Cool Rails and SSL-4

[CondeZL]

I've played a SSS Strat with Hot Rails bridge but stock neck and middle. The vintage middle + rails bridge sounded gourgous clean, but the neck position did not respond well at high gain for the solos. For a matter of versatility, should I consider a hot single neck, like a quarter-pound or a Cool Rails?
Note: I had borrowed that specific guitar, so now I'm getting myself one.

 

[Jacew]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

I've played a SSS Strat with Hot Rails bridge but stock neck and bridge. The vintage middle + rails bridge sounded gourgous clean, but the neck position did not respond well at high gain for the solos. For a matter of versatility, should I consider a hot single neck, like a quarter-pound or a Cool Rails?
Note: I had borrowed that specific guitar, so now I'm getting myself one.

Quarter Pound neck is not probably what you want: Very round and dark. Good for jazzy cleans, but can get quite muddy with distortion.

 

[CondeZL]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

thanks! I really like fat tones full of mids (I love my Les Paul with P90s) but the one thing that makes me want a Strat is to avoid that saturation at low notes.

 

[Jacew]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

thanks! I really like fat tones full of mids (I love my Les Paul with P90s) but the one thing that makes me want a Strat is to avoid that saturation at low notes.

Well, it's quite P90-like in bridge. Actually, staggered and tapped version of it (SSL-7T) might be my favorite bridge pickup for strat. Very versatile.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

i like the cool rails in the neck quite a bit. are you using 500k pots?

 

[CondeZL]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

i like the cool rails in the neck quite a bit. are you using 500k pots?

I have no idea. I could ask the owner if that makes a significant difference. The original pickup was certainly single coil.

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

I actually just put a cool rails in the neck of my strat with a distortion in the bridge with 500k pots and it sounds great! The cool rails is kind of middy and it quacks!

 

[gregory]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

Nice!

I went with the JB Jr. in the neck in the hopes it would have the strongest mids without taking the leap to a hot rails. I have no idea if I made the best choice (I completely disagree with the BMT rating on the product page), but it balances perfectly with a full-size Screamin' Demon in the bridge, so I'm content for the moment.

I'd recommend that or an SSL-6 which also works really well with both high gain and cleans.

Some stack neck choices in increasing output* that should work really well for high-gain soloing and still provide good cleans:
Fury Neck
STK-S4b
STK-S7
DiMarzio Injector Neck
STK-S6

(*) corrections are encouraged!

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

Cool, JB Jr. I bet that's a good neck pickup!

 

[CondeZL]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

I wonder if rails and JB jrs are so popular why hasn't Fender come up with something alike for stock pickups, not mentioning Duncan Designed on Squiers.

 

[Artie]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

Another vote for the Cool Rails. Spanky sweet quack. I've used them in all positions and love them all.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

The Cool Rails is sort of the single coil-sized version of the Jazz. It sounds clear and open to me, and likes gain as well as clean tones. It is a great choice for the neck. I have never actually tried a JB Jr in the neck, though.

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

I have a Classic Stack Puls neck on my Strat clone, and it handles high gain surprisingly well.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

I have a Classic Stack Puls neck on my Strat clone, and it handles high gain surprisingly well.

This is my favorite 'Single coil sounding' pickup, period.

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

Same here, Mincer.

Curiosly, since my Hot Rails bridge went microphonic, and while I'm saving to replace it, I moved a Classic Stack Plus Middle to the bridge, and I found it sounds surprisingly good. I was hoping for the typical piercing highs from a Strat bridge, but instead found the sound surprisingy balanced, even warm, and I'm using it both in clean and high gain settings. Made me wonder about a Custom Stack Plus for the bridge, for a little more beef there...

To the OP, sorry for the slight off topic.

 

[gregory]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

I have a Classic Stack Puls neck on my Strat clone, and it handles high gain surprisingly well.

I don't see why it wouldn't. It's usually the hotter, bass-heavy pickups that don't do as well under high gain in the neck position, which the Classic Stack Plus certainly isn't. Why were you surprised?

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

Well, although I now favour lower gain pickups, because my musical tastes changed significantly over the last few years, in the past I've used high gain neck pickups with gain amps with good result and no issue with bass (pickups used in this context were the Invader and Distortion neck). With a single coil I really didn't expect the clarity, but some convulotion with lots of gain and bass.

You found my post curious, yet you considered above a Custom Stack Neck a valid suggestion for a neck pickup, which is a bass-heavy/high-gain neck pickup compared to the stack, so to your assumption it shouldn't work well for that position and gainier sounds...

 

[gregory]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

Single coils, especially of the vintage output variety are pretty well guaranteed to deliver clarity.

I used an SSL-6 in the neck with high gain in many different rigs over the course of two decades and had zero issues. As for the S6, I said they *should* work really well and went so far as to solicit corrections. As I see it, the only potential issue is that it may be higher in output than the SSL-6. Take note that it falls at the very bottom of my list.

NB: Some people use OD to get into high-gain territory, and some signal chains will handle the bass from an SH-6N through some ODs better than others, especially in 22-fret guitars. I own an SH-6N and can guarantee you that the S6 isn't even close to being in the same ballpark. As for the Invader neck, I was told that it has a cap wired in series in order to reduce the bass.

 

[Synapsys]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

Still, the Invader is the bassiest neck pup I've ever used... The Distortion neck seemed clearer to me back then, both used in alder bodied Jacksons.

Maybe it's the ash body in my strat, but it seems to make everything sound really clear

But that was fifteen years ago, my sound spectrum is way more varied now...

 

[Jacew]

Re: Cool Rails and SSL-4

Single coils, especially of the vintage output variety are pretty well guaranteed to deliver clarity.

They also often have that "loosy" echoing tone, that causes the tone to sort of "collapse" with moderate gain. It seems to be the problem only in that case, more gain actually helps, as does lowering it...

That could probably be fixed by compressor though...