HS-3 Single Coil Pickup - Black Review

Great, misunderstood pickup

Like many people that bought these in the 80s, I got this because of Mr. Yngwie J. Malmsteen (I know. He keeps the "J" so he doesn't get confused with all of the other Yngwie Malmsteens). I think most people think because of him, this is gonna be a rip roaring, in your face, super high output affair. It isn't. What it IS is full of tone. It sounds terrific overdriven, and gets… read more a certain sweetness as the gain is piled on that never goes away no matter how much gain you pile on it. It is also ARTICULATE. Probably another reason that YJM used them. Also keep in mind that he was using non master volume 50 watt Marshalls cranked to the max, and pushed with an old od250. This more than made up for the low output. Don't be put off by the weak output. These pickups will spank, twang, scream, or shred. The really are that good. Work in all positions, and if you have a low output humbucker, they will combine just fine with a little height tweaking. I should also mention that in the neck position of a maple neck strat, this pickup is sonic bliss. They will also work with 250 or 500k pots. You can't go wrong with this pickup. And if you have the picking technique to exploit it, it will let your right hand shine. If you don't......

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Review of DIMarzio HS3 single-coil hum cancelling Pickup

I first purchased this pickup around 1985 for an American Made Standard Strat with a rosewood fingerboard that I had just purchased brand new. I wanted a pickup with more output and noise cancelling features. I hated the Strat's annoying hum and weak output. I wanted a pick-up that sounded more like my 82 Les Paul Standards which had no hum and very high output. It did not have… read more the output of my gibson humbucker but it had a lot more output than the stock pick-up that came with my Standard Strat and cancelled all of the hum also !!! When I purchased a new Standard Strat in 2010 which came with Jumbo-Frets and a rosewood fingerboard I quickly purchased this same Pick-up for it also. I love the way this pick-up boosts the output and cancels the hum on my Strats !!! I also own a mid 80's "57 re-issue Strat and I just ordered another one of these DIMarzio HS_3 pickups for the lead position. I went to the GUITAR CENTER to try to purchase this Pick-up for my "57" re-issue and I was told that it was out of production and I was not going to find it new anywhere !! I was very disappointed and went online to se if maybe Sweetwater could help me find a used one. I was delighted to find a brand new one at Sweetwater for only 69.00 dollars. What a good deal !!!! I highly recommend Sweetwater for replacement parts and all other accessories for your guitars. They have an awesome selection and very good customer service. THANK YOU SWEETWATER !!! HERMAN G. MEJIA HUNTINGTON BEACH CALIFORNIA.

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