SSL-5 in the neck?

[Agileguy_101]

I'm considering putting an SSL-5 in the neck of my Highway One Strat. Has anyone done this? Did you like the results? How would you describe the tones you get from the 5 in the neck position?

Edit: Thought I'd mention the other pickups that will be going in the guitar: JB Jr bridge and either an SSL-5 or an Alnico Pro II in the mid.

[saladin]

The JB Jr. and 2 SSL-5's would be a good set. I'd actually like to hear it. Since all 3 pickups are on the "hot" side they would balance out a lot better then say a JB and a SSL-1.

[B2D]

The SSL5 in the neck is a twist on the classic strat neck tone that's hot, big, strong and thick. Like a nice beef stew with peppers in it.

It goes great if you want a fatter strat tone and if you're using a humbucker in the bridge!

[Agileguy_101]

If I have an SSL-5 in the neck, APS-2 in the mid, and a JB Jr in the bridge, and replace the second tone knob with a blend pot that will let me get neck+bridge and all three pickups together, how much versatility would I get out of that rig? The main reason I'm going with true single coils in the neck and mid instead of a Lil' 59 and a Duckbucker is that I want to get more classic Strat tones, just with a little more muscle and power in the neck position.

[B2D]

If I have an SSL-5 in the neck, APS-2 in the mid, and a JB Jr in the bridge, and replace the second tone knob with a blend pot that will let me get neck+bridge and all three pickups together, how much versatility would I get out of that rig? The main reason I'm going with true single coils in the neck and mid instead of a Lil' 59 and a Duckbucker is that I want to get more classic Strat tones, just with a little more muscle and power in the neck position.

That sounds like it would be a reasonably versatile combo for a strat player.

Muscle and power in the neck = SSL5. Go for it.

[Thomas_Desch]

I'm just in the middle of modding my Highway 1 Strat (older model, rosewood fretboard), and I was going for Lil' 59 in the neck, APS-2 middle and SSL-6 bridge. That didn't sound right, especially the neck and middle combo. The neck alone was too dark, and the neck middle combination sounded too hard in a way. So I swapped around the neck and bridge pickups, and that worked very well. The SSL-6 sounds fat and dark, though not as dark as the Lil' 59, and is great for slide (I use .011s and is trying to get some of that Ry Cooder sound, without turning the guitar into Frankenstein). The neck middle combo sounds smooth and fat.

I must add though that while I was installing the PUs, I damaged the pots (overheating I guess), so I have been testing them directly connected to the jack output. I'll be installing new CTS pots, new Orange caps, and new CRL 5-way selector, so the sound might change slightly. Not too much I hope :-)

[bluesbend]

I've got a parts'ostrat that I built for a nice fat sound. It has SSL-5n, SSL-5m and QuarterPound br. It does the job.

[Kensai]

I'm just in the middle of modding my Highway 1 Strat (older model, rosewood fretboard), and I was going for Lil' 59 in the neck, APS-2 middle and SSL-6 bridge. That didn't sound right, especially the neck and middle combo. The neck alone was too dark, and the neck middle combination sounded too hard in a way.

I´m using a JB Jr. in the neck right now, and I have the same problem.
I can´t believe what a disapointing pickup...so dark, muddy, undefined sound.
And the worst, it was supposed to be designed for "neck", but has a bridge space between poles.

I hate it, but don´t know exactly what replacement I will use. SSL-5 is an option for me, and a hot stack too.
I want high gain, thick but not dark and muddy, like the JB Jr.

[Thomas_Desch]

I´m using a JB Jr. in the neck right now, and I have the same problem.
I can´t believe what a disapointing pickup...so dark, muddy, undefined sound.
And the worst, it was supposed to be designed for "neck", but has a bridge space between poles.

I hate it, but don´t know exactly what replacement I will use. SSL-5 is an option for me, and a hot stack too.
I want high gain, thick but not dark and muddy, like the JB Jr.

The reason why we got that muddyness with the humbuckers might be because we used pots and capacitors for single coils. At least I did. I never bothered experimenting with that. Now I've installed new pots and 5 way switch (destroyed them upon installation the first time), and the SSL-6 in neck sounds great. Quite dark, but fat, nice and balanced in my opinion. The Lil 59 I put in the bridge and it sounds cool too.

[JacobTM]

I had an SSL-5 in the neck of my strat and I loved it. Foolishly, gas had me trading it away to try new pickups, but I've never found one I liked as much as the SSL-5. Although people really seem to be talking about it's muscle, what's great about it is that it also does have really good definition and clarity and is really really responsive to how you play the strings. So light strumming to hard picking makes a HUGE difference with it, as far as my experience went.

[ParameterMan]

I had one and thought that it sounded more like a polite P-90 than a Strat pickup in the neck. It was just too hot and fat for me. Keep in mind that I like the sound of vintage low-output neck pickups. If you like to avoid jangly snarl you may love this pickup.

[andybowers]

I did a clip of a ssl-5 in neck position of my superevh homemade, have a look in the tips and clips forum

[Thomas_Desch]

I've just made three videos that I've stuck on YouTube to demo my new pickups (SSL-6, APS2 and Lil'59). The SSL-6 probably sounds slightly different than the SSL-5, but it might give you an idea of what it is like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTLsuqUeN30 (Clean demo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrYfKKWjbNw (Distorted demo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsa-Q4ynFFo (Slide demo)

Sorry about the mindless noodling in these videos, but they were made for demo purposes :-)