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So, I bought a dirty harry bridge pickup off of a forum member here. It was originally planned for an esquire, but I didn't have the patience and put it in my blue tele w/ bigsby bridge. I can only compare it with the Jerry Donahue as that is what was there before. I'm writing this because I haven't seen many reviews for it around the interwebz.
- It's about as loud as the Jerry Donahue that came out of there. Wasn't expecting that. 13k (Dirty Harry) vs. 7.8k (JD) - pretty sure the JD is 42 gauge though whereas the Dirty Harry is 43.
- It isn't as bright, even though it's ceramic. It's a super-middy, fat sound with maybe a little more twang than the JD. The lead sound is actually nicely rounded. It has bite but isn't harsh in the way many ceramic pickups can be.
- Cleans are not as good. JD is in a league of its own as far as bridge pickup cleans are concerned. They aren't bad with the Dirty Harry, they just aren't as good as they are with the JD.
- I like the in-between sounds better because they have more 'pop' - kind of closer to a funk bass than the JD with the neck split.
Overall, it's a great versatile pickup. I'm gonna leave it in there for a while to see how it gets along. So far, I like that it's a little darker than the JD (more tone control range) and that it still has a very tele-ish character while being fat and greasy. Kind of like if Bojangles were a sound. Fat country would be a good way to describe it.
- It's about as loud as the Jerry Donahue that came out of there. Wasn't expecting that. 13k (Dirty Harry) vs. 7.8k (JD) - pretty sure the JD is 42 gauge though whereas the Dirty Harry is 43.
- It isn't as bright, even though it's ceramic. It's a super-middy, fat sound with maybe a little more twang than the JD. The lead sound is actually nicely rounded. It has bite but isn't harsh in the way many ceramic pickups can be.
- Cleans are not as good. JD is in a league of its own as far as bridge pickup cleans are concerned. They aren't bad with the Dirty Harry, they just aren't as good as they are with the JD.
- I like the in-between sounds better because they have more 'pop' - kind of closer to a funk bass than the JD with the neck split.
Overall, it's a great versatile pickup. I'm gonna leave it in there for a while to see how it gets along. So far, I like that it's a little darker than the JD (more tone control range) and that it still has a very tele-ish character while being fat and greasy. Kind of like if Bojangles were a sound. Fat country would be a good way to describe it.