Re: A question on a descriptor
I never liked the word compressed when used to describe a pickups tone or response. It confuses too many people and it really isn't very descriptive. As pickups are wound hotter the mids tend to thicken up and you loose some of the high end. 8k pickups tend to sound very bright to my ears while something like the Custom sounds very thick. Some folks seem to equate that thickness or stiffness to compression but it really isn't the same thing at all. Dynamic leveling is not the same thing as frequency leveling and doesn't sound the same.
Hang out with country finger picking guys and see what they do with compression and a clean, bright tone. Bass, acoustic guitar and vocals are often given much more compression in live and recording situations than a distorted guitar tone.
Now if you run a hot pickup into a hot rig you will get more compression than if you run an 8k PAF into the same rig but the compression is still a funtion of the amp and pedals. If you run a hot pickup into an amp with good headroom and EQ it right you can still get a wide dynamic range and often a decent amount of "space" in your tone as well. You just have to EQ out some of the mids.
Thats one of the reasons I am so fond of the C-5. It has enough output to tighten up the front end of my amp without sounding overly thick and stiff. I found the Custom to have sharper highs but the mids are a little full for what I like and it felt a bit stiff for my liking in some situations, especially the cleans. The CC lacked a little of the top end bite that I like and while the mids are smooth and round I like a little more snap in my clean tones.
Compressed just isn't the best term when used to describe a pickups tone, IMHO.
