HS setup

playas

playas

Well-known member
Hi guys

..so I have a strat style I have been tinkering with on and off for years.
It´s an Alder body and currently has an all maple neck, but almost certainly will be going back to the original with a rosewood fretboard at some point in the future.

I´m planning it largely for 80s rock / metal sounds, with probably some blues & pop (although inevitably will have anything played on it from The Shadows to Metalica.

I most likely will try a JB in the bridge (possibly a custom of some form too although I think the JB will be closer to what I want there) and was thinking of a stacked style single. It currently has a cool rails in the neck which I don´t like as I´m really looking for something more single coil sounding. I don´t need brittle high end bite but definitely more high end than the cool rails has available. Bear in mind I probably won´t bother splitting it.

In terms of matching with the bridge humbucker, if it could match reasonably well volume wise with the bridge, either split or full humbucker I reckon I´d be happy with that. I don´t expect them to match tone wise.

I had considered the STK-S6 / 7 but no idea how they would fit with what I need.



What thinketh ye? Any suggestions?

On a side note, I take the covers can´t be changed on the stacks. Can someone confirm please?
 
Re: HS setup

I think you are looking for a lil59. It's a single coil size but a Humbucker in design. It's not a full JB59 sound as it is a in between pickup of a nice single coil and a fat humbucker.

I think most single coil pickups don't sound right to me. They always have this razor sharp high end that gets under my skin. I know many many musicians use them and prefer them for clarity but I think it's a give more then take situation. When I found the Lil59 and I installed it in my 2013 Charvel Hum Single hard tail I was amazed on it's balance of that in between pickup that share qualities of both a single and hum bucker.

For the Bridge position you can't go wrong with a JB. It's probably the most versatile pickup made in my opinion anyway. You can play any kind of music with it and it always seems to have the right amount. There are so many choices for a humbucker these days you could go mad trying to figure out what would be the best one for what you want to do. Specialist pickups are great at what they do but they tend to lean very strongly into what they where designed to do. The JB is just that pickup that was designed to do what it was designed to do but has this versatility to it that I have never heard in any other pickup with the exception of stock Les Paul Custom pickups.
 
Re: HS setup

IMG_7962.jpg
Here is a pick of mine, it also has a JB in the bridge. This is one of my all time favorite guitars for no matter what I want to play.
 
Re: HS setup

Thanks for the response mantis.

I may not have been clear enough in the first post but I'm definitely looking for something that at least sounds like a single in the neck, not looking for a humbucker sound.

Nice Charvel!
 
Re: HS setup

Thanks man,
You see that's the thing it's in between a humbucker and a single. It's warm yet bight and punch without being noisy. It's like the best of both worlds if you will.
 
Re: HS setup

The recommendation of the Lil ‘59 is excellent. I’d like to throw in the Antiquity Surfer. I have a set in a Squier Jagmaster Vista series - I play everything from Surf (Fathoms, Nebulas style) to Sabbath. The Antiquity Surfer does each style well without adding any coloration or BS of its own.
 
Re: HS setup

I'd say go with the YJM Fury stack. It's smooth, but not dark and doesn't get muddy under high gain. They aren't a very traditional sounding Strat single coil, but they do have a great sound and very little compression. I've done a YJM/Distortion combo before, and it's one of the better ones.

And another thing, unless you *need for this guitar to have the standard neck/bridge configuration, you might find it better to have the bridge pickup wired out of phase from the neck. It makes a great tone for lead playing, an excellent pop/funk rhythm tone, and it will give the guitar a unique element that will draw you to reach for it over your other guitars.
 
Re: HS setup

Have you checked what value control pots you are using? If there are any 250k, you can swap them for a set of 500k. In a lot of cases you will need 500k controls to get the most brightness out of stacked single coil pickups. It may also add the needed high end to the Cool Rails if currently using 250k. I don't think the lil 59 is a good match for your requirements as you will be able to get more brightness and output from the Cool Rails that you are currently using.
 
Re: HS setup

mantis said:
Thanks man,
You see that's the thing it's in between a humbucker and a single. It's warm yet bight and punch without being noisy. It's like the best of both worlds if you will.
Click to expand...

I really like the sound of singles in the neck, much more so than humbuckers. I just want to avoid something with very shrill high end.

BenPerkins said:
The recommendation of the Lil ‘59 is excellent. I’d like to throw in the Antiquity Surfer. I have a set in a Squier Jagmaster Vista series - I play everything from Surf (Fathoms, Nebulas style) to Sabbath. The Antiquity Surfer does each style well without adding any coloration or BS of its own.
Click to expand...

Would the Antiquity be able to stand up to a JB in the bridge?
I would have thought it would be very bright but without enouhg output.

Chistopher said:
I'd say go with the YJM Fury stack. It's smooth, but not dark and doesn't get muddy under high gain. They aren't a very traditional sounding Strat single coil, but they do have a great sound and very little compression. I've done a YJM/Distortion combo before, and it's one of the better ones.

And another thing, unless you *need for this guitar to have the standard neck/bridge configuration, you might find it better to have the bridge pickup wired out of phase from the neck. It makes a great tone for lead playing, an excellent pop/funk rhythm tone, and it will give the guitar a unique element that will draw you to reach for it over your other guitars.
Click to expand...

Cool, will bear that in mind, thanks.

Mincer said:
My choice is either the Fury or the Classic Strat Stack. Both can compete with most humbuckers, and both absolutely sound like a Strat pickup.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I had thought of the Classic Stack originally when I decided that the cool rails wasn´t doing it, but figured it mightn´t be able to hold up to the bridge humbucker. I suspect it might be what I´m after if it can compete with a humbucker like a JB.

Regarding the Fury, sounds interesting too, pity it´s so difficult to find sample recordings with anything but Yngwie style shredding.

Teleplayer said:
Have you checked what value control pots you are using? If there are any 250k, you can swap them for a set of 500k. In a lot of cases you will need 500k controls to get the most brightness out of stacked single coil pickups. It may also add the needed high end to the Cool Rails if currently using 250k. I don't think the lil 59 is a good match for your requirements as you will be able to get more brightness and output from the Cool Rails that you are currently using.
Click to expand...


The pots are both 500K currently, but I will adjust to taste if necessary after changing pickups.

Thanks all for your responses.
 
Re: HS setup

Antiquity Surfer Neck with JB in the bridge? Hmm... the only other reference I have is a VM Tele with an Antiquity Surfer in the middle (RW/RP) and a Jerry Donahue in the bridge. Not sure how JD output is measured compared to a JB. But in my case, the position between middle and bridge is the sweet spot.

I’m a bit biased towards the Antiquity Surfer. The two guitars I’ve built are for Surf, Garage Rock, and Stoner Rock. The Antiquity Surfer responds very well to whichever amp you use. For the Stoner stuff, I use an OR15. For Surf and Garage Rock, I use a Belair 212 and Super Champ XD.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
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