Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

[unkabonka]

Hey guys, been browsing the Seymour Duncan site for a few days and still can't make up my mind. (So many flavors!) I'm a newbie to pickups and guitar electronics, so I'd appreciate some advice.

Bascially I'm looking for a replacement for my strat bridge pickup (too icepick/thin). I want a thicker, vintage tone that is somewhere along the lines of Clapton (Cream and Bluesbreaker era), Jimmy Page and the Allman Brothers for the heavier stuff, and late Beatle-ish for the cleans, but the Clapton, Page, and Allman tones take priority.

For single coils, I am looking at the Twangbanger or Quarter Pounder, If I go the humbucker route, Cool Rails or something else meaty, midrangey, and vintage.

Also, would (magnetically) a new bridge pickup cause problems with my 2 & 4 noise cancelling positions? Would I need to do some rearranging+rewiring? Also, should I get a tapped pickup to ajust output..? Would that make things more difficult?

This pickup would be going in a Fender MIM Ash Stratocaster w/ a rosewood fretboard.

Thanks, (sorry for all the questions)

unkabonka

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

60's Clapton, Jimmy Page, and ABB all=PAF type humbucker pickups.

The Lil59er sounds like the best bet for a strat sized solution, tone wise. You may not like the looks of the lil59 though. I don't really like how it looks, and would prefer a rail look.

I'm not sure if the cool rails is really designed for a PAF type tone? I believe it's more of a heavier than vintage single coil tone. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

A bridge HB may not be noise cancelling when used with a RWRP middle pup, depending on it's polarity. The same is true of a single coil with opposite polarity from your stock bridge pickup.

 

[JohnnyGuitarCA]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

LSD baby!!!

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

Welcome! I use the Twangbanger, and I can get some pretty big classic rock settings using my setup.

 

[Fresh_Start]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

A single coil in the bridge is not going to get you what you want. Ideally, you want a full sized humbucker, but that means a new pickguard (Warmoth, WD Products, etc.) Headed that way, a pickup with an alnico 2 magnet probably fits better with your ash body (bright) than alnico 5. APH-1 for vintage output, Custom Custom for higher output (and more mids/less bass).

If you've got the stock Fender pups in the neck & middle, you should consider replacing those too. My preference in a bright Strat would be an APS-2 in the neck and an SSL-2 in the middle. YMMV. That's what I did with my MIM Strat - new pickguard, pots, pups, etc. so I just kept the stock pickguard in a drawer (in case I ever want to sell it).

If you want the bridge/middle combo to sound like a classic strat, you'll need to split the bridge pup in that position. 1 vol/2 tones/split Although I'd prefer to wire the second tone pot to the black "hot" wire from the humbucker so you have tone control over it. (That leaves you without tone control on the middle pup alone, but how often do you use that?)

Don't know if you want to go the full replacement route. These are just my thoughts...

Chip

 

[75lespaul]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

What amp are you using? I've been blessed to be able to buy quite a few amps over the years and at the momentI have 10 or 12, mostly mid sixties ten watt or so combos. I've got two strats and the bridge pickup sounds phenomenal through some amps and horrible through others. Marshalls in particular don't seem to like the stock strat bridge IMHO. They like the humbuckers a lot better.

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

Welcome to the forum man!

Chip gave you some very good advice I'd say the full size bucker will get you closest, but if want to stay within the realm of a regular look and pickguard I'd recommend getting a little 59 for the bridge, they have a very full and open tone. The cool rails does have kind of a PAFish sound, but lots of bass.

If you are wanting to keep your stock singles in the neck and middle positions you'll need to switch the hot and ground on you new pup probably, but if you are replacing them too don't worry about it.

The APS' sound very nice, in fact that is what I have in the neck and middle of my strat. They are smoother and warmer than the SSLs. A bit more overdrive friendly.

The Quarter Pounds will give you more of a P90 sound in you bridge slot, lots of output.

The twangbanger is going to give you a bit of a gutsy tele injection. Some spank and honk.

Hope that helps!

Luke

 

[ponch]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

Well i would say to go with an EMG dave gill set up. It rips. Unless you don't want to do the whole set then get the lil59. You can split it & I believe it will only hum in the 4th position. Plus you can split it.:banana:

 

[unkabonka]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

Thanks for the replies guys... My budget right now does not have room for a complete overhall (as much as I'd like it); the PAF little 59 looks like it would work, I wasn't really diggin the look of a black Twangbanger or quarter pounder against the white pickguard and ash- looks like the little 59er comes with a white cover. Good reviews on Harmony Central + advice here looks like it will be replacing my MIM p/u next week- Hey, If I don't like it, I can always sell it on Ebay right

"A bridge HB may not be noise cancelling when used with a RWRP middle pup, depending on it's polarity. The same is true of a single coil with opposite polarity from your stock bridge pickup." -LakePlacidBlues

Would that mean I would have to take one of the pickups and make a 180 degree change?

