i have a silhouette special on the way and was wondering what dimarzio humbucker model is used? i have heard it's kinda bland sounding and will be replacing it if it is (but i got to hear it first before i replace it). btw, what humbuckers have you guys installed in your silo special? i have seymour duncan 59 humbuckers in my strat and was thinking of trying something different - probably a duncan screamin demon or dimarzio fred (looking for something just a little bit modded up from a standard paf 59 humbucker).
- Thread starter moanjam
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as far as I know it's very close to Virtual PAF. To me it's not bland sounding at all. More like "singing" tone, very good for solos. Of course if you wanna do some really tight heavy stuff you might consider a change. But it all depends more on the amp I think
candid_x
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Echos Philip's comments.
I have to tweak the amp a bit and/or roll off treble on the guitar, when I pop into the bridge bucker, or else it's too bright for my taste. But, that's partly due to my amp and settings. The stock bucker is really "singy" and focused, which is great for solo work, because the notes are clearly defined, not muddled together. For a wall of power type tone, there are others better suited, imo. When dialed in, the stock bucker is anything but bland sounding, it's actually 3-D sounding.
But, it's all what you like.
I have to tweak the amp a bit and/or roll off treble on the guitar, when I pop into the bridge bucker, or else it's too bright for my taste. But, that's partly due to my amp and settings. The stock bucker is really "singy" and focused, which is great for solo work, because the notes are clearly defined, not muddled together. For a wall of power type tone, there are others better suited, imo. When dialed in, the stock bucker is anything but bland sounding, it's actually 3-D sounding.
But, it's all what you like.
wired
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I recently replaced the stock hb in my SS with a Dimarzio Norton, which is a medium output hb & was suggested by a cs rep @ Dimarzio. I liked the stock pup, but was just looking for a little more output & punch. So far, I'm very happy w/ the Norton.
roburado
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I think the stock Silo Spec humbucker is pretty good at doing a lot of different stuff. I agree that it does sing. I don't really know what you mean by bland, necessarily. I think it sounds pretty good. I don't think it has quite the definition of some other pickups like, say, those found in a JP. It's not going to bite as hard, but the difference is not so noticeable that I find it very lacking, especially when I've been playing the guitar a lot. Actually, I find it surprisingly capable in terms of those metal-type sounds. As far as all-around rock tone, well, I think it's pretty freaking good.
Of course, everything we're saying here is subjective. The best thing is to do as you are planning and try the guitar first.
Of course, everything we're saying here is subjective. The best thing is to do as you are planning and try the guitar first.
candid_x
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I do like the fact that, though it's pretty bright, it's doesn't stab your ear drums with an ice pick, as some others can do. The rather tight focus is in the upper mids, and also the bottom end isn't at all flabby. According to DiMarzio, the pickup is designed not to muddy up when going through an array of pedals/effects. Excellent note separation. For me, perhaps a bit too much so, since I go directly from guitar to amp with no effects. But overall, I like it.
5Stringer
Ernie Ball Customer Service
Just to clear this up ....
Just to clear up a little about pickups in the Silhouette Special - When the guitar was first introduced in 1995, we used all custom-wound DiMarzios with an emphasis on vintage, which was the vibe we were going for on the whole guitar. Later, in the latter part of 2003, we switched the humbucker to a Virtual PAF, which is still in use today. The single-coils remain the same as the originals.
Dan
Just to clear up a little about pickups in the Silhouette Special - When the guitar was first introduced in 1995, we used all custom-wound DiMarzios with an emphasis on vintage, which was the vibe we were going for on the whole guitar. Later, in the latter part of 2003, we switched the humbucker to a Virtual PAF, which is still in use today. The single-coils remain the same as the originals.
Dan
candid_x
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Thanks for clearing this subject up, Dan. After our conversation today I was going to start a thread on it. Glad you picked this one up.
I was under the earlier impression that the switch to Virtual PAF came at around 2000, and that the earlier humbucker was a PAF Pro. Not so.
