Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

[Mincer]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

Yes, I've said on my first post that the Classic stack plus (STK-S4m) is my second option . I'm torn between the Duckbucker and the Classic stack plus, as middle pickup...



Honestly I'm trying to achieve a sort of Andy Timmons kind of tone as far as the neck and middle pickups. So a sort of strat tone, but much more round without noise and pearcing highs. Based on the description I've assumed that the Vintage Rails would have been the closer pickup to the Dimarzio Cruiser...am I wrong ?

If noiseless is a requirement, the Classic Stack is the pickup. If it were not, I'd go with the Antiquity Texas Hots.

[ElectricGypsy]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

If noiseless is a requirement, the Classic Stack is the pickup. If it were not, I'd go with the Antiquity Texas Hots.

Ok so Classic stack plus STK-S4m in the middle and as far as the neck pickup I'm trying to achieve a sort of Andy Timmons kind of tone, so a sort of strat tone, but much more round without noise and piercing highs. Based on the description I've assumed that the Vintage Rails would have been the closer pickup to the Dimarzio Cruiser...am I wrong ?

[Nagisa]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

Why not just use AT's pickups?

[ElectricGypsy]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

Why not just use AT's pickups?

Because I prefer the SD flavour a lot compared to DMZ...so I'm intrigued by the idea that is at the basis of the Cruiser and I'd like to have a pickup that responds in the same way, but with the SD tone character...

[Despair]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

There's a number of things you could do to get a warmer neck position tone. Given the Cruiser is a rails design, maybe a Cool Rails neck, Cool Rails is supposed to sound somewhere between a strat pickup (focus due to narrower pole spacing) and a Jazz humbucker, which is particularly popular as a neck pickup. Could also look at a Lil'59, Lil'Screamin' Demon, Red Devil or lil' Pearly Gates neck pickups.

STK-S4 isn't the very brightest strat sound. Noiseless version of SSL-2 (flat polepiece version of SSL-1) It's a flexible, classic strat pickup resembling one of the sought after slight factory overwound pickups (underwound from an earlier era also very popular, tastes vary!). SSL-1 & 2 are very popular with musicians such as David Gilmour in neck & middle positions.

You could wire in a tone control for that pickup only. Could make it an internal trimpot if you don't want it visible.

You could also look at other noiseless pickups from Seymour Duncan, like the STK-S10n YJM Fury neck, which run warmer, but aren't particularly high output either (don't be fooled by the DC resistance!). Or you could look at an STK-S7 (Vintage Hot Stack Plus) or STK-S6 (Custom Stack Plus), both of which are intended for bridge position and will be hotter than your middle pickup. You'll want to play with pickup height, might even put in a volume trimpot to get it under control. STK-6 Custom is hotter, with slightly lower mids, compared to STK-7. Both can be boomy in neck, and considered too hot by some players, though there are a few vocal proponents of them with an STK-S4m middle on the forum.

All of that is assuming that the STK-S4 neck doesn't do what you want.

Lots of options, and can't really prescribe, you'd really need a head to head comparison with the Cruiser of a lot of Seymour Duncan pickups to figure out which one was closest for absolute certain. Looks to me like the STK-S4 or STK-S7 are quite close in EQ curve, but they aren't side-by-side humbuckers, aren't going to be quite as smooth under gain. SD's side-by-side single-sized humbuckers don't quite match the EQ if you compare charts, but you can't reliably do that between vendors.

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

Since you don't have middle by itself as an option, I'd use whatever you need to get the other positions to be noiseless if I were you.

Since I'm me, and I love the middle by itself, use position 4 a little bit, very little of 2, and the sound of real single coils, I'd use whichever pickups sounded the best in each position and say to hell with noise cancellation.

[zionstrat]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

+1 cool rail neck but add a spinasplit or a parallel to self toggle...

Unmodified in the neck, it really should have been named warm rail.. not as much umph as a hotrail but far more than standard strat... Superb if you want some gain for solos.

