My mind is set on buying a pickup, a noiseless one. I was considered a fender vintage noiseless, but the noiseless logo turned me off, and i heard reviews saying they were very stale. On the contrary, i heard nothing but positive reviews about Dimarzio's Area pickup line. So, i am STILL deciding on whether i want to replace the bridge or the neck. Probably the neck.

My three options:

Area '67
Area '61
STK-S4 (Duncan)

I am kind of leaning towards the area '61 for my neck. I know it is primarily a bridge pickup, but if i get the '67 i might lose pick attack, which I enjoy having.

Any thoughts? By the way if you want to persuade me to another, go for it, but the arguement has to be quite persuasive.

-The Screamin' J

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CURRENT RIG:
2008 Squier bullet stratocaster modified with Rumpelstiltskin pickups -> Dunlop GCB-95 Original Crybaby -> Fender Vibro Champ XD

"Could you take the stain from this pair of pants, and put in on this pair of pants?"

The Area 67 is what I use in the neck position. IMO, it is absolutely the best stacked pickup out there for the neck position and yes, I've used Kinmans, Duncans and even other DiMarzio Area pickups in this position. The Area 67 simply does a fantastic job!

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You dig?

And what do you play, Martian?

_________________
CURRENT RIG:
2008 Squier bullet stratocaster modified with Rumpelstiltskin pickups -> Dunlop GCB-95 Original Crybaby -> Fender Vibro Champ XD

"Could you take the stain from this pair of pants, and put in on this pair of pants?"

How about trying a Split Blade Fralin Bridge pickup?

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The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

The radio.

In my stacked HB Strat, I have all DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Areas: 67 in the neck; 58 in the middle; 61 in the bridge. I use 250K pots, a .022uF capacitor and a reverse taper no-load blender pot, thereby allowing for all pickup combinations. I can get virtually any traditional Strat tonality from any Fender era, dynasty or whatever you want to call it with this combo.

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You dig?

I'm worried that the Area '67 is not responsive enough. But i'm also worried that the '61 won't give me that 'clean' tone i am looking for.

BTW, which Seymour's did you try?


-The Screamin' J

_________________
CURRENT RIG:
2008 Squier bullet stratocaster modified with Rumpelstiltskin pickups -> Dunlop GCB-95 Original Crybaby -> Fender Vibro Champ XD

"Could you take the stain from this pair of pants, and put in on this pair of pants?"

The following of course is all IMO:

I wouldn't put the 67 in the bridge, period, it would sound most anemic; not in the middle either as it sounds clanky there. In the neck, it has a smooth, crisp bell tone due to the dipped midrange.

With the 61, if you're concerned with clean tones, to my ear, it sounds 'almost' like a Texas Special but not quite as it is just slightly not powerful enough. So, if you're concerned with it being a hair over the top, go with a 58. Powerwise, it's right in between the other two with the same to be said for its midrange.

With the Duncans, I tried all the low to moderate output ones which have 6 individual polepieces.

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You dig?

How would you feel about an Area '61 going in the neck pickup? Can it cover a good Hendrix/Gilmour/SRV sound?

Or would it just be too bass-y?

The area '67 is starting to look real friendly right about now...


-The Screamin' J

_________________
CURRENT RIG:
2008 Squier bullet stratocaster modified with Rumpelstiltskin pickups -> Dunlop GCB-95 Original Crybaby -> Fender Vibro Champ XD

"Could you take the stain from this pair of pants, and put in on this pair of pants?"

found an AREA pre-wired set you might be interested in
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/ ... 476237#new

I think the 61 might be a bit over the top in the neck by being just a tad, "farty" (bassy).

The 67 in the neck covers Hendrix and Gilmour; the 61 in the bridge covers Gilmour and SRV.

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You dig?