Hot single size bucker

population

Try as I might i just find the neck pickup in the Strat a bit weedy and was wondwring 2 things

1. What single style bucker pickups would anyone recommend, (I play rock)

2. Would this adversly affect the posistion 4 on my Strat, as clean it is probably my favourite tone

Cheers

Fingers Mcginty

SC in the neck is a lovely tone. Please don't put a humbucker there :eek: Maybe try a different brand SC...What's in there at the minute?

population

Its actually the hot single coil.

Fingers Mcginty

Oh

punchdrunk

http://www.riograndepickups.com/scart/SubCategories.asp?ProductName=For+Strats&SubCatName=SINGLES

Dord

This would do it just fine!



http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/progressive/hot_stack_for_s/

It's 4 conductor wire so you could have a coil tap switch to go back to a more single coil sound.

OK-Cancel-Apply

How about a DiMarzio HS-3?

population

Dord wrote: »

This would do it just fine!



http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/progressive/hot_stack_for_s/

It's 4 conductor wire so you could have a coil tap switch to go back to a more single coil sound.

Cost would be fairly full on though to fit a coil tap switch though I think?

However that is the ideal if possible

population

OK-Cancel-Apply wrote: »

How about a DiMarzio HS-3?

I like Dimarzios actually. Would the HS-2 though not be more suited to the neck pup though???

OK-Cancel-Apply

population wrote: »

I like Dimarzios actually. Would the HS-2 though not be more suited to the neck pup though???

AFAIK the HS-3 sounds a tad warmer, but I've seen people use them in all 3 positions successfully. I think Malmsteen did it. I guess a HS-2 might make more sense in the neck position if you want to iron out the low end a little.

Paolo_M

population wrote: »

Cost would be fairly full on though to fit a coil tap switch though I think?

However that is the ideal if possible

The coil tap switch shouldn't set you back much. All the switch does is switch the tap wires to ground and doesn't take much to add it when you're wiring up the pickup anyway.
Deciding how to actually do it is probably the biggest issue; do you go for a push pull pot, if so which pot or do you go for a seperate switch mounted somewhere on the scratchplate, is so where?

BostonB

I used to have Seymour Duncan Hotrails. Very 80's hard rock sound. I liked them.

Dord

population wrote: »

Cost would be fairly full on though to fit a coil tap switch though I think?

However that is the ideal if possible

Ehh, the switch would cost about 2 euro or less.

BostonB

Any coil taps I've heard don't sound like a good single coil though. Kinda of like a weak one and thin, tele like.

MattKid

Put a Dimarzio crusier bridge model in there and in the middle position like Andy Timmons

population

Update on this:

Installed a hotrails in the neck today with a coil tap and it does give it the extra oomph I have been needing, though must say I am a bit underwhelmed by the sustain out of it. However for a more Gibsonesque neck sound it is much improved, oh and the coil tap is pretty nice also:)

CianRyan

http://www.thomann.de/gb/seymour_duncan_sshr1n_white.htm
http://www.thomann.de/gb/seymour_duncan_sshr1n.htm
http://www.thomann.de/gb/dimarzio_dp184_chopper_bk.htm

That's my set up, from bridge to neck.
They sound lovely as singles and humbuckers
Seriously hot, loads of my mates use active HBs and tbh, these are just as powerful as some of them and a lot more powerful than others.

I play blues, hardcore, metal, rock and roll, ect...
They sound great for all of them.
Not pricey either.

Seziertisch

population wrote: »

Update on this:

Installed a hotrails in the neck today with a coil tap and it does give it the extra oomph I have been needing, though must say I am a bit underwhelmed by the sustain out of it. However for a more Gibsonesque neck sound it is much improved, oh and the coil tap is pretty nice also:)

Sustain is all in the axe itself, look at what the bridge and nut are made of. An upgrade to the bridge in particular can make a big difference. Also, I find that locking tuners exert a greater downward pressure on the nut, increasing sustain.

population

Seziertisch wrote: »

Sustain is all in the axe itself, look at what the bridge and nut are made of. An upgrade to the bridge in particular can make a big difference. Also, I find that locking tuners exert a greater downward pressure on the nut, increasing sustain.

I thought the wood would be the main factor in sustain no??? Mahogany you are quids in, alder not so much???

Seziertisch

population wrote: »

I thought the wood would be the main factor in sustain no??? Mahogany you are quids in, alder not so much???

Obviously the wood is the ultimate decider of how good it can sound, but seeing as the bridge is the main transfer point of string energy to the body, the material the it is made of is very important. It is also not practical to change the wood of a guitar while a change of bridge is fairly easy. I recently got a couple of Callaham ABR-1 bridges and they just transformed the instruments they were put on. Someone else here had a similar experience with their Strat bridges.

BTW, the reason I first posted was that I too had had similar experiences with pickups, i.e. the change in sustain not being exactly what I had imagined. I have found replacing the bridge to be overall a far better mod in terms of improving the sound of an instrument.

Dangerous Man

I can testify to the quality of Callaham bridges - I put one in my strat - a spectacular difference. Back on-topic, a Kinman Woodstock plus in the neck would get you where you want to go. The only problem is that it will make your other pups sound like crap - so you'll have to change all three. Seriously.

population

How much are those Callahan bridges and is it a difficult changeover???

Seziertisch

Presuming that it is a strat you have it is a fairly easy swap. Just be sure to reattach the ground wire to the bridge when you are done.

With the ABR-1 you have to cut the grooves for the strings on the saddles (which is kind of to be expected as the string passage of different guitars is different.

Charlie Chandler's in the UK has them, while this crowd http://www.specialtyguitars.com/ also sell them.

dazberry

I was looking at a guitar on ebay (a telecaster copy) and as part of the description the guy has described it as a Telecaster Tele P90. Now I'm looking at the picture thinking someone's a few winds short of a P90, but then on further reading:

Bridge pickup professionally upgraded with a USA Harmonic Design Super 90 ( p90 for Tele's see www.harmonicdesign.net )

Seems very interesting, anyone any experience of these?

D.