Has this ever happened to you?

[superpete]

Fell in love with a guitar. It's a FSR HSS strat in sunfire orangeflake. Looks great, plays nice, sounds not so good. I'm blaming the pickups. It sounds muddy and slightly stiff or constipated for lack of a better word. Here's where the problem comes in. I know i can pop a JB in there and be happy. It'll give me a sound I know, a sound I like, and should complement the guitar. However, on the other hand, I already have a similar guitar with a JB in in it. I really like trying different pickups and playing around with different sounds. I've always wanted to try a 59/custom hybrid, a pearly gates, JB2, and even a custom custom. Always on the lookout for new pickups. I believe it's an alder body with a maple neck. I want an open, bright but not thin tone for higher gain stuff, not scooped metal but more searing lead tone.

Has this ever happened to you? The struggle between the tried and true and always being on the lookout for cool new sounds?

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

I know i can pop a JB in there and be happy. It'll give me a sound I know, a sound I like, and should complement the guitar.

How do you know? :scratchch

The only real way is to whack the pickup in and audition it. If the natural acoustic sound from the wood is not very good, no amount of pickup swapping is going to rescue the situation.

I believe it's an alder body with a maple neck. I want an open, bright but not thin tone for higher gain stuff, not scooped metal but more searing lead tone.

Why not look up the spec and find out for certain?

Has this ever happened to you? The struggle between the tried and true and always being on the lookout for cool new sounds?

Nah. Just buy ANOTHER guitar!

 

[superpete]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

How do you know? :scratchch

ok you got me. true, i do not know exactly what a jb will sound like in this guitar. but i know what a jb sounds like, i know i like it, and I know i like it in strats 99% of the time. If this ends up being the 1% i don't like, maybe I could finally do a magnet swap and try an A2 jb...

Nah. Just buy ANOTHER guitar!

hahaha yeah well...that's another problem. i came across this guitar literally 2 days after buying a tele.

 

[Chris of Arabia]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

I recently put a Screamin' Demon in an alder bodied MIA 'Lonestar' Strat. That works really well, both as a straight humbucker in the bridge, and split in combination with the middle RWRP SSL52 when the selector switch is in position two. I much prefer what I'm getting with that combination than I was with the original PG+, which I always felt lacked something, but I'd be hard pushed to say exactly what.

 

[superpete]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

I recently put a Screamin' Demon in an alder bodied MIA 'Lonestar' Strat. That works really well, both as a straight humbucker in the bridge, and split in combination with the middle RWRP SSL52 when the selector switch is in position two. I much prefer what I'm getting with that combination than I was with the original PG+, which I always felt lacked something, but I'd be hard pushed to say exactly what.

Yeah i have a PG+ i a strat as well. I kind of know what you mean. I like it because it sounds good, but it never really blows me away in any particular way. Sort of a jack of all trades deal.

 

[B2D]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

Has this ever happened to you? The struggle between the tried and true and always being on the lookout for cool new sounds?

Oh yeah. It's the primary cause of my decision paralysis when it comes to gear.

 

[pzaxtl]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

hahaha yeah well...that's another problem. i came across this guitar literally 2 days after buying a tele.

Dontcha just hate it when that happens!

Are you happy with the tone of the neck and middle pickups? Obviously, you want something that works well with what you've got in those positions if you're happy with them. Personally, I'd give the 59/Custom a try...

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

Mexican FSR, basically an Alder Strat with an awesome finish and everything else but ****ty pickups. GREAT mod platforms if you ask me.

Do you use the middle and neck pickups at all? Or does it not matter that those are overwound with a ceramic bar magnet?

For the bridge pickup I'd go with a Custom/'59 hybrid wired to a tone control or a Custom Custom with no tone control on it. Then... What do you want from the neck and middle?

 

[superpete]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

Nah the neck and middle have to go too, but that's a thread for another day.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

Fell in love with a Strat? No. But yes, different PU's can make all the difference. That's why there's a thriving aftermarket in PU's. It's why we all respect Seymour and meet here at his forum.

 

[elelpe]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

The struggle between the tried and true and always being on the lookout for cool new sounds?

That's why I have collection of pickups waiting for the 'right' guitar. Btw, try PATB1, Full Shred or Alt8.

 

[blueman335]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

That's why I have collection of pickups waiting for the 'right' guitar.

My strategy also.

 

[superpete]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

Mexican FSR, basically an Alder Strat with an awesome finish and everything else but ****ty pickups. GREAT mod platforms if you ask me.

Do you use the middle and neck pickups at all? Or does it not matter that those are overwound with a ceramic bar magnet?

