Hi-gain OVERDRIVE

[Mumpower]

I bought a 360/12 last Christmas and & love everything about it. I am thinking about 6-string if hi-gains are versatile enough. Namely that it will drive my amp into a P-90-ish tone.

I am comparing the 360/12 perceived output against my Fender ARI 62 Telecaster. I sounds like the Telecaster is driving my amp a bit harder than the Ric. Those Telecaster bridge pickups are not very hot, so it surprised me.

Does anybody want to weigh in on their feeling of the hi-gain for some hard-rock tones? Is the relatively low output compared to the Telecaster because I’m comparing apples & oranges (6 vs. 12 strings) or perhaps are the pickups set too low from the factory?

[whojamfan]

Mainly apples and oranges. What kind of overdrive sound are you looking for? My 6 and 12 both sound completely different overdriven, even though they both have toasters. I found the Voodoo Labs Sparkledrive works very well on my 360/12, yeilding a very "The Chords" type sound. The "blend" feature, which puts dry signal in with the colored, puts back the bass and clarity that go missing with so many distortion/od boxes. Super high gain fuzzes and such work great, especially if they have some type of "gating" control.
As far as the 330 6 goes, really a tossup of what sound that you are looking for. Everything from the Tech 21 Liverpool pedal to the MXR Full Bore Metal sounded awesome on my 330 for their respective styles, so finding the right one for your applications really shouldn't be so hit and miss.
P90 thing, tried that myself with all 3 pickup options, trick wiring, and pot value changes, and no dice. What I did get was a unique, and highly usable, array of tones that my P90 guitars couldn't get. There are many usable, stand out in the mix/don't get washed out on stage tones available from the 6 strings that could really help you forge a signature sound.
Good luck!

[longhouse]

+1 on the Sparkledrive, it's a perfect match for the tonal spectrum of a Rickenbacker guitar.

[longhouse]

+1 on the Sparkledrive, it's a perfect match for the tonal spectrum of a Rickenbacker guitar.

[elreydlp]

As far as the output of the Hi-Gains, the ones on my mid-90's 330/12 match the output of the HOT Kent Armstrong P-90's in my Reverend Slingshot.
I've been using a Danelectro 6/12 Doubleneck and a Reverend Spy (3-Kent Armstrong Lipsticks). Both are lower output than the Slingshot and the Rick. To boost them to the same level, I use a Fulltone Fat Boost. It's becoming my favorite pedal.

[Mumpower]

What height is appropriate for the bridge pickup? Mine was factory set at 1/4" from the base (not including the pole pieces). This could be a major part of the equation.

[scott_s]

The Hi-Gains in my 330 definitely drive my amps harder than my Fender-style guitars. For those who like numbers, my bridge Hi-Gain is set about 3/64" from the strings when depressed at the 24th fret, and my Fender pickups are about 4-6/64" away from the strings. Proximity may be the main difference, as I can't get my Rick's pickups any lower, but I think the Hi-Gains also have more bass and low-mid content.

- Scott