DiMarzio Area '67

It has the signature tone of a single coil, bright and steely up top, warm on the bottom although it has a little less bottom than single coils. Not a problem for me. Quiet as can be. I tried it in a high gain amp and this was definitely quieter than the Gibson Burstbucker Pro and actually a little bit quieter than the very quiet Area 61 in my bridge position! Output seems to be ever so slightly higher than American Series pickups, but then again I can't get the Am Series pickups as close to the strings as I can these because of the single coil warble.

Neck position of a Korean made Kramer 111s (a surprisingly good sounding and playing Strat copy). Area 61 in bridge, Fender Fat '50s in middle.
I did a side-by-side comparison with my '98 American Standard Strat with American Series single coil pickups (with pole heights adjusted to work well with the Am Standard).
For amps, I used a Reverend Kingsnake head into an Avatar 2x12 with Eminence Wizards and a medium sized open back Fender cab with a Jensen Neo 12"

It's a winner! Sounds like a single coil. Not exactly like the single coils in my Strat, which sounds a little different than my friend's single coil Strat, which sounds a bit different than other Strats I've played. In other words, this pickup in this guitar produces a viable single coil tone, but not exactly the same as other pickups/guitars. Compared to the Fender Vintage Noiseless and the Fender Samarium Cobalt (SCM) pickups (both of which I tried and sold), these are an easy winner. I didn't like the thickness in the sound of the Vintage Noiseless, and the SCMs sounded like there was something missing near the top end. Neither of those two pickups worked well (IMO) with overdrive type sounds. I have to mention that a friend of mine has a Deluxe Strat with SCMs and S1 system, and that guitar sounds really good. Is there a difference between the SCMS I bought and the ones in the Dlx Strat? Is there some sort of frequency correction in the S1 system? A difference in the "tone wood" or hardware? I'm afraid that this is a mystery that I'll never answer.
DiMarzio writes in their description of the Area pickups that the sound is adjustable depending on the closeness to the strings. True. Closer sounds thicker, further away the thickness diminishes. These pickups can be adjusted fairly close to the strings without warble or noticeable string pull.
DiMarzio states regarding the Area 61 pickup that "played hard, it sounds louder and tougher than you???d expect from a vintage pickup." I think this could be a problem for some people. These pickups sound very focused and clear no matter how hard you play them (of course, the amp can be pushed to respond with distortion, but I'm talking about the pickups here). Some folks are accustomed to the kind of "blurring" that happens with some single coils when you're really banging on the strings. I personally like the Areas.
I can't comment on the "quack" because I don't yet have an Area pickup in the middle position. However, I can say that the Neck/Bridge combination (67/61) is very tasty.

Very nice. I started checking out these Area pickups with an Area 61 in the bridge. It was the first noiseless I've tried that worked with my overdriven sounds. So I next bought this Area 67. It does the job well also. I next plan to try the Area 58 for the middle position.

This is a passive, stacked humbucker which fits right into a single coil slot in a Strat pickguard. The specs are at DiMarzio's website however, my pickup apparently is slightly overwound at 6.05K ohms.

I put this pickup in the neck position of my Fender Strat which has an ash body, rosewood fingerboard and a vintage tremolo. It is replacing a DiMarzio Area 58. I've also replaced the middle position pickup with a DiMarzio Area '58 and the bridge position pickup with a DiMarzio Area '61. These two replace Tex Mex pickups which was also what was originally in the neck pickup before the Area '58.

I have absolutely no idea which (if any) artists are using this pickup.

The reason I changed to the '67 is because the '58s and the '61 covered all the vintage sounds of a phenomenal Strat except for that real slinky, Hendrix era Strat sound from the neck pickup.

Knowing from first hand experience that DiMarzio's tonal descriptions were right on the money for the '58 and '61, I knew, based on their description of the '67, this was exactly what I was looking for in order to complete the package.

The output level is identical to OEM stuff.

I only use a 50W Marshall tube combo; no effects, no preamps.

This pickup is IDENTICAL in tonality to that of the originals in a real 1969 Strat I once owned (minus the hum, of course). The '67 is mid scooped with a tight bass and a crisp high end - outstanding string separation. Ironically, this is the only position I liked the tone of the original pickups of my 1969 Strat. I genuinely loved the tone from the neck position pickup and equally couldn't stand the pickups in the other two positions as they sounded anemic, sterile, clanky, too glassy, etc. Remember too, there was only one model Strat pickup being made back then so there was no such thing as a neck, middle, bridge, RW/RP, etc. designation. They were all supposed to be made the same and installed in all three positions arbitrarily. Obviously, the neck position would be the only position I'd use an Area '67 in my current (or any) Strat for the same reasons.

As you probably have surmised, I play British Rock and Blues from the mid '60s through the early 70s. As expected, this '67 along with the '58 and '61 completes the package for pretty much every premium vintage Strat sound anyone could ask for.

If something happened to it, I'd replace it without even thinking about it.

I've been playing 42 years and aside from a Martin DM, the above is all I've got in terms of gear.

I love everything about this and the other two DiMarzios. I hate absolutely nothing about it/them.

You name the designer Strat pickup (including Kinmans), I've owned it. I chose these because of the price, DiMarzio's reputation and the fact that they are usually right on the money in accurately describing the tonality of their pickups.

This pickup wants for nothing so there's nothing additionally I wish it had.

My search is finally over for the ideal Strat pickups combination. Frankly, I wouldn't even be receptive to any suggestions for something else as that's how satisfied I am.