Newbie new build pickup questions for HSS configuration.

I

illogical

New member
Hey everyone. New to the forum here and want to say thanks in advance for any input and suggestions provided.

I have a 60's classic vibe Squier Strat that my son and I will be upgrading -- electronics, pups, locking tuners, trem bridge (eventually).

We've decided to change it to an HSS set up and would like to keep a solid strat sound from the neck and middle pups (but doesn't need to be totally traditional) ,and go with a full size humbucker in the bridge that will give a great over driven sound but not too hot compared to the singles coils. So looking for advice on a complete set of pickups that will blend together nicely and be balanced when switching positions. I was thinking about an obsidian solder free harness that includes the Gilmore mod as a push/pull on a tone knob - because why not.

So those are the thoughts so far. Trying to keep costs down as well as an fyi.

Look forward to any thoughts and really appreciate it!
 
Welcome to the forum!

I'd go for an all noiseless setup, with 2 Classic Stacks in the neck & middle, and a 59/Custom Hybrid in the bridge. It is versatile for lots of styles, and the singles won't hum. The bridge is hot, but not too hot to overpower the singles, and sounds great split, too. It sounds like a great project for you 2!
 
Mincer said:
Welcome to the forum!

I'd go for an all noiseless setup, with 2 Classic Stacks in the neck & middle, and a 59/Custom Hybrid in the bridge. It is versatile for lots of styles, and the singles won't hum. The bridge is hot, but not too hot to overpower the singles, and sounds great split, too. It sounds like a great project for you 2!
Click to expand...

Yeah, or SSL2 if you don't mind the traditional noise. Agree about everything else, I have this setup in a HSS guitar - 59/C is very versatile, and having the Custom coil active in a split gives a nice bridge single coil sound - maybe something between Strat and P90.

I'd also get a really good set of pots. Personally, I haven't had a problem running dual 500k in a HSS setup except when I had a treble bleed on the volume control, the single coils would get kinda harsh sounding when turning the volume down. I prefer 50s wiring anyway and with this, imo, it works nicely. Some folks also to the 470k resistor mod on the switch terminals, so the single coils see about 250k when they're selected.
 
Thanks to you all for the advice! Really appreciate it.

I'll have a look at the 59 custom hybrid and the pearly gates Humbuckers. As well as the classic stacks and SSL2's.

Do you feel the noiseless classic stacks keep the overall Strat sound well?
I have some fender noiseless on a tele and kinda feel like they're a bit meh.

I'll need to check compatibility with the Obsidian Wire kit I'm looking into. This kit looks like it has a 500 pot for the humbucker and 250's for the singles - with treble bleed also.
I'll be checking cavity depth/size as well to confirm fit.
Here's a link if anyone wants to have a look and advise. https://obsidianwire.com/products/custom-lambertones-hss-for-strat

Thanks again!!
 
that has a 250 volume, and 250k tone for the singles and 500k for the volume. not a bad setup. though thats really pricey.

the classic stack plus is as close to the tone of a real single coil that ive found in a stack. its a touch thicker than a vintage single coil, but its in the ballpark and sounds great
 
jeremy said:
that has a 250 volume, and 250k tone for the singles and 500k for the volume. not a bad setup. though thats really pricey.

the classic stack plus is as close to the tone of a real single coil that ive found in a stack. its a touch thicker than a vintage single coil, but its in the ballpark and sounds great
Click to expand...

Thanks for your suggestion!
A bit thicker and in ballpark sounds good to me!

Regarding the harness - do you think it's a lot less expensive to order the parts and do the soldering myself. I have never done this kind of guitar work before, and although I've done some soldering and plumbing etc, I'm no expert and likely to make a small mess of it. I'll look into it a bit to get an idea.
 
Stk s7 (neck)/ Stk s4 (mid)/ JB bridge... I have that setup in one of my strats. I dig them and they're soooo quiet.
 
I say both of you learning how to solder would be a fun project. Watch some videos, and order the parts (we can help with that), it is easy and fun!
 
Mincer said:
I say both of you learning how to solder would be a fun project. Watch some videos, and order the parts (we can help with that), it is easy and fun!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the encouragement! It would be a good learning experience for sure - I will def look into it.
 
three pots, two caps, two resistors, and a switch are a lot cheaper than $140+ shipping.
 
Yeah, for that price, you can also buy the soldering station and still have money left over for a sandwich.
 
Soldering is actually a lot easier than you think when you get started. Both of you learning it together will create a memory and leave you both with a valuable skill to boot...

Although, I also understand the just getting a harness. It makes for a quick swap out to get you back on the road.
 
Thanks again to you all!
I think we are going to go with getting the parts and soldering ourselves. Once I get a list together I will post our desired configuration for switching, etc and the pups and parts thinking of using. I'll probably try to mimic the obsidian wire harness I mentioned. Will definitely need some support on putting it together.

Quick general question; Has anyone installed a treble bleed in an HSS configuration on a Strat? If so, very curious to hear your reasons why and which pickups you found it useful for?

I'm also figuring on using audio tapered pots as apposed to linear pots. Thoughts??

Thanks again!
 
Last edited:
Treble bleed can be personal taste and how it reacts with one's overall rig, playing style etc. Some people like the loss of treble when turning down, others don't.

I've personally tried and had a bunch of these variants over the years - simple .002µf cap; cap + resistor in series or parallel. Ultimately, I went over to 50s wiring (i.e. tone control is connected to the output lug of the volume) with everything, which to me sounds most natural for various pu types - the perceived amount of high end doesn't really change when turning down.

The various treble bleeds have sounded to me a bit too high endy, sometimes changed the pot taper. In a HSS guitar I have, I had the cap/resistor in series type for a time, but it made the single coils sound a bit shrill at lower volumes. Maybe if I had a hot/thick pu in the bridge or something, a treble bleed would work well there to make it a bit clearer at lower volumes. I tend to prefer low-medium output pups

Of course, 50s wiring makes the tone control interactive with the volume, which some don't like, others do. Again, it's personal.

Similar with audio vs linear taper pots. I think most people prefer audio because of the way the human ear perceives volume reduction in real time. If you look at a graphic representation of both types, you'd think linear taper is preferable because the gradation is represented even. In practice, this can often be perceived as a pot that between 3-8 or so doesn't do much, with most of the change happening on either end of range.

Sorry for the essay ;), but it's worth discussing the variables/possibilities afforded by the different methods.
 
Here's how I like to do my vol / tone pot grounds. Gently bend back the "ground-side" lug so it touches the case. Use a little pushing down force as you gently bend it so as not to tear the lug away from the resistance trace. Then, use the smallest amount of solder possible. You won't "cook" the plastic parts inside and you leave the lug hole open for ease in making your other grounding connections.

Pot-soldering-03.jpg
 
Thanks for the input Ashurbanipal and Artie! Happy to have the "essay" and learn what I can. I'll have look into 50's wiring to have a better idea of what it is.

And thanks for the tip on soldering Artie. I also saw someone use a G string from the lug to the case for ground, and then solder other wires to the string. Looked a little fragile but looked pretty clean too.
 
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