Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Ryan84

New member
Are these pickups compatible. I don't want to lose hum cancelling in 2 & 4. Anybody use this combo? I want an SSL-5 for the extra bridge power on solos.
 
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Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

I think you will be fine. But I'd call the Duncan Company and ask.

Seems like most of the alnico 5 single coils have the south poles up. Except for a RW/RP middle pickup from the same set which would have the north pole up.

The Antiquity Surfers are definitely a south pole up pickup...except for the RW/RP middle pickup which has the north pole up.

If you want humcancelling in the #2 and #4 positions, you want a south pole up neck and bridge pickup and a north pole up middle pickup.
 
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Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

If the bridge is South pole up and it still sounds bad, just swap the leads on the bridge pickup.

I use a little Schatten magnetic polarity tester but you can just put the poles against each other and see which ones repel and which ones attract.
 
Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

I called the custom shop this week. The only guy they could put on the phone didn't seem to be able to tell me for sure. He just said it's best to stick with the same set. Which is of course not entirely true. Plenty of people on this board put a different duncan bridge then their set. I just wish I could get a answer for sure. I wish I could find somebody out there with this combination. I want to buy them :(

I built a Gilmour strat with no hum cancelling Fat 50's neck, CS69 middle, SSL-5 bridge.

SO THIS SUNBURST STRAT MUST HAVE HUM CANCELLING IN POSITION 2 & 4. One guitar without it is ENOUGH hahaha.
 
Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

You only need RP. The reverse wind can be "replaced" by exchanging the wires.

So you will definitely be fine since your two vintage ones are already RP against each other. No matter what the polarity of the bridge pickup is, you will be able to make hum-canceling work either normally or by exchanging neck and middle.

The SSL-6 has more resistance but the number of winds is pretty comparable to the vintage style pickups (due to the thinner wire) so the hum canceling will be pretty complete.
 
Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

You only need RP. The reverse wind can be "replaced" by exchanging the wires.

So you will definitely be fine since your two vintage ones are already RP against each other. No matter what the polarity of the bridge pickup is, you will be able to make hum-canceling work either normally or by exchanging neck and middle.

The SSL-6 has more resistance but the number of winds is pretty comparable to the vintage style pickups (due to the thinner wire) so the hum canceling will be pretty complete.

Thanks! Yeah the Antiquity Surfer middle is listed as RW/RP. Considering that, will it be cool to leave it as Neck Surfer, Middle Surfer RW/RP, and SSL-5? I just wrote RW on the thread title forgot to say RW/RP. I liked the SSL-5 in my Gilmour so much I just wanted to stick with it again. I think the 12k is the perfect output for me. Cause once in a while when I use it for hard/alternative rock it can actually still pull it off well. Not just blues and pop rock. I love going from clean jangly rhythm on the neck to full throttle gain solos on the SSL-5. Best of both worlds for me.

I just wanted to make sure I could still get hum cancelling in 2 and 4. I didn't wanna sacrifice that.
 
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Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Thanks! Yeah the Antiquity Surfer middle is listed as RW/RP. Considering that, will it be cool to leave it as Neck Surfer, Middle Surfer RW/RP, and SSL-5? I just wrote RW on the thread title forgot to say RW/RP. I liked the SSL-5 in my Gilmour so much I just wanted to stick with it again. I think the 12k is the perfect output for me. Cause once in a while when I use it for hard/alternative rock it can actually still pull it off well. Not just blues and pop rock. I love going from clean jangly rhythm on the neck to full throttle gain solos on the SSL-5. Best of both worlds for me.

I just wanted to make sure I could still get hum cancelling in 2 and 4. I didn't wanna sacrifice that.

I am unable to predict 100% whether you need to exchange neck+middle or can leave them.

Fender changed the polarity between the periods that Ant1 and Ant2 model and I always get confused.

But it is no big deal because you can test this outside the guitar. Arrange things so that whatever you put in the middle attracts both neck and bridge when head-to-head. You might have to do one round of try-n-error on possibly having to reverse the wires on the bridge pickup.
 
Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

I am unable to predict 100% whether you need to exchange neck+middle or can leave them.

Fender changed the polarity between the periods that Ant1 and Ant2 model and I always get confused.

But it is no big deal because you can test this outside the guitar. Arrange things so that whatever you put in the middle attracts both neck and bridge when head-to-head. You might have to do one round of try-n-error on possibly having to reverse the wires on the bridge pickup.

No problem I understand. I do know that all three (Neck:Surf, Mid:Surf RW/RP, SSL-5) are in fact Alnico V magnet. Not sure if that matters at all though. And I know they hum cancel when I had an SSL1/SSL1/SSL5 set a while ago. I hear the Surfers are not too drastically far off from the SSL-1. Maybe a little more dark, smoky, airy as people seem to say. Again I'm by no means a veteran in the pickup info world. I'm gonna bring the guitar to my local repair guy when I get them, and I will talk about the Neck Mid reversal with him if need be. Thanks again man ;)
 
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Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

For what you want to do:

If I had a SSL5 and a Surfer Neck and a Surfer middle, I'd hold the Surfer Neck poles against the SSL5 poles and see if they repeled or attracted.

If they attract, then I'd use the Surfer neck as my MIDDLE PICKUP.

If they repel, then I'd use the Surfer neck as my NECK PICKUP.

Then I'd wire it up.

If the SSL5 sounds thin and out of phase when combined with the pickup in the middle, I'd reverse the black and white wires of the SSL5.

When I reverse the black and white wires of a Strat single coil, I do it at the pickup itself. Just remove the pickup, heat up the round solder blob under the pickup and push the cloth covered wire up and out of the hole. Do the same thing to the other wire. Then carefully rotate the wires around 180 degrees and reverse their locations.

That should do the trick. Good luck!
 
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Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

I talked to Seymour Duncan customer service (Scott). He said I can just reverse the hot and ground on the SSL-5 and I will get hum cancelling in 2 and 4. I asked if this was for certain and he said yes.
 
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Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Here is the guitar they will be going in. My Roadworn Sunburst. I AM VERY EXCITE!! (Borat voice)

photo 2.jpg
 
Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Got my axe back from my tech. Switching the hot and ground worked and I have hum cancelling in 2 and 4. These surfers sound amazing, and the SSL-5 matches up nicely with them for extra power on solos. Sounds great with the middle on position 4 too!! The cleans on the surfers are so sparkly and deep. On a scale of 1 to 10 they are an 11.
 
Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Got my axe back from my tech. Switching the hot and ground worked and I have hum cancelling in 2 and 4. These surfers sound amazing, and the SSL-5 matches up nicely with them for extra power on solos. Sounds great with the middle on position 4 too!! The cleans on the surfers are so sparkly and deep. On a scale of 1 to 10 they are an 11.

Kewl.
 
Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

I'm curious about your impressions of both Surfer vs SSL-1 and Surfer vs Fat 50.
 
Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Got my axe back from my tech. Switching the hot and ground worked and I have hum cancelling in 2 and 4. These surfers sound amazing, and the SSL-5 matches up nicely with them for extra power on solos. Sounds great with the middle on position 4 too!! The cleans on the surfers are so sparkly and deep. On a scale of 1 to 10 they are an 11.

The Surfers are my favorite boutique Strat pickups. I have spent weeks and even years with pickups by Chris Klein, D. Allen and Lindy Fralin as well as Duncan SSL-1's and for me, the Surfers have the tone and output that works best for me. They're all great - but the Surfers have the sound that I keep coming back to.
 
Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

I'm curious about your impressions of both Surfer vs SSL-1 and Surfer vs Fat 50.

I put together a Gilmour Black Strat. I started with an FSR Black Strat. Then added a Fat 50's neck, CS 69 middle, and SSL-5. I can tell you that Fat 50's is very soulful and bluesy. It's got a nice bottom end. A little darker with slightly extra mids then the custom shop 69, but just sound better with dirt. If I was hard pressed I might say the Custom Shop 69's sound a little better clean in the neck, but the Fat 50's do clean 95% as well and are just better with dirt/fuzz in my opinion.

