How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

[oilpit]

I have been trying to decide on a H/S setup for a Strat I'm throwing together. I've never personally had a guitar that had a bridge humbucker with a neck single coil and I have been trying to read up on getting a good volume balance between the two.
My goal is to put a JB in the bridge and get the most vintage SRV/Hendrix sound out of the neck, without being too quiet.

I am currently trying to decide whether to pair it with a Classic Stack Plus STK-S4 or a Vintage Hot Stack STK-S7.


The problem is that the consensus seems to be all over the place as to how well different types of pickups get along with each other.
Some people seem to have a very difficult time getting the bridge pickup to not completely overpower the neck pickup, whereas others claim that with a little bit of height adjustment, pretty much any output mismatch can be compensated for.

So my question to you fine people is: Would a STK-S4 and a JB work together if I mess around with the height enough?
If not would it be better for me to opt for a higher output single coil like the Vintage Hot Stack? Or try to find a different bridge pickup?

I really don't need hot pickups, in fact I generally prefer more vintage output stuff. My love for the JB is purely from the chewy, harmonic laden, lead tone, I couldn't care less about hitting the preamp; so if anybody knows a pickup that shares the squishy bass and vocal mids or the JB that isn't so hot, I'm all ears!

That turned into a bit of a ramble, many thanks to anybody that made it through the post, and any input is greatly appreciated.

-oilpit

 

[Mincer]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

To me, there is a pretty big tone difference between the S4 and S7. If I want a true Stratty sound in the neck, I'd go for the S4, even if it might just be slightly quieter than a perfect balance. The S7 sounds like a thicker, muddier Strat to me- far enough away from a typical Strat EQ that I don't generally use that model.

 

[oilpit]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

To me, there is a pretty big tone difference between the S4 and S7. If I want a true Stratty sound in the neck, I'd go for the S4, even if it might just be slightly quieter than a perfect balance. The S7 sounds like a thicker, muddier Strat to me- far enough away from a typical Strat EQ that I don't generally use that model.

Interesting. So just taking a step back from tone really quick, will the S4 be loud enough to balance with a JB in the bridge? I was mostly thinking that the S7 would just be easier to pair with because it's louder and from all the clips I've heard it still sounds pretty Stratty.

But if the S4 will do the trick then I would prefer it to sound as glassy and open as possible, which I assume it will do better.

Thanks for responding

 

[Despair]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

Louder single coils almost always give up some treble, it's inherent in getting more output, more winds. Unless you go to silver wire, or use more powerful magnets, which have tradeoffs in either price or stratitis.

Whether that's bad, opposite a pickup that itself has some treble rolloff, is a matter of taste.

Some people prefer to EQ their rig for the particular guitar (Billy Gibbons has been known to use a MIDI programmable equalizer so that he can compensate for any guitar he uses live, and make them as similar to his favorite sound as is possible with an equalizer.) If you fall into that camp, having a little bit of the same tone profile across all the pickups can work nicely.

Others prefer their perfect strat sounds, and just cope with the humbuckers doing whatever they do. Problem is, not everybody agrees on what a perfect strat sound is... Depends on the player, instrument, amp, speakers, etc.

Do you want a fatter strat sound in the neck? Only way to know may be to try it and see. STK-S7 is primarily meant to be a bridge pickup, but some people do like it for a more SRVish sound in the neck, without having to resort to heavy strings with stacked tube screamers & other tricks to emphasize the mids and roll off the high end.

Given you want glassy, I'd probably try the STK-S4n first, and only consider trying the STK-S7 if the Classic Stack Plus falls too far short on output.

 

[Mincer]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

Interesting. So just taking a step back from tone really quick, will the S4 be loud enough to balance with a JB in the bridge? I was mostly thinking that the S7 would just be easier to pair with because it's louder and from all the clips I've heard it still sounds pretty Stratty.

But if the S4 will do the trick then I would prefer it to sound as glassy and open as possible, which I assume it will do better.

Thanks for responding

The S4 is the one you want if you want glassy and open. If you lower the JB just a bit, I think the balance would work. You'd like the tone better, certainly.

 

[jeremy]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

500k pots or 250k?

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

Wire up a separate volume pot for each pickup and then add a treble bleed for the JB. This would let you drop the volume of the JB without changing the tone much, AND lets you use the 250k pot that a single coil wants to see for volume.

Use the third knob as a master tone for the whole guitar.

 

[oilpit]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

500k pots or 250k?

That was going to be decided in part by which neck pickup I went with, although I haven’t made a firm decision. I was thinking of choosing between 500 or 250 depending on if I got the S7, or the S4, respectively.

Although I may actually take GuitarStv’s suggestion and go with independent volumes.

 

[jeremy]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

i really like the ssl6 with 500k pots in the neck with a bucker in the bridge

 

[Frogman]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

I think an SDS-1 with 500k volume should be considered.


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[OLDERBUDWISER]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

Pull the neck entirely and grab some spandex.

 

[IMENATOR]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

I haven't tried my self but I in demos the Parallel Axis Stacked single coil seems be an interesting choice. I used the STK-S6 with a JB for sime time and I think it was a good option too. Honestly I liked the Fury neck better with the JB because of its lead tone. The STK-S6 sounds more like a Strat single coil really, it has better quack but the Fury was better with gain. You may need to lower the JB a bit with any of those.

 

[Aceman]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

I was gonna say through a raging Marshall on 11? Won't matter. But that isn't what you are doing....

 

[JB_From_Hell]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

i really like the ssl6 with 500k pots in the neck with a bucker in the bridge

I’m really enjoying the SSL-5 with a Custom 5 and 500k volume. The SSL-5 isn’t a classic sounding pickup, but if you go from a humbucker to that, and kick on a tube screamer, it’ll sound plenty Stratty until you compare it to an old Strat.

 

[oilpit]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

Pull the neck entirely and grab some spandex.

sometimes the best advice is the hardest to accept

 

[ErikH]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

Get the S4. Great neck pickup. I personally like the output difference between it and a hotter bridge. Diversity in a simple setup. Try a 250K volume pot and 500K tone w/ .022 tone cap. The JB actually sounds better to my ears with 250K vs. 500K. I think it'll be much easier to balance the two as well.

 

[Toejam]

Re: How hot does a neck SC have to be to keep up with a JB?

Definitely a 250k pot and lower the JB a little until they balance fairly well.