Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

[Rex_Rocker]

I only have a PAF Pro in the bridge and dummy plastic pickup covers in the middle and neck positions in my Ibanez RG570. I'm wanting to set up a good pickup combo that has good clarity and a single-coil-ish Strat-ish vibe.

In the neck, I'm almost set on a Humbucker From Hell, but is there anything else that's humbucker-sized, has a good single-coil-ish vibe, and that matches well with the PAF Pro in the bridge?

In the middle... I'm not sure, lol. I want something powerful enough to balance with the humbuckers without it having to be jacked super close to the strings, but that's still traditional-ish single-coil-sounding. Noiseless would be cool too.

So... what are you guys' suggestions?

Thanks.

 

[gregory]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

I mentioned the HFH already:
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...-my-thoughts&p=4102328&viewfull=1#post4102328

I also mentioned the Full Shred Neck:
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/sho...-my-thoughts&p=4102486&viewfull=1#post4102486

Though if you're doing HSH, I'd put the PAF Pro in the neck and go with a hotter pickup in the bridge like The Breed Neck or Tone Zone. That way you can get a decent split tone to combine with the middle single for which I recommend any vintage output standard single coil that floats your boat.

Another option worth considering for the neck is the DiMarzio Bluesbucker, which you can split to run with a standard vintage single coil. The Stag Mag can do the same, but you might not want to run it in series against the PAF Pro when playing clean.

For noiseless with the PAF Pro in the bridge I wouldn't venture to go much hotter than an STK-S7 for a Duncan or the Injector Neck for a DiMarzio. You'd probably be better off with a YJM Fury Neck, STK-S4 or Vintage Rails or one of the DiMarzio Areas, weaker Virtual Vintages or Cruisers.

If I were to build a second HSH around a PAF Pro, I would put it in the neck and pair it with a Tone Zone or EVO 2 in the bridge and an SSL-2 or a True Velvet in the middle. The HSH that I use with a PAF Pro has The Breed Neck in the bridge and a calibrated OEM (true) single coil in the middle by DiMarzio. The PAF Pro is an excellent neck pickup. For me there are far better options for a bridge pickup in a Stratty HSH that I can readily pick up for around $50. Having the PAF Pro in the neck position of an HSH does not prohibit your guitar from having a Strat vibe; it just provides for an increase in dynamic range.

Sorry for all the edits.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

Humbucker from hell Neck and Area 58 Middle.

 

[Teleplayer]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

Would you consider the Air Norton in the neck? Unusual choice, I know! In a Strat neck position I thought the Air Norton sounded too edgy, a bit harsh, and too much like a single coil.
They seem to suit Ibanez RG guitars, with the typical basswood or plain mahogany body.

For the PAF pro in the bridge will you use any parallel loading resistor? With 500k Controls, I think the PAF PRO in bridge will make most neck pickups sound dark. With Air Norton in neck, both pickups will be bright!

Same comment applies for Area 58 in the middle. Area 58 is will sound thin with 500k controls, whereas the "54 Pro" would work better in that case.

 

[daenius]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

Would you consider the Air Norton in the neck? Unusual choice, I know! In a Strat neck position I thought the Air Norton sounded too edgy, a bit harsh, and too much like a single coil.
They seem to suit Ibanez RG guitars, with the typical basswood or plain mahogany body.

For the PAF pro in the bridge will you use any parallel loading resistor? With 500k Controls, I think the PAF PRO in bridge will make most neck pickups sound dark. With Air Norton in neck, both pickups will be bright!

Same comment applies for Area 58 in the middle. Area 58 is will sound thin with 500k controls, whereas the "54 Pro" would work better in that case.

Great choice of the Air Norton! It may have been unusual in the past but it's far from unusual now! Ibanez puts the Tone Zone Air Norton combo in all of their Premium, Prestige, and J Custom guitars these days!

I have 2 guitars with Air Norton in the neck and it is a GREAT neck pickup! Nice and smooth, harmonically rich and has just enough brightness to give it great clarity and bite, but certainly provides the fat punchy warm mids you want in a neck pickup. As to whether it sounds like a single coil... well... it does split AMAZINGLY well, but in full humbucking mode I wouldn't say it has much of the single coil twang and quack, just has the clarity. Then again, I don't think any humbucker in full humbucking mode sounds anything close to a single coil at all.

 

[Rex_Rocker]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

Thank you all for the suggestions!

I hadn't considered splitting humbuckers, but I'm not sure that's where I want to go. I'm not looking for versatility, really. I'm just looking for cool single-coil-esque sounds from positions 3, 4, and 5 to differentiate this guitar from my other guitars without changing the tone of the bridge pickup that's in there, and that I actually like.

It seems like the HFH and the FSN are the top runners for the neck. How about the Eric Johnson sigs? Are they anything single-coil-like?

The STK-S7 and the Injector look interesting. How about the Fast Track, the Cruiser or the Duncan Duckbucker or Vintage Rails? Any experience with those?

Thanks, dudes.

 

[gregory]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

Typical 5-way HSH operation as implemented with a standard 5-way blade is:

1: Bridge series
2: Bridge split + Middle (hum cancelling)
3: Middle
4: Middle + Neck split (hum cancelling)
5: Neck series

If the neck and/or bridge have a worthwhile split or parallel tone, then you might like them to be accessible.

The more you diverge from this scheme the less likely you'll get a Stratty result.

