Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Pickups => Topic started by: Telerocker on August 13, 2011, 12:34:24 AM
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Just played tonight with my recently purchased Fender American Series HSS-strat (ash/rosewood). It has the VHII coupled with two MM's and autosplit in the sec. position. Although a lot of guys here recommended the VHII in a bolt-on-guitar and I personally like most VHII-clips, I was just a bit scared that it might be on the bright side in ash. Plus that I'm used to a Crawler in my other HSS-strat. But: it's totally perfect. This pickup is punchy and has quite some highs, but in a balanced way. Even with a wah it's far from brittle, bec enough mids and lows too and the topend is round enough. It never sounds harsh on my gear. I'm surprised by the clarity of this pickup. Roll down the volume and it cleans up so good that it's fun to play a lot of clean stuff on it. Very articulate with a sc-vibe too it. Amazing. With a good bit of ampdrive it can scream and the raw crunch from this pickup is really satisfying. Brown sound, yeah. When you dig in (it's quite touchsensitive), overtones jump out. Pinched harmonics, no problem. And it cuts through the mix very well. It's to early to decide if I like this one over the Crawler. They are two different worlds. Nevertheless the VHII has a lot of character and can sound huge with a good amp (most of the time I gig with an Orange Rockerverb 50 6V6-head/2x12 cab). Well, no regrets so far! :D
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Thanks for that review! :)
I know the VHII is a fairly bright pickup, and I don't usually like bright humbuckers in Fender-style guitars, but it just seems to be designed to work well in bolt-ons.
I have a VHII which I bought ages ago - one day I'll decide what guitar to put it in! :lol:
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Thanks for that review! :)
I know the VHII is a fairly bright pickup, and I don't usually like bright humbuckers in Fender-style guitars, but it just seems to be designed to work well in bolt-ons.
I have a VHII which I bought ages ago - one day I'll decide what guitar to put it in! :lol:
Cheers, I remember you and Nolly said it would do well in a strat. Tim agreed. The autosplit on the sec. pos. is a bit dominated by the middle-MM, but it's a very usuable sound and has good quack too it. Not too bright either. All 500k customshop pots.
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Glad you are enjoying it, it's a wicked sound for sure!
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Great review. I am a bit like Philly in that I am not over keen on humbuckers in Fenders however I am being won around by my bandmates Strat and the flexibility that it provides.
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Great review. I am a bit like Philly in that I am not over keen on humbuckers in Fenders however I am being won around by my bandmates Strat and the flexibility that it provides.
For the secondpos. Fender-quack I prefer the regular strat-layout. It seems always better then a splitted hb with the middle-sc. But I play one or two times a weekend in a coverband and we do a lot of styles. I can't change guitar in a set, bec the songs follow eachother with nearly no pause. Then you need a hb for the rocky songs. So the choiche for HSS is pure flexibility.
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cool, i love mine albeit in a les paul, but certainly full of character.not a pup to hide behind and great clean & cranked.
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Great review. I am a bit like Philly in that I am not over keen on humbuckers in Fenders however I am being won around by my bandmates Strat and the flexibility that it provides.
I should clarify, I like the idea of humbuckers in Fenders - but I think the vintage(-ish) humbuckers I'm happy with in Gibsons tend to sound a bit bright, weedy or even harsh in Fenders. They (Fenders) seem to demand a bit more power and warmth.
The HBs I'm considering for my HSS Strat(s) are Crawler, Abraxas and VHII (I'd include Holydiver but I think it might be a bit too "metal" for me). The VHII is the brightest of that lot, I believe, but I guess the reason it works is largely due to the offset between the coils? That seems to make a humbucker sound "bigger", more "open" like a single-coil. Correct me if I'm wrong! :)
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I have a pair in my heavilly modified Japanese Strat, sounds awesome and very versatile.
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Great review. I am a bit like Philly in that I am not over keen on humbuckers in Fenders however I am being won around by my bandmates Strat and the flexibility that it provides.
I should clarify, I like the idea of humbuckers in Fenders - but I think the vintage(-ish) humbuckers I'm happy with in Gibsons tend to sound a bit bright, weedy or even harsh in Fenders. They (Fenders) seem to demand a bit more power and warmth.
The HBs I'm considering for my HSS Strat(s) are Crawler, Abraxas and VHII (I'd include Holydiver but I think it might be a bit too "metal" for me). The VHII is the brightest of that lot, I believe, but I guess the reason it works is largely due to the offset between the coils? That seems to make a humbucker sound "bigger", more "open" like a single-coil. Correct me if I'm wrong! :)
Correct. You have to adjust your amp a bit though if you're used to a Crawler or something similar.