Question re: pots & wiring for HSS setup

[wmlaven]

I have a Strat HSS and will replace the OEM pups with SD '59 Custom Hybrid in the Bridge and Vintage Hot Stacked in both the middle and neck positions. Mine is a classic single volume & two tones Strat and I've heard so many different opinions on which pots to use. I was leaning towards 500K for all 3 pots, but someone said that 500K for the Vintage Stacked middle/neck tone might be too bright and recommended 250K for that tone pot. He also recommended a .047 uF capacitor. I'm worried that that set up might make the middle/neck tones too muddy. Any suggestions re: pots/capacitor? I'm very new to all of this, BTW. I guess I'm thinking that with 500K pots everywhere and a .022 capacitor can be "tamed" if it's too bright just by rolling off the tone knobs.

I'm also wondering about switch position 2 where it'll split the Bridge '59 Custom humbucker and "join" it to the middle Vintage Stacked. One reason I went the route I did with the Vintage Stacked in the middle and neck was for high-ouput, but also for noise cancelling - I'm allergic to hum!! In switch position 2 would I suffer from hum since the bridge humbucker has been split or is mating that split humbucker with the Middle Vintage stacked going to somehow eliminate the hum? Is there a way to wire it so that in switch position 2 I cancel the potential hum? Again, I'm a newbie so don't understand the intricacies of wiring - I need advice to have an intelligent conversation with my guitar tech.

[Mincer]

Welcome to the forum!

With that particular setup, I'd opt for 500k all around, with .022 cap, just because the Vintage Hot Stacks can be on the darker side. As far as the wiring, with a regular way, you'd get hum-canceing naturally in position 2, but not if you split the humbucker with the full stack. It might be possible to split both the full stack and the humbucker and retain hum-cancelation, but it would depend on the polarity of the middle pickup.

[wmlaven]

Mincer Thanks for that info. When you discuss wiring, you say "with a regular way." What do you meant by that? Maybe I've got this wrong, but on a drawing showing the switch positions/functions for the HSS, Position #2 shows only the inboard coil of the humbucker, i.e. split, and the middle pup (in this case, a Vintage stacked pup, i.e. another humbucker) working together. So wouldn't one then lose the hum-cancelling since the bridge humbucker has been split? Or can it be wired so the entire humbucker is joined to the middle pup with Siwtch #2 - but that would be screaming hot, wouldn't it?

[Clint 55]

I recommend a 300k volume and 250k no load tones. This will give you some more bite than 250k but won't be over the top. Position 2 will be hum cancelling if you leave both not split or split both pickups and split to the correct coil on the hb.

[wmlaven]

I recommend a 300k volume and 250k no load tones. This will give you some more bite than 250k but won't be over the top. Position 2 will be hum cancelling if you leave both not split or split both pickups and split to the correct coil on the hb.

If I were to split both pickups, which coils on the hb is "the correct coil." I've read on other threads that splitting to the Custom slug-coil is the way to go for tone, but is that the "correct" one for hum cancelling?

[Clint 55]

You need to find out what polarity the top coil is on the vintage hot stacks and split to the opposite polarity coil on the 59/C. I don't know what it is, but maybe someone else knows.

[wmlaven]

Clint 55 thanks for that info re: polarity.