Seymour Duncan California '50s Set Doubt

[newjarek]

Hi everyone,

I'm new in this Forum, but I've been reading some of the posts so I think here I'll be able to find people for helping or guiding me with my new set of pickups. Thank you in advance for your responses.

I bought the California 50s Set (3 SSL-1 pickups) and I put them on a Fender Standard Stratocaster MIM 2011. It gave me a new brighter sound, with more highs and perfect for playing funk, rock, pop, and those genres that need a clear, bright and brillant sound. I really like that vintage (bell) tone on my Strat, but the problem is that I hear less output from my pickups, I compared the output with a Squiet Strat Bullet and that Squier's signal was louder (and with more sustain) than the Fender (with new pups) one. I used the two guitars with the same conditions (a series of pedals containing an MXR Smart Gate M-135) going to a Fender FM212R amplifier.

My question is. Is it normal to lose sustain (and output level) with the SD SSL-1 pickups?, (The Luthier who installed the pickups didn't shorten the SSL-1's wires, he just rolled them), Can this affect my current sustain I have?, Should it have been better to cut the wires while installing them?, or maybe Should I try a new noise gate or noise supressor pedal such as the Boss NS-2? (Or some pedal without a big "cutting" effect like the MXR Smart Gate?.

Thanks, I hope I can get some help from you.

[Gypsyblue]

If your luthier installed your pickups without cutting the wires to length, I wonder if he didn't adjust them properly either. Adjusting the pickups closer to the strings will make them louder but to close will cause the magnetic polepieces to pull your low E and A strings out of tune and affect sustain. To far away, results in a weak tone.

Is the California set a calibrated set? Is the bridge pickup overwound compared to the neck and middle pickups? If all three pickups are wound identically, as they were in the 50's and 60's, and you're used to a set with a hot/modern bridge pickup, then the SSL-1 pickups might sound weaker than your stock pickups. Just a guess there.

The issue with the uncut wires would be mostly cosmetic but extra unshielded wire in a Stratocaster can also contribute to extra hum and noise.

[newjarek]

Thank you Gypsyblue for your answer. Well, I think the Luthier didn't cut (or shorten) the wires cause his assistant told me: "The wires are usually rolled and put together". However, I've seen in some Youtube videos that it's recommended to shorten the wires at a minimum size when installing the pickups. The wires of the SSL-1s are not unshield, I mean they have a covering material all along the wires and a bare tip at the end.

According to SD's page, those pickups are calibrated, but i don't think the bridge one has more wound than the others. I guess there is a special pickup (SSL-5) which has been made overwounded specially for the bridge position (getting more output than usual but less highs).

I don't know if the wire lenght can affect the output level or not (considering that all the wire is shielded).

[uOpt]

Ignore the wires. Longer is fine.

Check pickup height. You probably want to go higher to give it some more kick.

[Simon_F]

Fender's web site doesn't specify the output of the pickups in a MIM Standard Strat, but my guess is that the SSL-1s are lower output than the stock pickups.

Having said that, make sure they are not adjusted too low - see if you can get them closer to the strings without getting wolf tones when playing the top frets.

There are several Seymour Duncan options for a hotter bridge pickup - the Twangbanger and the SSL-5 are both great.

[DMyers77]

SSL-1's will never be as loud as the Fender MIM pickups. The MIM pickups and the Squier pickups both use ceramic bar magnets with slugs, which causes them to have less string pull and be louder than vintage strat pickups... they just don't have good tone.

The SSL-1's use Alnico rod magnets, just like vintage strat pickups. They have lower output, but better tone. But if you adjust them too close to the strings, you will have poor intonation and sustain will suffer.

To adjust them, press the low E string down and the highest fret (usually 21st) and measure the distance from the string to the pickup pole piece. I usually start at 1/8" to get it close. Do the same for the high E string. This should give you a nice tone with good sustain, but lower output than you are used to. You can either crank up the amp to compensate, or raise the pickup height 1/4" turn at a time until you like the sound. If you start having intonation problems, lower it back down. You'll also have to play with the pickup heights to balance the volume across all 3 pickups.

Hope this helps!

Hi everyone,

I'm new in this Forum, but I've been reading some of the posts so I think here I'll be able to find people for helping or guiding me with my new set of pickups. Thank you in advance for your responses.

I bought the California 50s Set (3 SSL-1 pickups) and I put them on a Fender Standard Stratocaster MIM 2011. It gave me a new brighter sound, with more highs and perfect for playing funk, rock, pop, and those genres that need a clear, bright and brillant sound. I really like that vintage (bell) tone on my Strat, but the problem is that I hear less output from my pickups, I compared the output with a Squiet Strat Bullet and that Squier's signal was louder (and with more sustain) than the Fender (with new pups) one. I used the two guitars with the same conditions (a series of pedals containing an MXR Smart Gate M-135) going to a Fender FM212R amplifier.

My question is. Is it normal to lose sustain (and output level) with the SD SSL-1 pickups?, (The Luthier who installed the pickups didn't shorten the SSL-1's wires, he just rolled them), Can this affect my current sustain I have?, Should it have been better to cut the wires while installing them?, or maybe Should I try a new noise gate or noise supressor pedal such as the Boss NS-2? (Or some pedal without a big "cutting" effect like the MXR Smart Gate?.

Thanks, I hope I can get some help from you.

[the guy who invented fire]

The deal is that as mentioned above the MIM stock pickups use steel slugs and a ceramic bar magnet...terrible tone (IMO) but loads of output...that output drives your amp harder and that gives you more sustain.

