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The Pickup Place / Re: Looking for a Neck PU to pair with a Satchur8 - HFH with A8?

« Last post by darkbluemurder on April 08, 2026, 06:11:35 AM »

If you don't like the PAF Pro in the neck, the FRED may only offer a bit more midrange and a bit more harmonics (at least that was the impression of both pickups back to back in the same guitar but in the bridge position). I was thinking LiquiFire as this has more midrange, similar to an Air Norton but less low end. Saying that, I had both the LiquiFire and the Bluesbucker back to back in the same guitar and preferred the Bluesbucker, in particular for its splitting capability.

Cheers Stephan

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The Pickup Place / Re: Telecaster Tone in a Humbucker

« Last post by darkbluemurder on April 08, 2026, 06:06:28 AM »

FWIW I do not hear anything P90 in the Bluesbucker, even though it is often mentioned.

With the coils wired in series, it resembles a PAF in tone, although it is slightly tighter in the low end. With the screw coil active it sounds like a single coil which is close in volume to the series wiring, thus eliminating the usually weaker split tone of regular PAF type humbuckers.

If you want true tele tone I do not know of any normal sized humbucker which does that. The best option would be an adapter ring but you may also have to enlarge the route in the body to make the tele bridge pickup fit.

Cheers Stephan

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The Pickup Place / Re: Looking for a Neck PU to pair with a Satchur8 - HFH with A8?

« Last post by gregr on April 07, 2026, 05:11:30 PM »

An A4 in a PAF Pro seems like a step backwards to me. An A8 that is fully aired might get you closer to what you’re looking for but you may still lose clarity. Turning that Tone Zone into an Air Zone might yield good results, since DiMarzio mentions the neck position as a use-case for the Air Zone.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Telecaster Tone in a Humbucker

« Last post by gregr on April 07, 2026, 04:58:25 PM »

Not really, no. Put simply it’s a split humbucker with an inductor in series. This assumes no signal is generated from the coil that has dummy slugs, though this is not strictly the case and the small signal generated by the coil only serves to make the pickup sound less like a single coil. More importantly, the geometry of the coils are that of a humbucker as opposed to a single coil or P90. The magnetic field is the same as a budget single coil that employs a pair of narrow opposing ceramic bar magnets centered under the screw coil. What the Bluesbucker does offer is versatility, assuming you like the sound of the pickup when split. It purportedly has DiMarzio’s virtual vintage tech which will lower the resonant frequency, helping it to sound better than a typical split humbucker with a similar coil (~6.7k of 43(?)AWG).

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The Pickup Place / Re: Telecaster Tone in a Humbucker

« Last post by Butch Snyder on April 07, 2026, 04:20:32 PM »

I’d say that, a humbucker-sized P90

Isn't that what the Bluesbucker is?

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The Pickup Place / Re: Looking for a Neck PU to pair with a Satchur8 - HFH with A8?

« Last post by Mr. Lime on April 07, 2026, 03:20:27 PM »

That's exactly what I did, I put an A4 magnet into the PAF Pro and a large ceramic magnet into a Tone Zone.
The bass response of the TZ is the only neat result. Compared to the Satchur8 the TZ feels less balanced and although I kind of like the tad more grind it has, it sounds rahter cheap.
Even worse so the PAF Pro. Overall rather boring response and a sound that gets buried in the band mix of a backing track.
I use an Engl 580 Rack preamp with always the same settings which works fine with most of my guitars.
Will try some other EQing but overall the pickup swap with different magnets is a downgrade.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Telecaster Tone in a Humbucker

« Last post by gregr on April 07, 2026, 02:09:56 PM »

I’d say that, a humbucker-sized P90 or an adapter ring so you can install a single coil or an actual a tele bridge pickup.

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The Pickup Place / Telecaster Tone in a Humbucker

« Last post by Butch Snyder on April 07, 2026, 12:00:23 PM »

Hi all, I have an HSS guitar.  I have a Fred in the bridge pickup.  I bought it because, at one time, I had an OLP (remember those) that I put a Fred in and it sounded like a Tele bridge pickup.  So, I bought it again and installed it in my Schecter HSS guitar.  It's basically a Strat (alder body, wenge neck, ebony fretboard, vintage type tremolo).  The Fred sounds good, but I'm wondering if there might be something else better.  I have 5 Telecasters, but I really like this Schecter.  My main gig is Country so a good Telecaster bridge pickup is a must.  I was thinking maybe Bluesbucker?

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The Pickup Place / Re: Looking for a Neck PU to pair with a Satchur8 - HFH with A8?

« Last post by darkbluemurder on April 07, 2026, 03:47:36 AM »

Since you already have the PAF Pro it is worth a try even though it did not work in the other guitars you tried it in. That would give you at least another baseline for further experimentation.

Cheers Stephan

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The Pickup Place / Looking for a Neck PU to pair with a Satchur8 - HFH with A8?

« Last post by Mr. Lime on April 04, 2026, 07:30:31 AM »

I recently got a deal on a BC Rich Mockingbird Supreme (shortscale mahogany neck through) that came with PRS Artist pickups that I really disliked.
Since I had a Satchur8 laying around I installed it and it fits the guitar quite nicely - very balanced and I like that it's based on the Norton with hex screws but has an A8 magnet in it to differ a little to my other guitars.
I tried a Bluesbucker which wasn't bad in the neck position but I had the feeling it might fit better in one of my Jacksons.
The Humbucker from Hell went in next and it ain't bad either but doesn't really pair well with the Satchur8. Does anybody have experience with putting a A8 magnet in to lift up the volume?
Or has anyone an opinion if it's a good idea to stick an A8 into a low output pickup like the HFH?

I guess a dual resonance pickup with A5 like the FRED might be worth a try as well but have no expierence with it and some people rage about that pickup.
I have a left over PAF Pro as well but hated it in the guitars I tried it. Some say the FRED is close to it..

Any thougths?