Best combination for volume balance in a strat

[Rei Arthur Pendragon]

Hey I ve got an strat and I want to upgrade the pups.. and i Like the sound of this guitarist kiko loureiro :he has got a hot rails in the neck and a trembucker(HB original parallel axis in the bridge) and Ive noticed that he switches a lot from neck to bridge when soloing and the volume between the pickus is very balanced.. doenst seen to have a big diference.. But ive got a strat guitar.. so i cant have a humbucker and in the neck i would like a pickup that could be played clean and with distortion. when playing leads i like to switch from bridge to neck and so on to achieve an certain effect too.. Would the Cool Rails in the neck and a hot rails in the bridge do it?? I dont want that much difference in power or volume when I switch from one to another? I know that the hot rails have more output but it would make such a big difference??? thanks!!! Any other good combinations are welcome too!!!

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Best combination for volume balance in a strat

Hey man WELCOME to the forum!

Some guys actually put hot rails in all three positions! But you could definitely go the route that you're talking about. Another combo to consider is the JBjr neck and hot rails bridge. The JBjr is very articulate but also hot to give you that punch you want.
In the middle you could duplicate the neck pup, or you could go with a 59 for something not as hot (since you aren't planning on soloing with it and if you do you could use position 4 to couple it with the Hot rails) but still a bucker
Also you could always get a new pickguard so you could get the parallel axis trembucker.

Luke

 

[Rei Arthur Pendragon]

Re: Best combination for volume balance in a strat

Thanks! Well does the cool rails is good for blues and hendrix too?? I know the hot rails is too heavy to play that kind of thing.. people tell me the cool rails has got a better clean tone.. if it is so then i will use it.. cause if i can get a strat to play heavy and blues then Ill be happy! And another thing.. I have a loud screaming amp (meteoro vulcano - 200 watts 2x12") and i can barely play with it in my bedroom.(at vol 2 max eheh, i never used more than 3 at gigs.. so you get how loud it is!!!).. would putting these louder pickups make it worse??? like i will have to lessen the volume even more so i can play??

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Best combination for volume balance in a strat

The Cool Rails does have a cleaner tone than the Hot Rails.

If that's the route you want to go, consider a Cool Rails neck and middle and Hot Rails bridge.

That will not give you quite the same vibe and chime as three single coils...but it'll be a great sounding Strat.

Personally, I'd go for a set of Antiquity Surfers or a set of the new Classic 50's: a calibrated set of Duncan SSL-1's.

But if you have to have humcancelling pickups, then the Cool Rails/Hot Rails set will give a great and more modern Strat tone.

Just to complicate things a little, Jennifer Batten, guitarist with Jeff Beck, uses two Duckbuckers and JB JR. in her Washburn Strat-wannabe.

That's a good humcancelling set too.

Lew

 

[Boleslaw Gers 666]

Re: Best combination for volume balance in a strat

SHR-1/SHR-1/JB Jr. is a nice combo for Iron Maiden, I have it. Not crazy bout the JB Jr, though, may try a lil 59.

 

[brownsound]

Re: Best combination for volume balance in a strat

I have a strat with an original parallel axis (PATB1) in the bridge and a cool rails neck, vintage rails middle. There is good balance between the pickups. The cool rails is very versitile. It cleans up nicely for cleaner tones, especially when split or combined with the vintage rails. I love the tone of the cool rails with distortion. It's has clarity for legato runs and also bites through nicely when you lean into it. I'm fairly new to this pickup and noticed almost immediately that the high e has a tendancy to get caught under the edge of the pickup in the neck position. Go with the new design. I was surprised how easily it catches.

Not much help for bridge suggestions, but cool and vintage rails are very versitile and work very well for classic rock/blues rock. The PATB1 is on the hotter side of moderate output and the cool rails keeps up nicely. It's a nice middle ground between a single coil and a full size humbucker; covers a lot of territory.

 

[Rei Arthur Pendragon]

Re: Best combination for volume balance in a strat

Yeah?? what do you mean by get caught?? Does it get stuck when you are playing???? Isnt there a way to avoid it?? lowering the pickup height? Its okay to use the strat´s 250k pots with these pickups? or is it better to change it?

 

[Rei Arthur Pendragon]

Re: Best combination for volume balance in a strat

Hey I think that a Cool Rails (N) / Vintage Rails (M) / Hot Rails (B) would be more versatile... I was wondering. so i can get blues souns with the middle one... what kind of tone does the cool rails(more humbucker than single?) have distorted in the neck?? is it like santana humbucker sound?? With more distortion it goes down to metal? Is it a good option to do like Hot rails on the neck and JB Jr on the bridge, even with less gain? Sorry for the number of questions but I am kind of curious about those pickups wich I am new to.. and this is the best place to ask! Thanks!