Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

[grrowler]

Hello all.

I have a Highway 1 Fat Strat with a Trembucker in the bridge and a Vintage Rails in the Middle. The Trembucker is sweet and tight for faster leads. The Vintage Rails gives me what I think of as the true 'voice' of the strat.

I also have a Cool Rails in the neck but it doesn't have the umph that I'd like. I'm looking for a pickup that will sound nice and crunchy when I am playing two or three note rhythm chords (Doors, Stones etc.).

I am thinking of the Hot Rails neck pickup. I play out of a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe with a Celestion speaker. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Diocletian]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

If it's more "umph" then Hot Rails will do that. I'm not so sure about stuff like the Stones or Doors with it though.

I've never tried one, but I'd like to, and you should check out the:

Little 59 or JB jr.

BTW "trembucker" is a blanket term used to describe any Duncan trem spaced pickup, not an actual pickup type.

 

[grrowler]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

Ah, thanks for the clarification on the 'trembucker' thing. To be more precise the pickup is a Duncan Distortion 'trembucker' if that makes sense. Thanks for the recommendations.

 

[Diocletian]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

Have you thought of coil splitting the Distortion? That might be good for stuff like the Stones if you roll the volume/gain back and will give a nice sound mixed with your middle Rails pup.

 

[grrowler]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

hmmm, no I haven't considered coil splitting. Can you point me to some info about that?

 

[Diocletian]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

hmmm, no I haven't considered coil splitting. Can you point me to some info about that?

Wiring, using a push/pull pot (you can do it with a mini toggle switch too):

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=coil_splitting


When you split it you only get one of the coils, so it basically becomes a single coil pickup, dropping the output.
I have a Duncan Distortion in a strat copy myself and it's got a coil split switch - works really nicely and it's an easy mod.

 

[grrowler]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

Cool. Thanks for the info!

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

If it's more "umph" then Hot Rails will do that. I'm not so sure about stuff like the Stones or Doors with it though.

I've never tried one, but I'd like to, and you should check out the:

Little 59 or JB jr.

BTW "trembucker" is a blanket term used to describe any Duncan trem spaced pickup, not an actual pickup type.

trembuckers are actually two different things, trem-spaced pickups and the patb series of humbuckers with split/non adjustable poles. and they do make a distortion patb(don't remember the code) that is supposedly very different from the standard DD.

 

[grrowler]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

Good info super rad ska.

My DD Trembucker has a nice tight distortion that sounds pretty good with shreddy leads. For a middle pickup I have a Vintage Rails which give me a nice clean and open strat sound. When I use both pickups the higher output DD takes over most of the sound but the Vintage give it a little extra voice, good for great open rhythm friendly sounds.

So Ive got the shred, I have a great open rhythm, now I need some crunch for rhythm and I've got a flexible everyday guitar.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[Diocletian]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

When I use both pickups the higher output DD takes over most of the sound but the Vintage give it a little extra voice.

Coil splitting is gonna help that a lot. :1:

 

[grrowler]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

Coil splitting will help because you are only using half the output so it won't overwhelm the vintage? More of a 50/50 mix?

 

[Diocletian]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

Pretty much, aye. I'm not sure exactly on output levels, but yeah the idea is right.

 

[grrowler]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

Got it. Something to look into....

 

[Diocletian]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

It's no gonnae solve your neck pickup problem, and it's no use to people only playing high gain stuff. But for cleans and lower gain leads, it's ideal especially mixed with a middle single coil.

 

[grrowler]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

Well the more options the axe gives me the more useful it is as an everyday tool.

 

[Mark Le Comte]

Re: Choosing Neck Pickup for Fat Strat

I would tend to go for a PAFish neck single coil humbucker, mainly because a PAF style neck with a distortion bridge covers a lot of ground, even more so with the vintage rails in the middle. I would suggest either a lil 59 or, if you want to keep the rails look, a dimarzio protrack.