Neck Humbucker to pair with a bridge JB? And a Strat bridge pup
Ok, I am kind of getting ahead of myself, but I'm already planning for the pickups of my next build (single cut, dual humbucker guitar).
I have a mij 54 reissue Strat which the previous owner converted into a HSS, with a SD JB in the bridge. I actually liked the bridge sound on the strat, but I'm keen on converting back to sss and using the JB in the bridge of the single cut. EDIT: Plus the previous owner actually put in a single cut spaced jb, not the trembucker version...
So now I am after a Strat bridge pup and a HB for the neck of the single cut. I'm a big blues, Stones fan, but I end up playing a bit more "modern" fuzz tones with my jamming mates nowadays. I used to have a tele and miss that bridge overdriven sound.
Based on this, I was thinking about a more vintage PAF sound for the single cut neck (Seth lovers, 59?) to match with the JB and a SD twang banger for the bridge... Are there any local (Australian) options or other alternatives (maybe cheaper?) I should be looking at?
Both the pickups that SD recommends (Jazz and '59) look like PAF style pickups. SD doesn't give a lot of info other than resistance scores. Not sure what the "Jazz" is...but from the description maybe like a PAF with Alnico II magnets (sometimes called '57...I think that's what a Seth Lover is as well). Or a '59 with Alnico III magnets.
SD only publishes the resistance specs, but what would be a bit more directly comparable are the inductance scores. If you have a multimeter that will get inductance that might be useful in matching output. If you know the inductance from your JB you could ask Australian mfgs what they have in a pickup with just a bit less output.
I don't know much about Australian pickup makers. JJ's look like they'd have something that matches but they are pricey. Martin A Smith has some interesting pickups and publishes resistance and inductance specs, and they seem a lot more reasonably priced. There are a number of custom shops like "Mr. Fabulous" and Brierly that do custom winds at what look like OK prices. I stumbled on Australian pickup makers a few years ago and was impressed by what you could get for pretty good prices. I have no idea how good they are, but I have had good luck with a custom builder in Michigan and do like the personal touch ;-) Hopefully others may chime in with more helpful suggestions.
That would be about double what you'd expect in a PAF with an alnico 2 or 3 magnet, and also about double what the guitarnuts guys found with the SD Jazz and '50... So you'd expect the JB to be a LOT hotter than a vintage style PAF style pickup.
Returning to Australian winders, the Martin A Smith "Modern Humbucker" looks like it should be able to keep up with your JB in the bridge. His "Vintage Humbucker" has specs similar to what SD pairs the JB with.
Since Martin A Smith appears to be a small shop, it might be worth contacting him, having a conversation with him, and seeing what he recommends.
I have had pretty good luck talking with pickup makers. I have purchased a couple of sets of pickups from Epic Custom Shop in Michigan. After talking with the winder about a set I wanted for a Tele, he asked me to send him examples of how I wanted it to sound. He's winding them based on that. He even matched the holes to my bridge plate. Hope you have luck as good with an Australian winder...and that you'll post the results ;-)
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