If you had to pick one of these three pickups in a Strats neck, which and why

[Jpodesz]

If you could pick one neck pickup amongst these three (Full size JB in bridge) -
​​​​​Neck Classic Stack
Neck Vintage Hot Stack
Neck Little ‘59 (I know much different than the first two)

What would you pick if in the bridge was a full size JB.
Nothing needed in the middle just curious of the vote on the single strat neck pickup you would pick out of the three listed and why. Thanks guys!

 

[beaubrummels]

Classic Stack, because I always need a classic Strat neck sound regardless of the bridge.

 

[Mincer]

I am a huge fan of the Classic Stacks, so they get my vote whenever I need a classic single coil sound. In an HSS setup, I like all positions to be hum-cancelling.

 

[Synapsys]

For the purest Stratiness, the Classic Stack.
For the better output balance keeping some Stratiness, the Vintage Hot Stack.
For the best representation of a HH Strat, the Little '59.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

My vote goes for the Classic Stack too. IMO when it comes to neck tone, the Strattier the better.

 

[PFDarkside]

For the purest Stratiness, the Classic Stack.
For the better output balance keeping some Stratiness, the Vintage Hot Stack.
For the best representation of a HH Strat, the Little '59.

This is my answer too. You can’t go wrong, but it really depends if you want the Strat clarity, more equal balance between neck and bridge or a thicker HH sound.

The Strat I’ve been playing is HS, it’s PAF class and vintage Strat class and it’s great. If I went to a JB I’d probably try the Vintage Hot first for balance. (but I have a ton of vintage style Strats here)

 

[GuitarStv]

Classic stack. There are a few guitar sounds that just work . . . a low output single coil neck sound is one of them. With a JB in the bridge you have the option of switching between hot/gainy/compressed bridge and ultra clean/smooth neck. That covers an awful lot of ground.

 

[ISHIELDS]

i really like that vintage hot stack....hot is the perfect work for it. i currently have one in the middle position in my strat and it sounds amazing. i wouldn't hesitate to put one in the neck position

 

[jeremy]

i love the vintage hot stack in the bridge with cs+ neck and middle but i havent tried it elsewhere in any of my guitars

 

[ErikH]

Classic Stack Plus, no question.

 

[donaldr]

I had a Vintage Hot Stack in the neck but it was too dark and bassy for me with 250k pots. I imagine it will sound good with 500k pots (which I presumed you have with your JB in the bridge). If you have 250k pots, I would go with Classic Stack. My current combo in my swamp ash strat copy is Classic Stack/neck and Vintage Hot Stack/bridge and I like it a lot.

 

[Mincer]

Yeah, the Classic Stack doesn't have the 'dark & bassy' thing that the Vintage Hot has. There is not as much high end as, say, an SSL-1, but to me, that's a good thing.

 

[jaybird]

I've absolutely fallen in love with a Little '59 in neck, paired with a SD Custom in bridge. For me that's the perfect combo for gigging out AC/DC era classic rock, and they balance each other out nicely.

Classic stack get's my vote IF you want a truer single coil strat tone...

But if you need versatility in the 4-hour local cover band type set... Little '59 is my go to.

 

[Jpodesz]

Thank you guys all so much!!!

 

[Landau]

Can anyone point me in the direction of how to properly wire up the original Classic Stacks? Do you all wire them with both coils working or only one as in a true single coil?
Please help, trying to find info on these have been maddening. Thanks!

 

[zionstrat]

The vast majority of time, I wire them as if they were simply a single coil. Acts pretty much exactly like a single anyway.

I've done some funky wiring with four conductor singles dealing with series and phase... But not sure there would be a lot for or you to gain in this case.

 

[beaubrummels]

Can anyone point me in the direction of how to properly wire up the original Classic Stacks? Do you all wire them with both coils working or only one as in a true single coil?
Please help, trying to find info on these have been maddening. Thanks!

I'd wire them in humbucking mode, not split to single. That's why they exist, Strat sound, no hum.

 

[Artie]

Well darn. I had a really good answer for the OP . . . then realized this thread is 3 years old. My 2-cents is now worthless.

 

[Landau]

I'd wire them in humbucking mode, not split to single. That's why they exist, Strat sound, no hum.

that's what I've been told. Know how to do that with series/parallel on two position on/on switches?

 

[beaubrummels]

I believe the old classic stacks have white, red, black and bare wires, no? At least on the old Duncan diagrams it shows the red alone being used for split, with black/bare going to ground and white going to hot. If you aren't doing splits on the stack, then the red doesn't get used, you'd just tape it off, and put white to hot and black to ground.