SSL-5 Custom Staggered Pole Neck/Bridge/Middle Strat Single Coil Pickup - White Review

Seymour Duncan SSL-5 for Strat Bridge

I bought a Fender Professional Strat in 2017 with V-mod pups and liked everything about it except, the V-mod bridge pickup. I found it to be weak and thin sounding, volume was definitely weaker thatn the neck pup even after adjustments. Also, I couldn't go past 4 on the treble knob without an obnoxious ice pick sound. I started my research on replacing all of my pickups looking… read more at all kind of options. After getting thoroughly confused with all of the optinions and options, I decided to keep the neck and middle PUPs since I like the sound and pull the trigger on the SSL-5 to replace the bridge PUP. I had my luthier install it and do a complete set up of the guitar. I brought it home and played it for over an hour and discovered that this is the sound that I was looking for. The volume matches the neck pickup and it is much more full sounding that the stock pup. I put the tone knob on 6 or 7 now and it still sounds great, no shrill treble. It still has that great Fender twang, not a dark tone like some have said. The position 2 quack sound sounds great as well when paired with the middle pup. Conclusion, glad I made this choice, love my Fender Strat.

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Best that I've tried

So a lot of strat players with SSS single coil bridge like to beef up the bridge pickup somewhat for a thicker tone. In the past, I've tried a Lollar Special S, a Dimarzio DP420 which is actually a humbucker but looks like a standard strat single coil pickup, and now the Duncan SSL-5. The Lollar sounded good but had too much midrange as many over wound single coils do. Really… read more liked the Dimarzio tight punchy but more scooped in the mids matching the neck and middle better, and definitely had a little of that compression that humbuckers have, great pickup. The SSL-5 is really high output 13 ohms but surprizingly does not have a lot of mids, still scooped matching my other pickups. It's more open sounding (not as compressed) than the Dimarzio which also matches the other two single coils, and that's what I really like about. The low end it tight while highs are rolled of some which is needed IMO for a strat bridge pickup as they are too treble-ly for me. So the SSL-5 is my fav of the three. Seems to sound better not so close to the strings. Great pickup at a nice price. Try one!

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Fantastic Pickup

I put this in the bridge of an American Strat along with SSL-1's in the middle and neck. I never fell in love with the original bridge pickup, but the SSL-5 sounds amazing. Highly recommend doing a blender mod to combine the bridge and neck pickup too, it sounds fantastic. This nails Gilmour tones. My Strat used to be my least played guitar, now it is one of my favorites!

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If you're looking for that Gilmour tone...

...This is the bridge pickup for you. I'm only using it in the bridge position, so I can't say how it sounds in the neck or middle, but the SSL-5 isn't your average strat pickup. Output-wise this guy feels like it's approaching humbucker or P-90 territory, but it still has a very distinctive single coil attack that keeps it from sounding too much like a humbucker. The problem I've… read more always had with strat bridge pickups is that they sound great in position 2, but they always seem to sound thin and brittle on their own. I used to have a set of 57/62s and the bridge pickup was barely usable on its own. The SSL-5, on the other hand, retains the strat tone, but it's beefy enough that it sounds great on its own. With a DC resistance of almost 14k, this pickup really drives your amp hard, but it always sounds clear and defined with a nice balanced EQ. Add a little dirt or fuzz to it and you instantly get that classic Gilmour sound and definition. And somehow, even though it's a very high output single coil, you still get the nuance and sparkle that you'd expect from a lower output pickup. If you're looking for something not quite traditional but really amazing sounding, this is a great choice. I'm totally pleased with this one.

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Seymour Duncan SSL-5

I have gone though numerous sets of single cool pickups on '62 reissue Strat. Original fenders, SD antiquities, van zandt vintage, blues and rock, Suhr v60, v60lp, EMG DG-20, SD SSL-1, and SSL -5, Lollar blackface. All good pickups in their own right. Original pickups were great clean but lacking overdriven. Antiquities were really good clean and overdriven. I used the SSL-1 mid… read more and neck and SSL-5 bridge for awhile and then swapped out with the Lollar pickups. They sound fantastic in the neck and mid but kind thin, microphonic and plucky at the bridge. I put back in the bridge SSL-5 and it sounds incredible with overdrive. Excellent bite and texture, goes into feedback fairly easy with the right vibrato, very musical sound. Love it.

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