SSL-4 or SSL-5 set for indie/punk-pop on a MIM 69' reissue strat

[JackismyShephard]

Ive posted on some other guitar forums to find an appropriate set of pups for an indie/punk-pop tone. The bands i listed then were: Mew, Kashmir, Pixies, Placebo, Blink-182, Sum-41, Offspring, New Order, Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, The Cure, Stone Roses, The Smiths, Third Eye Blind, Interpol, Death Cab for Cutie, Counting Crows.

Putting aside the fact that it is difficult if not impossible to emulate all of the abovementioned bands with one set of pickups (more specifically emulating the hard punk and soft indie bands at the same time) there did seem to be some agreement that a Quarter Pound or Custom Staggered Strat set might be the way to go.

My question now is which one would best suit by purpose. From what i can tell the Quarter Pounder is thicker and loses some of the nuance of the original strat tone. Now generally speaking i do not play much hard rock nor hard punk (and practically no heavy metal) so it might seem that the Custom Staggered Strat is the answer. On the other hand i do want some oomf and not a brittle sound in my pickups

I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject and recommentations in general.

Thanks in advance

 

[Clint 55]

Re: SSL-4 or SSL-5 set for indie/punk-pop on a MIM 69' reissue strat

Welcome to tha forum!

My favorite setup for rock in a strat is HSS with 2 single coil size humbuckers and a full size humbucker. (Lil 59, JB Jr, and Custom 5.) It has oomph like you mentioned you want, my guitars have to have punch too. It also still sounds like a strat, is good clean or dirty, and is quiet. Not necessary to have the true single coil authenticity since you're not playing blues.

 

[Mincer]

Re: SSL-4 or SSL-5 set for indie/punk-pop on a MIM 69' reissue strat

Well, I'd go for some clarity in there, too, so I don't know if a full set of either would provide that. And if you are usinga nice bit of distortion, you may have some problems with single coil hum, so I might even consider humcancelling, like 2 Classic Strat Stacks and 1 Hot Strat Stack.

 

[JackismyShephard]

Re: SSL-4 or SSL-5 set for indie/punk-pop on a MIM 69' reissue strat

Well, I'd go for some clarity in there, too, so I don't know if a full set of either would provide that. And if you are usinga nice bit of distortion, you may have some problems with single coil hum, so I might even consider humcancelling, like 2 Classic Strat Stacks and 1 Hot Strat Stack.

Hi Mincer, you probably realize i already wrote you a pm on the Gear forum. But if you dont mind i will just write you here from now on.


Anyhow, on the gear forum you recommended the Custom setup, but here you mention that a full set might be too noisy. So would you definitely recommend the 2 Classic Strat stacks/1 Hot strat Stack over the Custom set?

Also, I previously mentioned the Fender Hot Noiseless stratocaster. Many review sites recommend this as a general replacement pup set for a strat. What do think about this?

 

[Mincer]

Re: SSL-4 or SSL-5 set for indie/punk-pop on a MIM 69' reissue strat

Well, if you are using a ton of gain, it will be noisy like any single coil. Hum cancelling will stop that with a little change in tone. Personally, I dig noiseless pickups over most single coils, but this is more of a personal choice. If you want true singles, go for the Custom. If you want things quiet but still powerful, go for the stacks.