Quarter pound SSL-4 quack?

BruceBruce

BruceBruce

New member
I have a Fender Strat with a hot rails bridge, cool rails neck and SSL6 middle. I have a pull-pull pot to split the rails. I can't stand the SSL6, so I'm throwing it out. Compared to the other two pickups, it lacks high end and output and sounds weak, dull and muddy. The rails actually have better single coil tone when split.
So I thought I might get a SSL4 for the middle position. I really like how the sound samples sound. It might be just what I need. The one thing I don't know though, is how it sounds in positions 2 and 4. How's the quack with an SSL4 and the split rails?
 
Re: Quarter pound SSL-4 quack?

The SSL4, being a pretty powerful single coil, doesn't quck as much as, say, 2 SSL-1s. It is darker, with a lot more lower mids. You will get some quack (see the videos) but it doesn't really compare to vintage-output singles. Combined with a split rails, you get maybe 75% there, which was my experience.
 
Re: Quarter pound SSL-4 quack?

The ssl-6 is overwound alnico, while the rails are Ceramics. Not a good idea to mix that way. Use the Ssl-6 with a 500k pot and no tone pot in the bridge, the ceramics with 250ks as cools in the other position - that would help.
 
Re: Quarter pound SSL-4 quack?

hamerfan said:
The ssl-6 is overwound alnico, while the rails are Ceramics. Not a good idea to mix that way. Use the Ssl-6 with a 500k pot and no tone pot in the bridge, the ceramics with 250ks as cools in the other position - that would help.
Click to expand...

It won't. Hot rails need at least 500k pots. I tried the SSL-6 with all kinds of pot combination: 250k, 500k, 1MOhm,.... It's just weak and dull. I had way better results with Fender MIM ceramics. They sound full, hot and clear and have excellent quack when paired with the rails. But now I want to try something else, so I thought about the SSL4. If that doesn't work out, I'm going back to the MIM ceramics, which IMO are very underrated pickups.
 
Re: Quarter pound SSL-4 quack?

if you dont like the ssl6, i doubt you will like the ssl4
 
Re: Quarter pound SSL-4 quack?

The QP is double heavy. It has the thinner wire *and* the big magnets. I agree that it's probably not for you.

You could try to track a "Custom Bridge" Strat pickup from an Antiquity set. Those are heavier wind but with normal magnets. Still too heavy for me but way better than the QP.
 
Re: Quarter pound SSL-4 quack?

The Vintage Rails is a parallel-wired humbucker that sounds like a single coil. It might be nice if you auto-split the other pickups when you are using it. Or if the other pickups are auto-paralleled in positions 2 & 4.
 
Re: Quarter pound SSL-4 quack?

Hit me up when you want to get rid of that SSL-6!!!

I have one in the middle position of my Strat, not wired to a tone pot.
It sits next to a '59 in the bridge (which IS a very bright pickup).
I have no loss of treble content. In fact they are very well balanced.
 
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