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Hatsubai « Revised FRED »
Published on 03/26/11 at 08:53Joe Satriani was looking to revise his FRED that he used throughout most of his career. The Mo’ Joe is what came out of his quest to find a new bridge pickup tone. It’s hotter and has a better EQ curve than the last one. It features an Alnico 5 magnet, adjustable pole pieces on both coils and four conductor wiring.
The original FRED was a pretty iffy pickup. Some people liked it, but quite a few weren’t huge fans of it. I was one of those people who really didn’t care for the FRED that much. It had some weird overtones going on and just sounded weird. The Mo’ Joe is a much better version of the FRED. It’s hotter, more even sounding and seems to have more touch sensitivity than the last one.
The low end on this blooms more than the FRED, the midrange is nice and fairly even, and the treble isn’t piercing. Satch uses this in the bridge, but it can work awesome in the neck as well with a hot humbucker. When you use it in the bridge, it’s like a nicer version of the PAF Pro with a bit more output. It can work great for blues, rock and even metal. In the neck, it delivers a fairly powerful tone but not too powerful. This allows you to do some real sick legato licks without struggling too much, yet it still has some cool touch sensitivity to allow you to express yourself more. Running it in split coil and parallel can deliver some interesting tones, too.
If you’re looking for a more modern version of the PAF while still retaining some vintage qualities, I’d say this pickup is worth checking out. It works in most woods, and it should have enough output to work for any situation.
The original FRED was a pretty iffy pickup. Some people liked it, but quite a few weren’t huge fans of it. I was one of those people who really didn’t care for the FRED that much. It had some weird overtones going on and just sounded weird. The Mo’ Joe is a much better version of the FRED. It’s hotter, more even sounding and seems to have more touch sensitivity than the last one.
The low end on this blooms more than the FRED, the midrange is nice and fairly even, and the treble isn’t piercing. Satch uses this in the bridge, but it can work awesome in the neck as well with a hot humbucker. When you use it in the bridge, it’s like a nicer version of the PAF Pro with a bit more output. It can work great for blues, rock and even metal. In the neck, it delivers a fairly powerful tone but not too powerful. This allows you to do some real sick legato licks without struggling too much, yet it still has some cool touch sensitivity to allow you to express yourself more. Running it in split coil and parallel can deliver some interesting tones, too.
If you’re looking for a more modern version of the PAF while still retaining some vintage qualities, I’d say this pickup is worth checking out. It works in most woods, and it should have enough output to work for any situation.