So I have been trying (for a long time now) to get a certain sound from my Corgan strat. When I first got the guitar (2nd hand) I really didn't like the spongy DiMarzio BC whatever so I had a Duncan CC lying around and with the help of a HSS scratch plate things got changed over at a local music store. Inevitably I wasn't happy (CC didn't work well with the Chopper and BC1) so fab Jonothan@ Feline upgraded the bridge to a HD. I love this pickup and it works well for most things and I felt that it could, with the correct settings, be articulate and versatile. However, my band is gigging less and when we do get together we seem to be playing more 70's inspired classic rock / pop songs - not the kind of 80's inspired hard-rock that I lobe and that the HD was conceived for.. Looking for a possible replacement I was lucky enough to chance upon Cam in the 'seconds-out' section and bought his VHII + pat pend 63 veneer board set. Now I love the single coils, even if I do need to knock the tone back a bit as they seem very bright compared to the Dimarzio s/c sized hums. However I am not with the VHII. I wanted something more open and vintage voiced and it does tick those boxes, however I am massively missing the HD's mid-range and fatness. The VHII has a lot of personality but not as much 'beef' as I had hoped for - maybe I was spoilt by the HD! I have height-adjusted and altered settings, tweaked eq ect but maybe the beef and mids were wishful thinking in an alder bodied, mapled boarded strat.
I am now wondering, do I go back to the HD or try some other options? RY? BD? Thoughts would be welcome.
