SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

[elboonio]

Hi,

I've got an American Strat Special and I really don't like the Fender Texas Special pickups that came with it. They're far too trebly and provide no warmth or rounded, bassy tones that I want. I've searched around and narrowed my options down to the Seymour Duncan SSL-1s or the SSL-5s.

As I said, I prefer the the thick mid/bass tones, and for the high ends to be well rounded and not have as much bite as the texan specials have - not to say I don't want any bite, just not as much! I just can't decide which of the two to go for. Does anyone have any experiences with the two? Any advice/recommendations? Or am I looking in the completely wrong direction with the SSL series?

Or is there a combination anyone can recommend?

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

[LReese]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

Some like the twangbanger in the bridge.

The SSL1 is a great Fender-type pickup.... The only downside to me is its slightly on the overwound side of things. Would translate to more mids. There's a set called the California 50s that I think are calibrated and RWRP for the middle. I'd just go for 3 standard SSL-1s myself in my guitar.

Got A SSL5, but never installed it in anything.

 

[dystrust]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

You don't need to choose if you don't want to. I have my Strat wired SSL-2 / SSL-2 / SSL-6T which are the flat-pole versions of the SSL-1 & SSL-5, with a dual-output tap on the SSL-6. If you're not familiar, this means that the pickup has two hot leads which you can select between with a push-pull pot; full output at 13.5K and tapped output at about 6.5K. A standard SSL-5 won't have this, but it's available as a shop floor custom for $20 I think. I went with this setup because I like the option of U2-like chime as well as a fat lead sound reminiscent of David Gilmour.

 

[elboonio]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

I'd just go for 3 standard SSL-1s myself in my guitar.

Thats what I was thinking, thanks man.

 

[elboonio]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

You don't need to choose if you don't want to. I have my Strat wired SSL-2 / SSL-2 / SSL-6T which are the flat-pole versions of the SSL-1 & SSL-5, with a dual-output tap on the SSL-6. If you're not familiar, this means that the pickup has two hot leads which you can select between with a push-pull pot; full output at 13.5K and tapped output at about 6.5K. A standard SSL-5 won't have this, but it's available as a shop floor custom for $20 I think. I went with this setup because I like the option of U2-like chime as well as a fat lead sound reminiscent of David Gilmour.

I was thinking of doing something similar, with a 'hotter' pickup in the bridge.. Apparently this does increase versatility, though I was a little deterred by how this would work together - I've heard the transition can be quite jarring. Is this the case with you?

 

[dystrust]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

I was thinking of doing something similar, with a 'hotter' pickup in the bridge.. Apparently this does increase versatility, though I was a little deterred by how this would work together - I've heard the transition can be quite jarring. Is this the case with you?

Not really, but getting pickup height right was a bit difficult. If you have the bridge pickup too high, it is very much louder than the neck / mid, at least when playing clean-ish at full output. Setting it too low OTOH resulted in a tapped mode bridge pickup that was much quieter than the other two.

Another option to consider is a blend pot. I never had a use for a Strat with two tones, so I switched mine to a master tone & blend setup. Having a tone on the bridge may also make balancing a bit easier as it'll take some of the edge off the bridge in low output mode.

 

[elboonio]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

Another option to consider is a blend pot. I never had a use for a Strat with two tones, so I switched mine to a master tone & blend setup. Having a tone on the bridge may also make balancing a bit easier as it'll take some of the edge off the bridge in low output mode.

Was that quite a hard thing to do? Is it reversible, say if it didn't work out?

 

[dystrust]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

Was that quite a hard thing to do? Is it reversible, say if it didn't work out?

It's an easy mod; two wires attach to the pickup switch, and you have to re-wire one of the tone controls to be a master. If you didn't like it, it would probably take nearly as long to remove the guitar as it would to put it back to stock.

 

[DreX]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

Hi,

I've got an American Strat Special and I really don't like the Fender Texas Special pickups that came with it. They're far too trebly and provide no warmth or rounded, bassy tones that I want. I've searched around and narrowed my options down to the Seymour Duncan SSL-1s or the SSL-5s.

As I said, I prefer the the thick mid/bass tones, and for the high ends to be well rounded and not have as much bite as the texan specials have - not to say I don't want any bite, just not as much! I just can't decide which of the two to go for. Does anyone have any experiences with the two? Any advice/recommendations? Or am I looking in the completely wrong direction with the SSL series?

Or is there a combination anyone can recommend?

Thanks a lot for your help!

If you like thick mid/bass, then you'd sort of want to avoid the vintage output, because they are all rather trebly, so an ssl-5 would be better, but the thing you have to remember is that the Texas Specials have an especially annoying high end, so it might not be be treble that you want to avoid, rather the sort of treble that the Texas Special puts out. The good news is that I have yet to find any aftermarket single coil sets that sounds quite that harsh. You can pretty much pick any replacement and it will be better than Texas Specials in terms of smoothness and even balance.

I recommend the Antiquity II Surfers, though. They're the closest you can get to an everything single coil IMO. They're a bit hotter.

 

[DreX]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

You don't need to choose if you don't want to. I have my Strat wired SSL-2 / SSL-2 / SSL-6T which are the flat-pole versions of the SSL-1 & SSL-5, with a dual-output tap on the SSL-6. If you're not familiar, this means that the pickup has two hot leads which you can select between with a push-pull pot; full output at 13.5K and tapped output at about 6.5K. A standard SSL-5 won't have this, but it's available as a shop floor custom for $20 I think. I went with this setup because I like the option of U2-like chime as well as a fat lead sound reminiscent of David Gilmour.

