Hot Rails+SSL-5+SSl-4

[turamvar]

Hello all,

I am planning to upgrade my strat with a hot rails in the bridge, a SSL-5 in the middle and a SSL-4 in the neck.
Do you think it'll match OK?

Cheers!

 

[Will S-T]

Re: Hot Rails+SSL-5+SSl-4

I think that would be a killer setup with the tapped
versions of the SSl-5 and SSL-4 with being able to
also split the Hot Rails.

Full output
Rails-16.9, ssl-4-13.3, ssl-5-12.9

Split and tapped
Rails-10.8, ssl-4-8.8, ssl-5-6.6

A very versatile dual output guitar. You can use a
Fender 500k S-1 switch to split and tap them all at
the same time. They're about twice the price of the
250k switch and they're on Ebay. Just make sure you
get the right one because the strat and tele switches
are different and you will need to get correct knob.
Man, you can do some real trick wiring with that setup.

 

[turamvar]

Re: Hot Rails+SSL-5+SSl-4

Thanks for the advice!

I hadn't thought about it...But I might give it a try

 

[Will S-T]

Re: Hot Rails+SSL-5+SSl-4

Try "trickedoutguitar" or "tog" on Ebay
for some of the best prices on Duncan pickups.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Hot Rails+SSL-5+SSl-4

Try to stick with calibrated sets or complimentary pickups for the best results. All three pickups have very different sounds and having each position doing something different is a prescription for disappointment.

Some other complimentary combos:
Hot Rails, Duckbucker or Vintage Rails, Hot Rails or JB Jr
Fastrack II, Duckbucker or Vintage Rails, JB Jr or Little Screamin Demon

 

[turamvar]

Re: Hot Rails+SSL-5+SSl-4

Try to stick with calibrated sets or complimentary pickups for the best results. All three pickups have very different sounds and having each position doing something different is a prescription for disappointment.

Some other complimentary combos:
Hot Rails, Duckbucker or Vintage Rails, Hot Rails or JB Jr
Fastrack II, Duckbucker or Vintage Rails, JB Jr or Little Screamin Demon

Yes, I thought about that but (perhaps "noobishly") I thought that with three different pups I might have a versatile guitar and that if I had volume problems I could fix it just using the vol knob...Am i wrong?

Please, tell me that I'm not :S

 

[robrob2]

Re: Hot Rails+SSL-5+SSl-4

If you want hum canceling between the mid and neck you'll need to get an RW/RP mid pickup. You should be able to get the SSL-5 in RW/RP. I would also call SD and have them verify the magnetic polarity of the single pickps. Ideally you'd want: SN....S....N polarity. With this setup you can get hum canceling when the split humbucker is paired with the mid, and when the neck and mid are paired.

Yes, I thought about that but (perhaps "noobishly") I thought that with three different pups I might have a versatile guitar and that if I had volume problems I could fix it just using the vol knob...Am i wrong?

You'd need a separate volume knob for each pickup to do that. You can adjust pickup heights to help level the outputs between the pickups, but that's kind of a band aid approach.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: Hot Rails+SSL-5+SSl-4

Yes, I thought about that but (perhaps "noobishly") I thought that with three different pups I might have a versatile guitar and that if I had volume problems I could fix it just using the vol knob...Am i wrong?

Please, tell me that I'm not :S

The versatility of a strat comes from the position of the pickups and its control arrangement. So using differently voiced pickups in each position really isn't a necessity in my mind. A problem with mixing pickups in a strat is volume and tonal imbalance between positions which can be lessened by using calibrated sets.