Recommendations for a hotter bridge pickup

S

SimpleT

New member
Hey there,

Looking for a hotter bridge pickup that can do cleans with without sounding nasal or harsh and still be somewhat dynamic. I play a lot of complex chord voicings, play clean a lot but also play high gain. I don't need all the gain to come from the pick drive the amp but I do like some *push* in my tone. Matching it with a sentient in the neck. Thanks!
 
Welcome to the forum!

If you want a great sounding bridge pickup to match the Sentient, I'd recommend the Black Winter. Sounds good clean and distorted and has no problem with those clean complex chords ringing through. I also really like the Black Winter split. Some of the best split tones of any Duncan in my opinion.
 
eclecticsynergy said:
It would help to know what your old pickup is; that way we can estimate what would be a bit hotter.
The kind of guitar you're using is an important consideration too.
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Replacing a Dimarzio Tone Zone, looking for something on the hotter side of humbuckers not necessarily hotter than Tone Zone which is plenty hot. Going into an hh mustang.
 
I have one of those Bullet HH Mustangs. Surf Green that's all stock. The Black Winter and Sentient would make that guitar come alive I bet. I'd put 500k pots in it with push pull pot on the tone. Not sure how good it'll sound with the stock 250K pots.
 
UnderTheFlame83 said:
I have one of those Bullet HH Mustangs. Surf Green that's all stock. The Black Winter and Sentient would make that guitar come alive I bet. I'd put 500k pots in it with push pull pot on the tone. Not sure how good it'll sound with the stock 250K pots.
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man people keeping recommending the black winter and I have heard some demos I like but I am just worried (maybe because of the marketing) that isn't very versatile. Is it okay for cleans etc.?
 
Something like the Whole Lotta Humbucker or Saturday Night Special is about as hot as I'd go without getting those 'high output pickup artifacts'. You might go as hot as a 59/Custom Hybrid in the bridge.
 
I'm thinking maybe the Perpetual Burn. Nice cleanup, good string separation, takes gain like a champ.

Or perhaps the Suhr SSH+ (or the smoother, double-screw DSH+). They're as strong as a JB but a bit more hi-fi.
I have the slightly less hot double-screw DSH and it does quite well with complex chord voicings.

Suhr Aldrich bridge might be worth investigating too.
I haven't owned one but they're very well-regarded.

Railhammer Chisel is another. Unconventional but tight & full, with nice sparkly cleans.

None of those will have the huge low end of the Tone Zone. But they're all likely to be less nasal sounding, especially in mahogany.
Vowel tone is kind of characteristic across most of the DiMarzio lineup. Great in some situations, less desirable in others.
 
SimpleT said:
man people keeping recommending the black winter and I have heard some demos I like but I am just worried (maybe because of the marketing) that isn't very versatile. Is it okay for cleans etc.?
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This is one of the enduring misconceptions about the Black Winter, due to its name. :) In actuality, the Winter bridge is very versatile. It is hot and controlled enough to do pretty much any high-gain music you want to play, but it can also cover a variety of other genres (including blues, classic rock, even funk). As mentioned, it splits really well. It also responds nicely to tone and volume adjustments.
 
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