SSL-1's or SSL-3's ??

[rossipsu1]

I've got a Rt 101 Solimar guitar (3 years or so). I have no idea what kind of wood the body claims to be (Kaberle ??), and it has a rosewood fingerboard.
It's a S-S-H style. The neck is fast but the pickups are weak.

I want to swap out the stock 'Duncan Designed' single coils with either the SSL-1's or the SSL-3's in the neck / middle positions. I'll be using this for mainly recording, as I play acoustic when we play live.

We mostly play harmony laden pop/rock with edgy guitars (dada, for example). This would be used for tube amp / clean rhythm applications, but will also be used direct to re-amp with a POD XT pro.

Any suggestions ??

 

[joelap]

Re: SSL-1's or SSL-3's ??

Go with the SSL-1's or SSL-2's. The only difference between the two is staggered polepieces in the SSL-1's and flat in the SSL-2's. The flat polepieces give a more balanced string response. I'm buying SSL-1's for the neck and mid of my Strat and Cool Rails for the bridge. You may want to consider an SSL-3 for the bridge if you plan on doing leads with a slight overdrive, but I'd go with SSL1 or 2 for neck and mid definately.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: SSL-1's or SSL-3's ??

Go with the SSL-1's or SSL-2's. The only difference between the two is staggered polepieces in the SSL-1's and flat in the SSL-2's. The flat polepieces give a more balanced string response. I'm buying SSL-1's for the neck and mid of my Strat and Cool Rails for the bridge. You may want to consider an SSL-3 for the bridge if you plan on doing leads with a slight overdrive, but I'd go with SSL1 or 2 for neck and mid definately.

I agree. I like the brighter tone of the SSL-1 myself but some prefer the slightly warmer tone of the SSL-2. Only diff is raised vs flat polepieces. Lew

 

[59paul]

Re: SSL-1's or SSL-3's ??

Here's another vote for the SSL-1 ........

 

[rossipsu1]

Re: SSL-1's or SSL-3's ??

I agree. I like the brighter tone of the SSL-1 myself but some prefer the slightly warmer tone of the SSL-2. Only diff is raised vs flat polepieces. Lew

What if I threw the APS-1 in the mix ??

Ultimately, I just want to make sure I will have enough of a tone improvement to warrant the work / cost.

Thanks

 

[Curly]

Re: SSL-1's or SSL-3's ??

sure, the APS would make a good neck pup, a little smoother and more compressed than the SSL-1

 

[crowscrown]

Re: SSL-1's or SSL-3's ??

SSL-1's all the way.

 

[midnite_man]

Re: SSL-1's or SSL-3's ??

I'm going with a SSL-1 neck/APS-1 middle/SSL-3 bridge combination in my 60's Strat, which I'll install as soon as I get other components I want to replace in the guitar, too.
I went with staggered pickups because of the roundness of the C-shaped neck on that type of guitar.
In that particular guitar I have found that brighter sounding pickups sound better in the neck position, and slightly softer sounding pups work better in the middle. The bridge position had to have a strong bite to it, so I opted for the SSL-3.