What single coil pickup would you choose....

  • Thread starter Thread starter VH4_BigRig
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VH4_BigRig

VH4_BigRig

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to go in the neck position to pair with an Anderson H2+ in the bridge? I'm thinking about doing a PU swap in my strat and I'm wondering what you guys would suggest! The VA, SC, SF, and SA series by Anderson sound interesting, but the descriptions on the website aren't distinct enough to help me figure out what to go for (ex. the SF1 and SA1 are described the same).

Looking basically for the classic strat single coil neck sound (Gilmour, SRV, EJ, etc- EJ's "Trademark" is a good example) but with a bit more output to keep up with the H2+ so there isn't a significant volume drop. The Area 58 I have in there right now sounds pretty good, but after loving the Anderson buckers so much, I figure the single coils might be worth looking at too! If there are any other suggestions (Suhr, MCP, etc) that's cool too!

Thanks in advance guys :rock:
 
In my strat I have 2 Fender custom shop '54 and a H2+ in the bridge. They are relatively well balanced, but it all depends on your pickups heights.

As for your needs, I would check out the Fender CS '69's
 
Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Heavy Blues 2. Or, if that's too much output, go for the straight Blues, or if you want a more "organic" tone go for the '54 Pro. If you're not worried about the vintage look, the Fast Track 1 is an awesome-sounding pickup as well.
 
If you want to stick to Anderson:

True single: VA5+
Hum-canceling: SC2

The others are probably too modern sounding for your tastes. Both of those should be good neck pickups for keeping up with the H2+, too. Don't forget, you can always email Tom and ask him for his opinion. He's more than willing to talk about anything guitar related.
 
I love my Anderson's but I don't dig the pickups anymore.
I swapped out the H2+ and SA's in my classic for Suhr ML's and an SSH+.
Much better.
 
I really like the H2+ and Sa combo in my TA. I think the way Tom wires them is fantastic. 250k for the Sa and 500k for the H2+. Actually my favorite combo is the H2+ split and the SA mixed together. Next to the H2+ alone that is. Best setup is to have the Swicharoo/ vintage voicing setup IMO.
 
I use both SD1 and SD2 Andersons in the neck position along with the H2+ in the bridge...either one will give you want you want with the 2 being a little bit hotter. The SD series was replaced by the SA series...the same pickup for the most part. They also tap very well for a very glassy, chimey single coil sound.
I've never tried the SF/SC series although my understanding is that they trade a bit of sweetness for a bit more midrange grunt.
 
Cool, thanks for the advice guys! Gives me a better perspective of the single coils out there. If I try one out, I'll let you guys know! Cheers,


Bigrig
 
I have an Andy Timmons signature AT-1 humbucker in the bridge and a Lindy Fralin Blues Special in the neck and middle of my American Deluxe strat. It sounds phenomenal.
 
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