New Pickups for an HSS Silo Special

[gitapik]

Got a 2009 Silo Special.

I put Lollar Blackfaces in the neck and middle and a Tyler "Secret" in the bridge. Sounds fantastic. The Lollars are a little hotter than a standard single and the Tyler is a little less in your face than a lot of humbuckers (though it still burns). The combo makes for a really nice balance when going from position to position on the toggle.

Clean, compressed, OD, or distortion. It sounds incredible.

 

[jmp220478]

you got any audio ? ideally before n after ? - did you keep silent circuit in ?

Im about to move to a HSS format from stock SSS and looking for options - have a preference for Andy Timmons neck tone but any sweet sounding neck pu that will do hendrix to timmons - clean and higain has got to be on my radar

what pot values are you using ?

 

[gitapik]

you got any audio ? ideally before n after ? - did you keep silent circuit in ?

Im about to move to a HSS format from stock SSS and looking for options - have a preference for Andy Timmons neck tone but any sweet sounding neck pu that will do hendrix to timmons - clean and higain has got to be on my radar

what pot values are you using ?

Sorry to disappoint but i don't have any clips (before or after).

I did keep the silent circuit. It's not at it's maximal shielding which suits me fine. Definitely quieter than without the circuit but it still keeps the edge intact on that neck pickup. I'd have shut it down if it didn't.

The Lollar sounds great in there and plays very well with higher gain settings. I'm a fan of the Timmons pickups, too. I had an AT1 in the bridge which sounded great, but I like this Tyler more.

Sounds like you're looking for a nice balance between all three pickups and I think you'll get it with either the DiMarzio or Lollar (or others, I'm sure). For me it was notching up the single with the Lollar and bringing the humbucker a little closer to earth with the Tyler. If you're into the Timmons neck pickup, I'd suggest going with his bridge and middle, too. He knows what he wants and DiMarzio got that for him.

My tech strongly suggested sticking with the 250kohm and I'm glad he did. I know a lot of players who opted for the 500kohm, but I love the sounds I'm getting with the way mine is set up, now (and was, originally).

 

[paranoid70]

I just put in a Gibson 57 Classic Plus into the bridge of my HSS Silo Special. Not sure if I love it or not. I sure love the way the 57 sounds in my SG, but I guess it's different animal when added to a Silhouette.

 

[Cordarino]

I have a spare 57 plus too, how much is different from stock DiMarzio?
More midrange or just warmer? Can you split a 57?
Thanks

 

[gitapik]

I just put in a Gibson 57 Classic Plus into the bridge of my HSS Silo Special. Not sure if I love it or not. I sure love the way the 57 sounds in my SG, but I guess it's different animal when added to a Silhouette.

I'd give it a little more time if you just recently put that 57 Plus in there. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right touch or sweet spot in a piece of gear. It's especially tough when you're comparing to something else that sounded great. Your SG is definitely a different animal than a Silo Special, so the sound will be different. It's a question of whether adapting your touch, settings, and ultimately your ear will create a sound that you can really follow or not.

There's also the point that your SG uses two humbuckers as opposed to the HSS config on your Silo. I chose the Tyler Secret pickup for the bridge specifically because one of it's main strengths is how it balances and combines with single coils in the neck and middle. When I'm playing a solo and switch from the bridge to the neck, there isn't this big drop in volume and presence that you'll sometimes find with a more powerful humbucker.

 

[paranoid70]

So I played my Silhouette Special with the 57 added to bridge at our bar gig this weekend, and yeah I liked the way it sounded. Definitely a different sound in a band setting vs just playing around at home. Not quite like the SG for sure, but more of the traditional/vintage l rock sound I'm looking for!!

The 57 can be split the same as the dimarzio. I honestly can't remember what the stock pickup sounded like - I replaced that a while ago with a Dimarzio Air Zone. Plus I also had 500k pots put in at that time. I just know I loved the playability of the Silo Spec but the sound of the stock humbucker or the AirZone wasn't exactly what I wanted. So far I'm liking the way it sounds now at lot more.