Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

[chumbucket]

I have a Strat with a hard ash body, one piece maple neck, and an original Floyd. It's the best playing guitar I've ever owned but not the best sounding. It has a bright almost brittle sound especially on the high strings. It's getting played mostly through a high gain modded Marshall. I have always leaned toward lower output pickups because they usually sound a little better. I just put an Air Zone in it because it had less highs on the tone chart, but it seemed to have too much output and lo mids. I was thinking about exchanging it for a Virtual Hot PAF, but I saw that people were complaining about it's high end. I think the best pickup that I ever had in it was an trem spaced SD Alnico II Pro but it was little too soft attack wise. I need something in that vein but a little hotter. Something in the hot PAF range of output with a flatter frequency response and some high end rolled off. Suggestions are appreciated.

 

[Ang3lus]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

some people here say the Blues saraceno PATB-3 is a more fat souding blues pickup, you can try that, it's medium gain i think, since you got a floyd those trembuckers i hear really give you back the sound qualities the floyd takes away. i myself am going to try the PATB-2 distortion, cause i play metal

 

[paytojt]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

+1 on any of the PATB's. They definitely add a lot of low end, and they give you a 3D sort of sound unlike any other pup I've played.

 

[Kac]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

my suggestion: PATB-3

rock On ~ Kac

 

[SFW]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

You may want to try a Custom Custom. It's hotter than a PAF, but it's got everything else you asked for.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

PATB-3 is IT!

 

[Ang3lus]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

i dunno
according to sound samples i like the patb3 in clean more than the patb2 in clean, but i like the distortion of patb2 and patb3 sounds "struggled" "choked" in distortion, what do i do :\

 

[chumbucket]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

You may want to try a Custom Custom. It's hotter than a PAF, but it's got everything else you asked for.

I had a Custom 5 and a Custom Custom in it before and I thought they were too compressed sounding.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

I have a Strat with a hard ash body, one piece maple neck, and an original Floyd. It's the best playing guitar I've ever owned but not the best sounding. It has a bright almost brittle sound especially on the high strings. It's getting played mostly through a high gain modded Marshall. I have always leaned toward lower output pickups because they usually sound a little better. I just put an Air Zone in it because it had less highs on the tone chart, but it seemed to have too much output and lo mids. I was thinking about exchanging it for a Virtual Hot PAF, but I saw that people were complaining about it's high end. I think the best pickup that I ever had in it was an trem spaced SD Alnico II Pro but it was little too soft attack wise. I need something in that vein but a little hotter. Something in the hot PAF range of output with a flatter frequency response and some high end rolled off. Suggestions are appreciated.

I dunno about PAF or hot output, but from experience, Alnico II Pro series pickups (single coils at least) sound great in soft maple. That and the sustain is just unreal. My 2 cents.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

The PATB samples were recorded with a LP. They're much more open when in a super-strat.

 

[chumbucket]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

I exchanged my F-spaced Air Zone for an F-spaced Virtual Hot PAF and I'm pretty pleased with the results. It's not as hot in the mids as the Air Zone was and more evenly balanced I think. I put a 250K pot in also which seemed to help a little too. It's a good sounding guitar now until I plug in my Les Paul then I see it's shortcomings!

 

[stangme01]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

i'm in the same boat man, i was thinking vhpaf also but i dunno. I want something around the output of a custom though (already have a custom on another guitar which i love but i'm looking for something different for this one). I thought the duncan jazz just didn't have enough output and attack

 

[SoCalSteve]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

Don't forget about trying new pots and/or caps.

 

[chumbucket]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

i'm in the same boat man, i was thinking vhpaf also but i dunno. I want something around the output of a custom though (already have a custom on another guitar which i love but i'm looking for something different for this one). I thought the duncan jazz just didn't have enough output and attack

The output is pretty decent on the VHPAF. I didn't find find myself turning the gain knob on my amp up that much more. My bright super Strat has a really loud acoustic tone. I did the nickel trick for setting the pickup height and it turned out just about perfect for me. I would think that this is probably a killer pickup in a normal axe like an LP or SG. You could run it with a 500k pot in a mahogany axe. I've always played high gain amps and never dug the tone of the higher output style pickups with them. It just never seemed necessary and didn't sound right. I love the hotter vintage style pickups with an Alnico magnet wound in the 8-10K range. I may try the PATB-3 Blues Saraceno pickup in this axe in the future, but for half the price the VHPAF was a good deal.

 

[Stratcat]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

The Duncan Custom Custom is what you need.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

The Duncan Custom Custom is what you need.

+1 My Ibanez (soft maple body) has that one right now, and the guy I gave the guitar to said he loves the sound

 

[hungphat]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

ill also recommend me the CUSTOM CUSTOM.
i have one im my parts-o-caster which is ASH body w/quilt maple top + maple neck w/Ebony fretboard

after realising hte woods i have picked would =bright city i was suggested the CC from this forum and im happy i listened.

 

[ratkent]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

I'm not sure what you mean by "compressed sounding" but to me the Custom Custom is impossible to beat in a bright guitar. I understand if you have tried it and were not happy, but you may reconsider trying it with different electronics to open it up a little.

 

[Robert Delahunt]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

I'm not sure what you mean by "compressed sounding" but to me the Custom Custom is impossible to beat in a bright guitar. I understand if you have tried it and were not happy, but you may reconsider trying it with different electronics to open it up a little.

I dunno though, an overwound pickup will sound a bit compressed, like a compressor effect. At least, to me it does. But yeah, the CC sounds like a nice phat overwound vintage bridge pickup. Some may like the sound, some not. Me, it's not my thing (I prefer clear, pure sounding, more like single coils and low output pickups), but for some, it is. Case in point, the guy I gave my Ibanez to (CC bridge, soft maple body) absolutely loved it. Me, I couldn't stand it lol

 

[theodie]

Re: Pickup recommendations for bright super Strat

Trust me, the PATB-3 will do it for ya. The CC is good but, the PATB-3 will get you what you want.