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Seymour Duncan
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Manufacturer: Seymour Duncan Model: Invader
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Your name : Pete Simko
email : simko@acs.bu.edu
Date of review : 4/7/94
Your musical style(s) : Rock, harder rock, really hard rock, blues
Guitar or Bass : '84 Ibanez Destroyer
Pickup features : HUGE pole pieces
Cost : about 70$ american when I acquired it
Purchased from : Um, not purchased. I used to roadie for a guy
: who worked in a music shop and paid me with
: equipment
Impedance or other specs:
Pickup being replaced : Stock Ibanez
Neck/Mid/Bridge position: Bridge
Other pickups on guitar : Stock Ibanez in middle (disconnected), SD Jeff
: Beck '59 in neck
Artists using this pickup: Don't know of any
Reason for pickup change: Stock pickups were very weak, with almost no
sustain
Because...
Perceived output level : Very hot. Don't expect a very clear sound when
you play clean.
Tone: Very well balanced. Tight bass, clear highs
Candid sonic evaluation: A very good pickup if you don't mind the goofy
look of the massive pole pieces and dumb name.
You WILL get a good and dirty tone with this
PU no matter how you twiddle your knobs. If you
want a transparent clean sound though, this
can't give it to you - you'll need another PU
to get it. This is not purely a pickup for
shredders though. The tone is much closer to the
sound of Malcom Young than Joe Satriani. There's
a lot of tonal coloration going on here. Your
bass will be a little punchier, your midrange
a little smoother.
Since my guitar's sustain isn't that great
to begin with, I can't really evaluate how the
invader effects that aspect of my sound, except to
say that it certainly doesn't make matters any
worse.
This pickup can also be split, and sounds very
good when tapped. Volume levels do not change
appreciably between settings.
Styles and positions for which this pickup is (un)suitable:
Country is OUT. And Jazz isn't really an option
either. Not that you were considering this baby
anyway, right?
On a scale of 1 to 11, I give this pickup a: 9
Are you satisfied with this pickup or still searching for *that* sound?:
Yep. Considering the fact that my Ibanez isn't
exactly a PRS, it gives me a good sound, very
close to what I'm looking for.
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Manufacturer: Seymour Duncan Model: JB (Jeff Beck) humbucker
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name : Scott Andrews
e-mail : sha3u@virginia.edu
date : 4/25/94
musical style : metal, hard rock, bluesy rock
guitar : custom (homemade) Warmoth strat
features : 4 conductor cable; includes screws
cost : $59 [that was 5 years ago; they are up to $69 now]
purchased from: Charlottesville Music
replaced : nothing - i built the guitar myself.
position : bridge
other pickups : neck is DiMarzio stacked single coil ripped out of an Ibanez
artists using : Jeff Beck, i assume.
perceived output level: medium loud. same as any average humbucker. the
pickup is quiet.
tone: a very balanced pickup. it has a straight-ahead, full bodied,
humbucker sound. it's on the high output side, but not as high as
"metal" type pickups like the Lawrence XL500 (see my review of that).
candid evaluation: i play mostly metal through a tube preamp and a
Mosvalve power amp. i like this pickup because it gives a clear
balanced sound - not too treble-y, not too booming and bass-y; a
very versitile rock and hard rock pickup. Kramer used to install
these as the stock bridge humbuckers pickups in their 80s Floyd
Rose "hard rock" guitars. EVH may have used them; i don't know.
it gives a very nice bluesy half distorted sound when i turn the guitar
volume control down. you can get anything from a barely dirty tone
with the knob way down to a ZZ top rythym about halfway to a full
hard rock GnR crunch with the volume all the way up.
suitability: this pickup is good for everything from loud blues to metal.
i use it for bluesy stuff, medium metal like Alice in Chains and GnR,
and extreme metal like Pantera. the extreme metal doesn't sound as
good as with a really high output pickup, like the XL500, but the
versitility makes up for it.
on a scale of 1 - 11: i'd give the JB a 9 for sound and an 11 for
versitility. this pickup gives a great range of solid rock sounds,
from low distortion all the way to high gain amp settings.
