Hey so im thinking of changing the pickups in my silo special to some more high gain ones. For the bridge i was thinking a ToneZone, middle - fast track and neck - chopper. Just wondering what you all think of that? I was thinking about leaving the original middle pickup but would the sound change because its next to such high gain pickups? Thanks for your help.
- Thread starter fados_09
- Start date
wired
Well-known member
I just went through this & changed the bridge pup only in my Sil Special. I went with a med gain pup (Dimarzio Norton) & it balances pretty well with the stock middle & neck singles. It sounds great when split too. There's a slight volume boost when switching to the bridge only, but nothing severe.
I spoke with a tech at Dimarzio & he suggested either the Norton or the Fred because of the 250k volume & tone pots that the SS comes with. He told me that the Tone Zone would sound muddy with the 250k pots because they would bleed off some of the high end & the Tone Zone is voiced with strong lows.
If you're going to put a set of high gain pickups in all 3 positions, you might want to consider changing the volume & tone pots as well.
I spoke with a tech at Dimarzio & he suggested either the Norton or the Fred because of the 250k volume & tone pots that the SS comes with. He told me that the Tone Zone would sound muddy with the 250k pots because they would bleed off some of the high end & the Tone Zone is voiced with strong lows.
If you're going to put a set of high gain pickups in all 3 positions, you might want to consider changing the volume & tone pots as well.
mesadualrec
Well-known member
candid_x
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2006
- Messages
- 3,272
Can you describe the difference in sound/tone between the stock Silo Special HB and the Norton, both by itself and when split?
GuitarHack
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2006
- Messages
- 981
Keep in mind there is no middle-pickup-only selction on the Silo Special HSS...position 3 is the neck pup in parallel with one coil of the humbucker. I guess you could change that if you wanted if you're going to rewire the thing, but the balance of volume might not be correct right off the bat.
Last night, I was A/B'ing my HSS and SSS Silo Specials. The middle pickup on the SSS sounds great by itself, whereas the split scheme for position 3 on the HSS is another quacky position. I think I might reqire the HSS to be like the SSS. At any rate, they're both great. The HSS Silo is the most versatile guitar I have, it's kind of moved into the "go to" slot.
Last night, I was A/B'ing my HSS and SSS Silo Specials. The middle pickup on the SSS sounds great by itself, whereas the split scheme for position 3 on the HSS is another quacky position. I think I might reqire the HSS to be like the SSS. At any rate, they're both great. The HSS Silo is the most versatile guitar I have, it's kind of moved into the "go to" slot.
Big Mike
Well-known member
Duncan JB with the 250K would likely be my first choice,
but I liked the Dimarzio fred as well.
Also for a bit more cork sniffer angle, I'm very fond of the WCR pickups. The Ironman is just KILLER. for a high gain pup.
but I liked the Dimarzio fred as well.
Also for a bit more cork sniffer angle, I'm very fond of the WCR pickups. The Ironman is just KILLER. for a high gain pup.
wired
Well-known member
There's a noticable difference between the Norton & the stock hb (which is supposedly a Virtual PAF, although the Dimarzio tech would only say it's vintage output). The Norton obviously has more output & causes the amp to break up more. The Norton sounds well balanced to my ears. Lows are well defined (not muddy) and harmonics are very easy to get. I was just playing it through my Mesa Rectoverb tonight & was loving the tone I was getting. I play in a cover band & need versatility, but the stock pup was just too weak to cover some of the harder stuff we do. The Norton will allow me to use the Sil Special for anything.
The 2 split positions (coil 1 & middle single, coil 2 & neck single) sound really good too. The extra bite/output of the Norton help these positions sound more powerful without distorting. Hope this helps
Astrofreq
Well-known member
I put a TZ and Chopper in one of my guitars and it made a KILLER combo. Totally recommend those together.
Is this a big job to do? And how much would it cost?
candid_x
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2006
- Messages
- 3,272
There's a noticable difference between the Norton & the stock hb (which is supposedly a Virtual PAF, although the Dimarzio tech would only say it's vintage output). The Norton obviously has more output & causes the amp to break up more. The Norton sounds well balanced to my ears. Lows are well defined (not muddy) and harmonics are very easy to get. I was just playing it through my Mesa Rectoverb tonight & was loving the tone I was getting. I play in a cover band & need versatility, but the stock pup was just too weak to cover some of the harder stuff we do. The Norton will allow me to use the Sil Special for anything.
The 2 split positions (coil 1 & middle single, coil 2 & neck single) sound really good too. The extra bite/output of the Norton help these positions sound more powerful without distorting. Hope this helps
Hey thanks, Wired! Yes, it gives a clearer idea than reading the ad copy on the DM site.
I second that, I have one in my silo special - best pup Ive tried, and dont let the name fool you it cleans up very well as well, remember to get the trembucker spacing for it -
Monty Billocks
Well-known member
In true Stephen Colbert style I'd honestly have to give a wag of my finger to either of the two Duncan models mentioned earlier in this thread - Not bad 'full 'bucking' tones but less than stellar coil-tap or parallel tones.
I would, however, give an enthusiastic tip of my hat to the DiMarzio Tone Zone (with a change to 500k pots) and the Norton. But my strongest recommendation might just be for the DiMarzio Evo 2 (again with a 500k pot change) - it has plenty of juice but delivered with a wonderfully balanced tone (nothing feels pushed) as well as great dynamics and a very natural response to your volume control setting (with or without a treble-bleed/high pass filter cap fitted). It also produces fantastically snappy, open & airy split/parallel tones to boot!!!
There ya go....my two cents worth!
Steve.
I would, however, give an enthusiastic tip of my hat to the DiMarzio Tone Zone (with a change to 500k pots) and the Norton. But my strongest recommendation might just be for the DiMarzio Evo 2 (again with a 500k pot change) - it has plenty of juice but delivered with a wonderfully balanced tone (nothing feels pushed) as well as great dynamics and a very natural response to your volume control setting (with or without a treble-bleed/high pass filter cap fitted). It also produces fantastically snappy, open & airy split/parallel tones to boot!!!
There ya go....my two cents worth!
Steve.
robelinda2
Well-known member
anyone tried Lace Sensors in a silo? I know they are a bit out of fashion etc etc etc, but i have always liked the tone they have, and i dont know why, i should hate them!!! I'm a big fan of Daryl Stuermer and he has without doubt GREAT tone, he uses gold lace sensors.
beej
Moderator
Yuck, I have to say I really hate Lace Sensors.
If you're looking for a passive noisefree pickup, there are better ones (of those, I really like Bill Lawrence 200s or the SCNs). But with the Silent Circuit you don't need to go noiseless.
If you're looking for a passive noisefree pickup, there are better ones (of those, I really like Bill Lawrence 200s or the SCNs). But with the Silent Circuit you don't need to go noiseless.
paranoid70
Well-known member
Nice. You sir are my Alpha Dog of the week.
Monty Billocks
Well-known member
WOOF!!!
wired
Well-known member
