121

The Pickup Place / HB2 vs. Injector Neck

« on: January 19, 2023, 06:08:51 PM »

I’m curious about the relative outputs and tonal character between the Injector Neck and HB2.

As I posted in separate thread I recently split the Injector Neck. The added top end was very nice. It filled out the pickup beautifully. I have it between a Chopper in the bridge and a Satch Track in the neck.

By itself, however, the Injector is still quite a bit thin between the two rails. This is to be expected, of course.

I’m wondering how an HB2 will work in the middle position. When I think of the middle position I think of the sound of a bull horn. This is the kind of voicing I’m hoppng to get against the rail pickups in the bridge and neck; at least to a reasonable degree taking into account that it’s relatively weak. The HB2 seems like it has that kind of vibe. I’m also curious about the tone when the dummy coil is bypassed since I don’t want the notch positions to suffer much more than how they are currently. Maybe I should just use a 3-way.

I’m sure the Fast Track 1 is a good option, but I’m aiming for the sound of a true single coil and I don’t particularly care for the tone of two rail pickups together nor do I care for them split and combined in parallel. I could work with them in series but it’s a lot of trouble and I don’t want to spend the time.

122

The Pickup Place / Splitting the Injector Neck

« on: January 18, 2023, 02:49:37 PM »

If you haven’t tried splitting an Injector Neck pickup, I highly recommend it…

…though you might find yourself feeling conflicted, so maybe not.

The tone is outstanding. I know it’s cliche, but it really is like lifting a blanket. There isn’t much hum because part of the active coil is actually shielded.

There is also the obvious benefit is being able to pair it with something hotter than a very weak single coil without taking a large hit in quack. Combining it with a split Area 61 immediately comes to mind.

For those of you not in the know, you will need to ensure that the polarity on one of the pickups is reversed if you want hum cancellation. This can be done using a neodymium magnet. You must also reverse the wiring of one of the pickups in order to keep the pair in-phase.

123

The Pickup Place / Re: Pickup similar to AT-1

« on: January 18, 2023, 09:02:13 AM »

From what I gather the Air Zone seems like a good candidate.

124

The Pickup Place / Re: SSS Strat Pickup Combinations

« on: January 11, 2023, 07:22:27 PM »

I am also a fan of small tone caps and use anything from 820pf or 1000pf for a humbucker or 0.0015uf to 0.0022uf for single coils.

Cheers Stephan

1.5nF sounds even better.
Thanks Stephan!

125

The Pickup Place / Re: SSS Strat Pickup Combinations

« on: January 09, 2023, 12:59:19 PM »

I think the 61 definitely needs a small cap. I worked my way down from 3.9nF but didn’t go as low as 1.5nF. 1.8nF is good with edge of break-up, but is borderline nasal when playing clean, so I should try 1.5n. I never felt the need to do this with the VVB, but I should give it a shot. With my amp dialed for Area 67s in the neck and the middle the VVB in the bridge already sounds pretty thick, yet still delivers pretty good quack with the 67 in the middle.

So I ended up changing the 22nF middle tone control so that it’s a master control. I didn’t like the discrepancy in volume between position 1 (bridge only) and the rest of the positions it was rolled back.

The 250k bridge tone control was changed to a no-load in order to get some additional brightness out of position 2. It was too dark relative to that of position 4. I don’t think this adequately addresses the issue, however. I think the trouble is that the Q of position 4 is too high due to there being only the single master tone control. I know the master tone can just be rolled down farther, but I don’t like having to fiddle with it when switching to and from position 4. The actual problem I have with position 2 is that it has a minor deficiency in high frequency extension which is due to the 61’s hotter wind.

The best way I can think of to fix the issues I’m having with the 61/58/58 set is to use a 5WSS:

1: bridge w/outside tone control
2: bridge and middle, both split
3: middle
4: neck and middle w/240k resistor placed in parallel with the middle tone control
5: neck

The outside tone control would be only be selected in position 1 and would be 250k/1.8nF. The middle tone control would serve as a master and would be 250k/22nF. The volume control would be 250k. The middle Area 58 would be converted to RW/RP.

126

The Pickup Place / Re: SSS Strat Pickup Combinations

« on: January 07, 2023, 01:46:56 AM »

The Fast Track 1 is weaker than the Chopper so I don’t think it will be of any interest to you. That is why I specified the Fast Track 2 which was probably what you meant. Objectively speaking, the Pro Track would be a less extreme option if you want to go hotter than a Chopper. I’m not trying to make any recommendations one way or another.