[newjarek]

Hi DMyers77, I think you're right, I already knew these were Alnico V pickups and because of this, they have a brighter and more defined sound than the ceramic ones which have a rougher and deeper sound (more for distortions).

I really love my new strat sound, it's so slapply and bright. What I did to solve (or at least to improve) the sustain issue, was to graduate the bridge pickup height trying to get a balance between sustain and output, to turn off the MXR Noise Gate (specially while doing a solo that requires more sustain), and adding a Boss Mega Distortion (Using only the overdrive circuit - no distotrtion) to my current Turbo Distortion for boosting the signal.

Apart from that, for clean, overdriven, and crunchy rythms this pickup set is PERFECT!!!...

Any suggestions for improving my Strat sound (specially for sustain and gain) will be well received.

Thanks!.

SSL-1's will never be as loud as the Fender MIM pickups. The MIM pickups and the Squier pickups both use ceramic bar magnets with slugs, which causes them to have less string pull and be louder than vintage strat pickups... they just don't have good tone.

The SSL-1's use Alnico rod magnets, just like vintage strat pickups. They have lower output, but better tone. But if you adjust them too close to the strings, you will have poor intonation and sustain will suffer.

To adjust them, press the low E string down and the highest fret (usually 21st) and measure the distance from the string to the pickup pole piece. I usually start at 1/8" to get it close. Do the same for the high E string. This should give you a nice tone with good sustain, but lower output than you are used to. You can either crank up the amp to compensate, or raise the pickup height 1/4" turn at a time until you like the sound. If you start having intonation problems, lower it back down. You'll also have to play with the pickup heights to balance the volume across all 3 pickups.

Hope this helps!

[the guy who invented fire]

Pickup height on a Strat is THE KEY to a good even tone and nice sustain.

[uOpt]

Boss CS-2.

[zenmindbeginner]

That's why I yanked every SSL-1 out of every guitar I've ever had.

No sustain or the ability to easily drive an amp. Fantastic pickups in the right set of hands, just not mine. ; )

Great when combined with other SSL models in a set... makes a sublime middle pickup.

The Antiquity sets are perfect strat pickup choices... better than any boutique sets IMHO.

[Gypsyblue]

That's why I yanked every SSL-1 out of every guitar I've ever had.

No sustain or the ability to easily drive an amp. Fantastic pickups in the right set of hands, just not mine. ; )

Great when combined with other SSL models in a set... makes a sublime middle pickup.

The Antiquity sets are perfect strat pickup choices... better than any boutique sets IMHO.

Pickups do not create sustain. The SSL-1 is a boutique quality neck and middle pickup when used in a nice guitar. I like something hotter for the bridge pickup though.

[newjarek]

Does the SSL-5 pickup create more sustain than the SSL-1? What is clear is that SSL-5 is more overwounded, has more output and less treble than the SSL-1 one, but what about sustain? does the SSL-5 help more with that?...

[GilmourD]

Ignore the wires. Longer is fine.

Check pickup height. You probably want to go higher to give it some more kick.

I've never cut the wires and there's not a good reason to.

Now, is this guy the exemplification of my pet peeves? Is he a real luthier (a guy you can hand a piece of wood and he'll turn it into a guitar) or is he just a tech using a fancy name?

[newjarek]

I've never cut the wires and there's not a good reason to.

Now, is this guy the exemplification of my pet peeves? Is he a real luthier (a guy you can hand a piece of wood and he'll turn it into a guitar) or is he just a tech using a fancy name?

So the wires' lenght doesn't affect the tone (or gain) of the pickup?.

[gibson175]

im guessing that you have the pickups set too high. If you are used to higher output pickups, you may have set the SSL's closer to your stings to get more output. The cali set is not high output and its not intended to be. If the pups are too high, the magnets will pull down on the strings and cut down on sustain. This is true of any pickup. Back them down and enjoy the sweetness and natural string vibration. They are low output, but big on tone.
When you mention sustain tho....are you talking clean tone sustain or dirty? If you are getting decreased sustain on clean tones then thats because of the height, so get that sorted first. If the decreased sustain is juts on dirty sounds, then its about gain and pickup output.

[zenmindbeginner]

Does the SSL-5 pickup create more sustain than the SSL-1? What is clear is that SSL-5 is more overwounded, has more output and less treble than the SSL-1 one, but what about sustain? does the SSL-5 help more with that?...

Higher Output drives the amp more and gives more sustain but you can load on the gain with a lower output pickup like the SSL-1 to get more sustain.

SRV got a lot of sustain because he goosed some of his amps and used a multi amp array with some amps being driven very hard to get his signature sustain.

SSL-1s sound great with tube screamers and other overdrives.

But yes, the SSL-5 will yield more sustain and give you more "juice".

[newjarek]

Higher Output drives the amp more and gives more sustain but you can load on the gain with a lower output pickup like the SSL-1 to get more sustain.

SRV got a lot of sustain because he goosed some of his amps and used a multi amp array with some amps being driven very hard to get his signature sustain.

SSL-1s sound great with tube screamers and other overdrives.

But yes, the SSL-5 will yield more sustain and give you more "juice".

Thanks for your answers!. Uhm, Do you think the wires' length of the pickup affects its sustain or gain? Or as I've read on this post before: it doesn't matter?.

[gibson175]

no the wire length doesnt matter.

[jumble jumble]

The wire length definitely doesn't matter. You could add six more feet of wire and it'd sound the same.