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Manufacturer: Seymour Duncan Model: STR-2
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Your name : Pete Lyall
email : plyall@csn.org
Date of review : 9/29/93
Your musical style(s) : rock & blues
Guitar or Bass : guitar
Pickup features : it works
Cost : ~$50
Purchased from : Musician's Choice, Ventura, CA
Pickup being replaced : Stock Tele '62 Reissue neck pickup
Neck/Mid/Bridge position: Neck
Other pickups on guitar : Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder (Tele Bridge)
Reason for pickup change:
Feedback on original pickup (also, somewhat microphonic)
Perceived output level :
Output level on a 1-10 scale would be about 6-7
Tone :
I found it a little bassier and muddier than I care for. It would
probably be good if you were looking for a punchy pickup that didn't
retain a lot of the original tele sound, probably good for distortion.
I just found it a bit dark for a single coil.
Candid sonic evaluation:
I didn't ring my chimes - I returned it.
On a scale of 1 to 11, I give this pickup a:
I'd give it a 4. It wasn't what I was looking for.
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Manufacturer: Seymour Duncan Model: STR-1
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Your name : Pete Lyall
email : plyall@csn.org
Date of review : 9/29/93
Your musical style(s) : rock & blues
Guitar or Bass : guitar
Pickup features : comes with tele neck pickup cover
Cost : ~$50
Purchased from : National Speaker, Denver, CO
Pickup being replaced : Stock Tele '62 Reissue neck pickup
Neck/Mid/Bridge position: Neck
Other pickups on guitar : Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder (Tele Bridge)
Reason for pickup change:
Feedback on original pickup (also, somewhat microphonic)
Also, hated the STR-2 I tried first.
Perceived output level :
Output level on a 1-10 scale would be about 4-6
Tone :
Clear, and very close to the original tele tone, without the feedback
or microphonics. Could be a _little_ brighter, but overall I'm
happy. It does have that trademark 'hollow' tone that I was looking
for. In fact, I bought ANOTHER pickup (a 3rd) that has coil tapped
operation, and I have held off installing it because this one sounds so
good.
Candid sonic evaluation:
Overall, excellent. Clear, well articulated, and sounds good both clean
and distorted.
Styles and positions for which this pickup is (un)suitable:
I would say this was an excellent blues pickup, with capabilities
extending into jazz, country, and rock.
On a scale of 1 to 11, I give this pickup a:
I'd give it an 8. It was darn close to exactly what I was looking for.
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Manufacturer: Seymour Duncan Model: Hot Rails (neck and bridge models)
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Your name : Pete Lyall
email : plyall@csn.org
Date of review : 9/29/93
Your musical style(s) : rock & blues
Guitar or Bass : guitar
Pickup features : coil tapped humbucking in single coil form
Cost : ~$75
Purchased from : Various
Impedance or other specs: High (11k ?)
Pickup being replaced : Various strat pickups
Neck/Mid/Bridge position: Neck & Bridge
Other pickups on guitar : Seymour Duncan Single Coil Stack/
Gold Lace Sensors
Reason for pickup change:
Originally modifying a Fender Squier. Later, to add meat to
a Fender Strat Plus.
Perceived output level :
Super Hot. Will overdrive most amps' clean channels if run wide
open.
Tone :
Great for distorted tones. Less so for clean tones. On one strat, the
guitar now sounds more like a Les Paul than a strat because of the beef
of the pickups. They are very strong in the midrange as well. On one
strat, I have neck and bridge hot rails. The neck gets a great Santana
like tone. The bridge gets a good Steve Morse/Brian May tone, and a
variety of others, depending on the EQ of the amp & effects. I have
these pickups fairly close to the strings. On my Strat Plus, I have
only a bridge hot rail (others are stock Gold Lace Sensors), and I had
the tech adjust it further away from the strings for greater clarity
and less magnetic influence. In the coil tapped position, I can still
get a pretty convincing strat/tele single coil sound. The full coil
position yields a really nice snappy distortion (Richie Blackmore and
hotter).
Candid sonic evaluation:
Overall, excellent. If you're trying to make your strat distort, this
is how you should do it. Again, careful with placement relative to the
strings.
Styles and positions for which this pickup is (un)suitable:
I would say this was an excellent rock/blues pickup, with capabilities
extending into country.
On a scale of 1 to 11, I give this pickup a:
Are you satisfied with this pickup or still searching for *that* sound?:
I'd give it an 10. It's a rocker.
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Manufacturer: Seymour Duncan Model: George Lynch Screamin' Demon
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Your name : David Dudek (aka: "The Cybard")
Date of review : 7/15/93 (purchased 8/91)
Your musical style(s) : Heavy rock, psychdelic, thrash, grunge, jazz,
Guitar or Bass : Kramer Striker 100ST guitar
Pickup features : high-output humbucker
Cost : $165
Purchased from : Music Mart, Buffalo, NY (OUT OF BUSINESS)
Pickup being replaced : unknown (original...Seymour Duncan?)
