best pic for SRV tone?

[smegolas]

I want a new neck pup that will help me get that thick bluesy SRV lead tone for a basswood Ibanez. Suggestions? (probably going with a JB in the bridge and a ??? in the middle)

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

SRV used stock early 60's strat pickups. Out of the Duncan catalog, the closest to those pickups would be the SSL-1 Vintage Staggered, or the Antiquity Surfers.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

One of my strats has a JB tremspaced and 2 Surfers. Heavy rock to SRV with a flick of the switch! As long as your amp rig can do both, the pickups can too.

 

[smegolas]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

OK what would be the closest to the SSL-1s if a guy wanted no hum? Hot Stack or Cool Rails or other, like the Classic Stack Plus?

 

[david kornblatt]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

Go Boutique

 

[jony]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

Cool rails is fine.

Seymour Duncan is a boutique company isnt it?

 

[ColdHit]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

Nothing can beat Texas Specials!

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

A coil tapped Dimarzio PAF Pro works extremely well.

With my buckers split in my Satriani (FRED/PAF Pro), I nail SRV tone.



But if you're buying straight single coils, go for the Surfers, Texas Specials or a Fat 50s.

 

[MikeS]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

OK what would be the closest to the SSL-1s if a guy wanted no hum? Hot Stack or Cool Rails or other, like the Classic Stack Plus?

Classic Stack Plus (though I've never tried them).

or

Vintage Rails


Cool Rails if you want something with a little more output.

edit: for the SRV tone, though, you can't go wrong with a set of Texas Specials.

 

[WERNER1]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

I've actually been going down this road my self for the past 6 months or so....

I've got a 50th Ann. Strat that I put some Lindy Fralin Vintage Hots in, and they're great pickups, but the don't give me that "SRV" sound/tone as much as I'd like.

A buddy of mine let me borrow one of his Texas Special neck pups he had lying around so I stuck it in there -----> :headbang: Nailed it! I had also borrowed another buddys SRV strat to compare......They are VERY similar!!

I've since purchased a bunch of neck and middle TS's and installed them in my Different guitars (That are all made up of different wood materials by the way) and I've gotten "that" sound through them as well.

NOTE: The exact sound I was going for was "Little Wing".

Rick

 

[DI_IORIO]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

I think SRV's tone came more from his hands, pretty heavy gauge strings and a Ibanez tube screamer
But as other friends said here, you should try some Texas Specials

 

[Scott Miller]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

If you use heavy strings (11's or bigger), the SSL-1's or Surf Antiquities will be perfect. If you use 10's, then a set of APS-1's will work very well. If you use 9's you will need something really beefy, like an SSL-5. (But let's face it, if you're trying to get SRV tone with 9's, that's kind of like showing up for the Tour de France on a tricycle).

 

[Corbic]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

I was listening to Jumpmarines clips of the Texas Hots on his Soundclick page and it had a great SRV tone to it.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: best pic for SRV tone?

OK what would be the closest to the SSL-1s if a guy wanted no hum? Hot Stack or Cool Rails or other, like the Classic Stack Plus?

Go with the Classic Stack Plus. That pickup was developed to capture as much of the tone of an Antiquity Surfer or the real '63 Strat pickups in my '63 Strat as possible...and it does. I have compared it to both. I'm a huge SRV fan and SRV's "59 Strat" was actually a '62 or '63 Strat just like mine. Lew