HSH recommendation for strat

[JimmyO]

Hi guys,

Going to create an HSH pickguard to swap into my 2012 Rosewood necked strat. I already have a new 4 conductor 59n and a regular spaced early 90s JB.

Looking to wire to a master volume & master tone and wire per Ibanez RG550/Jem using a standard 5 way switch
1) Bridge Humbucker
2) Inside coil split Bridge with middle single coil - humcancelling
3) Middle Single Coil
4) Inside coil split Neck with middle single coil - humcancelling
5) Neck Humbucker

I'll be using for most rock and metal styles and need sparkling chorused cleans, bluesy leads, 80s metal riffing, and melodic shred style leads. Nothing super detuned or Cookie Monster. More melodic/symphonic power metal. The bluesy stuff is not authentic, just bluesy in the context of rock and metal. The 2 and 4 positions will give the cleans, the middle single coil I won't be using much on its own. The bridge is the rock metal position and the neck is the bluesy through fluid legato neoclassical shred lead position. Playing through a Mesa TC50 with amp gain and just chorus and delay on the cleans or my Mesa Lonestar with my full pedal board to get the gain and modulation/delay etc.

I have to spec out a pickguard and need to decide if I'm going with the regular spaced JB or get a
Trembucker.

I'm pretty much set on using the 59 in the neck position so need to pair the middle and bridge with it.

So my questions:
1) JB or other for the bridge? Have heard the Custom 5 is a good match with a 59N but never tried one. I've sometimes found the JB and 59 eq differences to be noticeable but many folks use them with good results. I do like the JB tone.
2) What single coil for the middle? It will be pairing with the split humbuckers only and not the full humbuckers. My intitial thoughts are the SSL-2 vintage flat. I've tried high output singles in the past and found the strong magnets can affect the string vibration especially on G string.
3) Does single coil need to be rwrp or regular for hum cancelling with the split humbuckers? As it's splitting to inside coils I was thinking regular.
4) Anyone have an Ibanez hsh wiring diagram using Seymour Duncan colors instead of Dimarzio? The wiring diagram search feature has been......challenging.

Thanks!!

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: HSH recommendation for strat

I don’t have any advise for you but I have a similar project in the works.....very interested in what you end up doing here.
I will say that in my limited experience with the JB, I’m leaning toward the “it’s not for me” camp.
I think it sounds great when I hear guys like Warren DiMartini play it but those upper mids are really grating to my ear.

 

[Tone Meister]

Re: HSH recommendation for strat

This one's pretty easy for me


Bill Lawrence (Wydle Pickups)
L500XL
L280
L500XL

Normal 5-way switch is all you need. 500K audio taper pots - consider no-load 500K for the tone controls

 

[JimmyO]

Re: HSH recommendation for strat

So in trying to narrow down the bridge pickup to one that will match the EQ of the 59 neck I'm considering the following three Trembuckers:

59
59/custom hybrid
Custom 5

My initial instinct is to go with the Custom 5 as it has the highest output for the heavier rock & metal styles I play.
Any recommendations on good Bridge pickup to pair with 59 neck?

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: HSH recommendation for strat

I think you can’t go wrong with any of those.
I too, like the heavier side so I’d be inclined to go for the Custom 5.
Plus as an added bonus, a simple magnet swap would let you get any of the Custom family flavors.