Neck/Mid/Bridge position: Bridge
Other pickups on guitar: None.
Reason for pickup change:
I wanted to increase my output while decreasing unwanted feedback. My
old pickup used to SHRIEK when the volume on the amp was high.
Perceived output level :
The output is very high when the volume control on the guitar is all
the way up. However, the pickup is VERY responsive to adjustments to
the guitar volume control. This allows for a very wide range of
distortion levels from acoustic-clean too total shred and everything
inbetween. This is the feature I like best, since I don't have a
foot-pedal to control distortion on my amp.
Tone :
If I had a graphic EQ to describe the tone:
bass <-------------> treble
o = = = o high
= o = o = med
= = o = = low
Candid sonic evaluation:
Very powerful sound. Level of distortion (gain) is very adjustable
with guitar volume control. I don't know what effect a tone control
would have. Notes are clear and bright with a solid bass punch.
Harmonics really ring out! Unwanted feedback is virtually eliminated.
Styles and positions for which this pickup is (un)suitable: I would
mostly recommend this pickup for heavy hard rock. Grunge artists
might prefer a muddier sound than this pickup provides.
On a scale of 1 to 11, I give this pickup a: 10
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Manufacturer: Seymour Duncan Model: Hot Rails (neck)
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Your name : Greg J. Musi
Date of review : July 22, 1993
Your musical style(s) : Hard Rock/Heavy Metal
Guitar or Bass : Guitar
Pickup features : mini humbucker (side by side twin blades)
Cost : $85.00
Purchased from : Guitar Gallery, Washington, Pa
Pickup being replaced : Stock Ibanez Single Coil (from an Ibanez EX 360)
Neck/Mid/Bridge position: neck
Other pickups on guitar : Stock Ibanez Single Coil (middle from EX 360)
Stock Ibanez Humbucker (bridge from EX 360)
Perceived output level : as Seymour Duncan says, the hottest pickup he makes.
It is a VERY high output pickup, very LOUD, louder than any other
that I have heard.
Tone : Distorted it has a good balanced sound Clean it is a bit muddy because
it distorts itself due to high output
Candid sonic evaluation:
Depends on what you want to use the pickup for. For Hard Rock Metal
Leads, sounds very good. Compare to the intro to Sweet Child O'Mine
by Guns 'n' Roses Clean, the pickup is very loud and quite bright
Styles and positions for which this pickup is (un)suitable:
Suitable for Jazz when played clean, big bright sound Good for Metal
scorching metal leads.
On a scale of 1 to 11, I give this pickup a:
I give the pickup an 8.5.
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Manufacturer: Seymour Duncan Model: Vintage Staggered Strat
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Your name : Tim Stanley
email : tjs@eecs.umich.edu
Date of review : 08.01.93
Your musical style(s) : SRV, Jeff Healey roadhouse rock,
(and everything else generally)
Guitar or Bass : Squire Strat (Korean)
Purchased from : Warmouth
Pickup being replaced : Stock Squire single coil
Neck/Mid/Bridge position: Middle
Other pickups on guitar : Lawrence L-250 in neck,
DiMarzio Super Distortion Humbucker in bridge.
Reason for pickup change: (see my Lawrence L-250 review)
I use the Dan Armstrong 3 switch pickup select scheme (providing *all*
combinations of series and parallel connections for all 3 pickups). I
have phase switches on each pickup.
Perceived output level : Low. This is not a loud pickup. Be aware
of that when putting it in a system with humbuckers. It is
not a problem, just a fact.
Tone :
I am not a serious stickler for totally accurate vintage sound (I won't
get into flame wars about this sort of thing) - but this pickup has the
Strat vintage sound. Which means trebly, high presence, even brittle.
Candid sonic evaluation:
As I said, it has the vintage Strat sound.
For these customized non-traditional setups, having a strat-like
pickup in the middle is a terrific compromise because *some* strat
sounds are still always available to you when you want them, and I
really like that middle strat pickup in combination with either the
neck or bridge. The vintage strat in the middle really rounds out
the flexibility of this setup.
On a scale of 1 to 11, I give this pickup a:
an 11 for its success at getting the vintage strat sound.
