Is there a website where you can listen to the various pickups Fender makes. I know there are alot of variables to contend with but just to give you somewhat of an idea. Also Hi I'm a newbie.

Pro guitar do really good demo's. Unlike most demos, they make the sound clips short, and the play the same thing. Other demo's will demonstrate a pickup running clean through a Fender amp, then show a compeditor through an overdriven amp, playing something completely different.
Premier Guitar also do a good job. I hate when people do demos on pickups, then add a bunch of effects so you cant tell where the pickups end and the pedals and amp begin.

+1

The sole caveat with any sound clip is the equipment used for playback (whether one is listening to a pickup, amp, speaker, pedal, youtube video, etc). Most computer audio systems are notoriously tinny and compressed. If possible, it's best to give any potential purchase a hands-on listen to eliminate as many variables as practical.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Yeah, I ru the sound through either my studio monitors or headphones. Gthe key to pickups is hearing them clean. I get a kick out of people at shops tghat are shopping for guitars and try them all through distorted amps. Everything sounds okay through overdrive, but some pickups are great overdriven(I'm thinking of active pickups), but have no personality clean. Another point that speaks to trying them is that your guitar will be different (maybe a rosewood fretboard insyead of maple;) ), or different strings, which can make a huge difference with how they sound. After trying countless pickups, including pretty much every Fender one, I realize I personally don't like Fenders. Well, I won't say I don't like them, I just like other ones more. I think Dimazio Area 58/61 sound and play really close to Fenders Custom Shop 57/62s, but with NO hum.

+1!!!

I have two Strats configured with the Area 58 and Area 61 pickups (middle and neck), with a Virtual Vintage Solo Pro at the bridge. Plenty of "strattitude" and they absolutely smoke Fender's SCN's.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

No truer words have been spoken. Besides having much better tone and dynamics(and the Area pickups have dynamics in spades) string pull is exact opposite on the two. The alnico 2 magnets on the areas have virtually no pullb when you compare them to the scn's. When id use my metal 6" ruler I use to check pickup height and all around setup duties, id have to really put some muscle in to get them off there pole piece. Plus they had no character, if I wanted something with a real modern sound for overdrive I might try scn's, but probably not.i was lucky enough to have access to so many different pickups before I choose the Dimarzios= Fralins, lollars, fender, other custom wound, that it was almost comical that I ended up with Dimarzios, but they filled my needs the best. They're real articulate, they respond to pick attack like a real vintage single coil, and they're the quietest pickup I've ever used.
I have them in a 58/58/61 setup, but I want to put a hotter pickup inb the bridge. I was thinking of using the heavy blues, because its still an alnico 2, and putting a pro 54/ neck. How its the solo one you use? I don't want to put anything that has too much output compared to the others. But I figured I could wire up a greasebucket circuit for the bridge. Because it filters a bit of the lows as well as the highs like a regular tone pot, it would cut back a little of the volume. I have one of the circuits in my strat now. It sounds good on the bridge, gives it a more mid range focused tone, so its good for overdrive, but because the ares 61 is so close to the 58s in outpiut, there is a noticeable volume drop when I turn the tone down.

The Solo Pro is just a skosh hotter than the 58 or the 61. But I think it's since been superceded by another model now. The DM model number was DP414.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

When you got your Area pickups; did they have a choice for F-spacing? I didnt see it anywhere when i ordered them. The low E at the bridge pickup sits a little to the left of the pole. I dont find a big problem with it, though if I had either a F-spaced bridge pickup, or a narrower string spacing on the trem, im sure i would.

Oops, neglected to pay attention to the Pro Solo for the bridge, different pickup up anyway

"F-spacing"......?



I didn't think they came any other way.

Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

It looks about the same, except its your high E that's a bit off to the side, mines the low E, probably due to the pickguard mounting screws for the pickup being an aftermarket on mine. Nice color BTW, its pretty close to what I did on my build.

Id rather it by the high E, take a bit of the brightness out of it.

Does that neck have binding on it?
F-spacing. Fender spacing.

Indeed.

The same as this one......



Arjay

_________________
"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I must have been exausted friday, I know i was, when I asked about F-spacing on the Area pickups. In my head, i confused the spacing on the pickups, with the spacing choices of the Callaham tremolo. I was sitting here, not even on the forum, and all of a sudden I thought "F-Spacing?? On a single coil??"

I remember trying to decide between normal spacing, and narrow spacing on a tremolo I ordered, not the pickup.
T