pickup recommendations needed. First post

J

JGD

New member
I'm a long-time lurker but this is my first post.

I'm needing pickups for a Chapman ML1

here are the guitar details:

HSS rear-loaded Strat style

mahogany body, maple neck/ebony fingerboard

25.5" scale

vintage tremolo

My style is classic hard rock - Zep, Bad Co, GnR, early VH, Hendrix, Trower. Also big into Cream, ZZ Top, ABB. Modern tones I like are Andy Timmons and Bonamassa with Black Country Communion.

I play through a Marshall DSL40C and use minimal effects - a little wah, delay. Sometimes a Phase 90 and an OD to goose the Marshall when needed.

Looking for a bridge HB that is like a more muscular PAF - a full low end, but still good clarity and string definition.

For the single coils, I want something with output that will match well with the bridge. I need good cleans but would like a nice smooth overdrive sound on the neck for soloing.

I was thinking of perhaps a Custom 5 with a couple Cool Rails, but I'd appreciate any advice or feedback. I'm not looking strictly at SD, recommendations for other makes are welcome. This isn't an expensive guitar, so I'd prefer to stay with mass-produced (i.e., less expensive) pickups.
 
Re: pickup recommendations needed. First post

bridge hum: 59/C Hybrid

do not pass go, do not collect $100. done deal.


single coils.... I'm a fan of the STK-S4, but you gotta roll how you want to on those.

the Little '59 is alright too. not really like a '59 hum, but in all the good ways. pretty versatile, especially if you wire it up for split or parallel.

welcome to the user forum, where the customer is king. glad you got to read my reply.
 
Re: pickup recommendations needed. First post

Ditto to the above from SD offerings.

Outside of SD when you said "more muscular PAF" I instantly think of the L-90 from Wilde pickups. Full low end and string clarity describe it perfectly. For the singles I say go with their L-298n and L-298m.

http://wildepickups.com
 
Re: pickup recommendations needed. First post

Or maybe the regular '59. Not quite as meaty as the 59/Custom hybrid. How about Hot Stacks to go with?
 
Re: pickup recommendations needed. First post

Here's somethnig I guess I don't understand (add it to the long list) - why somebody is always trying to make one guitar do all things. I guess it's marginally more convenient to only have to carry one guitar, but unless you go to gigs on a motorcycle, two doesn't seem that big of a burden. They even make gig bags that hold 2 guitars. I guess it's also somewhat cheaper, but unless you're playing high end stuff, not by that much. It seems to me that most of what you're playing is humbucker stuff, with a strat for Hendrix, Trower and Timmons. Now, if you did Zep 'right', you'd also need a tele and a Dano (plus the 6/12 SG), but not too many go to that extreme.

I'm not knocking your methodology, tons and tons of guys do it, I just always find it interesting. I've got an HSS Lone Star setup, not because I'm trying to cover more ground with the same guitar, it's just that I almost never hear a 'regular' voiced strat (or tele) bridge pickup that I like. It's just not a sound I'm fond of, so I just look for something I like instead. But then I haven't played out for a couple of lifetimes, so I don't have to haul anything anymore.

OK, I know none of this was helpful or even insightful, just some late night ramblings. I'm sure tomorrow I'll wonder why I did this.

BTW, JGD, my tastes run very close to yours. Well, I shoulld say I like pretty much what you like, plus a zillion other things. I also like funk, folk rock, jazz of all kinds, zydeco, prog, the list goes on...
 
Last edited:
Re: pickup recommendations needed. First post

I'm just surprised no one has said "Black Winters" yet! Just kidding...
 
Re: pickup recommendations needed. First post

Looking at the ML-1 specs ( http://www.chapmanguitars.co.uk/guitars/ml-1/ ), I notice that the selector switch is somewhat unconventional. In my opinion, it would be worth investigating exactly what type of switch is in there before deciding on any modifications.
 
Re: pickup recommendations needed. First post

The ML1 has a 3 way switch that selects neck/neck+bridge/bridge. There is also a push/pull switch that adds the middle pickup, giving neck+mid/all 3 pickups/mid+bridge. According to the Chapman website, the switch is also supposed to split the humbucker, but when I tap on the pole pieces with an Allen wrench, both coils are active. Seems like it's actually putting the coils into parallel.

My primary concern is to have good tones in the neck, neck+mid, and bridge positions. The neck+bridge position I do use as we'll for clean rhythm parts. To be honest, I'm not concerned about the mid+bridge setting or all 3 pickups at once since I never use those settings.

NotCardio, I have other guitars - a Tele and a LP Special- but a lot of my original music utilizes both singles and buckers in the same tune. Hence the Chapman.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Re: pickup recommendations needed. First post

Even I though 59/Custom hybrid.

The Custom is the obvious answer for metal. (Does it really blend with ANY singles anyway???)
The 59 is the obvious answer for PAF
59/Custom just sits in that sweet spot

By the way JGD - excellent first request! Nicely stated.
 
Re: pickup recommendations needed. First post

JGD said:
NotCardio, I have other guitars - a Tele and a LP Special- but a lot of my original music utilizes both singles and buckers in the same tune. Hence the Chapman.
Click to expand...

Ahh, I see. I guess I wasn't thinking about those you mentioned as just being the style of your originals. I thought that you were playing covers of those artists.
 
Re: pickup recommendations needed. First post

NotCardio said:
Here's somethnig I guess I don't understand (add it to the long list) - why somebody is always trying to make one guitar do all things. I guess it's marginally more convenient to only have to carry one guitar, but unless you go to gigs on a motorcycle, two doesn't seem that big of a burden. They even make gig bags that hold 2 guitars. I guess it's also somewhat cheaper, but unless you're playing high end stuff, not by that much. It seems to me that most of what you're playing is humbucker stuff, with a strat for Hendrix, Trower and Timmons. Now, if you did Zep 'right', you'd also need a tele and a Dano (plus the 6/12 SG), but not too many go to that extreme.

I'm not knocking your methodology, tons and tons of guys do it, I just always find it interesting. I've got an HSS Lone Star setup, not because I'm trying to cover more ground with the same guitar, it's just that I almost never hear a 'regular' voiced strat (or tele) bridge pickup that I like. It's just not a sound I'm fond of, so I just look for something I like instead. But then I haven't played out for a couple of lifetimes, so I don't have to haul anything anymore.

OK, I know none of this was helpful or even insightful, just some late night ramblings. I'm sure tomorrow I'll wonder why I did this.

BTW, JGD, my tastes run very close to yours. Well, I shoulld say I like pretty much what you like, plus a zillion other things. I also like funk, folk rock, jazz of all kinds, zydeco, prog, the list goes on...
Click to expand...

Well I think if he's playing in a band that covers all of these styles, he shouldn't have to lug around a tele, a dano, a double neck, a regular strat, and a bunch of others when he can get a good sound with one guitar. the person in the bar isn't thinking "If he really wants to get Jimmy Page's sound he needs a tele and a small amp". The person in the bar is thinking, to paraphrase another forumite i can't remember the name of, "I wonder if these guys know Freebird."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

SonicMage117
Telecaster neck pickup that pairs well with....
Replies
14
Views
1K
ToneFiddler
T
R
Pickup Recommendations for Warmoth Gecko 6 Bass
Replies
8
Views
340
RMosack
R
ebagjones
Preamp Recommendations
2
Replies
20
Views
920
DankStar
DankStar
G
Deciding on a bridge pickup for an HSS Strat
2
Replies
22
Views
2K
McD
McD
H
Pickup suggestions for my HSS Godin Session HT
Replies
10
Views
1K
ShoeGazer64
ShoeGazer64
Back
Top