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OK, so I've had the DiMarzio SDS-1 in my Strat matched with a Nazgul for a while. Love the Nazgul, but I don't think the SDS-1 is the right match for it.
I just overall don't really like the SDS-1, TBH. It's not as high output as I would like, and it's kinda cheap-sounding, IMO.
It's not that the voicing is too bright, but the high-end just has this kinda raspy, ugly, quality to it kinda like the Super 2 or the D-Activator. It's not the cool kind of nasty like the Gibson 500T or the Duncan Distortion either. It's just ugly to the point it sounds kinda like a cheap stock pickup on a low-end starter guitar (to me, at least).
As far as the output goes, it struggles to keep up with the Nazgul. I have it set pretty close to the strings, but if I get closer, it starts sounding worse. When I flick the switch, even on high-gain, you can tell when you're playing it just feels weaker, and it doesn't sound juicy and saturated like the Duncan Distortion Neck on my Les Paul (obviously, apples and oranges, but you get my point). Clean levels are hard to match too.
I used to have a QP on my Squier Esquire, and I loved that thing, but I only really tried the bridge version, and the Tele QP's seem to be a completely different animal spec-wise compared to the Strat ones. I know the Strat QP Neck is higher DCR than the SDS-1, but it also runs on A5 rather than Ceramic. Will it be hotter, fatter, and smoother than the SDS-1? Mind you, I don't really want "darker". I still want it to have the jangle of a single coil (I like the Phat Cats, for example), I just want it to sound more refined and more like a higher-end pickup than the SDS-1.
Or what other single coils should I be looking at? I kinda want to stay single coil because, first, my Strat is only routed for HSS (only using an HS setup), and second, I don't really want to go for a SC-sized HB because I want something different than my Les Paul, but equally as good.
So... thoughts?
Thanks!
I just overall don't really like the SDS-1, TBH. It's not as high output as I would like, and it's kinda cheap-sounding, IMO.
It's not that the voicing is too bright, but the high-end just has this kinda raspy, ugly, quality to it kinda like the Super 2 or the D-Activator. It's not the cool kind of nasty like the Gibson 500T or the Duncan Distortion either. It's just ugly to the point it sounds kinda like a cheap stock pickup on a low-end starter guitar (to me, at least).
As far as the output goes, it struggles to keep up with the Nazgul. I have it set pretty close to the strings, but if I get closer, it starts sounding worse. When I flick the switch, even on high-gain, you can tell when you're playing it just feels weaker, and it doesn't sound juicy and saturated like the Duncan Distortion Neck on my Les Paul (obviously, apples and oranges, but you get my point). Clean levels are hard to match too.
I used to have a QP on my Squier Esquire, and I loved that thing, but I only really tried the bridge version, and the Tele QP's seem to be a completely different animal spec-wise compared to the Strat ones. I know the Strat QP Neck is higher DCR than the SDS-1, but it also runs on A5 rather than Ceramic. Will it be hotter, fatter, and smoother than the SDS-1? Mind you, I don't really want "darker". I still want it to have the jangle of a single coil (I like the Phat Cats, for example), I just want it to sound more refined and more like a higher-end pickup than the SDS-1.
Or what other single coils should I be looking at? I kinda want to stay single coil because, first, my Strat is only routed for HSS (only using an HS setup), and second, I don't really want to go for a SC-sized HB because I want something different than my Les Paul, but equally as good.
So... thoughts?
Thanks!
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