Our Heat Wave humbuckers in a soapbar P90 sized package.
A set of pickups designed to imitate the very popular hot rodded pickup sets found all over '80s hair metal, with a few modern twists.
Truth be told, I've never been 100% happy with any hot rodded pickup set I've tried thus far. I love the concept, but I always felt the neck pickup was too tame and quiet, while the bridge had a horrible imbalance between treble and bass. I set to work to make a pickup set that could be loaded into a guitar and would instantly be recognised as being a hot rodded humbucker set, but fix these problems.
Hot rodded humbucker sets have to have a very clear and clean neck pickup. It has to be bright and cutting to keep it from being muddy under high levels of gain, but it has to clean up beautifully without becoming so clinically sharp that it becomes sterile. The bridge has to have a huge mid range peak in the frequency response. This huge mid range peak makes a rather loose pickup (they're always in the 16-17k range of DCR, so a lot of clarity is lost) seem artificially articulate, because when you hit multiple strings they all come out at different volumes, and don't all smudge together. This makes it a perfect staple for hard rock, punk and metal.
So how does my hot rodded pickup set stack up against the hot rodded humbucker set?
I've slightly overwound the neck and used a custom alnico 5 magnet to increase the output. Characteristically very similar, just with a push to make it balance with the bridge properly. The custom magnet also aids in making this even more articulate under high gain than your typical hot rodded neck pickup.
I've also slightly overwound the bridge. This warms it up a bit, moving some of the excessive treble into the bass. I've also used another custom alnico 5 magnet to warm it up a touch. I wanted to keep the mid range exactly how it was, as that mid range peak is the hot rodded bridge tone.
Specifications (neck/bridge):
Resistance (Ohms): 7k/15.3k
Magnet: small alnico 5/small alnico 5
Lead wire: 4 conductor + shield
Wax potted
Magnet: small alnico 5/small alnico 5
Lead wire: 4 conductor + shield
Wax potted
Purchase with mounting bracket and surround to replace existing P90s (this will require two small holes to be drilled in the pickup cavity to accommodate the height screws).