Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

[andybizzzle]

Hey guys, I'm new to this forum and just looking for some advice and help.

I just installed SSL-1s into my 1987 EE Serial Fender Stratocaster. I am struggling to get that right tone out of them. The last thing i did was follow the pickup heights guide from Seymour Duncan but I still cannot find that Frusciante tone. I hear all kinds of SSL-1s online and in videos and they just sound amazing but I am struggling to get that out of my pups.

I have it coming out of a Fender FM100H 100watt amp with a fender 4x12 cabinet (this is a big half stack amp but it is a cheaper end solid state amp). I have 5 or 6 pedals in the setup.. it starts with a Digi Jamman, then boss metal zone, then marshall jackhammer, then boss ds1, then mxr analog chorus and the last is an mxr flanger. I get glimpses of the amazing sound SSL-1s give out but I can never get consistency out of it. I am struggling to find out if its my amp, the pedal setup, the wiring inside, if i need to upgrade from 250s to 500s etc...

Any help would be appreciated.
I can upload videos, sould clips, pictures, whatever you guys need to help.

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[jeremy]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

the ssl1 are good sounding pups but my rig is so different that its hard for me to tell ya where you went wrong. if you plus straight into the amp, are you happy with the sound?

 

[andybizzzle]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

honestly not really. they are a little more twangy.. but are only like halfway to sounding what i hear them sound like in videos. Someone has my exact same guitar with ssl1s in it and it sounds like heaven.

At first i installed 2 SSL1s and kept 1 stock fender pup in the neck and i thought i wired it backwards cause the fender stock one sounded better.. but 1 of my ssl1's were second and the winding was getting very loose so i knew that pup was on its way out, so i got 2 new ones and installed them both so i have 3 new SSL1s in my 80s strat now but I havent been satisfied with the sound yet.. I'm thinking it could be my amp, but before I do that I'm going to goto the local music store and plug it into another amp and see if it still sounds off ..

It sounded like my amp was struggling sometimes, at the end of notes it sounded crackly and like it couldnt keep up with all the sustain that came with the new pups. SO I researched what JF did a bit and he does double drive (overdrive) with no pedals, and I tried that and I got about halfway to where I wanted to be but not fully there yet. It just doesnt resonate as good as it does in videos of my exact guitar with the same pickups.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

Are you as accomplished a guitarist as those who get the sounds you like out of SSL-1's?

I suspect the problem is two fold: a less than great amp and a lack of experience.

It takes years to get good.

 

[Blille]

Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

The Frusciante tone is among the easiest to replicate but some things are not super obvious. You should be fine with a strat and ssl1. You may need to tweak the amp and maybe add comp.

Check this video.

https://youtu.be/UyYFPs3vLcc


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[dotsdad]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

If they are roo bright, try raising them a little bit. Dont listen to what the ruler tells you. Listen to what your ears tell you.

Set your rig at the volume you usually play and select the pickup you use most. Tweak the hight and really listen to the subtle differences that even a quarter turn of the screw makes. Get that pickup dialed in until its juuuuuuuust right. Then adjust the other two so the volume is consistent and jam on!

 

[EAProwlerB]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

honestly not really. they are a little more twangy.. but are only like halfway to sounding what i hear them sound like in videos. Someone has my exact same guitar with ssl1s in it and it sounds like heaven.

At first i installed 2 SSL1s and kept 1 stock fender pup in the neck and i thought i wired it backwards cause the fender stock one sounded better.. but 1 of my ssl1's were second and the winding was getting very loose so i knew that pup was on its way out, so i got 2 new ones and installed them both so i have 3 new SSL1s in my 80s strat now but I havent been satisfied with the sound yet.. I'm thinking it could be my amp, but before I do that I'm going to goto the local music store and plug it into another amp and see if it still sounds off ..

It sounded like my amp was struggling sometimes, at the end of notes it sounded crackly and like it couldnt keep up with all the sustain that came with the new pups. SO I researched what JF did a bit and he does double drive (overdrive) with no pedals, and I tried that and I got about halfway to where I wanted to be but not fully there yet. It just doesnt resonate as good as it does in videos of my exact guitar with the same pickups.