I’ve used a 3-way to get split, series and parallel modes on the FT2 as well as on a few other dual rail designs. I’ve found that the weaker designs are too thin split and especially brittle-sounding when in parallel. As you go hotter splitting gives you more of a dominant midrange quality that is warm rather than sounding more like a single coil as one might hope. While brittleness in the parallel mode starts to subside with hotter winds, the tone still lacks focus and still doesn’t have much body. Doing this in the neck position can yield ok results because of the location, but I find this all fairly underwhelming.

The American Standard Strat I just did had a Seymour Duncan Duckbucker in the neck. It’s still a dual side-by-side coil design but there are only three pole pieces under the treble strings in one coil and three under the bass strings in the other and these coils are connected in parallel. I believe the pickup is intended to go in the middle position for 2&4 quack. It’s very weak so quack is largely achieved this by thinning out the bridge or neck pickups by loading them down. It does its job more or less; for better or for worse. It sounds pretty bad all by itself AFAIC. Why the former owner put one in the neck of this guitar and left the stock single coils in the bridge and middle is a mystery to me. The only point being is that it’s a perfect example of trying to achieve a single coil sound out of a parallel rail design. It’s one thing to be able to run a pickup in parallel as an alternative mode, but to run it in parallel as the sole mode of operation is not for me.

Another pickup to consider is the Super Distortion S which is said to work well in both split and parallel modes. I don’t have any personal experience with this one.

127

The Pickup Place / Re: SSS Strat Pickup Combinations

« on: January 05, 2023, 08:36:12 PM »

Fast Track 2. Contrast isn’t a bad thing. It works great with a crunchy amp where you can clean up or go balls out, especially with an overdrive.

I just finished a build for a friend:

-61/58/58
-250k pots
-The middle tone control is assigned to the pair of Area 58s using a 22nF cap.
-The outside tone control is assigned to the Area 61 using a  1.8nF cap in series with a 5.1k resistor.

I’d likely take extra time to reverse the magnetic polarity of the middle 58 in order to split it and the 61 for position 2 if the guitar were mine.

I decided to have a little fun before that by going with an Injector Neck in the bridge with the Area 58 in the middle and an Area 61 in the neck. I then incrementally dropped the 61 down to the 58 before finally swapping the Injector out for the 61 as originally planned. I haven’t run these combinations all in the same guitar before so this was a somewhat different experience for me. All were good combinations, but I liked the hottest combo best. The InjN/58/58 was fine but I prefer the 61/58/58 because the quack is better in position 2 as well as the balance between the 58 in the neck and the 61 in the bridge. Likewise I prefer the 61 in the neck over the 58 in the neck against the Injector Neck in the bridge. I’ll take heat over the quack if I’m going to go in that direction.

The 1.8nF tone cap really transforms the 61. The low pass, aided by the resonance just below the cutoff frequency that just starts to creep up as the highs begin to fall away, focuses the upper mids to drive an edgy amp into crunch territory. The series resistor optimizes the range of the control. I’m not a fan of the cockled-wah sound that happens when the tone resistance goes all the way down to zero.

As I mentioned earlier between the two in the neck, I think I also prefer the fatter 54 Pro over the 61 in the bridge. Like the description, the 54 Pro compresses and gets fatter as you dig in rather than the more dynamic 61 which stays lean and still stings. For a more vintage output bridge pickup I prefer the DP402 Virtual Vintage Blues over both in the bridge, however.

EDIT: I misattributed the resonance that occurs when the tone control is rolled back to the Gibbs phenomenon.

128

The Pickup Place / Re: SSS Strat Pickup Combinations

« on: December 30, 2022, 07:21:02 PM »

I need to experiment with the hotter stacked singles, specifically the Injector Bridge; maybe the Solo, but I feel more comfortable with humbuckers in the bridge position. I don’t see myself liking the HB2.

I really like the Virtual Vintage Blues with a pair of Area 67s. I also like the Injector Neck in the bridge with a 58 in the middle and either a 58 or 61 in the neck depending on my mood in between string changes.

The Area 58 is a solid middle pickup. It isn’t overly thin like a 67 but still has plenty of glass. It seems to hold up well against an Area 61 or 54 Pro in the neck. I think the Area 61 works well in the middle with hotter pickups, though vintage glassy quack starts to go away. The Area 61 with the Satch Track in the neck wired in parallel is a beautiful sound once you get the heights just right.

In general I don’t like putting a thin and weak pickup in the middle in order to load down a much hotter pickup (e.g., the Area 67 in the Injector set). I prefer the voicing of each location to be heard in positions 2&4. Besides, I find position 3 unusable when the middle position contains a thin pickup. With this in mind I’ll put a 58 in the middle with a 67 in the neck but not the other way around. If I want a hotter-than-vintage neck pickup I may opt for a somewhat weaker middle as a compromise, just not a 67.