 

[Mr. B]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

If you want a stratish sound from the neck, the Air Norton is the last thing I would choose. I would predict it would sound like a mud bomb compared to the PAF Pro in the bridge. I run the Area 58 and Area 67 in the middle positions of two Ibanez RG's with 500k pots and they sound fine to me. Dimarzio installation instructions for the Area pickups say this: "All models were designed to work with 250K controls. For a brighter overall sound, try 500K controls. If you’re mixing these pickups with standard humbuckers, it’s usually best to use the higher resistance control value."

 

[htwheelz67]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

area 58 middle and EJ custom neck, do a switchable treble bleed with the combo.

 

[gregory]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

It seems like the HFH and the FSN are the top runners for the neck. How about the Eric Johnson sigs? Are they anything single-coil-like?

In that they have a high resonant peak and have extended treble response? Yes. Do they sound like true single coils without any of the typical phase issues that distinguish the sound of a humbucker from the sound of a single coil? No. Whether any of this matters is really up to you.

When I mentioned typical HSH 5-way switching, I should have explicitly mentioned that I'm doubtful that you're going to get all that close to Strat-like quack in position 4 combining the middle position with a humbucker that isn't split, and I have my doubts that either the HFH or the FSN will give you that even when they are split.

 

[Teleplayer]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

I don't think the Cruiser is an ideal choice for the middle pickup. Firstly, its not bright enough to make a decent impact in the 2 and 4 positions.
Secondly, its output is too low unless you bring it close to the strings, which is more likely to interfere with my pick movement in the middle position.
I never tried any of Duncan's rails pickups, so I can't comment about them.

 

[gregory]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

I think you're right about the Cruiser, especially if the humbuckers aren't being split, though I sure love the way they sound.

 

[daenius]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

I Have the Eric Johnson Dimarzio Set

They sound more like TV Jones than Single Coils

As for middle pickup... do you ever use it alone? If you do, noiseless is good and you're going to want the brightness and output so you can have it fairly low and still sound good, and lowering it makes positions 2 and 4 sound twangier too. Injecter or Hot Stack would be good. Hot Rail is kinda nice too, it's pretty smooth and warm sounding though, but the output is certainly there.

If you never use the middle pickup alone you can either just grab a super high output single coil, leave it low and just let it do the work for splitting. Grab a Dimarzio ISCV2 for that purpose. You can also change the wiring so that the middle position splits one coil from each of the humbuckers and run them in parallel for a sort of Tele style sound, that way you don't waste a position and the Tele sound is damn good to have.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

Full Shred neck and Classic Strat Stack middle....you will get lots of clarity in the neck and a traditional Strat thing going on in the middle, and it will all be hum-free.

 

[gregory]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

Are you recommending that both these pickups remain in their default mode of wiring when they are combined?

I ask based on a couple of observations (and would like some clarification if they are incorrect):

A. It is common to read claims that the STK-S4 is hotter than an SSL-2

B. The STK-S4 gets even hotter when run in true single coil mode

C. The STK-S4 is also offered as RW/RP to satisfy customer demand for improved position 2 and 4 performance.

The combination of points B and C implies that positions 2 and 4 could be louder than positions 2 and 4 would be using true single coils relative to positions 1, 3 and 5.

Point A suggests that mixing STK-S4s might not mix well with other pickups that are designed to deliver standard single coil performance. In other words, if I already own and want to continue using something like a Lace Sensor Gold or a DiMarzio Area 67 (or an SSL-2 for that matter), I shouldn't buy an STK-S4.

 

[Hank-]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

For middle SC spot, if the 3 position won't get used much if at all then consider an actual SC in place of dimarzio area or track series. Having had area67, cruiser bridge & FT1, the cruiser will give a better quack than FT1 but not enough output. The FT1 has a touch more output but sounds different​. The A67 gives good quack sounds & I found it to be louder than the cruiser.

 

[gregory]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

From your post I can see why you don't think the Cruiser and FT1 aren't good choices, but I can't tell why you're recommending a single coil if the Area 67 gives more output and good quack.



Depending on how much louder an STK-S4 is in relation to a standard single and how loud it is compared to an unsplit neck humbucker (which is what Rex_Rocker seems to want), I'd say could be the best fit for the middle spot. ...and if the STK-S4 is still too weak, there's the STK-S4b. I wouldn't rule out the DiMarzio Injector Neck, just yet either. It has the same figures as the DiMarzio FS-1 single which, if I understand correctly, is maybe a bit weaker but still in the ballpark of the SSL-6.

FWIW, I'm not sure about DiMarzio, but I strongly caution against judging output (or BMT) by what you find on the Duncan product pages.

 

[BluesGuyJ2]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

I've used the Area 67 in the middle of the following setups

Norton, A67, PAF Pro
Injector bridge, A67, VV Heavy Blues II
At1, A67, VV Heavy BLues II

The Area 67 brings more highs than the 58 and 61, which pairs and splits well with various neck pickups in a Strat. If I were you, Id stick with PAF Pro bridge, go for A67 middle, and perhaps the HFH or Air Classic, 36th Ann, or maybe the PAF Master. ALso, the PAF Joe may be an interesting option to consider as well.

 

[gregory]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

When you say, "pairs and splits,' what do you mean exactly?

What is the specific wiring of both the Area 67 and the bridge pickup when the two are combined?

What is the specific wiring of both the Area 67 and the neck pickup when the two are combined?

 

[Mincer]

Re: Neck humbucker and middle single coil to go with a PAF Pro in the bridge?

Honestly, I'd wire them in their stock form. The stack S4 middle is slightly higher output than a traditional SSL-1, so it will blend better with the humbuckers, and still give some quack. If anything, you might install a push/pull to split both humbuckers if you like that sort of thing. But just wiring it stock will be pretty versatile.