[ivanv]

Hi guys,

I have a Squier Deluxe Strat with SD SH-5 in bridge position and stock pups in middle and neck. Since stock pups are not suited to what I play (and are generally not that good), I was thinking of investing into a couple of DMZs and I need your help to decide.

Maybe it's good to mention that guitar body is basswood, neck is maple with rosewood fingerboard. Sounds I'm after are dirty blues and garage, rock, punk and occasionaly metal. Think early Motorhead,The Stooges from James Williamson era, The Black Keys, Left Lane Cruiser, Bass Drum of Death, White Zombie, The Jets...so politness is not what I'm after What I don't want for this guitar is too modern metal compressed sound, I'm more PAF guy and that's why I got SH-5 and it works good for a lot of sounds mentioned. I am also aware that it's hard to get all those sounds from one guitar, but getting into ballpark would be good enough for me. ...anyway, after reading a lot and looking at a bunch of videos, I've narrowed my search to:

1. Chopper in the neck position (or maybe Pro Track, but it sounds a bit too hot to me, based on what I heard). I'd use it for dirty slide work ala Left Lane Cruiser, dirty rhythms and soloing AND some occasional shredding . Is it a good choice for that, is it raw and dirty (not in terms of output, I know it's hot) enough?

2. something in the middle . I thought of going with Heavy Blues 2 or Virtual Vintage Blues, I also like Areas but I'm afraid output would be too low to go with SH5 and Chopper. I'd use mid pickup for garage-style chording and cleaner playing in general.

I also listened to a lot of Seymour Duncan single coils and HBs in single coil body, but they all sound a little polite to me (unlike their humbuckers), so I'm pretty much set on going with DMZs. What do you guys think of this combination, am I in the ballpark given the sounds I'm after? Any pickup you think would work better? Thanks!

[jazzfromhell]

Chopper is a great choice, I'd go with that too. For the middle I'd choose the Injector Neck. I  think that's a better choice than the VVB or HB2.

[ivanv]

Chopper is a great choice, I'd go with that too. For the middle I'd choose the Injector Neck. I  think that's a better choice than the VVB or HB2.

Thanks, Jazz! The only thing stopping me from going to shop right now and buying it is that I'm afraid that it would sound too Malmsteen-esque, I see a lot of demos on YT with shredders playing it...what do you think, is it capable of producing wide range of dirty sounds, more rock and punk than neo-classical stuff? If it isn't, I'd just go with Pro-Track, although I plan to invest into LP style guitar with PAF-y pickups, so different flavor in Strat would be welcome.

[jazzfromhell]

Sure, it can do a lot of things. I don't think you'll have a problem sounding like Yngwie if you don't want to The Pro Track is a bit darker and less "stratty", a cool pickup for sure. It's just a matter of taste which one you prefer.

[ivanv]

Very cool, I think I'll give it a try...I guess series/parallel routing is a must for using it's full potential?

[DarthPhineas]

Check out the bands you mentioned. Find out what pickups they used in what guitars for the recordings that you like.

[ivanv]

Check out the bands you mentioned. Find out what pickups they used in what guitars for the recordings that you like.

I already did. It seems that a lot of these guys used PAF styled buckers, 490, 498, Super Distortion, things like that...now, I know that I can't get all those sounds with just one guitar and I plan to buy LP in the future. But, for now, I just want to get into ballpark with a couple of pups to add to SH-5 in the bridge, which is PAF style already. So, I'm basically looking for darker neck pickup for those fluid lead and rhythm tones,  but it would be cool to retain a little of that Strat glassy thing...is that possible with Chopper or Pro Track, what do you think? And what about middle pickup? Thanks!

[jazzfromhell]

So, I'm basically looking for darker neck pickup for those fluid lead and rhythm tones,  but it would be cool to retain a little of that Strat glassy thing...is that possible with Chopper or Pro Track, what do you think? And what about middle pickup? Thanks!

The Satch Track is a good choice too. Run it in standard series mode for fat, singing tones and parallell for that glassy Strat tone.

Middle: Injector neck.

[ivanv]

So, I'm basically looking for darker neck pickup for those fluid lead and rhythm tones,  but it would be cool to retain a little of that Strat glassy thing...is that possible with Chopper or Pro Track, what do you think? And what about middle pickup? Thanks!

The Satch Track is a good choice too. Run it in standard series mode for fat, singing tones and parallell for that glassy Strat tone.

Middle: Injector neck.

Ok, thanks! I'll think about it a little more...will let you guys when I install new pickups .

[ivanv]

Quick update: DiMarzio tech recommends either Chopper or Satch Track for the neck position. He (or she) didn't comment too much on a middle pickup, just that 500k pots would work well with HB2, which I asked him about (I'm not too fond of Injectors, they sound a little on the polite side to me). So, my guess is that he thinks that HB2 could work well in the middle slot. I'll do some more research, but I'm 90% set on this combo. Thanks for your help, I'll let you guys know how it turned out!