Has anyone out there had any experience with these? I'm debating on getting the Fender Custom Shop '69s or the SSL 1's California 50's pickup set. I've read good reviews on both.

How do they compare?

I'm looking for a vintage set that gives me a warm, bell-like tone, but also shines with some overdrive or a little distortion (a yellowleadbetter meets pink floyd sort of thing...and doesn't give me ice pick treble or colors my tone a lot.

I know the SSL-1 have a little more output and was wondering if that also made them preferable to the '69s.

I've also heard that the SSL-1 makes a better bridge pickup than the '69 - thoughts?

Thanks for the input!

The SSL-1's are pretty smooth. I have them in my '89 American Standard Strat. Nice tone without overbearing treble. I have a set of CS 54's in my Classic 60's Strat that have more treble response. 20 years from now, when the magnets age a little, they will probably sound great.

That's encouraging about the ssl-1's, hearing that they're smooth and a bit less trebly than fender cs pickups.

As much as I can, I'd like to keep the set balanced and from the same manufacturer. I've mixed and matched some pickups over the years, and many of them didn't really get along all that nicely with each other...a lot of people, I've read, are keeping the 69's in for the neck and the mid, but then getting a ssl-5 for the bridge (ala David Gilmour).

So, the ssl-1 isn't overly hot and it won't color my tone, right? And it's good both clean and overdriven/a bit of distortion?

Also, is the ssl-1 california set just three of the same pickup, or is each one (neck vs. middle vs. bridge) calibrated differently (i.e. the bridge pickup is wound hotter)?

Thank you!