Soloist pick-up replacement help!

[Brandon]

Hello there!
I'm a new member here, and I'm searching for some advice regarding pick-up choices for the neck/mid positions of my SL3. I enjoy the sounds of the Hot Rails and TB4 well enough while I'm playing the harder stuff, but I've been playing a lot of lighter alt rock stuff recently(I know, I know, feel free to call me a nancy boy, pansy, or any choice insult of your picking). I've always been a fan of DiMarzio pick-ups and I'm pretty much sold on a Tone Zone in the bridge, but I haven't figured out which singles to go with. Most of the people I know don't play guitar, so I haven't really been able to test as many pick-ups as I'd like. I've heard the Air Norton humbucker and enjoyed it's tone, although it was being played out of a recto.. so it may have been the amp that tickled my fancy. If anyone owns or has tried an Air Norton S and would like to spread some light on how well it stacks up with the real deal it would be greatly appreciated. As for the mid pup, I have completely no direction there. I've also been considering throwing some true single coils in, would that make me completely insane? Any insight on wthisould be wonderful! P.S. I really did try to use the search function, but my inner forum newbie may have gotten the best of me.

[necrotechno]

Well, the Air Norton-S is going to replicate the sound of the full sized Air Norton. which is just a de-powered Norton.

I never got into the "Air" series, because you can achieve a similar effect by just backing off the height. But the Norton is a great pickup in any position. I do believe I have it in the neck of my Soloist, paired with a Tone Zone (been a while since I've pulled that guitar out). Anyway, it's a humbucker sound, not a single-coil sound. Is that what you want? If so, go for either that or a Pro Track. If you're wanting more of a single-coil sound, look to the Fast Track-1 or the Chopper.

If you're interested in trying some different brands, check out APC (models 300 and 400) and Bill Lawrence (model 280S). These are about as high of output as you can reasonably expect from a passive and still sound like an SC.

The TZ is fairly powerful, so most true single-coils would have a noticeable volume difference switching between them.