Seymour Duncan SSL-7 in the neck?

[mogwai73]

Hey there, those of you who are in some tone quest...

I'm building a custom Strat-like guitar (H-S-S) and I've reached the point where I know what pickups I want in the bridge and middle positions.
Those are:

• Seymour Duncan Screamin' Demon (bridge), SH-12;
• Seymour Duncan Vintage Staggered (middle), SSL-1.

I am looking for the single-coil pickup that fits the neck position better, in terms of Strat-sound (positions #2 and #4 in mind) and versatility. I play rock/pop/blues and already have a couple of good setups for H-H guitars, but I need a solid, dependable H-S-S setup too.

The guitar body is alder, neck is maple, fretboard is rosewood.
The bridge is a 6-point Wilkinson.
I'm also installing a volume booster knob (maybe a Carl Martin Hydra Boost) and push/pull tone knob for multiple combinations.

My shortlist, so far, is down to the SSL-2 and the SSL-7, which I'm very temped to try, as I came around one at $35 new. :-D

Feel free to add any thoughts.
Thanks in advance.
H

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-7 in the neck?

I should think that a pair of SSL1/2s in the neck and middle positions would be just the ticket. An SSL7 is fatter sounding, more of a P90 kind of vibe, so the quacky Strat sounds won't be as 'authentic', so to speak. Alternatively, you can get tapped QPs. But, if it's $35, it might be worth an impulse buy.

Note that the SSL1 and 2 are the same pup but the former has vintage style magnet stagger. Same deal with the SSL4 vs 7. As you probably know, vintage magnet stagger accommodates instruments with a wound G string. Sometimes, having a vintage stagger with a plain G can make the output seems slightly uneven between the G the other high strings.

My main guitar is similar in spec to yours except for an ebony fingerboard and a Floyd, - I'm running SSL2s and 59/C and love the combo. I picked the SSL2 because I wanted a good stratty tone and non-staggered poles, since my guitar has a fairly flat radius.

 

[mogwai73]

Seymour Duncan SSL-1 in the neck...

Seymour Duncan SSL-1 in the neck...

Thanks, Ash!
I think I'll get a second SSL-1 to match the one I have.

Btw, doesn't ebony make your sound a bit too bright? For me, rosewood has been the perfect compromise but I've never owned an ebony fretboard axe...

I should think that a pair of SSL1/2s in the neck and middle positions would be just the ticket. An SSL7 is fatter sounding, more of a P90 kind of vibe, so the quacky Strat sounds won't be as 'authentic', so to speak. (...)

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Re: Seymour Duncan SSL-7 in the neck?

No, it's not too bright (I use 500k pots as well). Combination of factors, I think - Floyd (Ibanez Edge) has a softening effect on attack, and I play through a treble booster, which fattens things up (contrary to the name!). The TB in general is good for beefing up single coils - exemplified by Rory Gallagher, and Blackmore (I think?).

I don't use a dark capacitor on my tone either, so I can turn it down to about half and it makes things rounder when I want them to be, rather than thick/muddy.

This guy has SSL1s and Demon in his Yamaha. You can expect something like this from your build.