ninjaaron
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That there is a Dean EVO of some sort that I picked up used for $200 (cuz' cosmetic damage). The stock pickups were not the worst I've ever played... but they weren't great either I could never get them to cut through with a band. Even split (this guitar came with push-pull pots), the singles tended to get lost in the mix. Got some GFS pickups that sound better. Here are the manufacturer's pages for each:
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Alnico-Fat-Pat-Boutique-Humbucker-Black-Bridge-Position_p_77.html
http://www.guitarfetish.com/Mean-90...ico-P90-FAT-and-Loud-Neck-position_p_476.html
Anyway initial thoughts:
First off, I mostly play Strats and Teles, and I normally don't get along with LP-style guitars for whatever reason. Humbuckers + 24.75" scale tends to feel too muddy for me, especially in a band, so I don't have a good basis to compare with other LP-style guitars. My other two main guitars are both 25.5" with maple necks and bright pickups. That's what I like. Still, figured I ought to get this one usable.
Fat Pat:
Series - They market this like a slightly hotter vintage-style pickup, but to me, it is much more like a shredder-style sound, kinda like the JB, Tone Zone, or Super Distortion, though not quite as hot. It does have Alnico V magnets, like a JB, so it does have a little of a vintage vibe in terms of feel and response, but to me, a good "vintage" style humbucker has a little of the sparkly high end. This is pretty rolled off at the very top. But, that's what I wanted. I asked the rep what he would recommend that was similar to a JB, and he pointed me to this. Compared to the JB, it's not quite as hot, it doesn't have as pronounced of an upper mid hump. I'd say it has an overall very smooth, "balanced" kind of sound, with a little more emphasis in the lower mids. I would like it with maybe a tad more definition, but I raised it it pretty close to the strings, and it's getting there. My plan is to use this mostly for "singing leads."
Split - I really like this split. It's a hot humbucker in the first place, so it splits pretty well. It's got a little more sparkle than my tele bridge (which is actually a split Tone Zone T, most of the time), but not as much twang. It reminds me more of my strat bridge, but also less twang and a little more body. I guess this is because it's the slug coil, which is farther from the bridge, and it's a 24.75" scale. It's good that I like it, because that will probably be my go-to setting for crunchy rhythm, which I what I'm playing most of the time. Pretty excited to try it out on Sunday (I'm a churchy player).
Mean 90
Marketed as a fat, loud, hum-sized P-90. I don't have much experience with P-90s, but I always liked the idea of it, and I wanted something that could come close to matching the output of the Fat Pat. This has a much lower DC resistance than the Fat Pat, but it is loud nonetheless and matches well with the Fat Pat. In terms of tone, well... It's like the top end of a smoother single coil with almost as much bottom as a humbucker -- and all the frequencies in between. Hi-Fi cleans and fat and bluesy dirty. It's a great pickup.
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