SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

[tenniso]

got an an ssl-1 today. put it in the neck, sounded very full and kinda boomy.
it sounds better in the middle, but still pretty full sounding and not that much chime. i am using it on a 250k volume pot with no tone control.

where's the chime and sparkle that everyone says this pickup has?

 

[uOpt]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

Hardtail?

 

[tenniso]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

no, but the trem is decked with a long body socket shoved behind the block. the thing rings out like a bell unplugged.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

Amp?

 

[tenniso]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

peavey vypyr 15, on the fender deluxe setting. the twangbanger sounds awesome and the ssl-1 aint bad, just not as chimey/sparkly as i expected. it'll do for now i guess.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

Lower it a bit...that brings out chime and sparkle in single coil pickups.

I use SSL-1's in the neck and middle of my Strat and I get very little thought my brown and tweed Fenders but into my Twin Reverb it's chime all day...

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

SSL-1 is by far the best vintage Strat pickup on the market. period.
If your looking to get accurate vintage tone, your wasting money and chasing your tail if you get anything (ANYTHING- and I know about all the boutique winders..although there are some solid pickup winders like Zhang who make a fine product)) but the SSL-1/2 is THE Ne Plus Ultra of old Strat tone, and the best part is, its very reasonably priced..

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

:kabong: you are using a peavey Vypyr 15 and complaining about the pickup?

 

[tenniso]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

not really complaining....

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

SSL-1 is by far the best vintage Strat pickup on the market. period.
If your looking to get accurate vintage tone, your wasting money and chasing your tail if you get anything (ANYTHING- and I know about all the boutique winders..although there are some solid pickup winders like Zhang who make a fine product)) but the SSL-1/2 is THE Ne Plus Ultra of old Strat tone, and the best part is, its very reasonably priced..

You are a clown

 

[Diego]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

:kabong: you are using a peavey Vypyr 15 and complaining about the pickup?

Your bluntness stole my words. :baby:

That's it in a nutshell.

And tenniso, do you think that's because we're corksniffers and all have tube amps? No, my only amp is a budget modeler too.

Modeling amps are never 'honest' enough. They always have a forced voicing that you figure out after a while IMO.
With my Cube, it's fizz. Every single model, sooner or later, delivers a hint of fizz. Some settings I can live with, some I can't.
And whatever it is within your Vypyr, I'd bet my hair it's doing that for you too.

In fact, I'd bet that if you plugged even into a cheap SS amp like a Crate GX212 or a Fender Frontman 212, you'd notice how much more the tone, response, etc, changes from setting to setting on your guitar, compared to your amp. Or mine.

They're just more honest sounding. Same story with a tube amp, probably.

So don't blame the poor SSL-1.

 

[uOpt]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

Try removing the wooden block. If you need block get a trem blocker (the little metal part). The move you move towards a hardtail the boomier the neck pickup becomes.

What pickup did you have there before that wasn't boomy?

 

[post toastie]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

in my humble experience, neck pickups do not chime all that much. that comes from the bridge and middle positions.

and probably part of it is the amp if it's a modler.

 

[SMark]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

Maybe I'm alone here, but having compared the SSL-1 set with more than a dozen other vintage voiced single coil sets, I would not exactly put the SSL-1 near the top of the "chime" scale. In fact, I've always liked the midrange character of the SSL-1. It works very well with distortion and doesn't ice pick nearly as much as some others do. It's certainly vintage voiced, but it's not exactly what I would call glassy.

JMHO.

 

[Diego]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

Maybe I'm alone here, but having compared the SSL-1 set with more than a dozen other vintage voiced single coil sets, I would not exactly put the SSL-1 near the top of the "chime" scale. In fact, I've always liked the midrange character of the SSL-1. It works very well with distortion and doesn't ice pick nearly as much as some others do. It's certainly vintage voiced, but it's not exactly what I would call glassy.

JMHO.

I found mine glassy and clear actually, but screw it, I've been alive for half as many years as you. :laugh2:
I'm also not an expert on Strats, not even close, i just love 'em and play 'em.

I normally wouldn't care for reason #1, before Jerry screams for jealousy and justice on me.:laugh2:

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

Maybe I'm alone here, but having compared the SSL-1 set with more than a dozen other vintage voiced single coil sets, I would not exactly put the SSL-1 near the top of the "chime" scale. In fact, I've always liked the midrange character of the SSL-1. It works very well with distortion and doesn't ice pick nearly as much as some others do. It's certainly vintage voiced, but it's not exactly what I would call glassy.

JMHO.

well becasue you havbe never real;ly played an old 60's or 60'strat.
Most winders wind this artificial galss and mid scopped chime inot theior pickups.
If youve got a gerat Strat the SSL-1 is the real deal. Period.
Its about the only pickup that actually sounds very really like an old Strat pickup in a good modern Strat im my estimation.

 

[SMark]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

well becasue you havbe never real;ly played an old 60's or 60'strat.
Most winders wind this artificial galss and mid scopped chime inot theior pickups.
If youve got a gerat Strat the SSL-1 is the real deal. Period.
Its about the only pickup that actually sounds very really like an old Strat pickup in a good modern Strat im my estimation.

Perhaps you are misunderstanding me... I happen to really like the SSL-1/2. I've had two sets of them over the years. They are excellent vintage-voiced pickups. The OP was simply expecting more chime from them and I offered my opinion of them in that particular regard. Whether they are true to a real 60's Strat pickup or not had nothing to do with it IMO.

And yes, I have played a few real '60s Strats, FWIW.

 

[tenniso]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

guys, i realize a vypyr 15 is not a good amp. i have had a few good amps in my time and know what one sounds like. however, the vypyr does a decent "clean with a little hair on it" and decent reverb. also, i play at apartment levels so a nice vintage tube amp is out of the question.

the point i am trying to make is: the twangbanger sounds great, then switch to the ssl and it sounds much different. not bad, just not what i thought it would.

i know if i had a great vintage amp, the ssl would sound much better.

 

[FuseG4]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

the SSL-1s do sound pretty thick to my ears. It reminds me of clips I've heard of the first strats, like '54 and '55. Those strats had balls.
Somehow I feel like the thickness of the SSL-1 was made for an ash strat. I liked the SSL-1 in the alder stuff I've played it in but when I put one in the neck of my ash strat it sounded more balanced.

The later 50s stuff sometimes sounds quackier and glassier/more chimey at once. Clapton's strat tone is not so great compared to his previous tones, but I kinda like it. the stuff fender puts out these days is a little closer to that Let It Rain thing. The 57/62s are my other favorites so far, besides the SSL-1s. Makes me wonder if I'd like Ant Surfers.

edit: note that SSL-1s are 6.5K for a neck model. Does that seem hot to anyone? And the mags are aged, right?

 

[saladin]

Re: SSL-1 sounds fuller than i expected.

I've got 2 Strats, one with SSL-1's and the other with Keystones. The SSL-1's are much fuller and have a throaty 50's midrange vibe. Keystones are clear, mid scooped, late 60's vibe.
I actually prefer the Keystones, very quiet and clear sounding. They sound great clean or distorted, very chimey but no ice pick.