So many moons ago, around 2010 I believe, I noticed the pickups in the trusty 'ole Big Apple Strat had what looked like black ink splats on the mtops of the bobbins. Upon closer inspection I found that the bobbins had cracked in a diagonal line from the high e slug to the low e slug. I called SD and they assured me that this was normal (never been the case with any other pickups in ANY other guitar), and that it wouldn't affect anything.
What's funny is as the cracks continue to open the pickups become more and more microphonic, as well as a subtle change of tone over time. Now when I listen back to recordings and use the same settings (yes I write them down in a notepad to keep things consistent), this guitar sounds nothing like it did 10, 12, and 15 yrs ago. Now I know that magnets will "soften" over time, but I can't help but think that having open areas around the slugs is contributing to the change.
So I would like some input on this if anyone has had this experience regardless of brand, as well as some suggestions because I also think that it is time for a pickup change (I know I had said in an earlier post that the '59 PG+ wouldn't leave this guitar, but after listening to older recordings, what endeared me to the tone is pretty much gone). I still want to go with a more vintage wind setup on this guitar to keep it versatile.
I am thinking PAF 36th in the bridge because at least output wise it seems to be in the ballpark of the PG+. I would like a suggestion for a neck pickup. Maybe not too far off of the '59 vibe. There is an almost single coil quality to this pickup that gets that sort of Yngwieish neck pickup tone that I love. I would, however not mind getting rid of a touch of the boominess that the '59 has. Also, aesthetically, I like to have pickups match (slug and screw). It's just an OCD thing for me. That last one isn't a have to, but it's what I prefer.
I don't want to high of an output because a) my amps have enough gain to compensate and b) This is my gigging desert island guitar so I need to have a good tonal compromise of humbucking and passable single coil tones. I am not that worried about too much volume drop when I split because I either run an ADA preamp, or when I drop the pedal board I pretty much have my compressor as an always on pedal.
