Hot Rail

[nopicknick]

I have a JB jr in the bridge of my strat, and a Hot Rails in the neck. The HR however is a bridge pickup.....and sounds just fine. Anyone else using a bridge pickup in the neck with similar results?

 

[Clint 55]

Re: Hot Rail

Yep, I used to have a bridge Seth and bridge Phat Cat in the neck. As long as it sounds good and the volumes are fine, there's nothing to worry about.

 

[Gunslinger_505]

Re: Hot Rail

The best rule of thumb is to go with what sounds best to you.

The "general" rule is to have a hotter bridge pup. This is because the guitar is not as loud at the bridge and therefore the extra output balances with the lower output neck pup but louder on the guitar neck position. In turn this combo allows for a more balanced middle position sound. But these generalities aren't cast in stone.

I'm starting a partscaster project in a SSS strat configuration. I was thinking hot pups in the bridge and neck and a low output RWRP in the middle. My thought being I could get some nicer clean tones than a more traditional setup with three hot pups. Plus, I rarely used the middle alone on my last strat. Low and behold, SD has an Everything Axe set in this exact configuration.

 

[Artie]

Re: Hot Rail

The "general" rule is to have a hotter bridge pup. This is because the guitar is not as loud at the bridge and therefore the extra output balances with the lower output neck pup but louder on the guitar neck position. In turn this combo allows for a more balanced middle position sound. But these generalities aren't cast in stone.

And to expand on that, more windings equal more inductance, ie., more treble roll-off. Which is generally desirable in the "twangy" bridge position.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Hot Rail

If it sounds fine, it is fine. These labels are just names, not hard & fast rules. If the balance works for you and the tone is great, win/win.

 

[FinnG]

Re: Hot Rail

Im not, but ive seen people do it.