Your Suhr ML Pickups — What They Need
The ML Standards are Alnico V, calibrated per position: Neck 6.5KΩ Mid 6.5KΩ RWRP Bridge 7.2KΩ. Suhr describes them as “big and full with detailed high-end sparkle and big tight lows” — designed from Landau’s best vintage specimens. They’re slightly hotter than typical vintage-spec single coils but still firmly in single-coil territory. What this means for your rig: they already have the focused midrange and tight lows built in, so you don’t need to push mids on the amp as hard as you would with weaker pickups. The bridge is only 7.2K — hot enough to drive pedals properly without needing a boost, but not so hot it’ll overwhelm the Badger’s clean headroom. The matched output across positions means your volume won’t jump between pickup switches — this is deliberate; Landau’s wiring bypasses tone controls in positions 2 and 4.
Signal Chain — Definitive Order
Suhr Strat S
→
Fuzz Factory
→
Maxon SD-9
→
Xotic AC+
→
Badger 30
→
FX Send
→
Mobius
→
Timeline
→
FX Return
→
Speaker
Why this order is non-negotiable: Fuzz Factory first — it must see the guitar’s impedance directly or it sounds thin and gated wrong. It’s germanium-circuit-based and impedance-sensitive. SD-9 second — your main gain stage, works best after fuzz and before boost. AC+ third — always-on boost/EQ/volume controller, shaping everything before it hits the clean amp. Mobius and Timeline sit in the Badger’s tube-buffered FX loop where they process the full amp tone.
Badger 30 — Clean Platform
The canvas. Never the paint.
Power10
Drive8
Gain2.5
Bass4.5
Middle5.5
Treble5.5
MOSFET BoostOff
The ML pickup optimisation: EQ stays nearly flat (all around 5). Bass at 4.5 — the MLs’ tight lows plus pedal gain will push low-end otherwise. Gain at 2.5 = maximum clean headroom. Suhr manual: Power 10, Drive 8, Gain 2–3 = “Max Clean Headroom.”
Badger 30 — Henderson Mode
When you want the amp to do the work
Power7
Drive7
Gain5–6
Bass3
Middle7
Treble5
MOSFET BoostOn (for lead)
Switch to this when you want amp drive. Power scaled down to 7 for earlier breakup. Mids pushed hard — Henderson’s vocal, nasal character. Bass at 3 per Henderson’s documented preference. Pedals off or SD-9 at low gain for extra push.
Fuzz Factory
Position 1 • Germanium Fuzz • Hendrix / Psychedelic
Gate10 o'clock
Comp12:00
Drive1 o'clock
Stab3 o'clock
Volume12–1 o'clock
Stab at 3 o’clock = conventional thick fuzz. Pull Stab below noon for velcro/gated textures. The MLs’ 6.5–7.2K impedance is perfect for driving germanium fuzz. Guitar volume is your gain control — cleans up beautifully at vol 5–6.
Maxon SD-9
Position 2 • Primary Drive • The Landau/Henderson Sound
Distortion12–1 o'clock
Tone8 o'clock (almost off)
Level5 o'clock (dimed)
Confirmed by the SD-9’s own designer. Tone at 8 o’clock removes harsh high-frequency content, turning it into a smooth, fat, almost fuzz-like distortion. Level dimed for the thick, full-bodied character. Guitar vol 7–8 for crunch, roll to 5 for clean-ish.
Xotic AC+
Position 3 • Always-On Boost / EQ / Volume
Channel A — Always On
Gain A9 o'clock (min)
Volume A1 o'clock
Tone A11 o'clock (warm)
Boost SwitchOff
Channel B — Solo Boost
Gain B10 o'clock
Volume B2 o'clock (+6dB)
Bass10 o'clock (cut)
Mid1 o'clock (push)
Treble12:00
CompSoft (more headroom)
Flow SwitchA → B
The most important pedal on your board. Ch A replaces Landau’s always-on Jan Ray. Ch B is your solo boost — +6dB volume lift with mid push and bass cut. Three states: A only (rhythm), A+B (solo boost), or B only (alternative crunch).
