HS configuration

[CarlosG]

Hi!
I decided to Duncan 59 on my strat for 80's glam metal/ hard rock machine.
On the recordings 59 in Strat he has a single coil aggressive character
See:
https://youtu.be/_RFaT6jx3wk?si=x2m2n2midNwnM3jy&t=4530
https://youtu.be/7USw3vMyPOg?si=ANIoziZDb8TFy9AX
I need single coil to neck. My requirements are stacked (noise free) and must have similar output as 59 on bridge.
Will STK-S7 be any good? I have one in my drawer. What else? Dimarzio is also an option, they have a large selection.

 

[Chistopher]

Yeah, that's my go-to strat neck pickup for noiseless operation.

 

[Mincer]

As you ramp up the output of a single coil to match a humbucker, a Strat-style tone starts to fly out the window. So, which is more important, tone or output balance?

 

[CarlosG]

As you ramp up the output of a single coil to match a humbucker, a Strat-style tone starts to fly out the window. So, which is more important, tone or output balance?

Output balance

 

[jeremy]

if you have the stks7, id try that. it should be a good match for the 59b

 

[Mincer]

^I agree with that. It won't sound much like a regular single coil, but some people like it. You might also look at the Cool Rails, the Little 59 or a Hot Rails wired in parallel.

 

[jeremy]

it sounds like a single coil for sure, just not a vintage strat pup. 500k pots?

 

[CarlosG]

it sounds like a single coil for sure, just not a vintage strat pup. 500k pots?

I'm using different pot value, depending how guitar sound 250k, 500k or 1meg. But higher value pots equals higher treble loss.

 

[GuitarDoc]

I'm using different pot value, depending how guitar sound 250k, 500k or 1meg. But higher value pots equals higher treble loss.

???
Maybe I'm not understanding what you just said. But higher value pots equals less treble loss. That's why 500k-1 meg pots are usually used with humbuckers and 250k pots are usually used with single coils.

 

[freefrog]

Maybe Carlos is refering to what happens when the volume is lowered: a 1M volume pot makes a pickup brighter when it's full up by giving it a pointier resonant peak. It makes it darker when it's lowered because it puts more resistance between pickup and output.

It was clearly the problem in this case, for instance:

https://www.mylespaul.com/threads/e...-rolled-down-telecaster.476942/#post-10454436

FWIW.

 

[CarlosG]

Maybe Carlos is refering to what happens when the volume is lowered: a 1M volume pot makes a pickup brighter when it's full up by giving it a pointier resonant peak. It makes it darker when it's lowered because it puts more resistance between pickup and output.


FWIW.

Yes, I mean treble loss when using the potentiometer.
With 500k and 1 meg it is impossible to get an equal balance, it is always like this
full volume : bright
low volume : bright
in between: mud
adding a capacitor makes in between a bit better, but at low volume it is too bright.
I don't like tb with the parallel resistor because it changes the taper pot, and the kinman (series) sounds weird.
All I have learned in guitar is compromise. You have to choose what you care about the most.
Active pickups eliminate this problem, but here again the compromise is lower dynamics and battery. ​

 

[CarlosG]

^I agree with that. It won't sound much like a regular single coil, but some people like it. You might also look at the Cool Rails, the Little 59 or a Hot Rails wired in parallel.

Little 59 is also an interesting option. Will the neck version be loud enough or do I need the bridge version?
Does it have adjustable polepieces?
I've read that it sounds bad with split coil.
Does parallel connection give a substitute for single?​

 

[freefrog]

Does parallel connection give a substitute for single?​

I can't reply for Mincer but I can share a testimonial: one of my main stage guitars has Hot Rails bridge and Cool Rails neck (actually a bridge model mounted in the neck slot) + a series / parallel switches. I've used that for decades to go back and forth between greasy distorted sounds and clean single coilish tones. The audience nor my bandmates have never claimed it sounded fake (which seems logical with parallel wiring giving DCR and inductance really close to those of real SC's). ;-)

 

[Mincer]

Little 59 is also an interesting option. Will the neck version be loud enough or do I need the bridge version?
Does it have adjustable polepieces?
I've read that it sounds bad with split coil.
Does parallel connection give a substitute for single?​

the neck version should be fine, and yes, the poles are adjustable. To me, the little humbuckers sound better in parallel than split, and they are certainly more 'single coily'.