Humbucker recommendations.

E

Explorer84

New member
I just acquired a 2009 Fender American Special Stratocaster about a week ago. It's loaded with Texas Special pickups. I've always wanted a Strat with the HSS setup. I've got a Screamin' Demon sitting in a drawer that I was going to install but after reading the description of the Screamin' Demon is states that it has a scooped sound. With the Strat having a scooped sound, more or less, I'm wondering if the Screamin' Demon would be too much. I realize I can adjust this with eq tweaks, etc. What humbucker/s would you recommend? I'm not looking for a high output pickup that excessively overpowers the single coils. I'm looking for a reasonable balance. Low to medium output. I play rock, classic rock, blues and a little bit of heavy metal. Thanks for any and all suggestions.
 
Scooped for a humbucker is not the same as scooped for a single coil - all humbuckers are middier and have less extension up into the high end. I bet the Demon would balance reasonably well with your singles.
 
Do you want the hum to fit in tone wise with the strat and single coils, or do you want it to do something different? The Pearly Gates is the traditional hum for HSS for a stratty sound. If you wanted it more rock, I agree the Demon would work well.
 
Clint 55 said:
Do you want the hum to fit in tone wise with the strat and single coils, or do you want it to do something different? The Pearly Gates is the traditional hum for HSS for a stratty sound. If you wanted it more rock, I agree the Demon would work well.
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If it’s possible, a little bit of both. I’ll check out the Pearly Gates, though. Thanks.
 
I think the Screamin' Demon would be a good choice. I used them in the neck position and they both sounded great. Never noticed a scooped sound. The Alnico II Pro is good. So is the Custom 5 or the Custom Custom. All good choices.
 
I'm a fan of Distortion, Custom 5 or Custom Custom in Strats. But the Demon was originally designed to work in a Strat type guitar, so there's that.
 
I listened to several samples of the Pearly Gates with Texas Specials and I really like what I heard. I'm going to try the Screamin' Demon but I'm pretty convinced that I'm going to end up installing a Pearly Gate.
 
Assuming we're talking about full size hbs, PG is an excellent match.. But don't forget the JB... It splits extremely well in position two and as an HB it's definitely punchier than a PG but, tends to be a good balance in an HSS

There are times where the mids in the JB can be too much, but I don't find that often in strats.
 
I say, try the Demon. Lots of people absolutely love them in Strats, and you won't have to buy anything if you like it. Remember, SD pickups are out of phase with Fender's, so you'd have to have green to hot and black to ground to remain in phase.
 
You may want to look into Pearly Gates vs Pearly Gates+

That's what Fender put in the Lonestar & Special Strats that had Pearly Gates in them. A little different than a regular PG.

Where did you find examples of PG's with Texas Specials???
 
Aceman said:
You may want to look into Pearly Gates vs Pearly Gates+

That's what Fender put in the Lonestar & Special Strats that had Pearly Gates in them. A little different than a regular PG.

Where did you find examples of PG's with Texas Specials???
Click to expand...

They installed the Pearly Gates+ on the Special? I’ll definitely check that out.
I found a few samples on YouTube. I just typed in Pearly Gate with Texas Special and had a few examples pop up. Most of them were with overdrive/distortion but that is what I was looking for.
 
Duncan Wound an A5 version of the Pearly Gates for Fender between 98 and maybe 2002 or something? At some point they either went to regular PG's or Fender branded somethings. Not a Fender guy so not sure on the details.
 
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