If all else fails: Lindy Fralin Vintage Hot Strat Pickups. Once I tried them nothing else compares.
Here is a comment from an expert in the field on strat pickups:
""Anything by Lindy Fralin or Seymor Duncan Antiquities... Very good mix of smooth and power... Be sure though that the guitar your putting them is good cause, once I kept putting a bunch of pickups into this one guitar and it never sounded right.. I finally figured out the body of the guitar didnt resonate and thus the pickups took on the sound of the bad body. Thats important to know it will save you alot of money in the long run...
On another note I did like the Eric Johnson strat... I believe it to be misunderstood by some that have tried it.. But the one I played really reacted like a vintage one.. Very immiediate.. I do wish they aged them too much shine..other than that very cool..
thanks Joe Bonamassa"

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

Which specific Frusciante tone are you looking to replicate?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

If all else fails: Lindy Fralin Vintage Hot Strat Pickups. Once I tried them nothing else compares.
Here is a comment from an expert in the field on strat pickups:
""Anything by Lindy Fralin or Seymor Duncan Antiquities... Very good mix of smooth and power... Be sure though that the guitar your putting them is good cause, once I kept putting a bunch of pickups into this one guitar and it never sounded right.. I finally figured out the body of the guitar didnt resonate and thus the pickups took on the sound of the bad body. Thats important to know it will save you alot of money in the long run...
On another note I did like the Eric Johnson strat... I believe it to be misunderstood by some that have tried it.. But the one I played really reacted like a vintage one.. Very immiediate.. I do wish they aged them too much shine..other than that very cool..
thanks Joe Bonamassa"

Fralin Vintage Hots and Duncan Surfers are my favorite Strat pickups. They sound very similar.

Duncan SSL-1's sound almost as good for half the price.

Seriously: if a guy (or gal) can't get a great Strat sound out of one of those three pickup models, it's not the fault of the pickups.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

What string gauge is the OP using? If they're using 9s, I wouldn't be surprised if the SSL-1s were a bit bright and twangy. I play 10s on my Strat with SSL-2s and getting something similar to John Frusciante tone isn't terribly hard through just about any clean amp.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

I don't think the problem is the pickups, other electronics, or the amp. The pickups might need a little tweaking, but careful study of that style is important, too. It might be helpful to hear your setup now, though.

 

[Blille]

Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

I don't think the problem is the pickups, other electronics, or the amp. The pickups might need a little tweaking, but careful study of that style is important, too. It might be helpful to hear your setup now, though.

My money is on the amp.

I agree an audio clip would be great.

@OP Have you checked the video I posted and the EQ on the amp he suggests?


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[Silence Kid]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

What string gauge is the OP using? If they're using 9s, I wouldn't be surprised if the SSL-1s were a bit bright and twangy. I play 10s on my Strat with SSL-2s and getting something similar to John Frusciante tone isn't terribly hard through just about any clean amp.

Eh, I use nines on anything and have no difficulty getting quite close to a lot of Frusciante tones on a variety of guitars equipped with single coils. I describe his tone as quite twangy anyway. A Frontman is pretty much made to exclusively nail "that" sort of tone; but I think he's also supposed to have also used a Marshall? 'Very clean Strat' though a variety of amps can do it, though, IMO.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

The lions share of good tone in any equation is the amp.

 

[Blille]

Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

The lions share of good tone in any equation is the amp.

And the fingers

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

And the fingers

Fingers only do what the artist directs them to do.

So it's you and your mind and personality who's ultimately responsible for your sound.

Not your fingers.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

Controlling "too twangy" is a simple matter of rolling the treble/tone off a bit. You can always dial twang out, but can't add it back if it's not coming from the source.

 

[Blille]

Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

Fingers only do what the artist directs them to do.

So it's you and your mind and personality who's ultimately responsible for your sound.

Not your fingers.

You may have taken the comment a bit too literally and seriously

 

[PicoRiveraTele]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

I have it coming out of a Fender FM100H 100watt amp with a fender 4x12 cabinet (this is a big half stack amp but it is a cheaper end solid state amp).

I learned a long time ago not top cheap out on the cab. I used to think, speakers are speakers, but no, you have to drop some coin on a birch or pine cabinet with decent speakers if you want to match the sounds that were recorded with good quality amps.

It looks like John Frusciante uses an assortment of amps, but if you want some live perfomance videos on YouTube you can probably see what he's plugged into on stage.

Someone else mentioned that technique is important, I'll just say that it sounds to me like he picks pretty hard. You might have to keep the action a little higher in order to hit the strings that aggressively without having the frets interfere with the string vibration.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-1s

Some good advice here so far (other than go buy other, more expensive pickups). Would like to hear a clip of yours as well as a clip of what you are going for (JF has alot of different sounds) then we can go from there.