I actually had a SSL-1/SSL-1/SSL-5 in the black Strat before I used the gilmour combos. While it sounded nice, it just missed that extra something the surfers add. There is a deep, spaciousness to the surfers tone. Clean sounds great and it bonds with dirt better than the SSL-1's in my opinion. The Surfers just go that extra mile to my ear and have the wow factor. They are well worth the extra $25 each. I mean, what's an extra 50-75 at the end of the day when you have a guitar that sounds great forever. And in this Roadworn Sunburst I posted above it just is the right fit and vintage sound for what that guitar is about. SSL-1's are good if you're on a budget but I say just save up a little more and get the Surfers no question.

And finally, I went with the SSL-5 in the bridge of both guitars cause It's simply my favorite. It bonds well with the others in position four on both my strats, and it just rips on solos and can handle even harder rock that you throw at it with crunchy chords. It's output is over 12k and it's overwound. That custom bridge surfer is no weakling at 10k, but that SSL-5 I was running through a Mesa Dual Rec at the tech's shop and a guy there said It sounded as big as a humbucker in the bridge. I never dug a thin icepick bridge tone, I need best of both worlds. Super jangly clean in the neck and middle, and full throttle in the bridge for solos and hard rock. I never wanna be at practice playing music with my friends, and I have to stop to switch guitars for a heavier song. I could keep that Sunburst or Black strat on for any genre.

Hope that helps man :)
 
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Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Thanks for your observations! (I've got a set of '69s on the way for my Gilmour/Hendrix type tones, but I've been wrestling over the second Strat's set. I've been starry-eyed for Surfers, Lollars, D. Allen's, BKP and various Fender Custom Shops... But I've got a perfectly great set of SSL-1s right here!)
 
Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Thanks for your observations! (I've got a set of '69s on the way for my Gilmour/Hendrix type tones, but I've been wrestling over the second Strat's set. I've been starry-eyed for Surfers, Lollars, D. Allen's, BKP and various Fender Custom Shops... But I've got a perfectly great set of SSL-1s right here!)

Years ago, I put a set of SSL-1's in my buddy Aj's Jimmie Vaughan Strat. Whenever we get together to do some pickin' I'll bring one of my Strats with something fancy in it for pickups (Antiquity Surfers usually - but Kleins or D. Allens or Fralins sometimes) and I'm always blown away by how great that Strat of Aj's with the SSL-1's sounds.

I still prefer my Antiquity Surfers but the SSL-1's are also great.
 
Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Years ago, I put a set of SSL-1's in my buddy Aj's Jimmie Vaughan Strat. Whenever we get together to do some pickin' I'll bring one of my Strats with something fancy in it for pickups (Antiquity Surfers usually - but Kleins or D. Allens or Fralins sometimes) and I'm always blown away by how great that Strat of Aj's with the SSL-1's sounds.

I still prefer my Antiquity Surfers but the SSL-1's are also great.

(Sorry for the hijack Ryan!)

I know what you mean Lew, I lost myself for a couple of hours this afternoon just jamming with the SSL-1s! I had a great edge of breakup sound, and working the volume knob and pick attack was so much fun. I'm thinking about just loading these into the new guitar for a "baseline" then going from there!
 
Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

Re: Ant Surf Neck/Surf RW Middle/SSL-5: Will I get hum cancelling in position 2 & 4?

It's close to a week later and I still love these Antiquity Surfers. This Roadworn Sunburst is now probably my favorite guitar of the six I own. With my Gilmour Strat now in second place.
The pickups are so reponsive to the touch and the tone is full and bright and incredibly clear. What sets them apart for say blues is many pickups are good for blues but too muddy with extra mids. These have the full body doing bends without that overbearing muddy mid heavy squawk. I'm sure some others who own them hear this difference too. They are amazingly versatile and there is no compromising with these pups.

photo.jpg
 
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