Now, the lingering question: how close was the custom pre-late-2003 humbucker to the present Virtual PAF?
Eilif
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Question: Does "vintage" in reference to a humbucker pretty much mean going for a Les Paul vibe? Please enlighten me.
roburado
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I guess I have the original one.
candid_x
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Same here, Rob. I've been under the misguided impression that both of my silo buckers were Virtual PAF. So what I described above applies not to the Virtual PAF but to the earlier "classic" custom bucker. I'm still curious how closely they are voiced to the later stock Virtual PAF's.
On another note, I like the humbucker better in my rosewood board SS than in my maple board SS, which is another reason why I've chosen to convert my maple board one to SSS.
On another note, I like the humbucker better in my rosewood board SS than in my maple board SS, which is another reason why I've chosen to convert my maple board one to SSS.
roburado
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Having tried one of the SS with Virtual PAF, I have to say that the Virtual PAF sounds great in this guitar. I still think it sings too.
whitestrat
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do the same pickups feature in the Silhouette? because honestly, I don't like them. I got a set of PAF Joes and Steve's Specials waiting to go in...
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5Stringer
Ernie Ball Customer Service
With the vintage style, we were just sort of going for a late 60's early 70's vibe - that sort of encompassed a few different guitars of the era. The logical thing would be that we were going for a Les Paul sound, but there was some other Gibson guitars influence there as well. Think Clapton with Cream.
5Stringer
Ernie Ball Customer Service
Depends on the build date of the guitar, we have gone through a few pickup changes on that guitar. In fact, the very first Silhouettes used Schaller pickups (bet most of you didn't know that!).
Dan
whitestrat
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Opps... sorry. This one has a reg no. of: 621972. The white pups have black bobbins, which look like PAF pros to me...
5Stringer
Ernie Ball Customer Service
That would fit. Those should be the original PAF Pros we had used for a long time.
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candid_x
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If this refers to the older Silo Special buckers, I'd say this describes the vintage vibe well. There's definitely shades of that midrange Page LP vibe. If the pup was in the neck position, I'd think it'd do the sunshine of your love thing. In the bridge, it's tighter focused, more like the white room solo, even without the wha.
whitestrat
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I thought so... thanks for confirming! No wonder I don't really like the tone. Heh...
edstorer
Active member
I recently acquired my second 1991 6-bolt Silhouette HSH. I really love the sound of the original DiMarzio's, but wanted to see if I could improve on it with Seymour Duncans. I put a SH-1 '59 in the neck, a generic single coil tallboy in the middle, and a Pearly Gates Plus in the bridge. I prefer the sound of the stock neck and middle pickups, but the PGP just KICKS BUTT in the bridge.
The Special has the Silent Circuit and a really gnarly 5-way super switch to go with it. Supposedly the Silent Circuit is only in play when only one single coil is engaged, but I don't have the circuit analysis ability to figure it out.
There is one other key difference. I used 500K pots for volume and tone. These tend to make the pickups a little brighter as the resistance to ground (load) is less.
Before you plug in your soldering iron make lots of clear pictures and notes about what is wired to what terminal of everything.
Good luck.
Ed
I realize that the Silo and Silo Special aren't exactly the same guitar, but I was really impressed with the Seymour under the bridge. I like the classic PAF sound and
The Special has the Silent Circuit and a really gnarly 5-way super switch to go with it. Supposedly the Silent Circuit is only in play when only one single coil is engaged, but I don't have the circuit analysis ability to figure it out.
There is one other key difference. I used 500K pots for volume and tone. These tend to make the pickups a little brighter as the resistance to ground (load) is less.
Before you plug in your soldering iron make lots of clear pictures and notes about what is wired to what terminal of everything.
Good luck.
Ed
I realize that the Silo and Silo Special aren't exactly the same guitar, but I was really impressed with the Seymour under the bridge. I like the classic PAF sound and
