Bridge Humbucker for Swampash Stratocaster

[Mageta]

Hi Guys,
I have an alder strat (soon going to swap the body for one made out of swampash) with maple neck and rosewood fretboard. I play through a VHT (Fryette) Deliverance 60 which is very dynamic and uncompressed. I am looking for a pickup with the same qualities (although it is ok if it adds some compression) and want to play almost everything with it except jazz and thrash-metal. I narrowed down my choices to the VHII and Holy Diver but of course I am open to any recommendations. Any ideas tips? I use low output singlecoils right now and plan to keep them in the middle and neck position.

Thank you!

Tim

[Philly Q]

VHII sprang immediately to mind, but others will be able to offer better-qualified opinions I'm sure.

I think of the HD as (a) being more of a rock/metal pickup than an all-rounder and (b) being better suited to alder than swamp ash.  But I could, as is often the case, be wrong on both counts. 

[Mageta]

Thanks! I am leaning towards the VHII too. Just want to hear some opinions and experiences. The PU should be kind of an allrounder but a lot of the "cleaner" stuff will be played via the remaining singlecoils, so the humbucker does not have to do soooooooo much. However it should go convincingly from crunch to metal, have some chunck and lots of clarity

[Telerocker]

Both will do fine in a strat. The VHII has little compression and is quite punchy in (swamp)ash. Other contender you want to look at are Abraxas and Crawler. I have a Crawler in a swampashstrat that splits very well and delivers the beef in this guitar. Solotones above the 12th fret stay fat. Despite the dc-resistance it's not that hot, not much more ouput then the VHII. The Crawler sounds bigger then the VHII to my ears. Must have to do with the middy voicing, although there's enough topend. The Abraxas is a mellower version, with a bit more chime in the upperregister and good mids, but not as much as the Crawler.

[BigB]

Can't tell about the VHII (never played it). The Crawler bridge is a great and very versatile pup (in bright guitars at least) with sweet, warm, chimey clean tones, growling low mids and lot of weight on the upper notes for lead stuff. It's mid-hot (not shy but not hi-output neither), a bit more compressed than most BKPs but in a good way (still quite touch sensitive), and keeps all the trademark BKP clarity and definition. As far as I'm concerned it would be my first choice for an all-rounder HSS strat, except for Tele twang (obviously <g>)  and djent this pup can do almost anything and do it well. If you're looking for a more vintage / lower output / less compressed pup the Abraxas is supposed to be somewhere between the Crawler and Mule.

[Mageta]

Thanks for the replies. I like the crawler samples but although it seems logical to get a smooth humbucker in a swampash strat I think that it is not going to be aggressive enough. Still favoring the VHII in my mind, then HD, then crawler. What about the black dogs?
Btw: the pickup does not have to that much of an allrounder, clean and low gain stuff can and will be handled by the singlecoils. It mainly has to cut through, not compress too much and have some chunkyness to it

[Telerocker]

Thanks for the replies. I like the crawler samples but although it seems logical to get a smooth humbucker in a swampash strat I think that it is not going to be aggressive enough. Still favoring the VHII in my mind, then HD, then crawler. What about the black dogs?
Btw: the pickup does not have to that much of an allrounder, clean and low gain stuff can and will be handled by the singlecoils. It mainly has to cut through, not compress too much and have some chunkyness to it

In that case you will love the VHII.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I wouldn't say the Crawler lacks aggression. It's no Nailbomb I'll grant you but it's not a 'polite' pickup either. I'd happily play anything from Blues to Metal with mine. It's a really remarkable pickup.

[Telerocker]

I wouldn't say the Crawler lacks aggression. It's no Nailbomb I'll grant you but it's not a 'polite' pickup either. I'd happily play anything from Blues to Metal with mine. It's a really remarkable pickup.

Slarti I drink to that! But, I have a VHII in my ash Fender American Series, which has more cut and punch. I think that's what the OP is looking for. Besides that, my main gigging guitar remains my MXG swampashstrat with the Crawler/Irish Tours-combo. It's perfect for all the music I play currently. Three to four sets, 40 tot 50 songs per gig. Never lets me down.  :)

[Mageta]

Thanks for all the help!

Just went for a VHII, very excited! Matt Gears Videos with this Crawler Strat showed me, that the Crawler is indeed very nice but also (as far as you can tell from such a video) a little too warm. Plus it's not set in stone, if it sucks I can still change :) But for now I am pumped and looking forward to how it will turn out.

[Telerocker]

Thanks for all the help!

Just went for a VHII, very excited! Matt Gears Videos with this Crawler Strat showed me, that the Crawler is indeed very nice but also (as far as you can tell from such a video) a little too warm. Plus it's not set in stone, if it sucks I can still change :) But for now I am pumped and looking forward to how it will turn out.

When you aim at a noncompressed tone, the VHII is definitely the right choice. In direct comparison the Crawler sounds compressed, fat and warm like you said.