Anderson SL1

Pickup features: Passive stacked single-coil pickup
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: 1993 Tom Anderson Drop Top Classic
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: Pickup came stock in the guitar. Used in neck and middle positions.
Other pickups on guitar: Anderson H2+ humbucker in bridge position.
Artists using this pickup: Not exactly sure which Anderson users are using this particular model, but most Anderson owners using single-coils are using either this model or the SD series, which have more upper mid response.
You musical style(s): Rock, funk, pop
Reason for pickup change: No change--pickup came stock in the guitar. The review is actually geared more towards why I HAVE NOT changed the pickup.

Perceived output level: Medium
Tone: Bright and clear with a slightly "scooped" middle and a light compressed feel.
Sonic evaluation: My style is very straight-ahead rock and pop with some funk influences. For single-coil tones, I'm going after something which is very versatile and gives a very sparkling clean tone. When I use a distorted tone with the single-coil pickups, I expect the neck position to have a nice hollow and throaty Strat tone, but at the same time I also expect a super "clucky" sound when used in the in-between positions on clean settings. For funk rhythms, these pickups KILL...they have an incredibly detailed sparkle and clarity which I have not found in the Duncans and DiMarzios I have tried. Compared to the active EMG's I used to have in my other guitar, the Andersons have all of the sparkle but none of the sterility. One of the greatest things I found about the Anderson pickups (this pickup model as well as the H2+ humbucker I have in the bridge position) is that they strike a great balance between active and passive pickups, combining the best of each design's characteristics. Let me explain this a little more: My experience with EMG's is that they are INCREDIBLE pickups when used with a rack system. The EMG's have a very clean and almost "flat" tone with tons of "push," giving you the power and clarity to go through tons of signal processing and get a very detailed and expressive tone. However, these same characteristics make EMG's, in my opinion, a horrible choice for straight-through-the-amp tones, where the result is often way too clinical and steriel sounding. On the other hand, passive pickups are great for straight-in sounds, but their high-impedance design as well as their natural "coloration" of the signal really doesn't seem to work as well in rack systems. However, these same inherent characteristics make passive pickups the best choice, in my opinion again, for straight-in sounds. The Andersons are unique in this regard: They sound great either through a rack system or through the amp straight. By the way, I am a straight-in guy--hate racks!

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: This is not a high-output screamer, so again death metalheads looking for nuclear meltdown should check out DiMarzio.

Comments: The bottom line is that I HAVEN'T swapped out these pickups. I think that says it all.