tell me about the Invader bridge...

A

appar111

New member
Looking at badass bridge pickup options to go into a hardtail strat (alder, vintage hardtail bridge w/ steel saddles, maple neck w/ rosewood board). Something that really pushes a JCM800-ish sounding amp for heavy metal (old Metallica, Priest, etc.). Other choices are the usual suspects (Super D, 500T, Distortion, X2N), but I've never done much research on the Invader.

Split coil options for passable clean tones are cool, but not necessary. It'll most likely just get hooked up to a single 500K volume pot to keep things simple.

Is it the sledgehammer I'm looking for?
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

It's standard spaced (unless you get one of the signature pickups from a Schecter). Sounded okay on the lower strings once I angled it properly. I'd go for the X2N, Distortion, or Custom.
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

I don't believe in all that f-spaced/standard spaced hullaballoo anymore unless it's just for looks, so no issues there... I was thinking of getting a guard w/ an angled bridge humbucker rout, just for looks though.

So dom, you didn't really love it, huh?
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

What tuning? The Invader can get muddy if you drop low, but it shouldnt be a problem for the stuff you are playing

I love the Super D. Too much probably
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

I can't say that I have ever tried an Invader in a Strat but Tom Delonge (Blink-182) used one for years. I did try an invader in an Epiphone Les Paul and wasn't impressed. It was too muddy in the mahogany bodied ax. At least as far as clean tones go. Now, for overdrive/distortion, it was great.

I am personally a fan of the JB and Distortion when it comes to bridge pickups that have high output, great cleans, and really push an amp. I also like the Gibson Dirty Fingers a lot but I found that the long legs make it too tall for my Strat so I couldn't actually try it out in that guitar.

As for the spacing thing, I am with aapar111. I have a standard JB in my Strat and it is fine. No the poles don't line up precisely under the strings but it sounds great and if you have a pick-guard that is cut for a standard HB (which I believe most Fender branded aftermarket pick-guards are) it looks fine. The Invader has massive button head pole pieces so the poles end up being below the strings due to how big they are. I actually spoke with a rep at SD about the F-Spaced variant and was told that basically the signature model was designed F-Spaced because the person for whom it is named wanted the proper aesthetics. Long and short of it is that if you are leaning toward the invader, save a few bucks and get the standard sized one. It will work just the same.
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

I had a normal spacing invader in a strat style guitar and it sounded fine. Pretty bass heavy though. I actually kinda miss it though.
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

appar111 said:
Looking at badass bridge pickup options to go into a hardtail strat (alder, vintage hardtail bridge w/ steel saddles, maple neck w/ rosewood board). Something that really pushes a JCM800-ish sounding amp for heavy metal (old Metallica, Priest, etc.). Other choices are the usual suspects (Super D, 500T, Distortion, X2N), but I've never done much research on the Invader.

Split coil options for passable clean tones are cool, but not necessary. It'll most likely just get hooked up to a single 500K volume pot to keep things simple.

Is it the sledgehammer I'm looking for?
Click to expand...

You need to put the Duncan Distortion before the Invader in your to-try list.

The Invade is super fat and warm and kinda useless for some things. Specialty pickup. The DD is a "every heavy guitarist should try" class.
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

appar111 said:
I don't believe in all that f-spaced/standard spaced hullaballoo anymore unless it's just for looks, so no issues there... I was thinking of getting a guard w/ an angled bridge humbucker rout, just for looks though.

So dom, you didn't really love it, huh?
Click to expand...

I didn't love it because I had to angle it properly to get even volume across the lower strings. I could either have less volume on the low E or less volume on the high E. Since I'm a rhythm player, I chose to angle it towards the lower strings.



100_3006.jpg


If spacing didn't matter, tweaking the pole piece screws wouldn't make all that much of a difference either.
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

The Invader is pretty stinking bass heavy, and if you're playing some hardcore metal or something, I think it's the way to go, especially if you have to cut through screaming lyrics or a double bass drum. I would agree with uOpt on the fact that it is a specialty pickup. If you want to play other styles of music then extremely heavy metal, I would go with a Duncan Distortion.
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

In fact, the Alt-8 might be what you're looking for.
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

Hetfield used in invader before he switched to emgs. Kirk used a distortion for kill em all but switched toemg for ride the lightning. Into JCM 800s.
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

I've used it in a few guitars and always been happy with it. Definitely takes some tweeking but it makes my short list of favorite humbuckers along with the X2N, which you might also enjoy.


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Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

Just my two cents...

Almost 20 years ago I had an Invader installed in my American Fender Strat along with an active midboost installed....Sustain for days and heavy on the distortion....Although oddly I do remember it being too top endy at the time..Not thin but piercing..Probably cuz of that boost thing I had installed at the time...I too was concerned about the pole pieces not lining up....Almost 20yrs later I still remember the phone conversation with Seymour Duncan tech support (honestly)...Gentlemen explained to me that mis-alignment is not a concern because the Invader "Sends an Atom Bomb of magnetic field upwards with its enlarged pole pieces so you wont miss anything"....That was good enough for me at the time....Since then I have gone back to SCs in my Strat and the Invader is now in one of my homemade axes...
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

James or Kirk? I thought it was pretty well known James used an Invader in his flying V copy...
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

re the invader, i think people forget that it still has a lot of high end, but the augmented bass and mids are very present
 
Re: tell me about the Invader bridge...

The complaint we always had with the Invader (since DIO "Last in line" when Vivian came out with it) was the heavy mud even with 500k! A 1Meg brought forth the high end but still it was always best (BEST) for Rhythms...
the Bridge position one is not for soloing~ maybe if the Neck position one got put in there It'd be really impressive!?

With the 7-strings I got one in about 2001 -when Orgy's guitarist had it made- and for drop low A (Korn Bizkit et'al) and even G it was good, but I switched out everything changing to the higher string and never went back.

Now I wonder if that might be good with these (higher string 7's) for adding heft when I put thinner strings on -like this Jackson LesPaul has (7, 10, 13, 17w, 26, 36, 47)?


IMG_0441.jpg
 
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