Pickups, help me decide

rossyamaha

So my strat suddenly seems very dark. HSS configuration with a SD JB in the bridge, std Fender middle and an SD Classic Stack Plus in the neck. Since getting the Variax it's become apparent how dark they are compared to all my other guitars. 

So, replacement time. Looking at Bare Knuckle, Suhr and Oil City. Essentially I want dynamics and evenly balance tone with girth but shimmering but not piercing highs. Don't need loads of output. OK, go!

Gassage

This in the bridge.

Unbeatable.

http://www.stratcat.biz/ssl-1c-dg.shtml

rossyamaha

Gassage said:

This in the bridge.

Unbeatable.

http://www.stratcat.biz/ssl-1c-dg.shtml

Needs to be a bucker. That will be wired for series/ parallel for versatility. 

Gassage

Hmmm...

Tough one. I am a big fan of Seth Lovers in virtually any non-LP situation

sweepy

The Oil City setup I fitted to not_the_dj's Strat would fit the bill perfectly, HB/SC/SC . It sounded very impressive and the humbucker had a articulate clarity to it, unlike some humbuckers you can buy

DrBob

Oil City Brassknuckle in the bridge !

rossyamaha

sweepy said:

The Oil City setup I fitted to not_the_dj's Strat would fit the bill perfectly, HB/SC/SC . It sounded very impressive and the humbucker had a articulate clarity to it, unlike some humbuckers you can buy

CLARITY!! Thats the word I was looking for. Because the guitar itself is quick dark anyway (for a strat at least), it can loose lots of definition if I'm not careful. 

rossyamaha

Gassage said:

Hmmm...

Tough one. I am a big fan of Seth Lovers in virtually any non-LP situation

OK, will check that one out. 

rossyamaha

sweepy said:

The Oil City setup I fitted to not_the_dj's Strat would fit the bill perfectly, HB/SC/SC . It sounded very impressive and the humbucker had a articulate clarity to it, unlike some humbuckers you can buy

Do you know what models they were?

sweepy

I keep forgetting, the name, Blitz springs to mind for the humbucker

earwighoney

If the volume pot is a 250k one, I'd try changing it to a 500k. 

It'd def cost less than new pickups!  

rossyamaha

earwighoney said:

If the volume pot is a 250k one, I'd try changing it to a 500k. 

It'd def cost less than new pickups!  

Interesting. 

guitarfishbay

For clarity a Duncan Custom might work if you want to stay SD. Not a lot less hot than the JB but a bit more open sounding. I think they work best in darker guitars and they've got more top end going on than the JB IME. I'm not familiar with the classic stack neck, if it isn't too hot then your pick of hot PAF would probably also be a good choice.

paulnb57

I have a lot of love for Bare Knuckle Sultans and Mothers Milks, both are good at middle and neck with a bucker at the treble end...

ICBM

DrBob said:

Oil City Brassknuckle in the bridge !

That's a great pickup. It doesn't sound as much like a normal humbucker as, er, a normal humbucker does… , but it's extremely versatile and very Fendery. Series/parallel may not be as useful as splitting it though - you can get it to sound like a Strat (split to bridge-side coil) or a Tele (split to neck-side coil).

normula1

I had a Duncan that Bare Knuckle rewound to Crawler specs after it lost an argument with a screwdriver in the bridge of my Start and was finding it too dark. I recently replaced it with a BK Mule that I had hanging around and I'm much more happy with it.

Modulus_Amps

I am looking to buy a JB.. so if/when you plan to sell hit me up

Sporky

earwighoney said:

If the volume pot is a 250k one, I'd try changing it to a 500k. 

It'd def cost less than new pickups!  

Or even 1M. Or add a treble pass network or a bass control in place of one of the current tone controls - that'll let you brighten up the sound just as much as you need/want.