"If you are wanting to keep your stock singles in the neck and middle positions you'll need to switch the hot and ground on you new pup probably,"- Luke Duke

What does switching the hot and ground mean...?

First and foremost, I would want the little 59 to be humbucking... if possible I would like to keep the quack and noise cancelling in 2 and 4, but would rather have the humbucker be humbucking

Thanks for your help!

75lespaul, the amp I'm using is a Vox Valvetronix modeling amp, so not much tonal action going on there- thinking about a blues junior upgrade.

 

[Mephis]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

I would go Lil 59 bridge, vintage rails middle, and lil 59 neck.

Run splits on both the lil 59's with push-pull or mini-toggles.

Wire middle to be half of the bridge 59 and half of the neck 59.


It'll probably get you in the ballpark, altho not to insult you or anything, (I have your amp) you probably won't hear much of a difference out of the vox... Every guitar I play through one sounds pretty much the same.

After you get a blues junior that pickup combo will kick some serious ass tho.

 

[shampoo]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

Hi,

I am somewhat in the same position as the OP.

I own a Fender Strat Standard (Mexican) except mine has a humbucker in the bridge position.

I am looking to replace all the pickups but I want to have a humbucker in the bridge.

What am I REALLY looking for is that classic strat quack "glassy" sound with middle and bridge active and middle and neck active.

Can anyone recommend the two single coils and the humbucker and the wiring which will give me this vintage quack strat sound? Thanks!!

 

[Luke Duke]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

Hey man if you don't like the pup you can use the SD real world 21 day exchange policy. We have a few dealers here on the forum

Wymore Guitars

Lew's Guitars

and Matt Martin (Martinsixstringcustom)

Hope that helps!

Luke

 

[shampoo]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

There are a few guys here where I live that can do the job.. I'm just looking for suggestions on which pups I should get and which wiring I should ask the tech to do..

Thanks!

 

[Kosh Naranek]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

unkabonka, you don't necessarily have to go to a humbucker to get some of those late 60's classic tones. Remember that Page recorded a lot of the guitar parts on the first few Zeppelin albums with a Tele.

I'm suprised no one's suggested the Duncan Custom single coil. Let me be the first. The SSL-5 (or SSL-6 with flat pole pieces) still sounds like a single coil but has a warmer high end and more meaty midrange. No ice pick shrillness, and enough midrange to give you decent crunch when playing chords, but it sounds like a great Str@t pickup, not a humbucker.

I'm not sure if the cool rails is really designed for a PAF type tone? I believe it's more of a heavier than vintage single coil tone. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

From reading Duncan's catalog ( I don't have a guitar with a Cool Rails), I'm of the understanding that the Cool Rails was intended to sound like a true single coil, but with more output so it balances well in output in guitars with humbuckers as well as singles. It may not have that vintage single brightness either, but it is advertised as a noiseless single coil sound pickup.

 

[Fresh_Start]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

Hi,

I am somewhat in the same position as the OP.

I own a Fender Strat Standard (Mexican) except mine has a humbucker in the bridge position.

I am looking to replace all the pickups but I want to have a humbucker in the bridge.

What am I REALLY looking for is that classic strat quack "glassy" sound with middle and bridge active and middle and neck active.

Can anyone recommend the two single coils and the humbucker and the wiring which will give me this vintage quack strat sound? Thanks!!

No offense, but please look at post #5 above. pup recommendations and schematic included for free...

except you didn't say what neck wood or body wood you have. Rosewood fingerboard w/ alder (or poplar) body might push you toward alnico 5, like the 59b or the Custom 5 if you want a hotter, scooped mids, not so PAF tone.

Hope this helps,

Chip

 

[shampoo]

Re: Need advice for Strat Bridge pickup

No offense, but please look at post #5 above. pup recommendations and schematic included for free...

except you didn't say what neck wood or body wood you have. Rosewood fingerboard w/ alder (or poplar) body might push you toward alnico 5, like the 59b or the Custom 5 if you want a hotter, scooped mids, not so PAF tone.

Hope this helps,

Chip

You are right, there it is. I apologize. I hadn't seen post #5.

The fingerboard is rose wood (Fat Strat)..

I'll take a look at your suggestions. Thanks again.