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Posted by: jdmd Mar 17 2016, 03:06 AM

I recently got a new (used) Kramer Striker 211. I like the bridge pickup, but I find the neck pickup lacking some warmth. It feels dry and...woody? I really like the Vintage Noiseless in my Strat, but it apparently needs a 1M pot and I'm not sure how it would play with the humbucker and the regular single coil in the middle position.

Here's the Strat, swamp ash body, Fender Vintage Noiseless pickup :

https://clyp.it/bvyiujw4

And here's the Kramer, mahogany body, stock pickup :

https://clyp.it/nzxyn1w1

The Strat feels smoother, warmer. What pickup should I get (noiseless or not) for my Kramer to get a similar sound?

Posted by: Mertay Mar 17 2016, 09:23 AM

My friend has the vintage noiseless on a strat type guitar (dean zelinsky-tagliare). I never checked the pots but pretty sure they aren't 1m as the highs are chopped off compared to your fender. Not like rolling the tone knob down, an agressive high-cut that kills harmonics.

He really dislikes it, without sparkle noiseless singles feel extremely lifeless and though we tested it with many pedals on a good amp it didn't remind us any tone. Since you already have a Fender what I wouldn't do is try making itsound like it, it never will.

Since its a distortion machine its pretty normal the singles will sound more middy than having high-end. I also dislike such PU for clean but they work nice with heavy distortion like the old jacksons (no shrill or ice-picking highs from amp).

But for something with a little more tonal range, why not check out andy timmons tones? I don't know his signature guitars electronics but he uses a dimarzio bridge PU on the neck and middle and seems to get really nice tones?

Posted by: yoncopin Mar 17 2016, 02:26 PM

There are a zillion pickups to choose from and no way to tell how they'll sound in your guitar. If you do buy new pickups, remember most manufacturers have exchange programs if you don't like them in 30 days-ish. I wish I had been more aware of that.

I'll answer this from a different perspective though. I'd buy a Boss GE-7 first. You can get them used for $50-60 and I've found it to be really useful for exactly this, and a lot more. There's so much to learn from one. You can play with the Kramer's EQ and output to get much closer to the sound you want, then you'll be more informed about your pickup purchase, or just use the EQ and be done with no soldering. It's also great as a clean boost or shaping your gain stages. You'll get familiar with the guitar's primary EQ bands and that will help your mixes too. Such a valuable tool.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Mar 17 2016, 07:59 PM

GOOD CALL!! The timmons single coil is a killer improvement over the humming single coils of days past. Here is a link to it's info. It will fit in a single coil slot and it's got no hum. It's also got a ceramic magnet for more punch even at low voltage. It's worth a look

http://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/strat/hum-canceling-strat/cruiser-bridge

here is andy giving a demo

or how about the hot rails strat. This one is a bit hotter.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/pickup/hot-rails-strat-bridge

There are tons of choices but these two make a good start and have very cool tone.

QUOTE (Mertay @ Mar 17 2016, 03:23 AM)

My friend has the vintage noiseless on a strat type guitar (dean zelinsky-tagliare). I never checked the pots but pretty sure they aren't 1m as the highs are chopped off compared to your fender. Not like rolling the tone knob down, an agressive high-cut that kills harmonics.

He really dislikes it, without sparkle noiseless singles feel extremely lifeless and though we tested it with many pedals on a good amp it didn't remind us any tone. Since you already have a Fender what I wouldn't do is try making itsound like it, it never will.

Since its a distortion machine its pretty normal the singles will sound more middy than having high-end. I also dislike such PU for clean but they work nice with heavy distortion like the old jacksons (no shrill or ice-picking highs from amp).

But for something with a little more tonal range, why not check out andy timmons tones? I don't know his signature guitars electronics but he uses a dimarzio bridge PU on the neck and middle and seems to get really nice tones?

Posted by: jdmd Apr 8 2016, 02:04 PM

Just a quick update, I bought a cheap $5 rail pickup from eBay just for fun, it is definitively an improvement over the stock pickup. It sounds way fatter, but still have some single coil bite. It's not perfect, it lacks clarity, but for $5...

I'll probably swap it for the real deal eventually, however.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Apr 8 2016, 07:41 PM

Can't beat it for the price that's for sure Then again, used pickups can be had for a song on ebay in many cases when folks just pull them to replace and then just wanna get rid of them. Of course, the wires may be a bit short and badly cut but that's fixable

Todd

Posted by: Mertay Apr 8 2016, 07:44 PM

Thats cool, you can move it to the middle and back it off for picking comfort

Posted by: jdmd Apr 8 2016, 07:51 PM

I'm always looking for used pickups on email. I have set a few email alerts for particular pickups I would be interested in. A few months back I bought a Seymour Duncan and two Dimarzio for around $40 each.

But sometimes there's merit cheap pickups. I found out that the Crunchy PAT from Guitar Fetish sounds almost exactly like the Dimarzio Super Distortion, for less than half the price. The Dimarzio might be a little richer, but I honestly couldn't hear the difference.

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GMC Forum _ GEAR & PRODUCTION _ Neck Pickup