Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

[Tone Meister]

I have a 24.75" scale HSS with a 12" radius. Looking to pair two singles with a Custom Custom and don't know when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

What is the point where one should choose one vs the other?

 

[Blille]

Re: Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

IMHO unless you have 7.25 you should go flat.

Not a big deal in general.

 

[Snix]

Re: Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

Flat has more output, regarding the website. Don’t know why...

 

[jeremy]

Re: Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

is that true? i havent found that to really be the case if the pups are the same height. used to have one of each. either way, i pretty much always go flat unless the guitar has a small radius and im using a wound g string

 

[Tone Meister]

Re: Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

I realize it's minutiae, but in general the heavily staggered Strat pickups irk me with the lack of string balance. Since I'm trying to pair a couple of singles with a fairly hot humbucker, I just wanted to see what the board had to say before moving forward.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

I go flat unless I am using a vintage radius AND a wound G string (which is never). I will only go staggered if there is not a choice (some pickups are only offered in staggered).

 

[Snix]

Re: Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

is that true? i havent found that to really be the case if the pups are the same height. used to have one of each. either way, i pretty much always go flat unless the guitar has a small radius and im using a wound g string

If you look at the heat level meter in the specs, you will find small differences.

 

[Discharged]

Re: Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

If you look at the heat level meter in the specs, you will find small differences.

It's an optical illusion. Both are exactly the same p'up, just the stagger changes.

/Peter

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

Nobody really makes a guitar that requires vintage stagger any more. Might vintage stagger have a VERY slightly more vintage "stratocaster" tone than flat stagger? Yes. Will you spend more time fighting stratitis and string to string volume imbalance with vintage stagger? Yes. I personally do not use vintage stagger, and even have trouble with vintage string spacing on most strat neck pickups.

 

[Tone Meister]

Re: Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

... Will you spend more time fighting stratitis and string to string volume imbalance with vintage stagger? Yes ....

These were my initial concerns, thanks. I've pretty much settled on flat poles, but I'm taking my time selecting the singles to mate with my TB11 in an Alder HSS Strat.

I think I'd prefer great notch position tones over matching the levels of all pickups, so that gives me pause in being too quick to choose the SSL-5/SSL-6. The TB11 measures ~7.6K on each coil, so perhaps I should select singles that have less power than the SSL-6? Or no?

And please, I hope someone doesn't say that DC resistance isn't directly correlated to output. Instead, YOU tell ME what measure you'd use to match a middle pickup to the split Custom Custom humbucker?

Thanks for the replies thus far.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

500k pots? get the ssl6. the split a2 bucker with any single wont give you the same notch tones that two vintage output singles will but the ssl6 should be fine with a little height adjustment

 

[Tone Meister]

Re: Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

500k pots? get the ssl6. the split a2 bucker with any single wont give you the same notch tones that two vintage output singles will but the ssl6 should be fine with a little height adjustment

Yes, 500K volume pot with the TB11 and probably two 250K tone pots. I do realize that any humbucker split with a single won't really produce the classic vintage quack, but an approximation is what I'm hoping for in a more aggressive configuration. I have stock Strats for the vintage and hot Strat sounds, but I want a balls-out HSS pickguard as an option on my rock machines.

I have a 59/Custom in another guitar and I'm very content with how well it splits. I'm hoping the A2 TB11 Custom Custom will split that well and work with a pair of good true single coils.

SSL-6 is still the front runner.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Fretboard radius: when to use SSL-5 or SSL-6?

I dig the split sound of the Custom Custom. It is still powerful, but you get a warmer split tone. I think it is a good choice.