What to pair a C5 with?

[Drazden]

Hey everyone. Longtime lurker, firsttime poster.

Alright. I've got a question. I'm about to build a guitar. It'll be a Strat-style, out of ash, with an American Fender maple neck on it. Here's the trick, though--I'm putting a lefty neck on it.

Yes, the reverse Hendrix thing.

Anyway, I have a pickup lying around from my old SG--a Custom 5. I think I'll put that in the bridge. I have a few questions, though. What, exactly will it sound like? I didn't really like it in my SG, but then... I didn't really like my SG, etiher, so...

Also, would it be better to exchange it for an F-spaced one, or angle it, or what? This guitar will be made entirely from scratch, so it won't be a problem to cut an angled hole in the pickguard.

And lastly, what kind of a neck single-coil would work with it? I want kind of a Hendrixy sound out of it--and from what I'm thinking, an Alnico II Pro with the left-hand stagger would do the trick. Would there be any issues with that? Or would anything else get me the sound I'm looking for?

Thanks

Drazden

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: What to pair a C5 with?

Hey everyone. Longtime lurker, firsttime poster.

Alright. I've got a question. I'm about to build a guitar. It'll be a Strat-style, out of ash, with an American Fender maple neck on it. Here's the trick, though--I'm putting a lefty neck on it.

Yes, the reverse Hendrix thing.

Anyway, I have a pickup lying around from my old SG--a Custom 5. I think I'll put that in the bridge. I have a few questions, though. What, exactly will it sound like? I didn't really like it in my SG, but then... I didn't really like my SG, etiher, so...

Also, would it be better to exchange it for an F-spaced one, or angle it, or what? This guitar will be made entirely from scratch, so it won't be a problem to cut an angled hole in the pickguard.

And lastly, what kind of a neck single-coil would work with it? I want kind of a Hendrixy sound out of it--and from what I'm thinking, an Alnico II Pro with the left-hand stagger would do the trick. Would there be any issues with that? Or would anything else get me the sound I'm looking for?

Thanks

Drazden

Hey man...welcome and now I will try to help...

1st-YES, get a tremspaced bucker for the bridge

2nd-A custom 5 sounds like a bigger 59...this is a good thing and IMO it would sound great in a strat

3rd-For a Hendrix type tone on the neck and middle, I would go with either SSL-1 in a reverse stagger OR a pair of Antiquity Surfers

4th-(I know you did not ask but I'll say this as well) I would go with an Alder body...the bridge bucker will sound a lot fuller as will the single coils...alder is the standard Strat body for a reason...ash is a great wood and I love the tone of it, but for what you are doing I think alder would be a much better choice not to mention finishing a piece of ash is a pain in the ass!

Good luck, and let us know what happens

The guy who invented fire

 

[BlueSnMettle]

Re: What to pair a C5 with?

Hey man...welcome and now I will try to help...

1st-YES, get a tremspaced bucker for the bridge

2nd-A custom 5 sounds like a bigger 59...this is a good thing and IMO it would sound great in a strat

3rd-For a Hendrix type tone on the neck and middle, I would go with either SSL-1 in a reverse stagger OR a pair of Antiquity Surfers

4th-(I know you did not ask but I'll say this as well) I would go with an Alder body...the bridge bucker will sound a lot fuller as will the single coils...alder is the standard Strat body for a reason...ash is a great wood and I love the tone of it, but for what you are doing I think alder would be a much better choice not to mention finishing a piece of ash is a pain in the ass!

Good luck, and let us know what happens

The guy who invented fire

^^^^^^^ Sounds good to me, good advice^^^^^^^^^



Peace,

Darrin

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: What to pair a C5 with?

You can get away with a standard C-5, although a trem version would be more perfect. I agree about alder, not ash. If it were ash, I'd go for a CC. Alder just sounds warmer and more balanced. The best 3 neck pickups to combine it with are
59N, Pearly Gates N, or Jazz.

 

[matt99camero]

Re: What to pair a C5 with?

I just put a 59n/C-5b in my guitar and they compliment each other very well.

 

[Fresh_Start]

Re: What to pair a C5 with?

I've got a C-5 bridge and an APS-2 neck in an alder strat-clone. The APS-2 is warmer and gets closer to Hendrix than the SSL-2 I had in there before. Ditto on the comments about ash vs alder.

Chip