Help selecting single coils for solo work!

H

homer_simps1

New member
Just bought a Squier Standard HSS and I'm probably going to end up changing the neck and middle pups, but I can't decide what to buy. I was thinking of the SSL-1 or Quarter Pounder but I'm not sure (YJM??). The bridge is going to be a Fred or Paf Pro and I want a single coil that's great for solo work (shreddy), but will also work for pretty much everything else (blues, pop, maybe some metal).

I'm not sure if I want a stack. I've tried Dimarzio stacks before and they were pretty awful (Pro Track was decent). Something about the stacks always sound too tubby for me (as do most neck humbuckers) and I prefer the openess of singles.

Anyhoo, can someone recommend a single coil that's great for shred (mostly legato runs), and can cover blues and the like. Not too hot, but not too low output. Somewhere right in the middle. That's clear and still retains the single coil clarity and likeness.
 
Re: Help selecting single coils for solo work!

Chopper!

You describe it to a t...single coil flavor, great for high gain shreddiness and versatile as all get out
 
Re: Help selecting single coils for solo work!

oilpit said:
Chopper!

You describe it to a t...single coil flavor, great for high gain shreddiness and versatile as all get out
Click to expand...

I tried it, still too tubby. I've tried, pro track, chopper, yjm (not the fury). None felt right to me. So, this time I'm trying some Seymours.
 
Re: Help selecting single coils for solo work!

I think the fury sounds like what you want (not that I've tried it myself). Vintage 'type' tone but with better response for shred-type playing.
 
Re: Help selecting single coils for solo work!

I'll echo the YJM in the neck position, if you like "Strat tone" with more definition and precision. I personally used a Dimarzio Tone Zone S in the middle of my old HSS guitar and had it wired in parallel.... GREAT single-coil tone with balls and it blended nicely between the stock single neck pup and the bridge 'bucker (TB59).
 
Re: Help selecting single coils for solo work!

homer_simps1 said:
The stock pickups are surprisingly nice.
Click to expand...

But, at high amp gain levels, they buzz. :banghead:

Checkout Lace Sensors. Silver, Green or, possibly, Light Blue should suit your requirements.
 
Re: Help selecting single coils for solo work!

homer_simps1 said:
I'm not sure if I want a stack. I've tried Dimarzio stacks before and they were pretty awful (Pro Track was decent). Something about the stacks always sound too tubby for me (as do most neck humbuckers) and I prefer the openess of singles.
Click to expand...
Pro Track isn't a stack, it's a side by side humbucker sized to fit in a single coil size slot, and using blade polepieces. Most SC-sized humbuckers use ceramic magnets (though with a weaker charge that reduces the normal harsh attack and boosted treble & bass).

Stacks are vertical humbuckers, very different beasts, and can use Alnico magnets more easily. The latest generations of them come much closer to being true single coils with only the noise missing. Stack Plus line, YJM Fury and Kinmans are worth looking into. [I can't recommend DiMarzio's due to their legal chicanery.]

homer_simps1 said:
Anyhoo, can someone recommend a single coil that's great for shred (mostly legato runs), and can cover blues and the like. Not too hot, but not too low output. Somewhere right in the middle. That's clear and still retains the single coil clarity and likeness.
Click to expand...
Out of the Duncans, the YJM Fury or STK-S7 Hot Vintage Stack Plus for the neck and STK-S4 Classic Stack Plus for the middle. Seymour Duncan doesn't really have a non-stack that compares to the STK-S7 in regular production, though you can get anything you want from the Custom Shop (including unusual Stack Plus models, though the price may run a bit higher than the usual CS efforts, due to extra tuning involved).

STK-S7 is a moderately overwound strat pickup, of the sort popular for people chasing SRV tones without resorting to heavy strings. STK-S4 is a stack version of the SSL-2 (which is the flat polepiece stagger variant of the SSL-1).

For legato work, something like the Alnico II Pro Strat or Five-Two might be nice in the neck, though for high gain work the noise/hum would likely be frustrating.

Blade pickups can be nice, particularly in the neck, for lead work. Tighter focus than a full-size humbucker, but smoother and higher output than most single coils. I'd probably go with a standard single or stack in the middle, for tonal variety, though.
 
Last edited:
Re: Help selecting single coils for solo work!

I ended up going with the SSL's and paired them with a Pearly Gates. They're a nice match. The SSL's are awesome. So much mojo and syrup. Pearly Gates is nice and chunky, snappy. A tad icepicky, but I can deal with it.

Thanks, everyone, for your help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top