DiMarzio FS-1 vs Seymour Duncan SSL-5

Рет қаралды 9,505

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 72

@deanallen927 Жыл бұрын

Hey, long time no see. My latest partscaster has two SSL-1 and an SSL-6, the flat pole brethren of the SSL-5 in the bridge, and I am aware of the history between the SSL-5 and FS-1. I think I only went with Duncans because in recent years the FS-1 was given staggered poles and I'm partial to flat poles nowadays (and maybe swap out the SSL-1s with SSL-2s in the future). There are days when I think the 6 may be fatter than I want, but I do believe I'm liking it very much now, and there's not much of a culture shock when flipping the switch to the 1' in the other position.

@gwEmbassy Жыл бұрын

it’s good to get alternative views! I may prefer the FS-1, but they are both good

@zool84 8 ай бұрын

Hi. May I ask you your opinion about an HSS combo with 2 SSL6 and a Paf 36th? Do u think the dimarzio would be powerful and balanced enough? Thanks

@deanallen927 8 ай бұрын

@@zool84 The SSL6 in the neck would work, but the other way around you'd have to adjust them a little extreme but it would work fine, just my opinion. Also I think in that case you may want to choose the FS-1 over the Duncan.

@daramccluskey Жыл бұрын

I spent years trying to get my standard Strat sounding like my heroes gilmour, edge and knopfler - who all played standard strata - then I found out they were all using the same FS-1 pickup which has that dark, mysterious, chocolatey sound. So I put an FS-1 in the bridge so my Strat finally sounds like what I assumed all strats could sound like when I was a kid…

@gwEmbassy Жыл бұрын

“dark, mysterious, chocolatey” is a great description of the FS-1 :)

@peteosco 10 ай бұрын

I used the FS-1 for years on my strat when they first came out. Without hardly trying I started getting pinch harmonics on my leads all over the fretboard. I loved it. I stopped playing awhile back due to several spine surgeries, but have a new interest although a bit slower. I picked up a Squire and with a DiMarzio tech's recommendation will be putting an FS-1 on the bridge position. I'm anxious to see if the pinch harmonics show up as easily as they did so many years ago. I'll try to keep you posted.

@gwEmbassy 10 ай бұрын

good luck with the FS-1 in your new strat :)

@davidb_bitsbobs 11 ай бұрын

Definitely the DiMarzio to my ear for the metal distortion effect you went with. The SSL-5 sounded more muted, so at a guess I'd say it would be better suited to a Clapton/Robert Cray Strat sound (so it has its place). Nice wee video! 🙂

@gwEmbassy 11 ай бұрын

thanks for the comment! I am more of a metal guy certainly, both pickups have a place

@turtletracks7657 22 күн бұрын

Good analysis

@cletusmax77 Ай бұрын

I have a new Seymour Duncan ssl-5 and it sounds way better than the one in this video. I don’t know why yours sounded like that.

@gwEmbassy Ай бұрын

maybe I had a bad copy, or maybe they’ve changed the design

@philipdesailles5286 8 ай бұрын

I use the Seymour Duncan David Gilmour SSL5 in the bridge position and use the Seymour Duncan Jimi Hendrix in the middle position to get the 60's tone's and the Seymour Duncan SSL1 in the neck position to get the 50's tone's.

@gwEmbassy 8 ай бұрын

that sounds like a cool combo!

@maxmustardman298 Жыл бұрын

Cool. I wonder how they behave in the neck position, since both are recommended to be used there by SD and Dimarzio. The SL1 has a lot more bass response on the eq chart.

@gwEmbassy Жыл бұрын

that would be an interesting test. Knopfler and Malmsteen both used the FS-1 in the neck.

@Tyler-qw8kn Жыл бұрын

@gwEmbassy FS-1 in the neck sounds amazing.. pairs great with a humbucker in the bridge!

@tut2507 6 ай бұрын

So I bought someone's Gilmour project and got a pickguard with an FS1 and Seymour SSL1's at middle and neck. He was building the Gilmour Animals strat. I have the SSL1's in a strat with an SSL-5 at the bridge and the Gilmour toggle switch. After watching this, I am literally considering putting the FS1 in the middle or neck of that strat. The Gilmour switch makes no real difference when the neck and middle pickups are the same. I understand why the Fender Gilmour Strat has the SSL-1, Fender CS69 and Fat 50s in it. I guess it works well enough that Gilmour sold his strat and is using Fender replicas now

@gwEmbassy 6 ай бұрын

I do like the Gilmour switch and have fitted it to a few guitars, but I agree it works better in some than others.

@giulioluzzardi7632 2 ай бұрын

FS-1, original up-grade for Stratocaster bridge, still better than the competion. We are being slowly "CONvinced" to simply junk what we have already and and purchase a ready to install "Set" or ready made assembly just to get a purpose made 50s/60s/70s tone. The basic problem Mr Di-Marzio addressed was the need to beef up the weedy bridge pickup so you don't get a noticable volume drop when switching from one pickup to another. The Fender TBX tone control was a good idea too but the ability to solo clean just by flicking your 3/5 way switch is what we want, no pedals or gizmos or routing for wider puckups. The Winner.

@gwEmbassy 2 ай бұрын

I somewhat agree with you! The FS-1 had specific design goals and it still meets those perfectly. It’s actually hard to find something convincingly better

@stephancarroll7260 10 ай бұрын

Going to try the FS 1 haven't tried my Five Two yet

@gwEmbassy 10 ай бұрын

hope you like it!!

