SSL-1 compared to fender fat 50s?

[gimmieinfo]

I have the fenders, what do the SSL-1s sound like by comparison to them? (demos do nothing for me as the guitar and amp completely change things)

[Lewguitar]

The SSL-1's sound like pre-CBS 50's and 60's Strat pickups. With your amp set for clean they have glassy clean, transparent tones. Plenty of bass. Not a lot of mids.

Classic Strat tone like you hear from Hendrix or SRV when they're playing clean and without much distortion. Like The Wind Cries Mary, Little Wing and Riviera Paradise tones.

Your Fat 50's drive the amp harder and probably sound fatter, fuller and less glassy to you than 50's and 60's Strat pickups would.

They're a really good pickup, as are the SSL-1's.

The SSL-1's are my second favorite Duncan Strat pickup, with the very similar sounding Antiquity Surfers being my #1 favorites.

I tell my friends who balk at the price of the Surfers to go for the SSL-1's.

[Mincer]

Yes, the SSL-1 doesn't sound fat...it is clean and clear with more highs and lows than mids...just like traditional late 50s Fender pickups.

[NumberSix]

The Fender Fat 50s are known for their warm, vintage tone with a bit more midrange than traditional Stratocaster pickups. They also have a higher output than standard Strat pickups, which can add some extra grit and drive to your sound.

The Seymour Duncan SSL-1 pickups are designed ( from my understanding ) to replicate the sound of the classic Fender Strat pickups from the 1950s. They have a bright, glassy tone with plenty of high-end sparkle and chime. They also have a lower output than the Fat 50s, which can make them a good choice for players who want a cleaner sound with less distortion.

Ultimately, which pickup you choose will depend on your personal preferences and playing style. If you're looking for a warm, slightly overdriven sound with a bit of extra midrange, the Fat 50s may be the way to go. If you prefer a bright, clean tone with plenty of chime and sparkle, the SSL-1 pickups could be the perfect choice for you.

Having said that, I have two Stratocasters, both with alder bodies and maple necks and the same hardware and the same pots etc and I A/B'd them today and recorded them and was surprised that they sounded pretty much identical. I don't think most people would be able to hear the difference in fact. They were that close. The SSL-1 are easily the best 50s strat pickups I have ever played and I have tried many. the Fat 50s were my second choice.

[EC Strat]

If you’re into vintage strat tones, don’t hesitate with the SSL 1’s. If you like having a dedicated lead pickup, go for the SSL 5 in the bridge. If you want both a lead pickup and a nice position 2, go for the tapped SSL 5 and wire it for auto tap in position 2. That’s what i did and it’s a killer setup.

[freefrog]

Having said that, I have two Stratocasters, both with alder bodies and maple necks and the same hardware and the same pots etc and I A/B'd them today and recorded them and was surprised that they sounded pretty much identical. I don't think most people would be able to hear the difference in fact. They were that close.

So, one of your Strat has SSL1's and the other hosts Fat 50's?

[Mincer]

One thing I never understood about the Fat 50s is ...the name. Pickups in Fender guitars back then weren't fat sounding or looking. Does it take the sound and make it 'fatter', like later pickups?

[GuitarStv]

One thing I never understood about the Fat 50s is ...the name. Pickups in Fender guitars back then weren't fat sounding or looking. Does it take the sound and make it 'fatter', like later pickups?

Maybe because some of the late '60s/early '70s single coil pickups that Fender made were so thin sounding?

[Mincer]

Maybe because some of the late '60s/early '70s single coil pickups that Fender made were so thin sounding?

But if you add 'fatness' to a 50s-stye pickup, it no longer has much connection to the 50s.

[EC Strat]

But if you add 'fatness' to a 50s-stye pickup, it no longer has much connection to the 50s.

I read somewhere that they took a 50’s style pickup and fattened them up like you speculated.

[Mincer]

I read somewhere that they took a 50’s style pickup and fattened them up like you speculated.

I get that, but they did that in the 70s and 80s too.

[EC Strat]

I get that, but they did that in the 70s and 80s too.

Agreed. Give me a true 50’s style like the SSL 1 set everyday of the week including Sunday. I’ve 2 sets of Klein Epic pickups in other Strats (‘57 and ‘65) and they are absolutely killer. But I prefer the SSL 1/1/5 set just a tad more. I don’t know what it is about that set, but it’s the sound in my head. They just nail it for me.

I feel the same way about the SNS humbucker set too. Every time I pickup that LP custom with that set loaded, it just makes me go “oooh”

[freefrog]

Yep, “Fat 50’s” is a strange name but to be honest, I don’t understand either why a set of SSL1’s is currently labelled “California 50’s”.

Most of the SSL1’s that I’ve owned these last 4 decades measured a solid 6.5k and a beefy inductance a bit above 2.6H. According to the data that I’ve gathered and to the measurements that I’ve done directly on real vintage pickups, it’s in the upper range of vintage correct values for pickups of the early 60’s rather than from the 50’s…

More precisely, it’s a bit above the average measurements done on 1963 Strats (the beefiest ones), as illustrated by this chart published by Seymour himself: https://fenderkitchen.files.wordpres...015/07/44.jpeg

In the early 80’s, suggestively, the SSL1 weren’t sold as reproducing PU’s from the 50’s. They were simply described has mimicking “the first ones made” – and sounded largely like the original pickups of a 1963 L Series Strat belonging to a Friend of mine. Reason why him and I had bought some SSL1’s, which are still my favorite SD single coils today. :-)

[Mincer]

Maybe Seymour was trying to go for mimicking his favorite 50s Fender pickup, and not an 'average' one. I don understand 'California 50s' as it is a very quick phrase that instantly calls up a specific sound and look from that era.

[freefrog]

Please, take what I write as it sounds in my head: as something peaceful, respectful, honest and driven by a desire to share... but I've never encountered nor heard of a Strat PU from the 50's measuring so high than 6.5k and 2.6H. If it exists, I'll certainly learn something new.

Also, I clearly recall that SSL's were considered as L Series pickups clones when I was young. the "L" in "SSL" was precisely understood as a reference to this.

Conversely, a clone of underwound Strat PU in the style of the 50's would have had very little interest for musicians back in the days, when the SSL1 has been released (IOW: when the Strat PU's to replace were precisely underwound late CBS SC's, somehow returned to the low DCR recipe of the early fifties).

Below is a doc coming from the box in which I've bought one of my first SSL1's.There's no reference to the sixties in the depiction but no mention of the fifties either. ;-)