Neck Pickup Help - Strat Size

[cthroatgtr]

For years I have used a JB (or similar) bridge pickup with a JB Jr. I recently tried a Vintage Hot Stack instead. By itself it sounded great but the problem is I switch between bridge and neck during solos and it was too drastic. It simply wasn't well balanced. So I am looking for some suggestions. Musically I play mostly metal both in a band and as solo instrumentalist and I play a lot of fast leads bridge/neck and need the neck pickup to be clear and articulate, not muddy. I never use the neck pickup for dirty rhythms, just clean parts and for shred neck solos, but as mentioned, I switch pickups a lot during solos. The JB Jr does this well but its clean tone isn't nearly as nice. Noiseless is important for me. Guitars are super strats full humbucker bridge and single coil neck, no middle pickup, no tone knob and 500k pots. I have both mahogany and alder body guitars. Amp is currently a Mesa Boogie Triple Crown as well as Mark V 25 for home. Speakers are typically V30.

SD or Dimarzio or even some other make if there is a good option. The chopper and satch track are intriguing. I have used a cool rails neck before (not much different than JB jr) and a long time ago a lil 59. I am definitely more familiar with SD over Dimarzio.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Neck Pickup Help - Strat Size

You might dig the new Red Devils, which seem to have the EQ you want, and can compete with hotter bridge pickups, volume-wise.

 

[cthroatgtr]

Re: Neck Pickup Help - Strat Size

You might dig the new Red Devils, which seem to have the EQ you want, and can compete with hotter bridge pickups, volume-wise.

I looked at the Red Devils but they seem a little too much PAF and may get muddy under gain. How would you compare them to the JB Jr?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Neck Pickup Help - Strat Size

They aren't as hot (more dynamics), and don't have that upper mid thing that the JB Jr has. If I was purely going to play 80s hard rock, I'd choose the JB Jr. The Red Devils seem to do a more diverse array of styles across a larger gain range.

 

[Teleplayer]

Re: Neck Pickup Help - Strat Size

I found the Satch Track and Cool Rails are very similar in output level. Dimarzio's mounting springs allow you to put the pickups closer to the strings than the rubber tubing supplied with the Cool Rails, so obviously I prefer springs to get the maximum possible output level. Possibly a Chopper in the neck with only 500k Volume control would balance better for your application, but you are likely to be disappointed with the clean tones. It seems like your requirements are pointing towards a full size neck humbucker.

 

[cthroatgtr]

Re: Neck Pickup Help - Strat Size

I found the Satch Track and Cool Rails are very similar in output level. Dimarzio's mounting springs allow you to put the pickups closer to the strings than the rubber tubing supplied with the Cool Rails, so obviously I prefer springs to get the maximum possible output level. Possibly a Chopper in the neck with only 500k Volume control would balance better for your application, but you are likely to be disappointed with the clean tones. It seems like your requirements are pointing towards a full size neck humbucker.

How would you compare the Cool Rails tone to the Satch Track and Chopper? I am using a 500k pot as well.

 

[JesusCrisp]

Re: Neck Pickup Help - Strat Size

Maybe a Dimarzio Chopper is right up your alley?

Tonewise it sits between a singlecoil and a humbucker, is Strat-sized, noiseless and hot enough to compete with a hot humbucker.

 

[Teleplayer]

Re: Neck Pickup Help - Strat Size

How would you compare the Cool Rails tone to the Satch Track and Chopper? I am using a 500k pot as well.

I always use 500k volume and 500k tone, so its not really the same situation. I can only tell you my own experience and thoughts. The Cool Rails is brighter than the Satch Track, although the output level was the same once I got the Cool Rails up to the same height. Cool Rails has more of a single coil tone due to brightness. Satch Track is more like a bright vintage PAF humbucker but it has a Dimarzio flavour in the mids. Although Satch Track has some good brightness, but it is fairly balanced and it will sound different depending the guitar and obviously the control pot values. When I played the Chopper in the neck position I felt it was all mids and compression was very obvious, so I wasn't happy with it personally.

Its hard to say if the Chopper will work for you. Its probably better with a single 500k control pot, but I don't know if capable of a lot of clarity when used with high gain.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Neck Pickup Help - Strat Size

I don't see much to improve on. The JB Jr is the best single coil form factor pickup I've tried. I guess the advantage to the Dimarzio rails is that they have full string coverage but still sound gainy and not all smooth like the hot/cool rails.

 

[cthroatgtr]

Re: Neck Pickup Help - Strat Size

I don't see much to improve on. The JB Jr is the best single coil form factor pickup I've tried. I guess the advantage to the Dimarzio rails is that they have full string coverage but still sound gainy and not all smooth like the hot/cool rails.

The JB Jr is good for leads but clean is rather blah. I wonder if going to the Lil 59 maybe better. Its a little more open less mids, may work better for cleans. I would really love if there was a Dimarzio to SD comparison regarding how they measure output and EQ. If I could slightly scoop a JB jr with a little more presence that would be ideal.

 

[Mononoaware]

Re: Neck Pickup Help - Strat Size

Maybe a Dimarzio Chopper is right up your alley?

Tonewise it sits between a singlecoil and a humbucker, is Strat-sized, noiseless and hot enough to compete with a hot humbucker.

+1. Chopper was a big surprise for me. It's really not trying to copy anything else, and works well with a wide variety of pickups and setups. I've used it bridge and neck and enjoyed both. Warm, clear, good clean and driven, and tracks well. I teamed it up with an Evo2 for a long time and the split combos were fantastic for crystal cleans.

I found the Satch Track to be very similar, with just a touch more Stratty chime. I'd say it's hard to go wrong with either in the neck as long as you're using a 500k setup.

 

[cthroatgtr]

Re: Neck Pickup Help - Strat Size

Can anyone compare a chopper with a JB jr?