HSS recommendation

[EC Strat]

Hey guys, I have an ash body Strat and two singles that are 57/62’s. A very bright sounding guitar - I run the singles at 7 on the tone knob

the bridge is a Shawbucker - again very bright and single coil like in sound / tone.

looking to make a switch - was thinking that a ‘59 would be a good match or possibly an AP 2 given the guitars inherent brightness


any opinions on a good pairing would be welcome

 

[David Garner]

Hey guys, I have an ash body Strat and two singles that are 57/62’s. A very bright sounding guitar - I run the singles at 7 on the tone knob

the bridge is a Shawbucker - again very bright and single coil like in sound / tone.

looking to make a switch - was thinking that a ‘59 would be a good match or possibly an AP 2 given the guitars inherent brightness


any opinions on a good pairing would be welcome

This is outside the realm of what you appear to be looking for, but I wanted to chime in since I have a swamp ash HSS guitar and I am very happy with the setup.

I used a super switch to wire 2 Classic Stacks and a JB trembucker. The JB has no tone pot connected, and the classic stacks auto split in positions 2 and 4. The JB has a mini toggle to split it. The JB really thickens up the guitar, and the Classic Stacks work well with the swamp ash. It sounds like a Strat in 5 positions unless I flip that mini toggle, at which point it sounds like a typical superstrat.

 

[Mincer]

The Alnico II Pro is a good choice if you want something warmer. If you want something that is warmer with more power, look at the Custom Custom. Remember that Fender and Duncan's pickups are out of phase, so you would have to reverse the hot and ground on the Duncans.

 

[EC Strat]

The Alnico II Pro is a good choice if you want something warmer. If you want something that is warmer with more power, look at the Custom Custom. Remember that Fender and Duncan's pickups are out of phase, so you would have to reverse the hot and ground on the Duncans.

You don’t think the 59’s would work well?

 

[EC Strat]

This is outside the realm of what you appear to be looking for, but I wanted to chime in since I have a swamp ash HSS guitar and I am very happy with the setup.

I used a super switch to wire 2 Classic Stacks and a JB trembucker. The JB has no tone pot connected, and the classic stacks auto split in positions 2 and 4. The JB has a mini toggle to split it. The JB really thickens up the guitar, and the Classic Stacks work well with the swamp ash. It sounds like a Strat in 5 positions unless I flip that mini toggle, at which point it sounds like a typical superstrat.

I bet that sounds awesome!! Really like the classic stacks and I bet they pair well with that JB

 

[jeremy]

the 59 is a great pup but fairly bright, not in a bad way but if you are trying to warm things up the aph might be a little better choice since its got a smoother high end. both are in the vintage output range. are you planning on keeping the stock neck and middle pups?

 

[EC Strat]

the 59 is a great pup but fairly bright, not in a bad way but if you are trying to warm things up the aph might be a little better choice since its got a smoother high end. both are in the vintage output range. are you planning on keeping the stock neck and middle pups?

Probably. If I were to change anything it would be to a Fat 50’s set or PV 59’s

I really like my Seth lovers and I figured the ‘59 would be similar.

 

[chadd]

I think the Screamin Demon matches best with most singles. I have a Custom Custom in my HSS, the APH1 was ok, but I preferred something a little hotter.

 

[jeremy]

if you like the seth, the 59 might work for you. its sharper on the top end but with a bigger bottom too. a more scooped tone than the seth

 

[Mincer]

You don’t think the 59’s would work well?

59s aren't much of a 'warm' pickup. It has treble and bass, but not a lot of mids.

 

[EC Strat]

59s aren't much of a 'warm' pickup. It has treble and bass, but not a lot of mids.

Thanks for your help - last question. Is there a volume drop with the 59 when split?

 

[BluesIsBlood12]

Thanks for your help - last question. Is there a volume drop with the 59 when split?

Yes. If you want to retain single coil volume (and approximate single coil tone) with standard coil split wiring then you'd want something like the 59/Custom Hybrid. When you split to the Custom coil it's pretty close to single coil tone/volume. Your other option is to wire in a resistor for a "partial split" like PRS does. It lets part of the 2nd coil bleed through, which gets you more in the ballpark of single coil output than a standard split does.

 

[Mincer]

Thanks for your help - last question. Is there a volume drop with the 59 when split?

With every humbucker, there is a volume drop when spit. Hotter humbuckers will split to a louder coil, but it will always be less than the humbucker full on. This is a feature, though. Lots of people like a volume drop (cleans up the amp, etc) when splitting. If you didn't want the volume to drop, you'd need some kind of preamp, or use a compressor pedal.

 

[EC Strat]

With every humbucker, there is a volume drop when spit. Hotter humbuckers will split to a louder coil, but it will always be less than the humbucker full on. This is a feature, though. Lots of people like a volume drop (cleans up the amp, etc) when splitting. If you didn't want the volume to drop, you'd need some kind of preamp, or use a compressor pedal.

Thanks for the info - trying to gauge the DCR needed to have a nice sounding position 2

 

[Mincer]

Thanks for the info - trying to gauge the DCR needed to have a nice sounding position 2

There are no rules for that. I like pickups like the Alnico II Pro split, but not so much the 59. The 59/Custom Hybrid sounds wonderful split. But it comes down to the wind more than the power.

 

[Ascension]

The Perpetual Burn works very very well with singles. For reference had one I had bought for a guitar I sold and tried it in a guitar with singles. Really like the PB but thought the Hybrid would be better with the single split to the Custom coil so dropped one in. Boy was I WRONG! I ran it a month or so until the next time to change strings. Then the PB went back and will never leave that guitar. For the tones you are talking in Ash and split with singles TRY THE PERPETUAL BURN! I was hugely surprised at how nice it was and even more so at how badly it spanked the Hybrid in the same guitar. Have heard no one else talk about the PB with singles but it flat surprised the heck out of me.

 

[EC Strat]

I went with the AP 2 bridge. First impressions are that I like it a lot - not ice pick at all. Smooth. I have it set to auto split in 2 and it does a great job split. I have a dual value volume pot and tone 2 is 500k ohms. So it sees 500k ohm which is perfect for it

 

[MudTaco]

I'd add another vote for the Custom Custom. I think it will give you what you are looking for in the bridge. It also does a decent job when split. As an added benefit, you can swap the magnet to something else over and over if you wanted to try different flavors. That pickup works with almost any magnet.

Something else. I would also recommend that you consider using a 500k Volume pot and then run 500k resisters on the singles, so they see it as a 250k. If you wanted to go even further, you could run both singles (or just the neck and leave the mid wide open for more lively notch tones) on Tone 1, using a 250K with a .47 cap and the bridge pup on Tone 2, using a 500k with a .22 cap.

With that bridge pickup swap and these simple mods (and a treble bleed, if you don't have it already) will get each pickup sounding it's best without making any compromises.