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Guitars
Matching pickup volumes
Alien Resident (Explor--(at)--x.netcom.com) wrote:
: I just installed a DiMarzio stacked humbucker in the bridge
: position of my am. standard strat. It sounds pretty good, but I lost the
: cool sound of the mid and bridge pickup mixed. It sounds almost like the
: middle pickup now.
You've lost the in-between sound because of the mismatch in pickup
output. Understanding that you will still be mixing the middle pickup
with a _humbucker_ which has its own spectrum, have you tried matching
the levels of the two pickups? I have never accepted humbuckers in my
own Strats (as a matter of principle and sound authenticity) but it
occurs to me that you might add a resistor to your switching setup such
that the bridge pickup output is decremented only in the in-between combo
with the middle pickup. To find the value you need, put a pot in series
with the bridge pickup and twiddle until you find your desired sweet
spot. Measure the resistance across the pot and install a resistor of
that value on the switch.
: I have been hearing alot of talk about the "texas specials". I
: assume these are beening installed as sets. I'm concerned about losing
: the sharp end of the neck pickup. I've heard that leaving the stock pu's
: this can happen. These texas specials sound so popular.
Of course YMMV, but I like the Texas Specials. The neck pickup sings
quite nicely and they have a little more mids and output over the stock
Amer. Std. You might lose a little sharpness but I don't think that is
detrimental - they still have plenty of bite, they're just not as brittle.
: I want the original spectrum of sounds, I just want
: them to be fatter when I want them to be.
Maybe you just need to add a midrange boost. I use a Torres Engineering
passive midrange tone control. For around $10-15, it's a bargain to be
able to add/cut mids without a stomp box or the dreaded Fender-Clapton
active unit. Yes, you could make it for less - if you could find the parts.
Bottom line is that it is a no-brainer pop-in unit that works well on
Strats. With a good tube amp, it can help define that edge where you can
easily go from clean to distorted with a twist of the volume and tone
pots _on the guitar_.
Regards,
George Kaschner
micK pages
