Silhouette Special Pickup Advice

[threeminutesboy]

I'm Stratless now, and I'm less than impressed with F**der quality these days, so no convincing is required on that front. I miss the sound, but not the guitar, hence this quest. Another SSS fan...thanks!

Reason why I purchased the Silo SSS missed the Knofler sound (position 4)

My upgraded Strat will now become the perfect backup of the Luke...

 

[GuitarHack]

Ooops sorry, my mistake First is Silo, this one is Silo Special

Welcome to my confusion

 

[robelinda2]

i would go with the HSS man, but i dont know what i'd say if i'd played a SSS. give me until december, then i'll tell you. HSS works so great for me, i get the great strat neck pickup and neck/middle sound which i love, i dont care at all for the bridge single coil in strats, but only to get the bridge/middle tone which i like. which is why i need a SSS silo special bad!!! i have to play my bloody strats to get that sound at the moment.

 

[robelinda2]

I acknowledge that my expectations are that any Silo will blow the doors off a Strat...the term "Strat-like" is used for convenience only.

ha! dont worry, your expectations will be correct! there isnt a strat alive ( or dead ) that is better sounding then a silo special, hell even with my HSS i even think it kills a strat, man i cant wait to hear a SSS!

 

[GuitarHack]

i would go with the HSS man, but i dont know what i'd say if i'd played a SSS. give me until december, then i'll tell you. HSS works so great for me, i get the great strat neck pickup and neck/middle sound which i love, i dont care at all for the bridge single coil in strats, but only to get the bridge/middle tone which i like. which is why i need a SSS silo special bad!!! i have to play my bloody strats to get that sound at the moment.

Sorry Rob, I thought you were advocating SSS, I'll change your vote to HSS, for a few months anyway

Well, I've got til December, but that's if I order today, which means a decision today. I got quoted 5 months for a Silo Special yesterday. My HoneyBurst Axis SS MM90 with trem and piezo -- have you seen that one? It's really gorgeous -- took 4 months after I ordered her in January, I was hoping that since the Silo doesn't involve the quilt top, and is a solid color, that maybe it would be less, but I guess the demand is going up.

 

[GuitarHack]

So, looks aside, is the AL even more of a Strat killer than the Silo Special SSS? If so, I might could get used to it, plus they seem more plentiful in stores.

But I know if I ever bought an AL, my drummer would yell "Jane, get me off of this thing!" as soon as he saw it.

 

[SteveB]

Someone asked why the silent circuit was only used in one switch position..

that is the only position where there aren't two coils active. (when there are 2 coils active, you get hum cancellation.. even if they aren't coils of the same pickup).
So, they add the silent circuit in that position, which is effectively a 'dummy coil' that cancels hum but its output doesn't become part of the signal.

As for the AL.. here's my two cents:

I played all these guitars at the Open House, and I'd get an AL before a Sil of any type. The neck of the AL is more of a "C" shape, and it's tone is just amazing.. but then you have the problem of deciding SSS or MM90s. That's a decision that can only be resolved by a coin toss because they both sound great.

 

[GuitarHack]

Someone asked why the silent circuit was only used in one switch position..

that is the only position where there aren't two coils active. (when there are 2 coils active, you get hum cancellation.. even if they aren't coils of the same pickup).
So, they add the silent circuit in that position, which is effectively a 'dummy coil' that cancels hum but its output doesn't become part of the signal.

As for the AL.. here's my two cents:

I played all these guitars at the Open House, and I'd get an AL before a Sil of any type. The neck of the AL is more of a "C" shape, and it's tone is just amazing.. but then you have the problem of deciding SSS or MM90s. That's a decision that can only be resolved by a coin toss because they both sound great.

Thanks, Steve. I'm covered with my MM90 ASSs, so the AL SSS would be the way to go for me, if I could learn to like it's looks. Yesterday, I went to a store about 60 miles away to play a Buttercream LE AL, but it sold the day before.

 

[Big Mike]

I much prefer a bucker in the bridge. Unless you have a dedicated tone control for the single coil, I don't have much use for a lead position SC without it. Unless it was changed to something like a fralin SP43. (p90 tone in a strat coil).

A bucker for leads is much more up my alley.

That said, if I was going 'strat killer' I'd get a AL as well. If I was going SiloSS, it would def. be SSH

 

[GuitarHack]

I much prefer a bucker in the bridge. Unless you have a dedicated tone control for the single coil, I don't have much use for a lead position SC without it. Unless it was changed to something like a fralin SP43. (p90 tone in a strat coil).

A bucker for leads is much more up my alley.

That said, if I was going 'strat killer' I'd get a AL as well. If I was going SiloSS, it would def. be SSH

Thanks, Mike.

 

[threeminutesboy]

Thanks, Steve. I'm covered with my MM90 ASSs, so the AL SSS would be the way to go for me, if I could learn to like it's looks. Yesterday, I went to a store about 60 miles away to play a Buttercream LE AL, but it sold the day before.

Too bad . I am not convinced by the "look" of that guitar too but I will try one cause after hearing from all the people here it's definitly a guitar I can't continue to ignore anymore

 

[J-Nick]

I might be wrong but I think that silo specs are routed the same regardless of being SSS or HSS. So if you change your mind after you played one config you can buy a new pickguard and replace the bridge pickup...

Cheers!

 

[Big Mike]

I might be wrong but I think that silo specs are routed the same regardless of being SSS or HSS. So if you change your mind after you played one config you can buy a new pickguard and replace the bridge pickup...

Cheers!

Good idea.

