Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

Dr. Jimmy

New member
Hi, hoping someone can shed some light on a Strat I plan to wire up. I want to use the following pickup config:
Bridge - stk-s9
Middle - Area '67
Neck - Fender Hot Noiseless

I'm a bit confused because the Duncan lit says to reverse their leads if using another manuf. pickup such as Fender, the DiMarzio lit says to reverse THEIR leads if things sound out of phase. This is all getting wired up to a standard 5-way switch, 2 tone/1 vol. setup, nothing fancy.

Any insight as to how I need to wire this up?

Thanks in advance!!!
Bill
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

There's no way to bring that trio into phase except try'n'error so I would just get it over with.
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

Not sure if DMZ and SD are in phase with each other, but both definitely aren't in phase with the fender.
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

There's no way to bring that trio into phase except try'n'error so I would just get it over with.

Ok, so what is the most logical way to go about that? I assume to wire up the middle/bridge first and see if I can get that correct, and once done wire in the neck and get that to work with the middle?
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

If you intend to coil split either of the stacked-coil pickups, they have to split to leave the upper coil operational.

The Fender is 3-con. Hence, you have no choice about how you connect it.

With the Duncan Stack, you can at least connect the individual coil conductors in the reverse order (if necessary).

How the DiMarzio fits in with the other two is anybody's guess. If the magnetic polarity is as you would wish, the coil winding direction may be "wrong" to achieve noise cancellation in selector switch positions 2 and 4.
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

see if the magnetic polaritys are the same first. they should all repel each other or the middle should be attracted to the neck and bridge
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

see if the magnetic polaritys are the same first. they should all repel each other or the middle should be attracted to the neck and bridge

Dumb question, but how do I do this? (told ya it was dumb! LOL)
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

This may help on the wiring end..

humbucker_color_codes1.jpg
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

If you intend to coil split either of the stacked-coil pickups, they have to split to leave the upper coil operational.

The Fender is 3-con. Hence, you have no choice about how you connect it.
With the Duncan Stack, you can at least connect the individual coil conductors in the reverse order (if necessary).

How the DiMarzio fits in with the other two is anybody's guess. If the magnetic polarity is as you would wish, the coil winding direction may be "wrong" to achieve noise cancellation in selector switch positions 2 and 4.

The Fender pickup I have only has two wires.....
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

put the tops of the pups against each other, if they attract they are opposite polarity
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

The Fender pickup I have only has two wires.....

This helps. No coil split issues to worry about.

Observe the underside of the Fender pickup. One of the output conductors should be connected to a soldered terminal labelled Hot or Output. The second output conductor should be connected to both the other end of the combined coils and the screening parts of the pickup casing.
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

Unless you like magnetically out of phase tones... which no one does.
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

These are all stacks, right?

Do you want to split when you are in the notch positions?
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

These are all stacks, right?

Do you want to split when you are in the notch positions?

I believe thay all are, and what would be the advantage of splitting them in 2 & 4 positions? (I like them as is, just curious)
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

It would give you two singles in those positions so you can get the quack in those positions. The sound alot of people like about strats. Just out of curiosity why did you go with a strat?
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

It would give you two singles in those positions so you can get the quack in those positions. The sound alot of people like about strats. Just out of curiosity why did you go with a strat?

I like the quack idea, but will it be noisy? Love Strats, they feel comfortable to me etc.... I want to try this particular pickup combo because I like the single coil sound but just want a touch more beef tone and output-wise but without the noise.....
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

I believe thay all are, and what would be the advantage of splitting them in 2 & 4 positions? (I like them as is, just curious)

A stack has a real coil and a blind coil. Splitting a single stack cuts down on the electrical values too much and sounds weak (and hums of course).

Splitting when running more than 1 pickup you would have more "material to work with", you could then only use the coils with magnets which would give a much ballsier sound. You could also experiment with putting them in series.

I see a lot of people auto-split stacks in the notch position but it isn't clear to me whether they actually thought about what they are doing or blindly copied the schematics from using humbuckers in notch positions (which you usually split).
 
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Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

A stack has a real coil and a blind coil. Splitting a single stack cuts down on the electrical values too much and sounds weak (and hums of course).

Splitting you would have more "material to work with", you could then only use the coils with magnets which would give a much ballsier sound. You could also experiment with putting them in series.

I see a lot of people auto-split stacks in the notch position but it isn't clear to me whether they actually thought about what they are doing or blindly copied the schematics from using humbuckers in notch positions (which you usually split).

Sounds interesting. Would you, or anyone in the know, be able to post a quick diagram on how I can wire up something like this? I'd like to give it a go.
 
Re: Multiple manufacturers in one Strat....

Ok, change of plans. I've decided to use an area '58 in the neck, area '67 in the middle and the stk-s9b in the bridge. DiMarzio lit says: "If you install this pickup in a guitar with other pickups and find the
pickups to be out of phase when they are played together, solder the RED wire to ground, and the GREEN wire to hot."

This raises two questions: A) Can I tell if they will be before wiring them up? It's just a PITA to wire them in, string it up and then have to redo it all. B) If I end up having to wire the middle p/u this way to make it in phase with the bridge, I assume that the neck needs to be wired this way as well to keep it in phase with the middle, correct?

Thanks for the answers, advice and most of all the patience with my dumb questions!
 
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