A decent middle single coil between a JB and an SSL-5

[RockinProf]

Hi again all,

Managed to crack the pickguard in my HSS strat so if I'm tinkering inside when I replace the guard, I might as well swap out the lack luster pickup I've been on the fence about changing for a while. I've got a JB trembucker in the bridge which is just right for this specific guitar, and an SSL-5 in the neck. For a middle replacement, I want something that's going to give me a nice quack when I combine it with either the slug coil of the JB or the SSL-5. Also, I'm going for a lot of clarity in the 2 and 4 positions. Currently I have an early 90's fender American Standard in the middle, but with the other two pickups it's not terribly articulate or quacky. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[gregory]

Re: A decent middle single coil between a JB and an SSL-5

I used a JB/SSL-2/SSL-6T set in one of my guitars for a long time, but have since moved on. I found that the JB slug coil worked very well with the SSL-2. Putting the slug coil nearest the neck worked fine for me, but some prefer using the screw coil. The JB can also be rotated, of course. Combining the SSL-2 against an untapped SSL-6 was pretty lackluster. Tapping the SSL-6 was better.

I have a '92 American Standard and found that the bridge was slightly hotter than the neck and middle. I also found that the polarity of the Fender pickups are reversed relative to the Duncan, FWIW. The poles on the Fender pickups are flat with no stagger (as are the SSL-2 and SSL-6) in case it matters.

Assuming your Fender pickups are the same as mine I'd do the following for the best quack with what you have on hand:

Bridge: split JB
Middle: stock Fender middle pickup
Neck: stock Fender bridge pickup​

An even better combination with a bolder tone in the neck position and great quack would be:

Bridge: split JB
Middle: stock Fender middle pickup
Neck: Duncan SSL-2 RW/RP
​

The weak Fender middle will give you very good quack; better than what I had with my SSL-2. Again, I mention the SSL-2 in case your Fender pickups have flat pole pieces, though the vintage stagger of an SSL-1 will work just fine regardless of the stagger of your Fender pickups.

I'm mentioning the polarity in case you want hum-cancellation in the notch positions. Whether or not there is hum-cancellation has no bearing on the quack.

As for the SSL-5, put it in the bridge in another guitar, or stick it in the middle with humbuckers in the bridge and neck. While it won't quack very well, the SSL-5 in the middle will still produce very nice cleans when combined with a humbucker in either the bridge or the neck. The SSL-5 in the bridge with a pair of SSL-1s in the neck and middle is a classic combination. Position 2 (bridge+middle) won't give you vintage quack, but it will still sound pretty good.

Another option if you want something more powerful than an SSL-2 that will still quack pretty well is a Duncan Designed bridge pickup. I don't think it's RWRP, so I'd use the Fender neck pickup (or slightly hotter brige pickup) in the middle. For the JB you can flip the magnet for hum-cancellation depending on which coil you want to use.

If I were to do it again with hot pickup in the neck, I would have gone with an SSL-4T (Quarter Pound with a tap) instead of the SSL-6T. For position 4 I would use the the tapped Quarter Pound with the middle pickup. For position 5 I would tap the Quarter Pound for vintage output tones and the full Quarter Pound for high output. I believe a tapped Quarter Pound provides a better vintage tone than a tapped SSL-6.

 

[RockinProf]

Re: A decent middle single coil between a JB and an SSL-5

Great answer, thanks.

Starting to think that for what I really want, perhaps I should pull the SSL-5 (should do this anyways as I has the radius on this guitar brought in substantially anyways) too and go with a middle SSL-2 and an SSL-6 T. I actually like the series JB to SSL5 combo for mid to higher gain lead work. When I currently split the JB (which is actually pretty good for a split humbucker), the SSL-5 is too hot to transition to, so putting the coil tap of an SSL-6T on the other set of lugs on my push/push pot that splits the JB and an auto tap for working with a middle SSL-2 sounds really appealing as it would be super versatile and require no thought in the moment. I've long lost the other American Standard pickup I replaced with the SSL-5.

Has anyone used a tapped SSL-5 or SSL-6 in combination with the slug coil (pointed towards the neck) of a JB when it's split? In theory it sounds like a winning combo, any experience for another reader though?

Thanks again

 

[gregory]

Re: A decent middle single coil between a JB and an SSL-5

You're welcome.

Please check my post again; I've since edited it.

I think the Quarter Pound might be a better choice than the SSL-5/6.

 

[gregory]

Re: A decent middle single coil between a JB and an SSL-5

PS: before buying anything, if you want hum-cancelling in the notch positions, let us know what you'll be using as your middle pickup.

 

[RockinProf]

Re: A decent middle single coil between a JB and an SSL-5

Thanks again, again,

I had an idea that the Quarter Pounder was kind of like a Dimarzio SDS-1 and might be a little mid heavy, but I'll check out some media to see if maybe it is the right pickup for what I'm going after.

If the Quarter Pounder (tapped) is the way to go, maybe I'll leave the American Standard I've got in the center position (it's RW/RP when match to a Duncan) to have a listen to how it preforms with the tapped Quarter Pounder. As I recall the stock American Standard pickups aren't really all that bad. Perhaps the issue I have with the SSL-5 and the American Standard in the #2 (neck + center) notch is that the SSL-5 is just too hot and over powers the middle pickup. So it might be smart to just leave the middle alone, try out a tapped neck for the neck middle combo and see what that's like.

By the way, I've already flipped the magnet in the JB so the slug coil of the JB and the middle pickup are hum free. Thanks for the tip though.

Thanks again

 

[gregory]

Re: A decent middle single coil between a JB and an SSL-5

If the coils attract when put face-to-face then hum will be cancelled when the coils are wired in-phase.

I'm surprised to hear your middle is RWRP with respect to a standard Duncan. This is not the case with my '92 American Standard.

I think the Alnico 5 Fender pickups are pretty good. I think they just get a bad rap around here because, 1: they are weaker than the Duncan standard as set by the SSL-1, and 2: they don't have the mystical qualities of a Duncan.