You don't have to go through the Custom Shop, just search ebay for SSL-5T

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trk....A0.H0.Xssl-5t&_nkw=ssl-5t&_sacat=0&_from=R40

 

[elboonio]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

I was thinking of having an SSL 2 / SSL 2 / SSL 5 setup?

 

[elboonio]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

You can pretty much pick any replacement and it will be better than Texas Specials in terms of smoothness and even balance.

Thanks a lot! You've been very helpful, was starting to worry that it was just me who thought the Texan's sounded irritating..

 

[Boogie Bill]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

Sounds to me like you want the Antiquity Texas Hot set. While I like the stock pickups in my G&L Legacys (SSL-2s or G&L CLF-100s), the THA's are darker and warmer with slightly greater output. I use the standard neck, RW/RP middle and the Custom Hot bridge set on one of my Legacys (ash, with maple neck) and it is a great system for rock and blues. Not the pickup I would choose if you're doing Nile Roger's funky rhythm parts with Chic, but bigger and certainly "girth-ier" than your basic vintage Strat pickups. The tone is EXACTLY what you describe you want.

A lot of people love the Antiquity Surfers, but reading what you are describing--I immediately thought of the Antiquity Texas Hots. They are a bit spendy, but well worth it, IMO. I have several Legacys, and all but this one are bone stock, but I liked the Antiquitys so much that I bought two more sets!

Highly recommended.

Bill

 

[DreX]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

I was thinking of having an SSL 2 / SSL 2 / SSL 5 setup?

I wouldn't do flat/flat/staggerd, either go one way or the other: staggered ssl-1s and an ssl-5, or flat ssl-2's and an ssl-6. Duncan stagger heights are more shallow than the traditional Fender stagger, coming closer to the flat stagger in terms of balance, so it's more of a cosmetic difference than anything. I'd got for staggers to preserve the vintage stagger appearance.

 

[DreX]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

Sounds to me like you want the Antiquity Texas Hot set. While I like the stock pickups in my G&L Legacys (SSL-2s or G&L CLF-100s), the THA's are darker and warmer with slightly greater output. I use the standard neck, RW/RP middle and the Custom Hot bridge set on one of my Legacys (ash, with maple neck) and it is a great system for rock and blues. Not the pickup I would choose if you're doing Nile Roger's funky rhythm parts with Chic, but bigger and certainly "girth-ier" than your basic vintage Strat pickups. The tone is EXACTLY what you describe you want.

A lot of people love the Antiquity Surfers, but reading what you are describing--I immediately thought of the Antiquity Texas Hots. They are a bit spendy, but well worth it, IMO. I have several Legacys, and all but this one are bone stock, but I liked the Antiquitys so much that I bought two more sets!

I have to differ with you on the Texas Hots, and I had a set in a guitar now. IMO, I don't think they're such a great all around pickup. They're not real hot, in fact the wind is the same as the Ant II Surfers, the only difference is that the Texas Hots have the weaker A2 magnet, giving them a darker, older sound. By older I mean both literally sounding like weaker aged magnets, but also lacking in vitality. You strum the strings, they reach up for that Strat chime, but then fall well short of it. They have poorer dynamics. Basically look at the usual list of "pros versus cons" of the far more common A5 single coil strat magnets, and then know that they A2 is basically the opposite of that list. They're probably better suited for smooth jazz or rhythm guitar work. I keep a set around for what I consider to be their real value, which is as a concept pickup; if you had a Strat sitting in a closet for 40+ years and took it out and played it, it would probably sound like that. That name "Texas Hot" is a misnomer of the highest order.

 

[uOpt]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

Hi,

I've got an American Strat Special and I really don't like the Fender Texas Special pickups that came with it. They're far too trebly and provide no warmth or rounded, bassy tones that I want. I've searched around and narrowed my options down to the Seymour Duncan SSL-1s or the SSL-5s.

As I said, I prefer the the thick mid/bass tones, and for the high ends to be well rounded and not have as much bite as the texan specials have - not to say I don't want any bite, just not as much! I just can't decide which of the two to go for. Does anyone have any experiences with the two? Any advice/recommendations? Or am I looking in the completely wrong direction with the SSL series?

Or is there a combination anyone can recommend?

Thanks a lot for your help!

The SSL-5/6 is actually very compressed and quite hot IMHO. I cannot recommend it for strat-strat.

If you want a bit more meat in the bridge in a typical strat like pickup you can try one of the antiquity custom bridge things which are not quite that much. And cheap on ebay.

 

[DreX]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

I'd really like to know what the difference is between the SSL-1 and the Antiquity II Surfers. On paper, is almost appears that the Ant II is SSL-1's that have been rolled around in some dirt, but I haven't felt inclined to buy a set of SSL-1s just to prove or disprove the theory.

 

[elboonio]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

yeah, would definitely go for all staggered.

 

[uOpt]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

I'd really like to know what the difference is between the SSL-1 and the Antiquity II Surfers. On paper, is almost appears that the Ant II is SSL-1's that have been rolled around in some dirt, but I haven't felt inclined to buy a set of SSL-1s just to prove or disprove the theory.

To me it depends on the guitar.

Yours helpfully µOpt.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: SD SSL-1s VS SSL-5s

question to the OP: whats your amp?