[Fender Doll]

Hello there everyone,

I'm new here but have been playing guitar for a number of years in different bands. Took a break for a bit but am back and looking to change pickups.

Currently I play a fender strat HSS model and after a lot of reading have settled on dimarzio. I'm pretty certain that I want a PAF Pro in the bridge, definitely medium output I want. Initially was looking at super distortion but too high output for my tastes, still a little uncertain as to what would work with that. I'm not a vintage person and prefer a more modern sort of rock feel and sound, I'm a huge Richie Kotzen fan. I do still like the aesthetics of my strat though and was not certain with putting rails in the neck. I was wondering if the dimarzio Heavy Blues 2 or Virtual Solo in the neck would work with the PAF Pro.

If anyone has any thoughts or advice I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

[darkbluemurder]

I can recommend the Heavy Blues 2 for its fat yet stratty sound. It should keep up well with a PAF Pro in the bridge - I had one of my guitars set up with an Injector neck, which is similar output to the HB2 with a hotter PAF in the bridge, and the combination worked well.

Cheers Stephan

[greenlion]

That, or the Area 61 for more of a SRV vibe, or the 54pro for more of a fat 50's strat sound.

[Fender Doll]

Thank you guys for that much appreciated. I did look at the Areas as I know Paul Gilbert has used them in the past, but it's something heavier and fuller I'm after so I'm thinking either the Virtual Vintage Blues or Heavy Blues in the neck.
One question on the PAF Pro, I know this may sound like a novice question but the dc resistance on the dimarzio website puts it as quite low and lower than some of the single coils, but the output as 300? I'm not after anything super hot in the bridge as mentioned but I want something a little hotter and more modern sounding than a vintage PAF type vibe. I'm looking to learn as much as possible as I want to get the combination right as once done I'd be sticking with it.
I do have another American strat on order, this one with SSS configuration and I'm looking to put Virtual Solos in bridge and neck for that as it very much is a thicker warmer more modern sound I'm after on both strats.

[darkbluemurder]

I do have another American strat on order, this one with SSS configuration and I'm looking to put Virtual Solos in bridge and neck for that as it very much is a thicker warmer more modern sound I'm after on both strats.

In that case I would recommend going with the Chopper in the bridge or even something hotter like the Pro Track. Virtual Solo is still very stratty in the bridge - it shines there if you are after a traditional strat tone but want a bridge pickup that balances better with traditional low output single coils in the neck and middle positions. My main strat has the following set up: Virtual Solo bridge, Area 58 middle and Area 67 neck. Another has the same middle and neck pickups but with a Chopper in the bridge, and the Chopper is definitely more in the direction of a warmer tone with a bit more output but not overpowering the others.

Cheers Stephan

[buddroyce]

If you're looking for a fairly modern take a on the vintage rock sound, consider the Cruiser in the neck and the Bluesbucker in the bridge.

[Fender Doll]

Thank you for those suggestions it certainly gives me more to go off, I never considered the blues bucker with it being vintage output but will check it out.
I hope people don't mind me asking more questions as I have loads on my brain! Lol. My new strat has the fender V Mod pickups, I would like to know if they are lower in output compared to the HB 2 or Virtual Solo or Chopper. I know they are true single coils and not noiseless so the 60 cycle hum could be present when playing in a gig scenario with high gain. My gain pretty much comes from a loud amp and 2 OD pedals.
Also I was looking at the Air Norten recently thinking for the bridge of my main current strat. My concern is how hot of a pickup is it as I get confused with the DC resistance thing! I'm not after anything super hot hence why I'm looking in the medium output category and all my favourite sounds do seem to come from that. I'm after a pickup with a solid chunk for rhythm but that will sing when playing lead hence why I have been looking at the PAF Pro mainly because I know both Paul Gilbert and Richie Kotzen have used them. I loved the tone Kotzen had in the 90's with Mr Big.

[greenlion]

The PAF Pro is a low/medium output bridge pickup. A Chopper in the neck would actually overpower it. You will probably want to look and see what pot values your strat uses. The PAF pro and some Dimarzio single coils are made to work best with 500k pots, others work better with 250k.

[buddroyce]

Don't worry about asking a lot of questions, that's what this place is for.

Haven't tried the Fender V Mod pickups but it's a safe assumption that it's lower output than The Chopper as it's a true single coil. If you take the true singles from DiMarzio as an example, the highest output models would be the Darkmatter Single and the SDS-1, both of which are 200mV compared to the The Chopper's 260mV.

As for DC Resistance either, for the most part, it's just another number. The only time I ever really use it is to check to see if a pickup is in good working order when a client suspects a faulty coil or if I buy a used pickup and need to verify it's what the seller says it is. Beyond that, I don't ever bother looking at the DC resistance. The output and the general EQ curve are the only things to really concern yourself with.

[DarthPhineas]

As for DC Resistance either, for the most part, it's just another number. The only time I ever really use it is to check to see if a pickup is in good working order when a client suspects a faulty coil or if I buy a used pickup and need to verify it's what the seller says it is. Beyond that, I don't ever bother looking at the DC resistance. The output and the general EQ curve are the only things to really concern yourself with.

^^^^ this ^^^^


One of the big pup companies still clings to the DCR = output notion. As such, it perpetuates the confusion. The “grandpa rock” PAF crowd are also still hung up on the concept.

Not to sound like a broken record, but anyone can look at the DCR and mV Output #s for the Super D, the Super 2 and the Super 3 and see that a pup with a 1/3 the DCR and be just as loud

[Fender Doll]

Thank you for that info that is very helpful to know I appreciate it. Can be a little confusing at first with all the numbers and what to go off. I find myself always going to YouTube trying to find decent demos of the ones I'm interested in.

[buddroyce]

Trust me, you're not alone when it comes to sorting out this confusing mess. As DarthPhineas mentioned, there are still some places that cling onto the notion that a higher DC resistance means higher output but that's not necessarily the case anymore. Not that it's a lie because at one point in time, it was true but these days the relation between the two isn't quite the same.

The unfortunately thing with pickups is that you'll never really know how it sounds until it's in your guitar, into your rig, played by your fingers. God knows everyone one of my guitars sound 1000000 times better when pro clients are playing on them while waiting for their guitars to get serviced. :|