DiMarzio Breed vs. Suhr SSH+?

[Rex_Rocker]

Kinda curious about giving the Breed a try. Just toying with the idea.

I'm happy with the SSH+ on my Les Pauls. But the itch to try different pickups strikes me again. You know me.

I was wondering if the Breed is sort of along the lines, just smoother. One of my Les Pauls (the Tribute) has noticeably more bite to the attack than the other (the Modern Lite) and a little less output. (On a side note, I find that funny because it's heavier and the body and neck are fatter.) Wonder if the Breed would offset that. One thing that I do not want is a bloated low-end, though, which I'm afraid the Breed might have.

I was thinking about dropping a 250K volume pot on it to smooth out the SSH+ a tad, but that wouldn't do anything for the output. If anything, it might make the difference worse.

So... thoughts? Thanks!

 

[Archer250]

It's a lot smoother.

Like, no bite. It's smoother than the Custom Custom.

 

[soulforger]

I did just notice Dimarzio has put the Breed neck and bridge back up on the website as regular production models! Edit, it does still say "made to order"...

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I did just notice Dimarzio has put the Breed neck and bridge back up on the website as regular production models! Edit, it does still say "made to order"...

It's not hard to find them on eBay. But...

It's a lot smoother.

Like, no bite. It's smoother than the Custom Custom.

... I guess if it's like that, yeah, no. That's too extreme.

 

[Butch Snyder]

Kinda curious about giving the Breed a try. Just toying with the idea.

I'm happy with the SSH+ on my Les Pauls. But the itch to try different pickups strikes me again. You know me.

I was wondering if the Breed is sort of along the lines, just smoother. One of my Les Pauls (the Tribute) has noticeably more bite to the attack than the other (the Modern Lite) and a little less output. (On a side note, I find that funny because it's heavier and the body and neck are fatter.) Wonder if the Breed would offset that. One thing that I do not want is a bloated low-end, though, which I'm afraid the Breed might have.

I was thinking about dropping a 250K volume pot on it to smooth out the SSH+ a tad, but that wouldn't do anything for the output. If anything, it might make the difference worse.

So... thoughts? Thanks!

If you read literature about the Breed, you'll see that DiMarzio created that pickup to go in a basswood body guitar with a locking trem. In other words, they created it for one of Steve Vai's Jems. They created it to make his Jem, the one he named "Pogo", to sound like a Les Paul. That would tell me that I would not want to use a Breed in an actual Les Paul. It would be too muddy, thick, and possibly dark.

 

[Teleplayer]

If you read literature about the Breed, you'll see that DiMarzio created that pickup to go in a basswood body guitar with a locking trem. In other words, they created it for one of Steve Vai's Jems. They created it to make his Jem, the one he named "Pogo", to sound like a Les Paul. That would tell me that I would not want to use a Breed in an actual Les Paul. It would be too muddy, thick, and possibly dark.

This makes total sense. After all, Breed is a high output pickup with a brass baseplate. Based on the design intention of the Breed, you could make a similar argument about the Suhr SSH+. That is also a hot and thick sounding pickup in a super-strat style guitar. Not too far away from SH-11 custom custom IMO, but with more bite and a bit brighter.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

If you read literature about the Breed, you'll see that DiMarzio created that pickup to go in a basswood body guitar with a locking trem. In other words, they created it for one of Steve Vai's Jems. They created it to make his Jem, the one he named "Pogo", to sound like a Les Paul. That would tell me that I would not want to use a Breed in an actual Les Paul. It would be too muddy, thick, and possibly dark.

​Good point.

Then again, Mark Morton was using a Breed before developing the Dominion in his Jackson guitar (mahogany body, 24.75", tune-o-matic), and it worked for him. I don't particularly love his tone, but I thought I might make it work as his Dominion sounded pretty decent to me, just a tad too attack-y for what I want right now.​

This makes total sense. After all, Breed is a high output pickup with a brass baseplate. Based on the design intention of the Breed, you could make a similar argument about the Suhr SSH+. That is also a hot and thick sounding pickup in a super-strat style guitar. Not too far away from SH-11 custom custom IMO, but with more bite and a bit brighter.

I would love to hear a comparo between the Breed and the SSH+. I've found one with the Breed vs the JB, and the Breed definitely seems fatter than the JB, but not necessarily darker or smoother. I kinda like that, honestly.

I do think the SSH+ is an overall balanced pickup. That might make it very forgiving of what guitar it goes in.

 

[nienturi]

If you read literature about the Breed, you'll see that DiMarzio created that pickup to go in a basswood body guitar with a locking trem. In other words, they created it for one of Steve Vai's Jems. They created it to make his Jem, the one he named "Pogo", to sound like a Les Paul. That would tell me that I would not want to use a Breed in an actual Les Paul. It would be too muddy, thick, and possibly dark.

You have the point. I used breed birdge on a bright super strat and it was fantastic (except the compression which i am not a fan of that thing, you know). JB-ish mid oriented pickup. Moreover i thought it was a JB variant like Tone Zone. Smoother than the JB, btw. Very sweet.

 

[Ascension]

Kinda curious about giving the Breed a try. Just toying with the idea.

I'm happy with the SSH+ on my Les Pauls. But the itch to try different pickups strikes me again. You know me.

I was wondering if the Breed is sort of along the lines, just smoother. One of my Les Pauls (the Tribute) has noticeably more bite to the attack than the other (the Modern Lite) and a little less output. (On a side note, I find that funny because it's heavier and the body and neck are fatter.) Wonder if the Breed would offset that. One thing that I do not want is a bloated low-end, though, which I'm afraid the Breed might have.

I was thinking about dropping a 250K volume pot on it to smooth out the SSH+ a tad, but that wouldn't do anything for the output. If anything, it might make the difference worse.

So... thoughts? Thanks!

I would go with the Gravity Storm bridge before I would the Breed. Owned both.