Warmer Strat Bridge Pickup: JB, CC, Thornbucker anything else?

S

SimonTheLion

New member
Hi everyone,

I am in need of a bit of advice for a new bridge pickup on my strat american pro II (HSS) alder body. It is currently mounted with a Shawbucker.

I play mainly crunchy/over driven rhythm classic rock (somewhere between AC/DC and Mötley Crüe). Playing Through an OCD going into a Friedman Smallbox 50.

While I like the Shawbucker, I find that the overall sound is maybe a bit too much on the bright side for me, which I believe mainly comes from the characteristics of the alder body(?)

I am thinking to try a different pickup to find something a to give my rhythms a big more warmth and humpf. So looking for some advices here on which pickup could help going a bit into this direction? At the moment I have been considering the JB, the Custom Custom and also heard some good stuff about the Suhr Thornbucker. Would you guys have any recommendation or even other suggestions you think my be better suited?

Example of what I play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_twuYw1gfto (I play that Strat in the video, but for actual the recording I used my Gibson Flying-V, precisely because the Strat lacks a bit of that "humpf". I am looking to get closer to that sound with the Strat, because that's the guitar I use the most live.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the forum!

I don't think of the JB as remotely warm, so if it is that creamy sound you want, look at the Custom Custom (one of my favs), or for less output, the Alnico II Pro or Slash.
 
You are right, creamy probably describes better what I am looking for. I have added a link to one of my band's song in my post above, for a better idea of my sound. I will have a look into the Alnico II Pro and Slash as well.
 
I like the Dimarzio Super Distortion and Tone Zone for warming up a bright-sounding Fender guitar. The Tone Zone is a bit more picky about the guitars it works in, but the Super Distortion has worked in every bright sounding guitar I’ve tried it in, which is four now.
 
How often do you use your tone controls? Currently I'm guessing you have it wired like a standard Strat wiring and the bridge doesn't have a tone control.

If you wire it so the neck and middle pickups get one tone control, and the bridge gets the other, you'll be able to dial the treble back on the bridge. Plus the added resistance of the tone control on the bridge, even on 10, will shift the tone a tad bit towards the low end. Best case, it fixes your problem, worst case you're out $0 and you can undo it if you don't like it.

Also, have you tried just moving the pickup closer to the strings? Or maybe dial in your setup so that the bridge pickup sounds good and lower the single coils to compensate.

These are two easy free things you can do at least.
 
What single coils do you have in the neck and mid? Something like a Tone Zone will be darker sounding for sure, but it's going to be a heck of a lot higher output than regular wind singles. Might not match well.

How often are you rolling your tone knob back for the bridge that you have?
 
Chistopher said:
How often do you use your tone controls? Currently I'm guessing you have it wired like a standard Strat wiring and the bridge doesn't have a tone control.

If you wire it so the neck and middle pickups get one tone control, and the bridge gets the other, you'll be able to dial the treble back on the bridge. Plus the added resistance of the tone control on the bridge, even on 10, will shift the tone a tad bit towards the low end. Best case, it fixes your problem, worst case you're out $0 and you can undo it if you don't like it.

Also, have you tried just moving the pickup closer to the strings? Or maybe dial in your setup so that the bridge pickup sounds good and lower the single coils to compensate.

These are two easy free things you can do at least.
Click to expand...

That's a good point, it is indeed currently wired as a standard, so I will definitely have it rewired to be able to use the tone control on the bridge.

But definitely gonna change the mic as well as I think I can have something beefier than the Fender Shawbucker.

I am tempted by the Custom Custom as I hear a lot of good things.

I used to have the Di-Marzio Super Distortion in the Ace Frehley Les Paul and although I really wanted to like it it did not really make it for me so I am a bit dubious when it come to this one. On the other hand, the Strat is a very different guitar so it could be an option. Or maybe as suggested by eclecticsynergy the AT-1?

One thing that throws me off a bit between these suggestions is if I compare the EQ charts between the AT-1 and the Custom Custom for example they seem to be the total opposite, with the AT1-1 having a lot of bass and little treble and the Custom Custom having a lot treble and less bass. (But then I don't know how accurate/relevant are these graphs?)
DiMarzio®_AT-1™___DiMarzio.pngSeymour_Duncan_Custom_Custom___Seymour_Duncan.png
 
The AT-1 and Custom Custom sound fairly similar. Both fairly closely associated with Van Halen sounds, which are closer to the first graph than the second one
 
Man I wouldn't be spending money on pickups in this case. No tone control on the bridge pickup of a Strat is madness. Get that wired in, and you'll have access to fatter sounds immediately. That will get you 95% of the way there. A pickup swap may get you another 2%.

However. I do like my Thornbucker+ in my Strat. Really pleasant sounds whether I run it bright, warm, clean, dirty, whatever.
 
I like the Perpetual Burn in a HSS setup. Can be nice and warm without being too warm. 500K volume and 250k tone. The singles have a 470k resistor in parallel each off the switch to ground so when selected, they see a 250k volume. I found a similar diagram on DiMarzios site.
 
Custom Custom, Tone Zone, Air Zone, AT-1, any of those will do what you want.

What's a tone control? I mean, I have them, but I never touch them except to make sure they are turned all the way up or once in a blue moon for muddy special effects. I want a setup to sound good if it was wired straight to a volume pot and out, I guess it's just the way I'm wired.
 
Okay, I should have used the sarcasm font, but, it should sound good (best?) with everything at 10, then adjust from there, at least IMHO.

And I still rarely if ever use tone controls.
 
Standard strat wiring for "American Pro II HSS" already has tone control 2 dedicated to the Bridge pickup. So does the earlier HSS shawbucker models. I believe it also has dual gain 250k / 500k volume control. Its a matter of preference which you prefer out of the AT-1 vs custom custom. I'd expect the AT-1 to be a bit more balanced and versatile for the crunch tones. Both of them will be a bit mid heavy, but the AT-1 retains more high-mids IMO. I would generally disregard the Duncan tone charts.
 
devastone said:
Okay, I should have used the sarcasm font, but, it should sound good (best?) with everything at 10, then adjust from there, at least IMHO.

And I still rarely if ever use tone controls.
Click to expand...

If you set things so they're a bit too bright with volume and tone on 10 you get a usable tone control. If you want things darker you turn the control down, if you want them brighter you turn the control up. Seems like an easier approach than setting everything too dark and needing to swap pickups every time you want things brighter - but that's just me. :P
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Chris EmCee
RTM neck pairing question
Replies
8
Views
90
Overlord
Overlord
IMENATOR
JB with Alnico ii Pro
Replies
11
Views
97
orpheo
O
Chris EmCee
Will anything dethrone the '78?
Replies
19
Views
281
jeremy
jeremy
T
What pots to use?
Replies
9
Views
66
switchman
S
B
Closest pickup to shawbucker?
Replies
13
Views
271
jeremy
jeremy
Back
Top