Best full size HB in a strat..

S

streetknight

New member
I have a MIA strat I want a full size bucker in the bridge. Alder body maple board.

I just put hot rails in it and just don't like it. Not a fat enough tone out of the bridge.

I've also realized I missed the cleans out of the stock neck pup. Can I use a sc in the neck and middle If I exclusively use the bridge by itself?
 
Re: Best full size HB in a strat..

streetknight said:
I just put hot rails in it and just don't like it. Not a fat enough tone out of the bridge.
Click to expand...
Buy another guitar then, something other than a strat. I think the Hot Rails is about as hot and fat as it gets, it's even fatter than an Invader. No full humbucker out there that I know of will be fatter. If that doesn't do it for you, nothing will. Get a big slab of mahogany, shorter scale, something like a Les Paul.
 
Re: Best full size HB in a strat..

TattooedCarrot said:
Buy another guitar then, something other than a strat. I think the Hot Rails is about as hot and fat as it gets, it's even fatter than an Invader. No full humbucker out there that I know of will be fatter. If that doesn't do it for you, nothing will. Get a big slab of mahogany, shorter scale, something like a Les Paul.
Click to expand...


+1 W/ all the options in set neck gibson style guitars out there. There's really no reason not to own one.
 
Re: Best full size HB in a strat..

TattooedCarrot said:
Buy another guitar then, something other than a strat. I think the Hot Rails is about as hot and fat as it gets, it's even fatter than an Invader. No full humbucker out there that I know of will be fatter. If that doesn't do it for you, nothing will. Get a big slab of mahogany, shorter scale, something like a Les Paul.
Click to expand...

I disagree... in my opinion the Hot Rails sounds fat, yes, but thin, brittle and compressed at the same time. I'm not going to tell you to get another guitar; its reasonable to want a fat tone out of the guitar you have. Dimarzio makes some pickups (Breed, Tone Zone, etc) that are designed specifically to thicken up strat-style guitars. Hopefully more people will chime in; I'm in the same situation wanting to switch to a full size HB in my strat after trying a lot of singles and SC-sized HBs. One thing I did do to my strat to thicken up the overall tone was put on heavy strings and raise the action... takes some getting used to but it added a lot of girth to the guitar's natural tone.
 
Re: Best full size HB in a strat..

In my experience,

'59 Model
Pearly Gates
Custom Custom
'78 Model
Brobucker
JB (with 250k volume pot)
DiMarzio Air Zone
DiMarzio Super Distortion
DiMarzio PAF and PAF Pro
 
Re: Best full size HB in a strat..

Seriously consider the Patb line. If you're somewhat happy with the Hot Rails I'm fairly sure you'll really like the PATB-1.
 
Re: Best full size HB in a strat..

I'd have to say the 78 Trembucker.

But I also love my 59 TB, Custom TB and Custom Custom TB in my other three single HB Strats.
 
Re: Best full size HB in a strat..

Custom Custom.

Also, if you are really into fattening up the guitar, you can always get a replacement 24.75 scale neck for it... I'm just sayin'.
 
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Re: Best full size HB in a strat..

Most the pickups being named here are good choices to fatten up a strat. But again, I don't think they're any fatter than the Hot Rails you've already tried so you might be barking up the wrong tree. I usually don't tell someone to get another guitar, and I'm not saying it as a sarcasm but as one who has whored himself through a lot of gear and a lot of pickups. I just think you might have a hard time getting a fatter tone than a hot rails from a strat by way of another pickup. If you're against another type of guitar, there's mods like the mentioned 24.75 conversion neck, effects and amps, amp settings, other things you can manipulate to try and achieve what you're looking for.

Good luck with in your search for tone; it's a treacherous journey that has taken many a good man before you :laugh2:
 
Re: Best full size HB in a strat..

Thanks for all the replies. I had a JB in a Schecter and though I did like it, I thought it was pretty bright sounding in that mahogany guitar. I'm afraid it might be very shrill sounding in my alder strat. The Custom Custom gets a lot of love, but the "spongier" bottom end confuses me. I'm a newer player so termanology confuses me sometimes.

I want something that has good fat bottom end, good mids, but not piercing highs as I don't play solos yet.

As far as a conversion, I thought most metal players used longer scale guitars anyways.

I have been playing with the rails more since my first post. The strat doesn't have a tone control for the bridge pup, I'm gonna rewire it so it does and maybe that'll allow me to darken the sound a little.
 
Re: Best full size HB in a strat..

TattooedCarrot said:
there's mods like the mentioned 24.75 conversion neck,
Click to expand...

Serioiusly, the PATB-3 will give a Strat a serious LP vibe. It is plenty fat but, has great clarity and a tight bottom. Imagine a A5 pickup in a LP.

Ask Dr Barlo. I was one of the ones that suggested it to him. I think he may have been a bit sceptical but, he is now a believer.
 
Re: Best full size HB in a strat..

streetknight said:
The Custom Custom gets a lot of love, but the "spongier" bottom end confuses me.
I want something that has good fat bottom end, good mids, but not piercing highs as I don't play solos yet.
Click to expand...
Trust me on this bro!! A PATB-3 is a must.
 
Re: Best full size HB in a strat..

Pearly Gates or if you can get one a Pearly Gates + make a strat come ALIVE!!!
 
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