Are you satisfied with this pickup or still searching for *that* sound?:
I am satisfied and won't change it. But I would pick a Texas
wound version for more output next time - especially since it sits
next to two humbuckers and may be more suited to my style.
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Manufacturer: Seymour Duncan Model: Tele Quarter Pound Lead
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Your name : David Nye
email : nyeda@uwec.edu
Date of review : 17May94
Your musical style(s) : rock, blues, some jazz and country
Guitar or Bass : '65 Fender Custom Telecaster
Pickup features : single coil, drop-in bridge pickup replacement
with a little higher output and warmth than
the original
Cost : $50
Purchased from : American Musical Supply
Pickup being replaced : Original (dead) pickup
Neck/Mid/Bridge position: bridge
Other pickups on guitar : Gibson PAF humbucker in neck position
Reason for pickup change: Original died, and I wanted one with an output
that more closely matched the humbucker
Perceived output level : Just slightly under that of the humbucker,
almost twice that of the original
Tone: clean, balanced, better definition of
individual strings than the humbucker, but
lacks that very trebly "Tele twang"
Candid sonic evaluation: There is always going to be a tradeoff between
treble response and output. I wanted a pickup
that came closer to the neck humbucker in
output and this works well, but at the expense
of that Tele twang. I like the tone as much
as the PAF, though, maybe more, although it
would be nice to have more difference in
frequency response between the two.
Styles and positions for which this pickup is (un)suitable: designed as
a replacement for Tele bridge pickup.
On a scale of 1 to 11, I give this pickup a: 8
Are you satisfied with this pickup or still searching for *that* sound?:
I'll keep it in for a while anyway. It has a
very nice sound, but maybe not trebly enough.
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Manufacturer: Seymour Duncan Model: Custom Soapbar
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Your name : Erik Miller
email : emiller@berksys.com
Date of review : 27 December 1994
Your musical style(s) : rock
Guitar or Bass : 60's Epiphone Coronet
Pickup features : Hot-rodded P-90 type
Cost : $60.00
Purchased from : Gelb Music, Redwood City, CA
Impedance or other specs : DC resistance 14.6 K
Pickup being replaced : Duncan Hot Soapbar
Neck/Mid/Bridge position : Bridge
Other pickups on guitar : None
Artists using this pickup: nobody famous that I know of
Reason for pickup change: The original P-90 was too thin and the Hot
Soapbar had a midrange hump that I wanted to smooth out.
Perceived output level : It's the hottest passive pickup I've seen.
Check the D.C. resistance; it's about twice what a stock Fender
single-coil or Gibson humbucker is. In the Duncan catalog chart, it's
up there with the Hot Rails and Invader on the output scale. I had to
hunt to find a chorus pedal that could take the signal without
breaking up.
Tone: It's true to the P-90 style. More bottom than a Fender, more
top than a humbucker, not as sparkling and cutting as a Fender.
Candid sonic evaluation: It's an "off the beaten path" kind of tone.
If you want to sound just like most of the guys on the records, get a
humbucker or a Strat type pickup. For me, Strats are too thin, and
humbuckers are too thick. The P-90 is idiosyncratic enough to capture
my interest, and my first electric had a pair of them in it. Been
chasing that tone ever since:-).
Compared to a regular P-90, this is way hotter, and tonally a bit
bassier. The Duncan Hot Soapbar has more midrange which sounds great
with distortion, but was just too honky for me for clean work.
Styles and positions for which this pickup is (un)suitable: I've
gotten everything from death metal chunk to chirpy funk clucks out of
it. I think it's best for a Neil Young/Bob Mould/My Bloody
Valentine/Dinosaur Jr. kind of fine distortion, but that's just what I
tend to use it for. Gibson designed the P-90 to be appropriate for
any kind of music, and it's tonally faithful to that.
On a scale of 1 to 11, I give this pickup a: 9. It hits its mark.
However, I do wish Duncan gave us P-90 heads more to choose from than
just the two special designs and the one vintage clone.
Also, take note that it only ships with "soap bar" mounting. Gibson
used two different methods of mounting this type of pickup. One was
the "soapbar," where the pickup sat in a cavity just its size, held in
place by two screws through the middle, and the "dog ear" method, with
a mounting bracket that was held in place by two screws, one at each
end of the bracket (kind of like the bracket a humbucker sits in).
This last method uses a rectangular cover with triangular "ears" at
each end; the "soap bar" uses a rectangular cover that fits over just
the pickup.
