Fit SH-6 or TB-6 parallel?

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bjoecool

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I have a 2007 Fender American Deluxe Strat HSS with alder body, maple fretboard, Fender DH-1 humbucker and 2 Somarium cobalt single coils with S-1 switch, and Deluxe American series 2-point non-locking tremolo. The humbucker comes standard installed parallel with the single coils, not slanted. Here’s a photo of the same guitar but with a rosewood fretboard.
sredir


http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sred...85953450296897&authkey=M0aoyAy_MOs&feat=email

I play a lot of 80’s hard rock and hair metal, classic rock and the occasional Metallica tune. I am going to replace only the humbucker to get a more powerful and aggressive sound for both rhythm and lead. I love the single coils, so they stay. I love the sound of the SH-6 Duncan Distortion in other guitars, but I’m wondering if it will sound too bright with my maple fretboard, so I'm also considering the SH-5 Duncan Custom. I’m about ready to take the plunge on either SH-6 or SH-5.

Anyway, can I install the SH-6 or SH-5 parallel just like the standard Fender humbucker, or does it need to be slanted, or should I get the TB-6 or TB-5? It looks like the TB-6 is the same as the SH-6 but with the pole pieces spaced for a Floyd Rose tremolo, but I do not have a Floyd Rose – I have a Deluxe American series 2-point non-locking tremolo. Will either of these pickups line up correctly? I’m having trouble finding a TB-6 in stock at local stores, so I’ll have to pay return shipping if I need to swap for another pickup through an online store.

What about fit in the standard H-S-S pick guard? Also, will I be able to wire the SH-6 or TB-6 in my strat and maintain the S-1 switching setup? If so, how? I’ve read a few posts suggesting that the Duncan diagrams are incorrect for the S-1 switching.

Thanks in advance for any/all suggestions. I really, really appreciate your help!
 
Re: Fit SH-6 or TB-6 parallel?

Well, I'd go for a TB-6 if I were you. It will line up better with the strings, although it's not really a massive issue.
I seem to recall a thread in the past few days similar to this regarding the Fender mounting screws. You have TWO screws at the top, instead of one. An SH-6 won't fit, but the TB-6, or any trembucker, should have three holes on the mounting plate so it will screw straight onto your pickguard. I'm sure that was the gist of the other thread, but check back to make sure if you can find it.
 
Re: Fit SH-6 or TB-6 parallel?

You can get away with the SH-6 but the TB-6 will fit your string spacing better.

The TB-6 should fit but it might be a tight squeeze. Sometimes you have to open up the hole in the pick guard just a hair. A Dremel with a tube sander tip works nicely. Since the Fender guard is already set up for a TB sized pickup you might be ok.

Fender singles are reverse polarity from SD singles so you usually have to use the SD green as hot and the black as ground to get the polarity correct. The DD comes with a 4 conductor wiring harness so you can make it work with the S1 switch.
 
Re: Fit SH-6 or TB-6 parallel?

The stock mounting should be fine for whichever pickup you decide to throw in there. Either a humbucker with normal spacing or trembucker spacing will work in there. IIRC, the trembuckers were designed to line up the pole pieces with the strings a little better on guitars equipped with a Floyd Rose style double locking tremolo. The Floyd Rose style tremolos have slightly wider string spacing than your classic hardtail and 6-point vintage tremolos. I have a Fender with a 6 point tremolo and the normally spaced humbucker in the bridge lines up with the strings just fine. Last I looked at one of those Fender two-point tremolos, the string spacing between seemed the same as the six point tremolo to me. It's been a while since I've looked at a Fender two-point tremolo, so take that with a grain of salt.
 
Re: Fit SH-6 or TB-6 parallel?

Koreth said:
The stock mounting should be fine for whichever pickup you decide to throw in there.
Click to expand...

The pic he posted of his guitar shows a bridge pickup with TWO screws mounting the upper side. An SH-6 will have only one mounting hole will it not? :scratchch The old one I fitted today does anyway, I can't see it fitting a pickguard like that without some modification.
 
Re: Fit SH-6 or TB-6 parallel?

So you drill a small hole between the two existing holes. There aren't many after market HBs that have a two hole mount on the base plate.
 
Re: Fit SH-6 or TB-6 parallel?

Robert S. said:
So you drill a small hole between the two existing holes. There aren't many after market HBs that have a two hole mount on the base plate.
Click to expand...

Well that's what I was saying, I was sure there was a thread here the other day about trembuckers coming with three holes so they'd fit into a pickguard like that.
I'll have to go look back.
 
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