I was lucky to be around in the 1980s when we had the great guitarists that took Rock and Metal to new levels. The likes of Eddie Van Halen, Gary Moore, Randy Rhoads, Jake E. Lee, and others introduced us to a whole new world of guitar playing. This was the beginning of the "shred" era. Guitarists of the time, most famously Eddie Van Halen, didn't use middle or neck pickups and quite quickly single pickup guitars became the guitar of choice for all the guitar greats of that era.

 

That biting, full, aggressive, overdriven sound of a single bridge pickup guitar is the ultimate "80s Rock guitar sound." Many guitarists today also prefer single pickup guitars. They have continued to be the option of choice for subsequent generations of guitarists.

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It can be argued that a single pickup guitar has advantages over guitars with middle and neck pickups. The absence of a pickup in the neck or middle means that less magnetic force is exerted on the strings which creates more string vibration, allowing you to get more sustain, more resonance, and fewer tuning problems.

 

Having no tone control or selector switch are also two things less to have to think about for your amp and pedal settings. It's a direct electronic circuit between the guitar and the amp. 

 

I have recreated that "single pickup sound" in the new Gaskell left handed WORKHORSE SH. This is a very basic guitar of which sound is its entire emphasis. This was exactly how the original 80s guitar brands Kramer, Hamer, and Charvel did it. I too have used the generic Stratocaster shape and 6-inline headstock. Lefties, this may be the guitar for you!