For the bridge pickup I'd go with a Custom/'59 hybrid wired to a tone control or a Custom Custom with no tone control on it. Then... What do you want from the neck and middle?

Yeah I'm kinda leaning towards the hybrid. Always wanted to try one. I played a friends HSS strat with a custom custom in it this week. It sounded good, but i think it would annoy me over time. I can't describe it other than you know that thing it does that makes the cc so distinct? The warm buttery mids? it had it in spades, but i dont know if i always want that. i need a little more crunch, and little less compression from the pu. from the neck and middle I'm not as fussy as i am with the bridge, but i'd like a bright strat sound that can hold up to a fuzz and some effects and not get too muddy. basically something that sounds great clean but could get, say, a nice david gilmour sound. I was looking at the ssl2, but would the ssl6 match up better with the hybrid?

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

Only problem is...

When you get more than a couple dozen guitars the urge doesn't get satisfied, it gets FED and gets stronger!

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

Yeah I'm kinda leaning towards the hybrid. Always wanted to try one. I played a friends HSS strat with a custom custom in it this week. It sounded good, but i think it would annoy me over time. I can't describe it other than you know that thing it does that makes the cc so distinct? The warm buttery mids? it had it in spades, but i dont know if i always want that. i need a little more crunch, and little less compression from the pu. from the neck and middle I'm not as fussy as i am with the bridge, but i'd like a bright strat sound that can hold up to a fuzz and some effects and not get too muddy. basically something that sounds great clean but could get, say, a nice david gilmour sound. I was looking at the ssl2, but would the ssl6 match up better with the hybrid?

That's exactly why I specified that if you went with a CC that you don't wire it to a tone control. I've got one in my hard ash hardtail Strat without a tone wired to it and it's got a nice bright edge to it.

 

[superpete]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

Thanks for the advice guys. I ended up going with an A2 59/custom hybrid that i got here from a fellow forum member. It reads about 12.5k. In another HSS strat I have a pearly gates plus and 2 texas specials. The PG+ is lower output than the hybrid, and I always feels it overpowers the single coils. Would using a ssl5 in the neck and middle work out well if i was looking to not have the singles overpowered? also, i know they are higher output but does anyone know if using the ssl5 in the neck and middle maintain some stratty-ness to them? I've heard some say they sound less like a single coil and more like a p90. Not sure if that's what I want from them. It's between those and the ssl1.

 

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

Dude if you havent already, split the 59/c. The custom coil should balance really well with your other single coils. Also Gilmour used the late 60s early 70s spec fender stock single coils for the neck and middle. That would be Alnico V magnets, wound to 5.8ishk with plain enamel wire. BUT you could also go for noiseless pickups too and go fully quiet with your setup, like gilmour does live with his emg sa set. The stacked pickups do come with a bit more output too so the classic stack plus might fit the bill. And the ssl-3 and the ssl-4 are the more p90 type pickups in my experience, but the ssl-5 is a hot one. Check out some of dimarzio's virtual series single coils too, they rock. The area 61 seems about right for you. Probably blasphemy mentioning dimarzio here though.

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

Dude if you havent already, split the 59/c. The custom coil should balance really well with your other single coils. Also Gilmour used the late 60s early 70s spec fender stock single coils for the neck and middle. That would be Alnico V magnets, wound to 5.8ishk with plain enamel wire. BUT you could also go for noiseless pickups too and go fully quiet with your setup, like gilmour does live with his emg sa set. The stacked pickups do come with a bit more output too so the classic stack plus might fit the bill. And the ssl-3 and the ssl-4 are the more p90 type pickups in my experience, but the ssl-5 is a hot one. Check out some of dimarzio's virtual series single coils too, they rock. The area 61 seems about right for you. Probably blasphemy mentioning dimarzio here though.

Nah, there's a lot of fans of DiMarzios here. Actually, I just built a Strat with a GFS VEH in the bridge and two DiMarzio Area '67s. Killer tones and completely noiseless.

 

[superpete]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

yeah i have dimarzios in a lot of guitars. the area 67 is a favorite of mine. how is the VEH?

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Has this ever happened to you?

yeah i have dimarzios in a lot of guitars. the area 67 is a favorite of mine. how is the VEH?

I love the VEH. This is actually my second VEH (the first is in my Epi LP Custom). Interestingly it's an A5 magnet based pickup but it has that squishy low end that you expect in a pickup looking to cop EVH tones. I keep wondering what would happen if I swapped an A2 into it. Would it just be devastatingly EVH?