Blackouts Strat?

ArtieToo said:
https://www.seymourduncan.com/single-product/blackouts-strat

I wonder if these are the red-headed step child of the Duncan line. I don't think I've ever seen anyone talk about these.

I wonder how they sound. Anyone tried 'em?
Click to expand...
I’m definitely keen to try them. I’ve got the original pickguard for my strat lying around and if they live up to the description, I might quite like them. If not I can just put the custom pickguard back and flip the set.

The only question is do I have one push/pull to jump the leads on all three at once, or three mini-switches to jumper them individually? That might have something to do with why we don’t hear much about them. That and/or stratty enough for the vintage crowd, not “metal” enough for the metal crowd.
 
Beer$ said:
The only question is do I have one push/pull to jump the leads on all three at once, or three mini-switches to jumper them individually?
Click to expand...

I forgot that they had the dual output option. I have the Livewire Classic II set in my Roadhouse Strat, and they sound great. But the dual option would be cool too.
 
i have a set and they are great! i have the neck and bridge wired to a push/pull pot (master tone) to select between the two output levels. the middle pup is always at the lower output. they are a little more middy than a vintage strat pup but still very much a single coil tone.
 
I'm sure they'd be fun, but at $327, I guess I'll just stay with the Classic II's. I've got some Blackouts humbuckers to get that approx tone.
 
the blackout singles dont sound like buckers at all, still very much a strat tone but not as scooped as your classic iis. ive had this hamer usa daytona for a long time, one of my main strats. ive had tons of pups in it over the years. aps2/aps2/twangbanger for a long time but for the last few years, its been these blackouts and im a fan
 
well... youre fired. and have to pay penance to the tune of, like, six wiring diagrams for strangers now :D
 
I’ll have the money to go ahead with this blackout strat project within the next couple of months. Really looking forward to going back to S-S-S, how it will sound and sharing the results. I might also get a blackout metal to put in the custom pickguard if I decide I love the middle and neck but the bridge doesn’t do it for me and maybe get the push-button-switch volume knob to jump between outputs. We’ll see!
 
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i really like mine. the neck and middle are the same pup, the bridge is voiced a bit thicker and with more output, but they sound more single coil than bucker for sure. i LOVE the setup i have with the neck and bridge having selectable output options and the spc mid boost to fatten things up.
 
i had an old one layin around from the 90s. i initially wired up an emg sv in the middle between the two blackouts but the output was way too low. also had an intolerable amount of dc on the volume pot, we actually talked about that when i had the issue. i put the middle blackout back in and 90% of the issue went away so i didnt go any further. having the mid boost on the guitar along with the output boost makes it very versatile. i can run the amp on 6 and get everything i need for a blues/rock gig from the guitar.
 
It's a bit ironic that I got my Roadhouse Strat, (from forum bro Butch Snyder), at a great price partly because he removed the Eric Clapton mid-boost circuit. But that left the battery compartment that made installing the Livewire Classic II's a natural choice. Now I may put that circuit back by way of the SPC. :cool:
 
the clapton circuit and spc are a little different but both great. i had the clapton setup in a strat with classic stack plus neck and middle with a vintage hot stack bridge. it was awesome! but got stolen. the clapton thing has an always on preamp boost and the adjustable mid boost which to my ears has more boost, centered lower, than the spc,
 
dont know if they can be used with active pups. those clapton circuits are out there. i dont care for the tbx so just wired in a normal 250k tone
 
I didn't think of that. But . . . it sounds great just the way it is, so I'll probably leave it alone. Maybe. :p
 
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