HSH Guitars

[Chistopher]

What are your thoughts on HSH guitars as a configuration? How do you think they should be wired?

I don't think they should have ridiculous over the top wiring. I think they should be simple. Bright flutey neck pickup, noiseless 50s Strat style mid pickup, and a hard hitting bridge humbucker. Sentient/STK-S4/Black Winter for example. Then throw in a 3-way switch and a volume knob. Each position has almost no overlap in application.

Neck pickup: Shredding and Blues
Middle pickup: Every single Strat sound I care to hear. Picking location is a big player here, especially teaches you to not be afraid of picking over pickups.
Bridge pickup: Everything else. Ride the volume knob as a gain control.

How do you guys like your HSHs?

 

[jeremy]

i havent had an hsh for a long time now, but did enjoy them back in the day. rg550 was my first and i kinda used it as you said.

 

[Mincer]

I like HSS more than HSH, for sure. My big beef with HSH is in the switching. In the center position, I'd like the outside 2 humbuckers. In 2 & 4, I'd like the humbuckers to be split with the single in the middle, and all positions to be humbucking.

 

[solspirit]

I like it and play it pretty much as you do. Also the switching possibilities, are plentiful practically endless

 

[MikeS]

It's been many years since I had HSH, so long in fact that I couldn't tell you how it was wired (it was a ~1996 Ibanez RG170, so unlikely to be anything fancy) and the middle single coil rout got filled in when it was converted to actives a few years after that.

If I were to get one today, I'd go superswitch on the 5-way while avoiding any other switches. Positions 1 & 5 would be the humbuckers while positions 2 & 4 would be set up as "notch" positions with autosplits for the humbuckers. I'd likely wire position 3 to split the neck and bridge humbuckers, as that's a tone I use far more regularly than the traditional position 3 on a strat or full neck and bridge buckers at the same time.

 

[nienturi]

On my HSH guitars, I usually prefer a PAF-style clone in the neck. I’m after a fluety yet articulate tone. I almost never use the middle single-coil on its own, but I frequently rely on the in-between positions with neck'n bridge humbuckers (split mode), especially when I need clean tones. At the bridge, I tend to go for medium-output and/or overwound PAF-type pickups. I want more meat in the bridge. I also use a push-pull mod that activates the neck pickup’s screw coil (the one facing the fretboard). This way, you can end up with a very versatile guitar.

 

[Artie]

What are your thoughts on HSH guitars as a configuration? How do you think they should be wired?

I don't think they should have ridiculous over the top wiring. I think they should be simple.

Given that I'm a "tech", more than a musician, I'd be the exact opposite. My wiring scheme would probably be a nightmare for anyone else to decipher. I've never owned an HSH, but I did rewire one, (old Peavey Horizon), for a friend once. He kept it stock, but I had fun imaging the wiring schemes I could do with that thing.

I may still need to add one to my stable just to play with. (As opposed to "play.")

 

[weepingminotaur]

What are your thoughts on HSH guitars as a configuration? How do you think they should be wired?

I don't think they should have ridiculous over the top wiring. I think they should be simple. Bright flutey neck pickup, noiseless 50s Strat style mid pickup, and a hard hitting bridge humbucker. Sentient/STK-S4/Black Winter for example. Then throw in a 3-way switch and a volume knob. Each position has almost no overlap in application.

Neck pickup: Shredding and Blues
Middle pickup: Every single Strat sound I care to hear. Picking location is a big player here, especially teaches you to not be afraid of picking over pickups.
Bridge pickup: Everything else. Ride the volume knob as a gain control.

How do you guys like your HSHs?

I dig this, but I'd want to be able to split the BW bridge. It splits so well!

 

[Chistopher]

I dig this, but I'd want to be able to split the BW bridge. It splits so well!

Perhaps a four way super switch?

 

[Rex_Rocker]

I used to have an HSH RG570. I liked the 5-way super switch. In the in-between positions it had Strat-like tones. Those were fun. That being said, I barely used them, LOL. And the middle pickup kinda got in the way of my picking, I felt. I had to lower it a lot, and the tone of the in between positions kinda suffered because of it. There was also a huge jump in volume between the single coil tones and the humbuckers.

So I guess is in summary, yes, they're fun. I can see how someone would like that configuration. But for me, it didn't really offer anything I felt I needed enough to look past the negatives.

 

[ehdwuld]

I agree with Artie
I have one hsh
With five way and a push push tone

I have wanted to use a 4 pole super switch and triple shot rings
But I would have too many similar choices

I have a HH with TS rings and a super switch
I only use two or three of the 42 possible choices

Most sound similar or just not good

I like having a flexible all in one super strat
But I am not a gigging musician
If I want a strat sound
I grab a strat
If I want a tele sound
I grab a tele
I have almost 30 guitars waiting for my mood the gravitate that way

 

[Butch Snyder]

My PRS Swamp Ash Special SE is HSH. I like it fine. It has a 3-way toggle like on an HH guitar. The tone pot is push-pull to engage the middle pickup on whatever is chosen on the 3-way toggle. I replaced the stock pickups and rewired the assembly. Bridge has a DiMarzio Air Zone, Middle is a DiMarzio Chopper, Neck is a DiMarzio Air Norton. I prefer my Schecter to the PRS. The Schecter is an HSS guitar.

 

[EmiAba]

I have an HSS ibanez Az2204. The guitar is factory equipped with an additional switch to expand up to 9 different pick-up config. Well I use it exactly the way described by Chistopher. The single coils act always as an HB, the middle single plays always alone as the bridge pick-up. At the Moment I am pretty happy with the hyperion and just three positions are enough to cover a lot of ground. I am not a fan of complexity.

 

[Artie]

Thinking out loud: If you had "Lil" versions of humbuckers in the neck and bridge, would you still call it an HSH?

 

[jeremy]

technically, yes, but i would not

i have a strat with hot rails neck and bridge and a strabro90 middle, i do not call it hsh. its a great sounding guitar though. 4pdt on/on/on switch for the hot rails (series/split/parallel for both) and a p/p to tap the strabro90. lots of tones and easy to get where ever ya want

 

[Bill Dennis]

1) Bridge
2) Bridge split w/ middle
3) Middle
4) Neck split w/ middle
5) Neck

Is what I have historically done with HSH.

Of late however I add mini toggles or push pulls to the humbuckers to switch between series or parallel, use hum cancelling single in the middle. just a standard 5 way selection switch

 

[Mincer]

Thinking out loud: If you had "Lil" versions of humbuckers in the neck and bridge, would you still call it an HSH?

Nah, it is still SSS to me.

 

[Artie]

technically, yes, but i would not

i have a strat with hot rails neck and bridge and a strabro90 middle, i do not call it hsh. its a great sounding guitar though. 4pdt on/on/on switch for the hot rails (series/split/parallel for both) and a p/p to tap the strabro90. lots of tones and easy to get where ever ya want

That sounds sweet. I keep looking at that StraBro90. Cool, just on looks alone.

 

[jeremy]

its a great pup, especially in the bridge. something that has been driving me nuts for years is that the guy in the demo installed them wrong. it was designed to have the rods under the wound strings. in the demo you can clearly see the screws under the wound strings

 

[Mincer]

its a great pup, especially in the bridge. something that has been driving me nuts for years is that the guy in the demo installed them wrong. it was designed to have the rods under the wound strings. in the demo you can clearly see the screws under the wound strings

Haha, I never noticed that!