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The Pickup Place / Re: Squier Mustang Classic Vibe 60s – Pickup Advice Needed

« Last post by gregr on May 16, 2025, 12:38:29 PM »

PS: I found a b-stock "Vintage Blues", and I ordered it...

It’s my favorite stacked vintage output pickup for the bridge position, though you’ll probably want to come up with a scheme to reduce the top-end chime for distorted applications.

In a strat I’ll use a 5-way super switch and add up to two capacitor/resistor pairs in addition to a tone control in order to manage the top end of a vintage output bridge pickup when it’s being used by itself. The last vintage output strat I did has a Lace Sensor Hot Gold Neck in the bridge with 6.8n/270k, 1n/200k, and 33n on a 250k tone control with a 47k series resistor, also dedicated to position 1. This smoothed out the top end nicely without any pronounced resonances. Position 1 is primarily used for dirty tones but it still sounds good with clean tones though all the chime is virtually eliminated.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Squier Mustang Classic Vibe 60s – Pickup Advice Needed

« Last post by Lelik on May 16, 2025, 01:33:51 AM »

I would also take a look at the Virtual Vintage Blues. The Alnico 5 magnets provide more dynamic range and punch while also allowing for a less aggressive wind to provide a sparkly top end compared to the Injector Neck and HB2.

However…

Seeing that you raised a concern about brightness, the HB2 might be the best choice, or perhaps even the Virtual Solo which also has the performance benefits of Alnico 5 stated earlier.

I hate you!
You’ve just introduced a whole new variable I hadn’t even considered — the Alnico type — and now I have even more pickups to think about!

Joking aside, thank you so much for the interesting and helpful information.

Now I’m wondering if the character I love in the current single coil on my Mustang actually comes from its Alnico V magnet. I do worry about harsh highs, but I think I could manage them with the treble knob — or maybe by adding a capacitor/resistor if needed.

I’ll definitely keep the “Vintage Blues” pickup on my radar as well!


PS: I found a b-stock "Vintage Blues", and I ordered it...

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The Pickup Place / Re: Squier Mustang Classic Vibe 60s – Pickup Advice Needed

« Last post by gregr on May 15, 2025, 04:31:49 PM »

I would also take a look at the Virtual Vintage Blues. The Alnico 5 magnets provide more dynamic range and punch while also allowing for a less aggressive wind to provide a sparkly top end compared to the Injector Neck and HB2.

However…

Seeing that you raised a concern about brightness, the HB2 might be the best choice, or perhaps even the Virtual Solo which also has the performance benefits of Alnico 5 stated earlier.

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The Pickup Place / Squier Mustang Classic Vibe 60s – Pickup Advice Needed

« Last post by Lelik on May 15, 2025, 12:19:19 PM »

I recently got a second-hand Squier Mustang Classic Vibe ‘60s, and aside from a possibly misadjusted bridge, I like it more than I expected!

It came with only one pickup left from the previous owner (the photo I’m sharing is from the catalog, not the actual guitar, but it’s the exact same model and color). The pickup was originally in the neck position, but I moved it to the bridge—and surprisingly, I really like how it sounds. It's got a snappy tone, even with the short 24" scale.

That said, I'm planning to make some changes. First, I'm looking to install a noiseless single-coil in the bridge position—just one pickup for now. I also want to add a pickup selector switch that toggles between an inductor and a capacitor, so I can get a few different tones from the single pickup setup.

I’ll admit I’m not very used to single coils in the bridge, and I’ve been rolling off some treble with the tone control to tame the highs. But that’s fine, because I want this guitar to sound different from my others, which mostly have humbuckers.

Here’s my question:
Which pickup would preserve that bright, snappy single-coil sound (especially with the 24" scale) while offering some versatility?
After some research, I’m leaning toward either the Injector Neck or the Heavy Blues 2. I’d really appreciate any input or other suggestions!

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The Pickup Place / Re: Dimarzio Virtual Hot PAF (DP214) Review

« Last post by nienturi on May 13, 2025, 01:31:32 AM »

I have this , going to use it in the bridge of my ‘87 Charvel Model 2
( Are my pics viewable?)

I have seen this on reverb but it makes me curious. Mine has nickel silver baseplate. Like this;

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The Pickup Place / Re: Dimarzio Virtual Hot PAF (DP214) Review

« Last post by Vaughn on May 12, 2025, 12:41:13 PM »

I have this , going to use it in the bridge of my ‘87 Charvel Model 2
( Are my pics viewable?)

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The Pickup Place / Re: Dimarzio Virtual Hot PAF (DP214) Review

« Last post by nienturi on May 12, 2025, 09:41:39 AM »

Did they make a specific neck VHP?
Thanks

Nope. There were only Virtual PAF neck

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The Pickup Place / Re: Dimarzio Virtual Hot PAF (DP214) Review

« Last post by Vaughn on May 12, 2025, 09:37:07 AM »

Did they make a specific neck VHP?
Thanks

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The Pickup Place / Re: EC preamp with Areas

« Last post by gregr on May 03, 2025, 01:38:47 PM »

It’s really no different from using a pedal on the floor.

As far as bumping the output is concerned, the Areas are on par with traditional single coils.

That out of the way, the EC mid boost should work as expected. With the possible exception of the Injector Bridge and perhaps Virtual Solo, the Area/Virtual Vintage pickups already run lean so they might sound a little thin. The HS series is supposed to be fatter sounding and may do better. It has been a long time since I heard that particular circuit so consider this little more than hand-waving.

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The Pickup Place / Re: My Dimarzio PAF 36th Anniversary DP223 Review

« Last post by nienturi on May 03, 2025, 01:41:48 AM »

Excellent review. I think you captured a fair description of this pickup. I have it in two strat style guitars right now, and have had it in other guitars, including a Les Paul.  One thing about this pickup I found is that it doesn't overide the characteristics of the guitar it's in. Each guitar still sounds like the guitar it's in. This is good if your guitar sounds good naturally, but it might not be the right pickup for fixing a paticular characteristic of a guitar you don't like.

Enough output in my opinion, too.

Thank you so very much for your reply.

You have mentioned i never could experienced. I put it on my custom JS style guitar and i really did fall in love with it. Part of me wants to try it on some other guitars and the rest part tells me to f*ck off, awesome where it belongs
But still i wonder how will it sound on my fat strat. I need another PAF 36th