I really like the 54P in the neck with hotter pickups in the bridge and a 58 in the middle. On my guitar with the 58/54P combination, the bass and mids of the 54P are shelved down to optimize quack. This is hard-wired in position 4 using a 5-way Super Switch. I like to use a volume control with a treble bleed with this pickup as well. I‘m using a Lil’ Screamin Demon in the bridge with this pair. It’s my favorite single sized humbucker so far. I love this combination.

Lastly, the Fast Track 1 sounds great in the bridge against a 54P in the neck. This is probably the best mate for the 54P that I’ve tried.

To recap (B/M/N):
VVB/67/67
InjN/58/58 (or 61)
Lil Demon (or FT1)/58/54P
Chopper/61/InjN (or Satch)

129

The Pickup Place / SSS Strat Pickup Combinations

« on: December 28, 2022, 04:13:09 PM »

Hey all…

What are you using in your SSS Stratocasters?

Rules:

-Single-spaced pickups only. They can be any kind of pickup so long as they are in the traditional single-coil form factor.

-They can be traditional or noiseless.

-At least one pickup must be a DiMarzio.

Too many to list? Please share your favorites.

Feel free to go into as much or as little detail as you like.

130

The Pickup Place / Re: SDS-1 vs Lace Sensor Purple

« on: December 27, 2022, 01:25:54 PM »

 

You have all three, that’s a stroke of luck!

So between the Big Nine O and the Injector Bridge the Injector Bridge is a closer candidate.

I guess the Kinman about which I need to inquire is the HX-85?

Considering I’ll likely be using these with a JB, the output level also matters. I know you can adjust pickup heights, but that affects tone and feel, so there still is a Goldilocks zone.

Thank you so much for all the information you’ve provided thus far!

131

The Pickup Place / Re: SDS-1 vs Lace Sensor Purple

« on: December 24, 2022, 02:14:39 AM »

Does anyone have an opinion on the Kinman Big-Nine-O and/or Kick in the Arse?

132

The Pickup Place / Re: SDS-1 vs Lace Sensor Purple

« on: December 23, 2022, 10:56:38 AM »

Thanks.

I’ve compared demos of the SDS-1 and Lace Purple in various positions. There are very few of the Purple that I found useful however. I’m familiar enough with the SDS-1 so a lack of comprehensive demos is not an issue. What I can tell is that despite the Purple having a very similar frequency range, it is far too polite.

The only track pickups that sound like single coils are the Cruisers and FT1 but they don’t have that pure bell-like tone. The hotter you go the farther away you get. I wouldn’t characterize the Strat version of the Chopper as a PAF, for what it’s worth. It has the bright top end but it’s too thin and has that typical DiMarzio chewy/elastic/vocal/cocked wah style midrange, but that’s neither here nor there.

Back on Jake’s Barlands tone, much of it comes from a Boss OD-1. Perhaps it can get the Lace Purple across the finish line.

Maybe I can find some demos of the Injector Bridge in the neck position, but I somehow doubt that. It seems like it could be a contender.

133

The Pickup Place / SDS-1 vs Lace Sensor Purple

« on: December 22, 2022, 04:09:54 PM »

SDS-1 vs Lace Sensor Purple
(vs some other fat, quiet, high output single coil that has bite in the neck position and with a top end that is smooth and devoid of glass like the true over-wound single coil that the SDS-1 is!).

Maybe VS; maybe Injector Bridge; not the Injector Neck and not the VVHB2 (you’ll never convince me they aren't too bright relative to the upper-mids!).

Think Jake E. Lee Badlands.

Go!

134

The Pickup Place / Re: PAF 36th (Bridge) + PAF Pro (Neck) on a LP

« on: December 22, 2022, 10:18:05 AM »

The 36th is not a good pairing.

Have you tried anything since you asked about this a year ago?

https://www.marshallforum.com/threads/paf-pro-in-a-mahogany-lp-guitar-for-moderate-distortion-overdrive-blues-rock-styles.123452/

My comments/suggestions on the subject haven’t changed since then other than to add a Transition Bridge, Fred, Duncan JB and the Duncan ceramic Custom to the current list of what have been very fine recommendations.

I’ll add that the only P.A.F. sounding pickups mentioned in this discussion so far are the 36ths and the Duncan Custom. This includes the PAF Pro, which doesn’t sound like a Patent Applied For pickup either, though I told you this already.

135

The Pickup Place / Re: pup recommendation for new strat build

« on: December 14, 2022, 02:55:57 PM »

Have you checked with DiMarzio? I’m sure they have an  easy answer for you and I’d love to find out what they say.