SRV uses vintage/hot strat pups. EVH uses hot crunchy PAFs.
SRV is DEAD.... there were no "Texas Special" pickups back then, that's just what Fender wants to sell you. EVH is too brain-addled to know what's in his guitars anymore, he's a shill for a manufacturing concern who wants to cash in on his ex-talent. (His tone since 1988
suuuucks..... and it's getting
worse, the harder he tries. There's a moral there somewhere.) :hello2:
Ahem. There are two major considerations about pickups:
1) Power. A more powerful pickup will more easily overdrive a good-sounding amplifier or preamp or even (MODELER... GASP!) in such a way as to produce a pleasing overdriven sound. A lower-powered pickup may not overdrive a preamp as easily, but bear in mind that almost all of the "great classic rock sounds" that amp modelers are modeling were made with wimpy, low-powered pickups. Except in the minds of marketing conmen who want your money, there is no such thing as "vintage overwound" - it's either/or. It's interesting to compare genuine "classic rock" sounds to modern - most old Led Zeppelin, Allmans, Cream, even Hendrix guitar tracks sound squeaky-clean compared to even a modern country guitar sound, back then overdrive was applied to very few, very specific places in a song. When you dick with a modern amp, modeler or program, most of the "classic" sounds happen in between about 15 and 30 on the "preamp" knob - everything above that is frying tinfoil, because the marketing conmen think that'll convince you that you sound "hot" - to make a wimpy low-powered pickup sound like that you may have to turn their toy up to 40. :icon_tongue:
2) Tonal spectrum. What is the relationship between the levels of low, midrange and higher frequencies? Humbuckings concentrate in the midrange, single-coils have lots more highs, somewhat more lows (at an equal volume) and are "scooped" in the midrange. Most everything you hear about this dates back to the 1960's and early 70's when guitarists were struggling to get a consistent overdriven sound out of early primitive Marshall & Fender amplifiers. At that time, the more power a pickup had, the "better" it was. Nowadays, it's possible to overdrive any amp with any pickup.... so the fact that most overpowered pickups sound muddy has become more apparent. More windings=less treble. There are a few higher-powered pickups like the Laces, the Lawrences, the Lawrence-designed Fender noiseless that avoid the mud with some different electronic tweaks.
Your amplifier is the second-most important thing in your tonal chain. There are now great-sounding, less-expensive options out there, but any decent amplifier is going to have way more treble, way more bass, and way more midrange than you'll even want to hear - so the MOST important thing is how you choose to set the knobs. If you really want to sound great, count on spending six hours a day for a decade or so - most every
really great musician went through at least a few years of 12 - 16 hour days of practice. All of the pickup choices you mentioned will work just fine for that. :toothy12:
Do you want a creamy overdrive? Do you like grit in your cream? I like crunchy cream myself, with blooming scream, but only when my meat is detailed & girthy, with transparent spank - oh just bag it all and score one of these:
Only $12,500, Yngwie-approved and all of your friends will be
very amused at parties....
(FREE shipping too!) - http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Custom-Shop-Yngwie-Malmsteen-Tribute-Stratocaster-Electric-Guitar?sku=526795