If your guitar uses the "dog ear" method, you will likely have to
disassemble the pickup from its bottom plate and reassemble it on the
"dog ear" bracket. At this point, the nice Seymour Duncan wax potting
process that keeps your high-gain rig from squealing gets somewhat
compromised. I chose to send the whole assembly back to the Duncan
Custom Shop for re- potting, a $10 process. If squealing is not a
problem, don't bother re-potting it.
So unless your guitar is one of the Les Pauls or SG's or non-reverse
Firebirds that used the "soap bar" style (any of the archtops, for
instance), you have more than the usual drop in and solder
installation to contend with.
Are you satisfied with this pickup or still searching for *that*
sound?: It's the best that I've found, but I'm always open to further
developments. I've deliberately limited myself to the P-90 form
factor so as to have fewer distractions when it comes to customization
options. They are the coolest looking pickups, I think.
Addendum from Erik: 01/26/95
Hey, Tim, I just got back from the NAMM show, where (among other things) I
spoke with Evan at Seymour Duncan regarding their P-90 replacements.
I knocked them for only shipping the thing with the soapbar mounting
bracket, but Evan told me that they are now shipping the Antiquity model
with the dog-ear bracket, and may extend that option to the rest of the P-90
line if enough people request it.
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Miscellaneous Info
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Newsgroups: rec.music.makers.guitar
From: collins_jim@tandem.com (Jim Collins)
Subject: Pearly Gates pickups
Followup-To: rec.music.makers.guitar
Nntp-Posting-Host: 130.252.1.138
Organization: Tandem Computers, Inc.
Date: Thu, 2 Jun 1994 18:07:15 GMT
X-Disclaimer: This article is not the opinion of Tandem Computers, Inc.
Hi all,
Yesterday, I put a set of Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates pickups in a Les
Paul. The results were very pleasing.
First, why did I do it. I had been using Gibson '57 Classics in that
guitar, and I really liked them, but they didn't seem to work with all of
my amps. They are beautiful with clean, full sounding amps, like an old
Twin Reverb, Pro Reverb or Marshall Bluesbreaker. I never liked them when
I played through a '63 Vibroverb reissue or a '62 Fender Deluxe. Those two
amps are outstanding for single coil guitars, but humbuckers seem to
overdrive them too easily, and turn the tone to mush right away. This is
one reason I use two amps in my setup, the Vibroverb and some cleaner amp,
because I switch between a Les Paul, a Strat and a Tele.
I wanted a humbucker that would not turn the Vibroverb to mush, but
instead give me a warm, articulated tone. I figured that the root of the
problem with the Gibson was actually its strongest feature -- its fullness
of tone. (Remember that with a full sounding clean amp, these are great
pickups.) I reasoned that I needed a pickup with more midrange, but not so
much that it would sound too harsh, so I decided to try the Pearly Gates.
The Pearly Gates was originally designed for Billy Gibbons. I like his
playing, but I've never really been drawn to his tone, so this was a real
experiment.
The Pearly Gates gave me exactly what I was looking for. They have a
sound similar to a classic humbucker, but with more mids, but not too much.
When I plugged the Les Paul into the Vibroverb, with the same old settings
that turned the Classic '57s to mush, a great warm tone emerged. The
Guitar Player pickup shootout described the Gibson '57s as sounding like
Dickey Betts, and they do, but it's like the Dickey Betts of the Ramblin'
Man days, provided you use a fairly clean, full sounding amp. The Pearly
Gates through the Vibroverb yields a sound much closer the the Dickey Betts
of today. (As it turns out, the Allman Bros. are currently on tour, and
Dickey is playing a Paul Reed Smith McCarty model, with at least one Pearly
Gates in it. Yep, that's right, no Les Paul. I 'bout fell out of my seat
when I saw that.)
Anyway, I was not out looking to duplicate Dickey's tone, I just wanted
to make the Les Paul perform through the Vibroverb and the Deluxe. It
really does. It also sounds great through the clean sounding amps, like
the Pro Reverb. The Les Paul through the Deluxe at low volumes sounds
beautiful. I was up until about 1:00 AM playing it nice and low, A/B
testing with another Les Paul with the Classic '57s.
The Pearly Gates respond well to rolling off the tone knob. Most (not
all) other humbuckers I've tried turn very muddy when you roll off too much
tone. The Gibsons are like this. The Pearly Gates still have a punchy,
articulated tone with a good deal of the treble rolled off. They also
sound good at any volume level. Many humbuckers need the guitar's volume
pot full on before they really shine. These are different in that respect.