 

[GuitarHack]

I might be wrong but I think that silo specs are routed the same regardless of being SSS or HSS. So if you change your mind after you played one config you can buy a new pickguard and replace the bridge pickup...

Cheers!

I do seem to remember while poking around the search function on this that EBMM is good enough to connect the pickup wiring harness to the selector, which would make that easy. That might be cool.

 

[candid_x]

GH,

I have two SS, both with HSS. Since I almost never used the bridge single coils alone on my other guitars, I thought I'd give the HSS a try. Now, I can't even imagine going back to a SSS. Unlike Rob, I think position 4 nails the older strat honk and quack, but much of that depends upon which humbucker is being used at the bridge. Not all buckers split well. Imo, the stock Virtual PAF that MM uses does this job admirably.

Silent Circuit only effects the neck p'up (on a HSS model), but the middle 3rd position still plays the center p'up by itself (as far as I know). It's just that hardly anyone uses the middle by itself, whereas the neck p'up is commonly used.

I’ve never played an AL, but from the clips I’ve heard, it has more of a clean vintage strat tone, something like what Lindy Fralin vintage p’ups sound like, while to my ears the stock SS sounds a bit more crunchy, raunchy and thick. It’s all personal preference. I have no problem at all with how the AL looks; I think they look totally cool.

Bruce

 

[GuitarHack]

GH,

I have two SS, both with HSS. Since I almost never used the bridge single coils alone on my other guitars, I thought I'd give the HSS a try. Now, I can't even imagine going back to a SSS. Unlike Rob, I think position 4 nails the older strat honk and quack, but much of that depends upon which humbucker is being used at the bridge. Not all buckers split well. Imo, the stock Virtual PAF that MM uses does this job admirably.

Silent Circuit only effects the neck p'up (on a HSS model), but the middle 3rd position still plays the center p'up by itself (as far as I know). It's just that hardly anyone uses the middle by itself, whereas the neck p'up is commonly used.

I’ve never played an AL, but from the clips I’ve heard, it has more of a clean vintage strat tone, something like what Lindy Fralin vintage p’ups sound like, while to my ears the stock SS sounds a bit more crunchy, raunchy and thick. It’s all personal preference. I have no problem at all with how the AL looks; I think they look totally cool.

Bruce

Thanks for that input. There does appear to be a position 3 difference between a regular Strat and the HSS Silo Specials (one coil of the HB paralleled with the neck single coil), but since there is a lot of surprise on that here on this thread, it doesn't seem to be an issue.

This feedback is exactly what I was looking for from the members here, but it sounds like I really need to play both. It is frustrating that more stores don't stock EBMM guitars (basses yes, guitars no). I travel a LOT on business, and when I have down time, I seek out EBMM dealers wherever I might be. I live in North Carolina, and I travel regularly or semi-regularly to South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennesee, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Colorado and California. In all of my travels over the past year, I've seen exactly one Silo SSS in a store, and it was a used one in a Guitar Center. I've seen maybe three Silo HSS guitars. I have five Balls: three of them I ordered as-is over the Internet, one I ordered built from my local dealer, and one I found while in Colorado. If anyone out there can suggest a well-stocked EBMM guitar dealer in any of these states, please let me know.

Then again, if EBMMs were as plentiful as F*nd*rs or G*bs*ns, that might not be so good on the wallet....

 

[candid_x]

Thanks for that input. There does appear to be a position 3 difference between a regular Strat and the HSS Silo Specials (one coil of the HB paralleled with the neck single coil), but since there is a lot of surprise on that here on this thread, it doesn't seem to be an issue.

This feedback is exactly what I was looking for from the members here, but it sounds like I really need to play both. It is frustrating that more stores don't stock EBMM guitars (basses yes, guitars no). I travel a LOT on business, and when I have down time, I seek out EBMM dealers wherever I might be. I live in North Carolina, and I travel regularly or semi-regularly to South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennesee, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Colorado and California. In all of my travels over the past year, I've seen exactly one Silo SSS in a store, and it was a used one in a Guitar Center. I've seen maybe three Silo HSS guitars. I have five Balls: three of them I ordered as-is over the Internet, one I ordered built from my local dealer, and one I found while in Colorado. If anyone out there can suggest a well-stocked EBMM guitar dealer in any of these states, please let me know.

Then again, if EBMMs were as plentiful as F*nd*rs or G*bs*ns, that might not be so good on the wallet....

By golly, you’re right about position 3 on the HSS. It appears from the diagram that position 3 engages the neck pickup and also a split off the bridge pickup. I knew my Axis Sport had this configuration but hadn’t realized the SS did as well. Interesting.

Guitar Center has come to Reno, where my son lives. He asked this morning if GC carried MM. I went to their site and they show a large inventory of MM, so I told him yes. From what you’re saying, maybe not from their retail outlets. That would suck.

An old friend named David Peel (produced in the 70’s by John Lennon) used to say “the masses are the asses”. That’s just how life is, and it’s why only very few guitar stores have Balls.

 

[GuitarHack]

Thanks to all of you for your inputs. I made a decision today, nudged along by the rhythmic tap of opportunity knocking. The great folks at Drum City Guitar Land in Colorado have a NOS 2005 LE Buttercream Silo Special with rosewood board and vintage trem...well, actually they HAD one and she's heading my way TOMORROW, should be here on Friday!

Can't wait to get her and give her a spin. Thanks again!

Regards,
GuitarHack

 

[Quarter]

Nice score, those Butter Cream LE's are sharp

 

[SteveB]

Man, that's a nice looking axe! Buttercream looks good on guitars with a pickguard.