Strymon Mobius
FX Loop Position 1 • Chorus / Vibe
Preset A — Session Chorus
TypeChorus (dBucket)
Speed10 o'clock
Depth1 o'clock
Level12:00
Mix35–40%
Tone11 o'clock
Preset B — Lead Vibe
TypeVibe (Chorus mode)
Speed10 o'clock
Depth1–2 o'clock
Level12:00
WaveshapeLow (smooth sine)
Headroom2 o'clock (clean)
Preset A = session shimmer (Arion SCH-1 / Landau’s wide clean). Preset B = Univibe for leads and psychedelic moments. For Henderson tones: same Chorus but pull mix to 25% and use Vintage Chorus instead of dBucket.
Strymon Timeline
FX Loop Position 2 • Delay • Spatial Depth
Preset A — Clean Digital
TypeDigital
Time375ms
Repeats10 o'clock
Mix10 o'clock (~20%)
Filter12:00
GritMin
Preset B — Warm Tape
TypedTape
Time400ms
Repeats9 o'clock
Mix9 o'clock (~15%)
Filter (Tape Age)11 o'clock
Grit9 o'clock
Mod Depth9 o'clock
A = Landau’s Lexicon clarity. Crystal digital, neutral filter, no grit. B = Henderson’s warm, dark tape echo. Both use low mix — delay is spatial depth, not an effect. Set SPLOVR (spillover) to ON and BYPASS to BUFBYP in Timeline globals.
Fuzz: Off
SD-9: Off
AC+: Ch A
Mobius: Preset A
Timeline: Preset A
Suhr Badger 30 — Clean Platform
Guitar: Pos 4 (neck+mid). Vol 7. Tone 8. This is where the chorus sounds best — hollow, glassy, three-dimensional. The ML calibrated output means no volume jump from other positions.
Strymon Mobius — Chorus (Preset A)
TypeChorus (dBucket)
Speed10 o'clock
Depth1 o'clock
Mix35–40%
Tone11 o'clock
Strymon Timeline — Digital (Preset A)
TypeDigital
Time375ms
Mix~20%
Filter12:00
GritMin
Fuzz: Off
SD-9: Off
AC+: Ch A
Mobius: Bypass
Timeline: Preset B
Suhr Badger 30 — Clean Platform
Guitar: Neck pickup. Vol 7. Tone 7. Smooth, fat, vocal. Don’t drop tone below 6 or you lose the MLs’ sparkle that Suhr worked so hard to put in.
Strymon Mobius — Bypass
No modulation. Let the amp and pickups speak for themselves.
Strymon Timeline — dTape (Preset B)
TypedTape
Time400ms
Mix~15%
Filter11 o'clock
Grit9 o'clock
Fuzz: Off
SD-9: On
AC+: Ch A
Mobius: Bypass
Timeline: Preset B
Suhr Badger 30 — Clean Platform
Guitar: Bridge or Pos 2 (bridge+mid). Vol 7–8. The MLs’ focused midrange + the SD-9’s inherent mid-scoop at low tone settings = a balanced, full-range drive that doesn’t get nasal or honky.
Maxon SD-9 — Primary Drive
Distortion12–1 o'clock
Tone8 o'clock
LevelDimed
The Henderson/Landau setting. Tone almost off, level all the way up. Smooth, fat, fuzz-like drive.
Strymon Timeline — dTape (Preset B)
TypedTape
Time400ms
Mix~15%
Grit9 o'clock
Fuzz: Off
SD-9: On
AC+: Ch A+B
Mobius: Preset B
Timeline: Preset B
Suhr Badger 30 — Clean Platform
Guitar: Neck pickup. Vol 10 (wide open). Tone 7. The 6.5K neck gives smooth legato leads. Everything is stacked in front of the amp — SD-9 into AC+ Ch A+B for the full Landau lead.