@jonasulfsfalt4451 10 ай бұрын

FS 1 ! The Edge use it. Im grown up with that sound. Dispite that U2 is "out" these days, The Edge is one of the worlds leading guitarists. Loads of wondeful riffs and melodies, and the sound is awesome. Remember I felt almost in heaven when I heard him live at Eriksberg/Gothenburg out door concert many years ago. My next gutar build will now be based on just a FS 1 positioned bridge!

@gwEmbassy 10 ай бұрын

although I am more of a Rory Gallagher fan than The Edge, I must admit he is a top player and I took his choice seriously when picking the FS-1

@davidsharp3675 Жыл бұрын

I had the duncans in my USA strat. Seemed to just remove the inherent character. I prefer DiMarzio pickups in general. I have found them to be brighter and breathe a bit better. I use the tone control for variety snd warmer tones

@gwEmbassy Жыл бұрын

Duncan’s are all superbly made. But I too generally prefer DiMarzio over them. They always seem to have something for a specific situation.

@Chinedu104 10 ай бұрын

I prefer definitely the FS- 1 in the Bridge position. I got both, FS-1 and the Duncan. I think the Duncan is made for mote bluesier sounds. And the FS-1 has more bite for Rock Sounds. For me one of the best single coils on blonde Stratocaster necks. 💫👍

@gwEmbassy 10 ай бұрын

I agree, it sounds phenomenal :)

@centaurus5676 9 ай бұрын

John Norum used the FS-1 in his Strat in early Europe.

@gwEmbassy 9 ай бұрын

that would make sense, good info

@MrEpic-lf4gn 6 ай бұрын

As far as I know, John Norum still uses the FS-1 on his Strats.

@angusorvid8840 Жыл бұрын

I've never owned a DiMarzio FS-1 but I've tried it on other guitars. It's a good pickup but it can be noisy because it's not stacked and very high output. The Duncan SSL-5 is a good pickup as well, a bit less noisy even though it's not stacked. I've owned a number of Duncans and I had it in the neck of a customized old Charvel strat and it sounded good on its own but did not pair well with the bridge pup, a Duncan Distortion. I actually had a DiMarzio Shockwave preamp with passive unstacked DiMarzio single coils on a '61 strat in the 80s. It sounded great but ate batteries like crazy. This was not the blade design, fancy input jack with switch system most think about, but just the preamp providing power and hum canceling. It sounded great clean or with overdrive. I'm otherwise not into active systems of any sort, don't like the hassle of replacing a battery in a strat by removing the pickguard. I've played strats with DiMarzio's stacked single coils and they sound very good, very authentic. Because they are hum canceling you can really throw the gain at them. I also tried an ax with Duncans Classic Stacks which are great. Very authentic sounding as well. And there are more options out there from other companies, but I can't remember them all. If I had to flip a coin and buy a stacked set it would either be DiMarzio's HS-3/HS-4/HS-4 or Duncan's Classic Stack set. Better than dealing with batteries and authentic in tone. The DiMarzio set would save you a lot of money. Duncans are a bit overpriced in my opinion, and I generally don't like their pickups as much as DiMarzio in the first place.

@gwEmbassy Жыл бұрын

another great and detailed comment. Have you tried the DiMarzio Area series? I am a fan!!!

@angusorvid8840 Жыл бұрын

Not on my own axes. But yes, I did on a guitar a tech worked on for a customer at a local shop. He knew I liked testing pickups. They are good, basic strat tones with no noise. If you want a good sort of everything strat and the classic tones are your thing it will work. But I'm really a humbucker guy. If I had a strat I would put some DiMarzio Tracks in it like the Super Distortion S or Tone Zone S, Fast Track 2, etc. I like them better than Duncan's Hot Rails and other strat sized buckers.@@gwEmbassy

@MrEpic-lf4gn 6 ай бұрын

@@angusorvid8840 Still, stacks don't sound the same as true singles. True singles have a "fluffy", softer woody sound. Although... noise can be a deciding factor when choosing a pickup.

@cruz1441 Жыл бұрын

Sooo what would be the ideal pick-ups for nexk and middle?

@gwEmbassy Жыл бұрын

I would take the stock fender coils for those. but that’s just me :)

@jorgebarros3806 3 ай бұрын

I found on the internet that: Highest: DiMarzio FS-1 and Seymour Duncan SSL-5 (both offer high gain, but the FS-1 tends to be a bit more powerful). Lowest: DiMarzio DP110AW. and on the DiMarzio website they appear as the same: FS-1TM SKU DP110AW Could you tell me where I can buy the FS-1 and where I could buy it

@gwEmbassy 3 ай бұрын

the FS-1 is available in many places online, for example Thomann, or different sellers on ebay.

@blueeyedsoulman Жыл бұрын

Joey Ramone used an FS-1 in the bridge of his Mosrite surf guitar. Bloody sacrilege! lol

@gwEmbassy Жыл бұрын

haha :) I agree!! but he did sound good ;)

@Tubbahgrease234 11 ай бұрын

*Johnny Ramone

@user-dz8wc9sr5i 5 ай бұрын

I feel like all duncan pickups are overwound. They always sound less defined

@gwEmbassy 5 ай бұрын

these definitely do

@SuperRiver80 Жыл бұрын

Have tried both the Dimarzio has more of everything to me …..fatter & at the same time more clarity . I use the tone control on the bridge PU ….for me the Duncan top end rolled off too quickly

@gwEmbassy Жыл бұрын

I agree, the DiMarzio is the one

@zzkjbry Жыл бұрын

yeah fs-1 sounded better clarity wise, although they are both really close. Maybe some EQ to roll off some of the bottom end on the ssl-5. Great vid ty

@gwEmbassy Жыл бұрын

They are rather similar indeed. Although I agree with what you say, I can imagine some people would prefer the SSL-5