Help a newbie on single coils for HSS

[ljm109]

Hi forum people,

I have a 2010 Fender MIM Strat, HSS
Alder body, rosewood finger board, vintage tremelo, 250k cts pots
My Humbucker died, so I'm looking to upgrade the whole set.

Reason I bought a HSS, was... wait for it........ versatility...

So looking through Seymour's range I reckon I have decided on the TB-4 JB for the humbucker as it sounds like a good all rounder in my sort of taste....

The help I need is on the Single Coil sized pick-ups (neck and middle), I'm useless at matching these up... and what I think I know is most probably very dangerous.
I would like to get two pickups that would extend the versatility, but they should also work together..... have my cake and eat it sort of thing.

I don't mind true single coil vs humbucker single coil. I don't like noise but I really really don't like flat depthless tone. (Current humbucker was very very flat, tinny and empty - did not like that at all). If a humbucker single coil can give that rich warm tone and nice cleans, I'm all for it!

Tastes vary a bit (hence the banging on about versatility);
AC/DC, Guns 'n Roses, Metallica, Bryan Adams (yeah in the same sentence), Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, Live, REM, Counting Crows, Clapton, U2, Green Day, Gary More, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, Killers, Collective Soul, Pearl Jam, Kings of Leon, - sort of thing....

Any help will be appreciated....

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Help a newbie on single coils for HSS

SSL-1s in the neck and middle. Wire it to auto split the JB. Keep the 250 k pots but make sure the second tone control also goes to the bridge pickup.

http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=1h_2s_1v_2t_5w_as

 

[ljm109]

Re: Help a newbie on single coils for HSS

Thanks Lake,

I take it the middle should not be rw/rp, but the sames as the neck?

For the tone control on the bridge, using that diagram, do I put a link between the "bridge black" and the "middle white/tone" connections?

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Help a newbie on single coils for HSS

I take it the middle should not be rw/rp, but the sames as the neck?

For the tone control on the bridge, using that diagram, do I put a link between the "bridge black" and the "middle white/tone" connections?

It can be RWRP or not. Its up to you. I think the tone is a wee bit better without a RWRP middle, but you may not, or you may not think it's worth the hum in the notch positions.

Just run a jumper wire from the middle pickup lug ( wire going to the tone pot) to the bridge pickup lug on the switch, or jumper to the bridge lug from the tone pot.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Help a newbie on single coils for HSS

As far as putting the bridge pickup under a tone control, the simple way is to just move the existing wire from the middle lug to the bridge lug on the switch. This leaves no tone control on the middle, but it is seldom needed there anyway.

 

[ljm109]

Re: Help a newbie on single coils for HSS

Cheers Lake!

Much appreciated.