But when you parallel or spin a split, you can get close to classic strat...superb for rock or blues rhythm.

As you spin off the rail, you get more and more straty and the sweet spot on most of my builds is about 60%...but u can pick up noise in a noisy room.

Parallel keeps u humbucking and can also be rather straty.

I love CRs!

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

[oilpit]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

If you're looking for an Andy Timmons tone out of your neck pickup you should forget any rail type pickup other than the DMZ Cruiser, as that is literally just supposed to sound like a single coil w/o the hum.

If you want noiseless get a classic stack, if not just get an SSL-1 or something. AT neck is just basic Strat tone, the rails are purely for high gain quietness, I would bet my left nut that in the studio he is using an actual Fender Stratocaster with regular single coils.

[Mincer]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

Ok so Classic stack plus STK-S4m in the middle and as far as the neck pickup I'm trying to achieve a sort of Andy Timmons kind of tone, so a sort of strat tone, but much more round without noise and piercing highs. Based on the description I've assumed that the Vintage Rails would have been the closer pickup to the Dimarzio Cruiser...am I wrong ?

Well the Vintage Rails is a good, very vintage, lower-output Strat sound. The Classic Stack beats it in the balls dept, and is absolutely rounder with no piercing highs at all.

[ElectricGypsy]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

Previusly I was using a Cool rails in the neck wired in series, but it was definetly too closer to an humbucker; to me it sounds too fat. Sure it's a great pickup if your're loocking for a single coil sized humbucker, but that's not my case. Because of this I thought to move to a Vintage Rails that should be closer to a single coil pickup, especially as far as the clarity and pick attack...

I've also considerd the Vintage Hot stack plus STK -S7, but I'm afraid that it could be too close to a single coil...at lest based on the website description I'm trying to stay exactly in the middle, so I'd like a pickup that has the clarity of a single coil with it's definition especially on the pick attack and note separation, but I want also the warmth and the noisless feture of the humbucker.

I think that maybe the best solution would be: PB in the bridge, Classic stac plus STK-S4m in the middle and Vintage rails in the neck. On the 2 position I'll split the PB and also the Classic stack so I'll have a noiseless position and in the 4 position I won't split the Classic stack so that would be noisless too. The only last doubt that I have is the the 4 position in that case may be not so stratty because I'll have a stack single coil wired in parallele with a sort of a mini humbucker...

[Mincer]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

I am not quite sure you'd need the middle to be rw/rp to be hum cancelling with the PB, however.

[ElectricGypsy]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

I am not quite sure you'd need the middle to be rw/rp to be hum cancelling with the PB, however.

I think that it's the only option that I have if I want a noisless combination in the 2 position. In theory usually the middle pickup it's made rwrp exactly to create a noiseless combination when it's paired with another single coil, as long as you paried 2 coil that are rwrp each other...

[TVFV]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

I am not quite sure you'd need the middle to be rw/rp to be hum cancelling with the PB, however.

I'm surprised you haven't mentioned your HSS setup blog post yet.

Sent from my SM-A205U using Tapatalk

[Mincer]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

I don't it actually applies to what he is doing, but you can certainly check it out. I accomplish noise cancelling in all positions while still using 2 pickups that sound like single coils should.

[ElectricGypsy]

Re: Noiseless or not noiseless, that is the question

I don't it actually applies to what he is doing, but you can certainly check it out. I accomplish noise cancelling in all positions while still using 2 pickups that sound like single coils should.

I've just take a look at your blog post and actully I think that your idea is the same as mine Also I've checked the Schaller meagswitch E, that you have mentioned, and my switching configuration is the HSS5 on this page: https://schaller.info/en/megaswitch-e

So at this point it's all about pickups polarity and orientation. If I'm not wrong all Seymour's humbucker are SN = South is the screw coil and North is the slug coil...am I wrong ?
If I'm not wrong about this point, this would be the pickups configuration that will guarantee me all noiseless combinations: SN-S-N

However the Vintage rails can't be splitted so if I want all noiseless combination I have to give up on that...