Peculiar Pairings

[Copperhead]

Two pickup situations I need a little input on.

1) Extremely bright Strat, tried everything under the sun, finally tried a set of non-staggered A2 pups, they sound great but I want to put a humbucker in the bridge - any input on a humbucker that splits well is greatly appreciated, full but not a bass pup if you know what I mean.

2) Picked up a NOS pre-tsunami Fender Japan Charvel Pro Mod San Dimas for stupid cheap last weekend. The SD bridge is OK, the neck sounds stellar on the top three strings but is woolly and EXTREMELY muddy on the wound strings, even in the middle position. It has to go. Very bright guitar. Thinking about the MQ but kinda want to stay with a 'bucker as I've found the MQ to be insanely noisy in venues that have EMF/Lighting/FOH issues.

Thanks

[bandmaster188]

re the strat, sounds like a job for the crawler or abraxas!

[Slartibartfarst42]

For the Strat, go with a Crawler. It's an awesome pickup that's nice and beefy. Thick, rich and dark, it will be perfect in that guitar and it has the best splits of any humbucker I've ever used.

I assume the Charvel will be used for more of a Metal application so depending on your exact style I have three suggestions for you:

Holydiver bridge/Emerald neck - Classic 80s Metal tone but also very versatile. Suits that type of guitar very well. The bridge is thick, smooth and very articulate.

Miracle Man bridge/Cold Sweat neck - Like the Holydiver, the Miracle Man is thick, smooth and very articulate. It has more bottom end than the Holydiver thanks to all the low mids and it also has enough highs for some fantastic solos. The Cold Sweat is a shredders dream and a very popular option here. Not as versatile as the Holydiver.

Alnico Warpig set - Again, a pickup that is thick, smooth and articulate but has even more crushing bass on tap. A very hot pickup with loads of bottom end but also apparently quite versatile.

[Dave Sloven]

Holydiver bridge/Emerald neck - Classic 80s Metal tone but also very versatile. Suits that type of guitar very well. The bridge is thick, smooth and very articulate.

This is a great suggestion.  You might also want to consider a Rebel Yell set or an Emerald/RY combination, depending on your style of playing and the sound you are going for.

[Telerocker]

I have a Crawler in a swampashstrat. Absolutely beefy pickup with some PAF-pedigree that can do many styles.

For the Charvel I support the recommendations for a HD/Emerald- or Cold Sweat-neck. Unless you want it a bit more extreme: Juggernauts.

[Copperhead]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I was actually thinking Abraxas neck in the Charvel.
I do have a Cold Sweat neck but it is a very bright pup.
I have a MQ neck with a Nailbomb bridge in a swamp ash Tele/Floyd. Love the tone but would want a humbucker for the Charvel neck.
Fav neck humbucker so far is a Alnico 2 from someone else.

[darkbluemurder]

I support the Crawler suggestion for the bright strat.

If you already have a Cold Sweat neck, try it in the Charvel to get a benchmark. You can then decide what you want more/less in your tone. For the bridge, you cannot go wrong with the Holydiver for this type of guitar IMHO.

Cheers Stephan

[Slartibartfarst42]

A point of caution - while the Cold Sweat bridge is known as a bright pickup, this is not generally seen as the case with the Cold Sweat neck. If you find the Cold Sweat neck pickup too bright, the chances are you need a heavier wind, not a lighter one as usually, the lighter the wind, the brighter the pickup. It's not an exact measurement I know but it's broadly true. You also need to remember that by moving from a Cold Sweat neck to an Abraxas neck, you're changing both magnet and wire so the Abraxas will sound far more rounded and looser in the bass.

[darkbluemurder]

You also need to remember that by moving from a Cold Sweat neck to an Abraxas neck, you're changing both magnet and wire so the Abraxas will sound far more rounded and looser in the bass.

I did the exact move in one of my guitars. The Abraxas neck was indeed more rounded in the highs but the bass tightened up in that particular guitar compared to the Cold Sweat neck.
Guess what's now in the neck spot of that guitar - the Holydiver neck.

Cheers Stephan

[Slartibartfarst42]

Guess what's now in the neck spot of that guitar - the Holydiver neck.

Best of both worlds. Awesome pickup  8)