What pickups for HSS guitar ?? 80s 90s Glam / Hard rock / Blues sound ***

N

narcsoul

Member
Hello!

I think its time to upgrade an old custom hss guitar ( with no name pickups... too "thin" for me ) with a pickup set in order to achieve an 80s 90s hard rock / fusion sound. I was about to put also in bridge and neck ... the SD 59' and as for the middle... i dont know... because to be honest i dont use it at all!

First i would like your opinion about 59' for neck and (also) bridge... but i would like to suggest me and other choices !

Thanx in advance
 
80s "glam rock" tone = JB, Custom or Distortion in the bridge. You could do a little 59 or rails in the neck if you want humbucker tones there.
 
SoooRad said:
80s "glam rock" tone = JB, Custom or Distortion in the bridge. You could do a little 59 or rails in the neck if you want humbucker tones there.
Click to expand...
and what about the middle.. ? and also ..
is it possible to put cover in these pickups ??
 
If we're gonna stick with Duncans for the sake of consistency, the SSL1 is a fine single coil that would do great in the middle.

By covers I assume you mean like Gibson style pickup covers? You can get those on the humbuckers (full size), but I don't believe something like that exists for single coils
 
ToneNerd Sunset Strip. I have the Sunset Strip and Roxy. I view them as the perfect 1/2 punch that bridges Classic Rock, and Hard Rock/Metal. It's like a clear and cutting JB.
 
narcsoul said:
Hello!

I think its time to upgrade an old custom hss guitar ( with no name pickups... too "thin" for me ) with a pickup set in order to achieve an 80s 90s hard rock / fusion sound. I was about to put also in bridge and neck ... the SD 59' and as for the middle... i dont know... because to be honest i dont use it at all!

First i would like your opinion about 59' for neck and (also) bridge... but i would like to suggest me and other choices !

Thanx in advance
Click to expand...
Depends on what your looking for in neck tones. The 59 is warmer than a Jazz and an APH1(ALNICO 2 Pro) is literally a Jazz with an Alnico2 magnet. If a maple board you can balance the 59. On a rosewood I like the Jazz or APH1N. Bridge, there alot of ways to go. How high output? Compression vs Clarity? Is you guitar and amp bright or dark? Do you play rhythm or lead more? It simply depends on the entire chain and what your trying to change.
 
Not really a fan of the Duncan 59. If you want something PAF-ish, I'd look towards an EVH Frankenstein pickup. A SD JB, Motor City 2nd Degree Blackbelt and Dimarzio Fortitude could also be in the cards. As SC's, The DiMarzio Area 67 is one of my faves!
 
narcsoul said:
what about dimarzio crunch lab for bridge and dimarzio cruizer for neck ??
Click to expand...
I have 2 cruiser 187 and a transition in the bridge. 500K pot. Not so balanced, but can cover many genres.
Tryied some hb before, Norton, CL, TZ, SS... but were too polite or smooth or compressed for HSS
I like the middle pickup.
 
I’ve been enjoying the Suhr Thornbucker + in the Bridge position and it splits to SC very nicely as they designed it to, if you are looking for a PAF style, might consider it.
 
after searching days and days i think that i am between dimarzio SD and dimarzio PAF Pro for the bridge * i will not change the rest * ... but i am still no sure about that...i really care about clarity ...and also to avoid a muddy one pickup .... never liked a JB though..so i would like a little bright. I am thinking of combining with a tbx tone control
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top