Maxon SD-9 + Xotic AC+ (A+B)
SD-9On (standard settings)
AC+ Ch AOn (always on)
AC+ Ch BOn (solo boost)
Net Boost+6dB, mid push, bass cut
The Landau lead stack: SD-9’s fat, fuzz-like drive feeding into AC+ Ch B’s solo boost. Bass cut on Ch B is critical — the MLs + SD-9 + AC+ gain stacking will multiply low end fast.
Strymon Mobius — Vibe (Preset B)
TypeVibe (Chorus mode)
Speed10 o'clock
Depth1–2 o'clock
WaveshapeSmooth sine
Fuzz: Off
SD-9: Off
AC+: Off or Ch A low
Mobius: Bypass
Timeline: Preset B
Suhr Badger 30 — Henderson Mode
Guitar: Neck pickup. Vol rides 7–10. Henderson’s documented approach: volume knob is the primary gain control. With MLs you can pull bass lower than with weaker pickups because the MLs already bring enough bottom. Boost on for lead sections.
Modulation — Bypass
Henderson doesn’t use modulation on his amp-driven tones. The EL34 power amp and your fingers do the talking.
Strymon Timeline — dTape (Preset B)
TypedTape
Time400ms
Mix~15%
Grit9 o'clock
Warm tape delay just for spatial depth. Henderson’s dark, aged repeats that sit behind the amp’s natural voice.
Fuzz: On
SD-9: Off
AC+: Ch A (recovery)
Mobius: Preset B (depth up)
Timeline: Preset A (mix up)
Suhr Badger 30 — Clean Platform
Guitar: Neck pickup. Vol 6–10 (ride it). The Fuzz Factory cleans up beautifully at vol 5–6, and explodes at 10. This is the technique that makes fuzz musical.
Fuzz Factory + AC+ Recovery
Gate10 o'clock
Comp12:00
Drive1 o'clock
Stab3 o'clock (thick)
Volume12–1 o'clock
AC+ Ch AOn (recovery boost)
The AC+ recovers lost signal from the fuzz’s impedance hit. It also provides the body and warmth that germanium fuzz can strip. The MLs’ impedance is perfect for this fuzz — hotter humbuckers overwhelm it, but these single coils hit the sweet spot.
Mobius Vibe + Timeline Digital
MobiusVibe (depth up to 2 o'clock)
TimelineDigital (mix up to ~25%)
Vibe depth pushed higher than normal for psychedelic swirl. Digital delay mix bumped to 25% — the crystal-clean repeats cut through the fuzz chaos. Pull Headroom back on the Mobius for “gritty” vibe character.
The ML pickup advantage: calibrated output across all positions means you don’t get volume jumps when switching. This is Landau’s deliberate design choice.
Neck (6.5K): Your lead and clean tone position. Smooth, fat, vocal. Tone at 7–8 — don’t go below 6 or you lose the MLs’ sparkle. Vol 7 for sweetness, 10 for full power leads.
Pos 4 / Neck+Mid: The session clean position. Hollow, glassy, three-dimensional. This is where the chorus sounds best. Tone at 8–10. Landau’s go-to for clean arpeggios and chord work.
Middle (6.5K RWRP): The quack position when combined with bridge or neck. In position 2 (bridge+mid) it gives a tight, funky snap that cuts through with the SD-9.
Bridge (7.2K): Hotter than neck — designed this way for lead bite and rhythm chunk. With SD-9: thick, punchy crunch. Henderson documented turning his bridge tone down to 3–5 — try this with the SD-9 for dark, heavy fusion lead. With amp clean, keep tone at 6–7 for cut.
Vol 7–8 as default. Both Landau and Henderson ride the volume knob constantly. At 7–8 you have room to push to 10 for accents and pull to 5 for cleanup. This is not optional — it’s the technique that makes all the settings above work.