High out put yet distinctly strat sounding pickups?

I always figured active pickups should be able to give a high output, noiseless pretty accurate single coil sound . . . but it seems like actives are always designed for metal.
 
the blackout single are more middy than a vintage strat pup but i think they sound great, and i dont play metal. i played my hamer daytona with blackout singles yesterday at a town park blues/rock gig and some older lady asked me what the guitar was cause it sounded amazing! odd, but whatever. the old duncan livewires are voiced much more like a vintage strat pup, almost more scooped than some, and they sound fantastic!
 
GuitarStv said:
I always figured active pickups should be able to give a high output, noiseless pretty accurate single coil sound . . . but it seems like actives are always designed for metal.
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Steve Lukather and David Gilmore used to play with EMG SA single coils, they are not playing metal. Vince Gill is a country guitar player who used EMG S. Keith Urban was also using EMG pickups at some point in its Telecaster.

I don't know about SD Blackout but EMG Retroactive line is more vintage/traditional.

IMHO active pickups are not better or worst than passive pickups, just different tools. Same with pure single coils vs hum-cancelling stacked single coils.
 
donaldr said:
Steve Lukather and David Gilmore used to play with EMG SA single coils, they are not playing metal. Vince Gill is a country guitar player who used EMG S. Keith Urban was also using EMG pickups at some point in its Telecaster.
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Agreed. I have a Hammett set (81/S/S) in a crappy Ibanez. The 81 on high-gain, yeah, face-melter. Single coil S's on clean/crunch, not even remotely metal. Very versatile pickups, all in all.
 
Mincer said:
Higher output pickups will be more sensitive picking up quieter picking, but not touch sensitive. In other words, if your style depends on dynamics, higher output pickups compress in a way that limits the dynamic range. If you have, say, SSL-2, SSL-2, SSL-6 set, that will be super Stratty/quacky without getting too compressed in the bridge.
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Hey Mincer, it's been a while since I've been active here! Do you mean to say that pickups compress, or that because it hits harder a pickup makes the amp compress?
 
i do find many active pups seem to have a little natural compression but high output also can make the amp compress a bit unless there is a ton of headroom. neither is really bad, just different
 
Clint 55 said:
Of course, I recommend a 31 band because it's such an indispensable tool for any rig.
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I'm not sure if you meant that tongue-in-cheek, or were serious. 31-band EQ's tend to be pro level, as in, needing some kind of buffer before you drive them with a guitar.

What are you using? Both, for EQ and buffer. Inquiring minds want to know. ;)
 
GuitarStv said:
I always figured active pickups should be able to give a high output, noiseless pretty accurate single coil sound . . . but it seems like actives are always designed for metal.
Click to expand...

That’s a myth I like to call “every active is an EMG 81.” Some are specifically voiced and marketed for it, no differently than some passives are but there are many, many styles they can be found in like jazz and even country. Like the passives, there’s no rules. I feel the 89 doesn’t get enough love. It’s an 85 that becomes an SA and it sounds gorgeous even for everything not metal. Also can’t recommend running earlier EMGs at 18v (extra battery.). Every common complaint about them goes away

In fact an 18v 81 in the bridge of a King V shape, it took a while find a passive as incomparably defined, yet meaty that didn’t “twang” like a single coil in comparison in a similar (big mahogany V) guitar. 90% of the time it’s what I reach for for metal since 7 years ago. Funny side note, my Blackjack V had had at least 5 bridge pickup changes. Dimarzios, Bill Lawrence, various Duncans. It came with a JB and I’ve come all the way back around to… the JB. It was fine the way it was out the box!

I was looking for a “tightness” that it just didn’t need. The JB sounds perfectly angry and heavy, it’s all over our first album and there’s literally nothing wrong with it. I think I broke out the DD on some of the more technical songs and it’s a little tighter and smoother but at the expense of that angry growl.

Over time I’ve come to realise “tight” is totally overrated. There’s a point where it’s diminishing returns and it just doesn’t rock anymore, you just went ahead and had your tone neutered. If your double (or more tracking) is on point, that’s tight. I’ve found most vintage to medium output pickups in the bridge of a strat inherently retain some of the strattiness (particularly anything single coil sized, probably because of the slant.)

Any suggestion in particular is just going to give you too many to choose from. Tone interpretation is a pretty personal thing. My idea of “high output but stratty” is going to be different from yours without maybe a song that has that sound you could show as a reference, so I’ll leave you with one suggestion. Try what sounds most likely to work from the thread and just keep trying and switching until you like it! It’s part of the fun of guitar and that’s what return policies are for! :)
 
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GuitarStv said:
I always figured active pickups should be able to give a high output, noiseless pretty accurate single coil sound . . . but it seems like actives are always designed for metal.
Click to expand...

I have the Livewire Classic II set in my Roadhouse Strat. They sound exactly like Strat pups should sound, but with just a smidgen more attitude. If I didn't tell folks they were active, they wouldn't know. They'd just say they sound good. :cool:
 
Like 2 sets in particular for slightly fatter Strat tones but still keeping the Strat Glass.
For a sweeter solter fatter tone that is a little rude the Antiquities Teaxs Hots are really nice.
The Antiquities Surfer II Retrospec set is a little more true vintage Strat vibe but with more in particular with the overwound bridge. MUCH prefer these 2 sets to teh SSL-1 with a SSL 5 Gilmore set.
Love the Surfer II set I have in my 94 Washburn USA Silverado here through my US PRS Archon rig with absolutely no effects. Tghey really sing with some gain but retain that classic Strat glass clean.
 
ArtieToo said:
If I didn't tell folks they were active, they wouldn't know. They'd just say they sound good. :cool:
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That’s so true. It should be enough to put the active pickup stigma to bed. I was going to put Livewire HMET/Classic2/Classic2 set in my USA strat but they went off the market right as I was about to so for now it’s got whatever it came with (I think it’s 60s style electronics) and I’m trying out different buckers for the bridge in the custom H-S-S pickguard. I love the lead sound of the middle and neck together and it’s so comfortable to play, I figure it should be able to hang with my other guitars but balance with what’s already there, so I’m thinking I should go for vintage to medium output.
 
Beer$ said:
I was going to put Livewire HMET/Classic2/Classic2 set in my USA strat but they went off the market right as I was about to . . .
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I have an old school Livewire HMET Metal in a drawer. The old 18-volt version. I'm not sure what to do with it, but I want to hear it. I gotta find a project for this b***h.
 
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