Neck Pickup suggestions for a Fender Mustang with a HotRails at the Bridge?

[The Seventh Word]

Hi -
My knowledge of this stuff is limited (at best), but please bear with me. Any suggestions are appreciated.

I just purchased a '67 Mustang. The body of the guitar has been modified/destroyed with a huge sharkbite in the rear - I don't know, somebody wanted it to look more heavy metal or something. I don't mind, 'cause I bought it for peanuts.
The p-ups (not original) were pretty trashy, twangy single coils. So I've replaced the bridge with a Hot Rails. The thing distorts beautifully (suddenly I'm wanting to play Motorhead riffs everytime i pick the thing up!) but of course the neck pick-up is completely overpowered and irrelevant next to the HotRails.

So, I'm wondering, for sake of versatility and tone, what folks would recommend in the neck position. Cool Rails? Little '59? JB Jr.?
Oh, I'd like to wire them both with push/pull pots for maximum versatility. I'd like to be able to get some twang out of her when needed . . .
Any thoughts?

 

[jeremy]

Re: Neck Pickup suggestions for a Fender Mustang with a HotRails at the Bridge?

welcome to the forum!!

id say a cool rails would be a good choice. warmer cleaner tone with a look thatll match the hot rails, sounds good clean and is great for melodic overdriven solos.

 

[slash857]

Re: Neck Pickup suggestions for a Fender Mustang with a HotRails at the Bridge?

im not sure how they would match, probably well, but i always liked the sound of the vintage rails.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Neck Pickup suggestions for a Fender Mustang with a HotRails at the Bridge?

I have a bridge Cool Rails in the neck slot of my 65 Duo-Sonic paired with a Hot Rails in the bridge. they balance well and sound great for distorted rock. Just one thing though, I had very little luck fitting push/pull pots inside the control cavity, hopefully you'll have better luck.

BTW, whatever pickup you use in hte neck, I'd go with some kind of rails based pickup, due to the string spacing on it. :burnout:

 

[The Seventh Word]

Re: Neck Pickup suggestions for a Fender Mustang with a HotRails at the Bridge?

Wow, thanks for the astonishingly quick/even more astonishingly relevant posts, gentlemen.
Benjy_26, assuming that you didn't end up routing for the push/pull pots, do you still get a satisfactory clean sound in addition to the delicious distortion?
(I'd like to be able to make the boys jealous AND make the girls cry!)
(and thanks for the note regarding the rails/string spacing - never would have occurred to me)
Oh, and the reason that I don't really mind a little routing on this girl, if necessary, should be obvious from the picture (pre-HotRails installation):

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[Benjy_26]

Re: Neck Pickup suggestions for a Fender Mustang with a HotRails at the Bridge?

Ouch! I imagine that all that wood being gone can't help the sound (not much wood to begin with).

I didn't route mine out at all, just wired them in standard series. The cleans are great, almost as good as the distortions.

 

[Imp]

Re: Neck Pickup suggestions for a Fender Mustang with a HotRails at the Bridge?

i'd consider using the phase switches above the pickups for coil splitting, and somehow having the pickup selector on the control plate.. les paul style switch in one, concentric vol/tone in the other?

a friend has a mustang, and we tried a lil '59 in it.. he likes it so far! similar sort of scenario with the angled pickup putting the strings off, but it smokes!

as for what to try, i reckon a quarter pounder or a tele neck pickup. IMO the mustang's shorter scale would mean a neck humbucker would be way too bassy

and for the record... i really like the body mod! lol it looks like a BC rich surf guitar!

tom

 

[LesStrat]

Re: Neck Pickup suggestions for a Fender Mustang with a HotRails at the Bridge?

+1 on Cool Rails, and another vote for the quality of the cleans. Great pickup to complement the HR.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Neck Pickup suggestions for a Fender Mustang with a HotRails at the Bridge?

Concentric pots and toggles won't work on a Mustang/Duo Sonic as there is not enough body depth. Also, I wouldn't worry about having a muddy neck. Those guitars need all the meat they can get!

 

[saladin]

Re: Neck Pickup suggestions for a Fender Mustang with a HotRails at the Bridge?

I'd go with a Hot Rails in the neck!