Hey, Gents...
On "Junkyard Strat," I am in a quandary of sorts (with regards to my bridge pickup) and would appreciate some direction from you fellows who have likely install far more pickups than me.
Currently, I'm running 500k pots (all 3 positions) and my wiring is modded to give me tone control over the bridge pickup. I will be sticking with H-S-S configuration.
The hum canceling single coils are made by Artec. They are made like a humbucker with bar magnets and screw poles, so even at 2/32" from the strings, there is zero magnetic pull. Despite measuring only 6k each, they are very hot and well balanced.
The bridge pickup was something I had here on the bench and I used it just to get the Strat up and running.
It's a Guitar Madness clone of a 'Dirty Fingers' neck pickup, having triple ceramic magnets and measuring 9.45k @ 75°F. It has twin rows of adjustable poles and it is 4/32" from the strings.
Brand new and free, I threw it in for testing.
The interesting thing is, the pickup is great for power chords and solos, but it has such a strange response to the g/b/e being stummed.
Let's say you play a G major as an arpeggio. For some reason, the g/b/e get lost in the mix...its as if the pickup "cannot hear them" when they (g/b/e) are played in a chord...if my description makes sense.
@Cadorman summed it up best by saying the Yellow Stratocaster sounded "very one dimensional."
Naturally, my bridge pickup will need to be potted for me to control it on small stages at high volumes. Beyond that, it's needs to have good clarity and articulation, good midrange response and tight bottom end.
I've been disappointed in the past with the Seymour Duncan JB (SH4?) because it seemed to lack clarity on the heavy, palm-muted passages I so frequently play.
I was looking at a vintage DiMarzio DP100 Super Distortion, but held off completing the order to give this more thought.
I want to try and avoid just throwing pickups at this randomly, and really do my homework.
When I look back at my own personal experiences with pickups, it isn't helping me much.
I've used Calvin M22SD's, DiMarzio Super 3's, Super 70's, Super Distortions, and those experiences are so long ago that I really can't recall much about what they sounded like 20 plus years ago.
I just spent $300 on a custom neck, and I am having a stock Fender tremolo made from solid brass, so project funds are at a minimum.
I want to avoid the boutique pickups with high price tags. I see no sense throwing in a set of War Pigs into such a budget project.
Also, I'm not opposed to used pickups and there seems to be so many guys putting in new Duncan's and DiMarzios, then ripping them out in a week to go a different route.
Your general thoughts on this subject would be appreciated.
- Rob
On "Junkyard Strat," I am in a quandary of sorts (with regards to my bridge pickup) and would appreciate some direction from you fellows who have likely install far more pickups than me.
Currently, I'm running 500k pots (all 3 positions) and my wiring is modded to give me tone control over the bridge pickup. I will be sticking with H-S-S configuration.
The hum canceling single coils are made by Artec. They are made like a humbucker with bar magnets and screw poles, so even at 2/32" from the strings, there is zero magnetic pull. Despite measuring only 6k each, they are very hot and well balanced.
The bridge pickup was something I had here on the bench and I used it just to get the Strat up and running.
It's a Guitar Madness clone of a 'Dirty Fingers' neck pickup, having triple ceramic magnets and measuring 9.45k @ 75°F. It has twin rows of adjustable poles and it is 4/32" from the strings.
Brand new and free, I threw it in for testing.
The interesting thing is, the pickup is great for power chords and solos, but it has such a strange response to the g/b/e being stummed.
Let's say you play a G major as an arpeggio. For some reason, the g/b/e get lost in the mix...its as if the pickup "cannot hear them" when they (g/b/e) are played in a chord...if my description makes sense.
@Cadorman summed it up best by saying the Yellow Stratocaster sounded "very one dimensional."
Naturally, my bridge pickup will need to be potted for me to control it on small stages at high volumes. Beyond that, it's needs to have good clarity and articulation, good midrange response and tight bottom end.
I've been disappointed in the past with the Seymour Duncan JB (SH4?) because it seemed to lack clarity on the heavy, palm-muted passages I so frequently play.
I was looking at a vintage DiMarzio DP100 Super Distortion, but held off completing the order to give this more thought.
I want to try and avoid just throwing pickups at this randomly, and really do my homework.
When I look back at my own personal experiences with pickups, it isn't helping me much.
I've used Calvin M22SD's, DiMarzio Super 3's, Super 70's, Super Distortions, and those experiences are so long ago that I really can't recall much about what they sounded like 20 plus years ago.
I just spent $300 on a custom neck, and I am having a stock Fender tremolo made from solid brass, so project funds are at a minimum.
I want to avoid the boutique pickups with high price tags. I see no sense throwing in a set of War Pigs into such a budget project.
Also, I'm not opposed to used pickups and there seems to be so many guys putting in new Duncan's and DiMarzios, then ripping them out in a week to go a different route.
Your general thoughts on this subject would be appreciated.
- Rob
