Perceived output level: quite high output (mainly due active circuitry)
Tone: Very balanced; no noise at all; similar to EMG's but much warmer tone
Sonic evaluation: Guitar > Marshall JMP-1 > Digitech TSR12 > Hughes & Kettner CF100 feeding Carvin 12" Speaker ; these p'ups are made for players who need a wide range of different sounds; SC's sound very stratty especially in Position 2 and 4 (Humbucker is split in Pos.4); active tone control allows to adjust treble and mid/bass plus blendable mid boost through one of the tone controls. All clean and crunchy sounds are very nice and warm; Position 5 is also very nice and balanced when used on leads with slight distortion, with a warm and singing sustain. But be aware of the mid boost - it can change the sound drastically. The saturation in the tone is increased radically; it's not that harsh on the SC positions, but the humbucker gets fat, fatter, fattest without being muddy at the same time. In combination with a good tube/valve preamp you'll get sounds a la Steve Lukather or Dan Huff easily, those huge singing leads with good definition of the tone. At maximum boost level the humbucker produces a growling sound that you'd find in the nu metal genre.
For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: If you need a lot of different sounds like I do, you'll be very happy with this. Good for all kinds of Rock and Pop, maybe too HiFi for Blues or Jazz, but who knows, maybe some Jazz-Hunk would love it as well.
Overall Rating
Comments: If it was stolen....hmmm, guess I won't be able to get it again, as Reflex does not exist anymore (I guess), so I'd have to hunt some down on EBAY or similar. The Reds were a valid alternative to EMG sets in the beginning of the 90's, and in my opinion they were much better due to the warmth in sound. I had the chance for a direct comparision in those days, and I always found the EMG's too sterile. The Reflex Reds are living, they got soul, and I got all the sounds I needed in my main guitar. Of course you have to think of the battery change from time to time (as with every active unit); a failure of your axe while gigging can be very annoying. Battery consumption is average, if you don't forget to unplugg when putting the guitar in the stand. All in all a great PU set.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this pickup a: 9
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@ RAGMAN:
Bleib cool. EMG's sind auch sehr gute Pickups.
