Help with Choosing Neck Pickup for Strat

[audioslaved]

Hey, i am looking to replace my neck pickup in my sqiuer strat. i want something with high output, but a nice warm tone, like the tone as in songs like Jimi Hendrix - winds cry mary, little wing, fire, etc. or yellow ledbetter by pearl jam or snow by the red hot chili peppers or sumthing. I want it so that it has a lot of output but keeps the nice warm tone when the amp is up loud, because i put a performer scorcher in my bridge, and it has so much output that when the volume is uphigh without overdrive or distortion, it sounds like its using distortion or overdrive. so could somebody please help me choose here? Thank you much.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Help with Choosing Neck Pickup for Strat

Hey, i am looking to replace my neck pickup in my sqiuer strat. i want something with high output, but a nice warm tone, like the tone as in songs like Jimi Hendrix - winds cry mary, little wing, fire, etc. or yellow ledbetter by pearl jam or snow by the red hot chili peppers or sumthing. I want it so that it has a lot of output but keeps the nice warm tone when the amp is up loud, because i put a performer scorcher in my bridge, and it has so much output that when the volume is uphigh without overdrive or distortion, it sounds like its using distortion or overdrive. so could somebody please help me choose here? Thank you much.

For Hendrix tone, I'd suggest the Duncan SSL-1. It's virtually identical to what Jimi, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Mark Knopfler used on thier most classic recordings. But it's not high output and Jimi didn't use high output pickups.

The Duncan APS-1 or APS-2 would have more mids and the highs would be warmer and you'd still be able to get a great Hendrix tone. But they're not high output either.

The Duncan Quarter Pound Strat pickups have higher output (double a vintage Strat output according to SD Pickups) and still retain a Strat tone...maybe those are more of what you're looking for.

Lew

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Help with Choosing Neck Pickup for Strat

+1 on the SSL-1. We're playing Hey Joe in my band and my Legacy with an SSL-1 in the neck combined with my Plexitone prototype and a little guitar volume tweaking gets me there.

 

[audioslaved]

Re: Help with Choosing Neck Pickup for Strat

well if i put the ssl-1 in the neck and my performer scorcher is in the bridge, if i switch from the neck to bridge would the bridge be A LOT louder? thats how it is now, I dont want that, i want them to be evened out or atleast close enough. , but i dont know how to compare the loudness between the scorcher and the ssl-1 before i buy it. how would i determine that. can somebody explain to me what dc resistance is and what resonant peak is? doesnt that have to deal with measuring volume or sumthing?

 

[AsIAm666]

Re: Help with Choosing Neck Pickup for Strat

I have the DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Heavy Blues single coil in the neck of my Mexi Strat and I love it. Its pretty much a Texas Special without the noise, but you might want the DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Blues which is the same thing....just not as heavy.

 

[audioslaved]

Re: Help with Choosing Neck Pickup for Strat

whata bout the SSL-5 Custom Staggered. That would have the same tone im looking for and have high output, but do think if the volumes up loud and its on clean, it would kinda sound like its on distortion?

Does anybody know the DC Resistance for the Performer Scorcher? Isnt the same as the Hot Rails?

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Help with Choosing Neck Pickup for Strat

The thing with the SSL-1 is that the low output is part of the equation. Maybe lowering the bridge pup would even things out a bit. If you go for a hotter single then there will always be a slight sacrifice when searching for a "vintage" sound.

 

[audioslaved]

Re: Help with Choosing Neck Pickup for Strat

well i dont really need an EXACT tone like hendrix or whatever, but just sumthing simaler to that with high output but sumthing that doesnt overpower the nice clean strat tone

 

[baritone]

Re: Help with Choosing Neck Pickup for Strat

I have a Duckbucker in the middle position of my Squier, and I just raised it up recently. The sound is really awesome. It is actually a really low-output pickup, but that is what allows it to maintain that really clean treble response. When placed closer to the strings, the output becomes even with the other pickups.