is smooth with lots of mids, but installed the way I have it has plenty of high mid and treble bite, but very sophisticated. It reminds me more of the PAF Pro than the Mo Joe does, or at least that I can remember. It has a magical punchiness to it so legato sounds almost lightly picked. It responds loosely to your fingers but doesn't sound as loose as it feels.
I haven't flipped the Breed neck around yet, but I have tried one in the bridge position before and like it a lot. As it's installed, it's very warm and has a deep low end, but not overpowering or muddy like the 59. It has the familiar Dimarzio array of harmonics so you can get some pretty wicked squeals even in the neck position.
The Norton is a contrast. It's tighter and the mids and low end is a bit more controlled but serves up a similar array of harmonics. It's more unforgiving than the Breed. It's extremely versatile. It's a bit more focused than the Breed and the response is still kind of punchy doesn't respond as plucky as the Breed does to legato. This has been my favorite pickup since a family member introduced me to it and it still is. It was a replacement for my JB which is VERY similar. However, as blasphemous as this might sound to some, it outclasses the JB except for thrash metal. The JB is a bit tighter and maybe more compressed with sharper treble. For a medium-high output, non-ceramic pickup, it's awesome for thrash metal. It reminds me a lot of Megadeth. I'm not saying that it's necessarily better for thrash than the Norton because the Norton is more versatile than the JB, I just think because of the tightness and the stiffness coupled with the treble response, it seems to do better at the scooped metal thing.
Anyone who says the Norton isn't great at clean tones must be insane because on my Goldfinger 90 (which has a magical clean channel) it sounds freaking beautiful. I'm just so amazed with the Norton every time I use that pickup. It never gets old.
The Chopper replaced the Little 59 that I loathed. Well, maybe that's kind of drastic. I didn't necessarily loath it, but I hated it because it sounded like a pickup with an absolutely beautiful top end, but thick with excessive bass and barely any mids. The Chopper is a huge upgrade. It has plenty of bass but it's tighter and more controlled. The Chopper is warm with plenty of mids and treble, but the mids are very controllable. It's probably my favorite neck position single size humbucker. It's articulate with a lot of feeling. There's nothing sterile about it. It has enough output to easily keep up with my Norton bridge, but it can be split for a thinner, glassy sound. It's pretty good split considering that it's a single size humbucker. It's one of my favorites because it doesn't get drowned in the mix when you switch to the neck pickup, but still remains warm and relatively thick.
Pics and audio coming soon...
First of all, I must say that the Breed is an AWESOME pickup. When I first installed it, the expectations I had of a warm mid range pickup were met. However, after changing the pick guard again, I installed the bridge pickup the opposite way than when I had it. Now it's brighter and tighter, but still as warm. It's as bright as a Custom Custom, but where the Custom Custom lacks low and mids, the Breed picks up. It's all sweet beefy tone but with articulation and great dimension. It sings beautifully and the tone blossoms a bit. It's kind of smooth in the way an Eminence Governor is smooth with lots of mids, but installed the way I have it has plenty of high mid and treble bite, but very sophisticated. It reminds me more of the PAF Pro than the Mo Joe does, or at least that I can remember. It has a magical punchiness to it so legato sounds almost lightly picked. It responds loosely to your fingers but doesn't sound as loose as it feels.
I haven't flipped the Breed neck around yet, but I have tried one in the bridge position before and like it a lot. As it's installed, it's very warm and has a deep low end, but not overpowering or muddy like the 59. It has the familiar Dimarzio array of harmonics so you can get some pretty wicked squeals even in the neck position.
The Norton is a contrast. It's tighter and the mids and low end is a bit more controlled but serves up a similar array of harmonics. It's more unforgiving than the Breed. It's extremely versatile. It's a bit more focused than the Breed and the response is still kind of punchy doesn't respond as plucky as the Breed does to legato. This has been my favorite pickup since a family member introduced me to it and it still is. It was a replacement for my JB which is VERY similar. However, as blasphemous as this might sound to some, it outclasses the JB except for thrash metal. The JB is a bit tighter and maybe more compressed with sharper treble. For a medium-high output, non-ceramic pickup, it's awesome for thrash metal. It reminds me a lot of Megadeth. I'm not saying that it's necessarily better for thrash than the Norton because the Norton is more versatile than the JB, I just think because of the tightness and the stiffness coupled with the treble response, it seems to do better at the scooped metal thing.
Anyone who says the Norton isn't great at clean tones must be insane because on my Goldfinger 90 (which has a magical clean channel) it sounds freaking beautiful. I'm just so amazed with the Norton every time I use that pickup. It never gets old.
The Chopper replaced the Little 59 that I loathed. Well, maybe that's kind of drastic. I didn't necessarily loath it, but I hated it because it sounded like a pickup with an absolutely beautiful top end, but thick with excessive bass and barely any mids. The Chopper is a huge upgrade. It has plenty of bass but it's tighter and more controlled. The Chopper is warm with plenty of mids and treble, but the mids are very controllable. It's probably my favorite neck position single size humbucker. It's articulate with a lot of feeling. There's nothing sterile about it. It has enough output to easily keep up with my Norton bridge, but it can be split for a thinner, glassy sound. It's pretty good split considering that it's a single size humbucker. It's one of my favorites because it doesn't get drowned in the mix when you switch to the neck pickup, but still remains warm and relatively thick.
Pics and audio coming soon...
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