Full size SHR-1B hot rails

[Hexenkettle]

Hello All! 1st post here! I have found a full size Hot Rails humbucker. It has 2 blade single coils with a metal open style cover. It has a ceramic magnet and the DCR of 17.? K It was made in the Duncan custom shop.Has anyone tried one of these? Does it scream? I like high OP clear pickups like the dimebucker, and the ALT8. Will I like this pup? Or will it sound exactly like a small hot rails? Thanks in advance. Please move, modify, if I posted in the wrong area???

[Mincer]

Welcome to the forum!

Can we see a pic of this? Hot Rails are more mid focused, and I would never define them as clear. They are best used in a 1 guitar band where they cut through with their volume, not their frequency. So I would say it is the opposite of a Dimebucker.

But here is the thing...if it is from the Custom Shop, it could have been wound to sound like anything, so it might not even sound like a regular Hot Rails. Go ahead and try it, and report back (and post a few pics).

[Rex_Rocker]

I would say the Hot Rails kinda has the low-end rolloff of the Black Winter and the top-end rolloff of the Invader.

[ArtieToo]

The style you're describing, and the DCR, make it sound like a Dimebucker. But since you seem to have some experience with a Dimebucker, you'd be sure to recognize if this was one.

Offhand, I'd say a full-size pup wouldn't sound like it's smaller counterpart, but since you have it, install it and tell us how she sounds.

[Hexenkettle]

But a mid sounding pickup is loud to the human ear when compared to a pickup with a “smile” eq. I’ve always had the idea that blade style HBs have a “clarity”. Granted the Slug is not a good example of this but it even has some clarity to it. Thanks for the replies. I’ll try to post pics later.

[Rex_Rocker]

But a mid sounding pickup is loud to the human ear when compared to a pickup with a “smile” eq. I’ve always had the idea that blade style HBs have a “clarity”. Granted the Slug is not a good example of this but it even has some clarity to it. Thanks for the replies. I’ll try to post pics later.

There's a lot of things you can do with blade humbuckers. Don't overgeneralize. That would be like saying all screw/slug pickups sound a certain way, when a Custom 5 couldn't be more different from a JB, for example.

I say that because when I first tried the X2N, I was, like you, expecting it to sound bright and cutting, when it must have been one of the darkest/bassiest pickups I've tried.

[RanchManSandy]

They are best used in a 1 guitar band where they cut through with their volume, not their frequency.

(dave murray has entered the chat)

[Hexenkettle]

Here it is. I have a few guitars left over so I’m hoping to install this pup soon and I’ll let you know how it sounds!!

[Aceman]

I'd think I could make a hot rails HB just by winding a hot rails to 8.5k and wiring two in series...I know it isn't that easy, but still.

I guess I'd say a Hot Rails, compared to a JB, Distortion, Custom, and Invader, is closest to an Invader in terms of sound. But it definitely has a different mojo than any of those.

[Mincer]

Does it say that the model is S/HRB?

[Hexenkettle]

Yes. In the second photo you can see it has a sticker in orange printed SHR1B.

[GuitarDoc]

That's an interesting beast. The only thing I could say about how it will sound is that it WON'T sound like the single coil-size Hot Rails. If you like "high output and clear" you may need to wire that in parallel. Yes, if you wire it parallel it will be roughly 1/4 the DCR, but since the resistance isn't the power, it will still sound powerful and loud. But it will also sound much clearer.

But hey, try it and see.