One more technical note. The Pearly Gates have Alnico II magnets, which
is different from the Classic '57s. My only other experience with Alnico
II magnets is on a Strat with Duncan Alnico II Pros. I never knew what
reviewers meant by "transparent" until I tried those Strat pickups. Very
smooth.
Well, that's it.
Jimmy
From collins_jim@tandem.com Fri Dec 2 18:58:39 1994
Newsgroups: alt.guitar
From: collins_jim@tandem.com (Jim Collins)
Subject: Re: Seymore Duncan Alnico Picks...Opinion?
Followup-To: alt.guitar
Nntp-Posting-Host: 130.252.1.130
Organization: Tandem Computers, Inc.
Date: Thu, 1 Dec 1994 17:55:09 GMT
X-Disclaimer: This article is not the opinion of Tandem Computers, Inc.
In article <230358Z29111994@anon.penet.fi>, an138114@anon.penet.fi
(Firehouse) wrote:
>
> Hi..
>
> I am looking to replace my pickups with Seymore Duncan Alnico Picks!
>
> Any Opinion on their Alnico Pro II Humbucker and Alnico Jr. Humbucker?
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, of course, everything depends upon the sound you want. I had the
Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro Humbuckers in a Les Paul that I no longer
have. I liked them a lot, but they weren't my favorite humbuckers. They
had a good, smooth sound without a lot of edge on the top end. It was a
very big sound. I happen to like things a bit brighter than that, but for
certain tunes, these things really nailed it when the guitar's volume pot
was way up. Through a Vibro King at a fairly low volume, around 3.5, the
neck pickup gave me a sound that would be comfortable in any Allman Bros.
tune. It was not a Dickey Betts tone, but it was in that vein.
If you like it brighter, but still like the quality of the tone given by
the Alnico II pickups, try the Pearly Gates. They also use an Alnico II
magnet, but they have more top end, a bit more mids, and a little less
bottom. Great blues tone when used without any distortion. I've got these
in a couple of Les Pauls, and I love 'em.
It seems that pickups with Alnico II magnets have much less of a brittle
or glassy quality than the same pickup with an Alnico IV magnet. I have a
'62 reissue Strat with SD staggered Alnico II pickups in it, and they are
terrific in that guitar. It is unmistakably a Strat sound, but it is has a
deeper throat. The bridge pickup alone -- no tone control on that pickup
-- is a very usable sound on that guitar. In fact, I use it all the time.
I figure that is a pretty good test, because a lot of Strat players seem to
shy away from using the bridge pickup alone, because it is often too
shrill.
Jimmy
From jstemwedel@pomona.edu Wed Dec 7 10:56:18 1994
From: jstemwedel@pomona.edu
Newsgroups: alt.guitar
Subject: Re: Seymore Duncan Alnico Picks...Opinion?
Followup-To: alt.guitar
Date: 5 Dec 94 23:59:31 PDT
Organization: Pomona College
NNTP-Posting-Host: thumper.pomona.edu
In article <collins_jim-011294092759@130.252.1.130>, collins_jim@tandem.com (Jim Collins) writes:
> It seems that pickups with Alnico II magnets have much less of a brittle
> or glassy quality than the same pickup with an Alnico IV magnet. I have a
> '62 reissue Strat with SD staggered Alnico II pickups in it, and they are
> terrific in that guitar. It is unmistakably a Strat sound, but it is has a
> deeper throat. The bridge pickup alone -- no tone control on that pickup
> -- is a very usable sound on that guitar. In fact, I use it all the time.
> I figure that is a pretty good test, because a lot of Strat players seem to
> shy away from using the bridge pickup alone, because it is often too
> shrill.
On the nose.
My strat's got SD Alnico II's, as I posted before. Swamp ash body, maple
fretboard, so you'd expect it to be treblier than a '62 reissue. And I use the
bridge *most of the time*. It's got edge and twang on it, but it isn't
piercing and shrill. I used to use neck or neck and middle most of the time on
my old stratish thing, but I'm a convert. No other strat I've used has been so
sweet on the bridge pickup tone. Now I use my neck pickup mainly to roll down
the tone knob and go for an aproximation of a fat jazz hollowbody tone, and
it's *sweet*.
Seymour Duncan's definitely got some mojo happening in these suckers.
j.p.