Single coil sized humbuckers

[SuperSwede]

I´m thinking about replacing my strats bridge pickup with a single coil sized humbucker. I recently tried a Seymore Duncan Hot Rails and I loved the tone! It was way too hot for my taste but I hear that there are other less-hot humbuckers available. Anyone here tried the cool rails or the JB JR´s?

And how does humbuckers sound with the strats standard 250k pots?

 

[hubberjub]

I´m thinking about replacing my strats bridge pickup with a single coil sized humbucker. I recently tried a Seymore Duncan Hot Rails and I loved the tone! It was way too hot for my taste but I hear that there are other less-hot humbuckers available. Anyone here tried the cool rails or the JB JR´s?

And how does humbuckers sound with the strats standard 250k pots?

I have a Cool Rail in the neck position of my American Standard Strat. It's not bad but it doesn't sound like a single coil to me. It's not as thin as a single coil but not as muddy sounding as some neck humbuckers can be. I still have 250k pots in it. The other pickups in the guitar are a Lil' 59 in the bridge and a Vintage Rail in the middle. The Vintage Rail is the most single coil like of the three. I don't like the 59 in the bridge, though. It doesn't seem to preserve any of the Strat qualities that I like. I actually wish I had gone for more traditional pickups in that guitar. I hope that helps a little.

 

[tunghaichuan]

I have a set of SD Hot Stack Strat pickups in my Warmoth Strat. They are brighter than standard full-sized humbuckers, but not as bright and not as thin as a vintage single coil pickup. I use 250K pots with them.

Forgot to add: my pickups originally came with maroon-colored covers. I called SD and offered to buy a set of white covers and they ended up sending them to me for free; they wouldn't even take money for shipping. That's what I call customer service.

I've owned the Hot Rails and I did not care for them. Too middy and nasal sounding for my taste.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

I have a standard sized humbucker I still plan to use in a modded strat one day. I took a look at the single coil size, but decided that I might as well get a PG that will take a standard size when I want to. I might, though, use a single coil sized one in the neck I suppose. Interesting to hear the thoughts of those who have them. Tung, you say you have a set. Do you have one in the neck position too? How do you find it? Hub, interesting to hear your comments too. Though I would not be worried about preserving too much traditional strat sound in this modded guitar. It would be more for just rocking out mostly. Also, I don't use the bridge a ton in my strat anyway, except for sometimes in combination with the middle. I have always thought I would use a HB pup in the bridge more in a modded punky rocker guitar.

 

[tunghaichuan]

Tung, you say you have a set. Do you have one in the neck position too? How do you find it?

I have the full set: neck, middle and bridge. The neck PU doesn't sound exactly like a real single coil, but it does an okay impression. They also do the quack sound in positions 2 & 4. My guitar has a maple neck with a maple fingerboard, IOW, two-piece maple so the guitar is a tad bright, but not overly so or shrill.

My own personal preference is to us the only the bridge PU for distortion. I use the middle for clean, then the 2 & 4 positions for quack and finally the neck, all clean. I like a sharper sound for distortion so I almost never use any other pickups or combinations, FWIW.

 

[msteeln]

Bare Knuckle 'Sinner'.

 

[SuperSwede]

So a vintage rails in the bridge position would be a good compromise between a single and a humbucker? I´m looking for a better lead tone with more sustain and slighty more fat. Would the Vintage Rails play along nicely with neck/mid Texas specials?

 

[markb]

Try a Duncan SS-5 or 6, all the fat with single coil sizzle. Think David Gilmour lead tones. I've got one in the back of my strat and it plays nicer with the other pickups than a humbucker. The 5 is staggered, the 6 flat, otherwise there's no difference.

 

[t_ross33]

I dropped a GFS Lil Killer (6K) in the bridge position on my MIM Strat and I really like it there, a bit more grit but the 6K plays nice with the other p'ups and I don't lose too much Strattiness.

I had to touch up some wiring this weekend and have moved the middle tone pot to the bridge - easy and awesome mod, especially with the humbucker. I also found a 500K tone pot and replaced the 250K for the bridge tone and I think that also helped quite a bit.

I like it so much I almost stopped playing my new Ultra Swede :thwap but then I came to my senses and picked it up as well (it's in my lap as we speak) :happy

hmmm... looking at my Gretsch and thinking that it needs as set of GFS Retro-trons or TV Jones p'ups :what

 

[wingsdad]

I had a full set of these in a 'regular' Strat I had briefly about 12 years ago.

SD Duckbuckers

They drop right in place of the stock pups. A little tricky to wire up to a Strat 5-way because of the 4-conductors. But I kept my wits, followed the diagrams, and all was well.

They had, to my ears, all the 'latex' and quack in the 2 & 4 positions, without the noise. And the bridge pup, in particular, could snarl & growl good, like a 'bucker should.

When I sold the Strat, I got my Duckbucker investment (about $160 for the 3) back plus half again. Either that or take them out, and the buyer wanted them bad enough to pay the piper.

 

[player]

This:http://cid-d5341e5d25be06b4.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/.Public/Music/KarnEvil9.wma was played on a Strat with a Seymour Duncan Humbucker in the neck position with just a bit of OD and a GNX in the mix.have to ask the guy which one he used for it,said bridge sorry bout that... changed it to what it was supposed to read

 

[SuperSwede]

Thanks for all the recommendations!

 

[guitardan777]

I have two of these in my Carvin Bolt, (middle and neck), But I'm sure it would work fine in the bridge:

http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/single.php?product=TBH60&cid=81

BTW - I love'em....

 

[Duff]

Pickup

Hubber, try a SD JBJr in the bridge. I think you will really like it, mega massively. One nice pickup that doesn't give up the strat tone completely and has that strong hb tone to go with your rails and really rip in the bridge position, unlike the lil 59, that doesn't have the output needed to probably overcome the rails with any level of dominance.

I have a SD hot rail in the neck, lil 59 in the middle, and a JBJr in the bridge of one of my strats. The set up was recommended by one of the engineers at Seymour Duncan headquarters and he says a lot of pros use this set up. Not far from your set up if you put in a JBJr hot bridge pickup.

But you will definitely pay for Seymour Duncan Pickups.

Hope this helps,

Duff