Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

[tinman1]

Some advice please...

My number 1 guitar is an American Std strat with the original Fat 50's neck and middle pups and a SD Pearly Gates humbucker in the bridge.

I love the PG and spend most of my time in that position. I go to the single coils for SRV and Hendrix covers and occassionally some blues jams.

What I'm missing is a noiseless/ humbucker type tone in the neck position i.e. for Slash solos, Sweet child o mine intro etc. But I still want the versatility to play lower gain strat based stuff.

I know there will be a compromise and a second guitar would be an alternative solution...nonetheless can anyone recommend a noisless/ stacked single coil size pickup for the neck and middle positions that will handle gain for hard rock stuff but retain single coil character for the Hendrix stuff?

I'm thinking Fender vintage or hot noiseless or mabye SD classic stack.

Cheers.

 

[9unslin9er]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

Classic stack plus neck.

It matches with any vintage or medium output full-sized humbuckers and responds amazingly well to higher gain.

I'd love to make you a Sweet Child video clip, but I'm away from my guitar right now.

I personally think it benefits more from a H-S setup, If I were modding a Strat, I would disconnect the middle pickup and install a 3-way switch. I use a 500k pot with mine and do not hear any over brightness.

 

[tinman1]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

Great.... So do you reckon the classic stack neck would be a better fit with my pearly gates bridge than a hot vintage (or other stk) in the neck?
Thanks

 

[IMENATOR]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

How about the YJM Fury neck? It is a fat single coil tone so it shines in the overdrive/distortion world but retains the clarity and articulation of single coils. For cleans it is not bell-like but it is usable. If the PG has bite (treble) of vintage PAF then the EQ contrast with the fury will be nice I guess.

 

[zenmindbeginner]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

The great thing about the Classic Stack Plus pups are that they split awfully well.

The middle version comes RWRP so that when you split them, you can still get hum canceling in true single coil mode... making them extremely versatile.

I'd replace both Fat 50s with a Classic Stack Plus middle and Hot Stack Plus neck... split the Pearly Gates bridge and you'll have a MAD versatile guitar. Need to get a push pull pot or a mini switch too.

 

[tinman1]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

How about the YJM Fury neck? It is a fat single coil tone so it shines in the overdrive/distortion world but retains the clarity and articulation of single coils. For cleans it is not bell-like but it is usable. If the PG has bite (treble) of vintage PAF then the EQ contrast with the fury will be nice I guess.

That looks like a good pickup but it might be too far a departure from the vintage tones I'd like to acheive for hendrix/ srv/ strat covers. It's pretty high output as far as I can tell from video clips.

 

[DreX]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

What I'm missing is a noiseless/ humbucker type tone in the neck position i.e. for Slash solos, Sweet child o mine intro etc. But I still want the versatility to play lower gain strat based stuff.

The way I see it, there are three choices:

a) single coil sized humbucker with a push/pull series/parallel or series/split

b) single coil with push/pull tap, using something like an SSL-4 or SSL-5 with a tap lead

c) hot stacked humbucker with push/pull splitting

I think choice A is the best for what you're doing, and I find that the hotter a humbucker, the better it sounds in series/split, so something like a Hot Rails or DMZ's shred happy rails are a good choice, but the Little '59 still sounds pretty good split or parallel.

Choice B would be the next best, a hot single coil won't sound as much like a humbucker, but it's tapped mode will sound more like dedicated single coil, so it's a trade off, and there's no hum cancelling.

Then choice C, which I just don't like at all.

With all these choices, you can do variable splitting or tapping if you're willing to devote a knob on your guitar to the task, and that increases versatility even more, because you can get everything in between full sound and thin sound.

 

[tinman1]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

All interesting food for thought. I should've mentioned that I've already got a push pull to split the PG bridge which works nicely. In fact, I've just purchased an S1 switch which I'll use as a push push instead (damn strat knobs are a terrible shape for pulling!).

I guess another option would be a full HSH conversion with full PG neck pickup. In that case I'd probably retain the fat 50s middle for variety.

Has anyone split a PG neck? If so does it get anywhere near a fat 50s tone wise?

 

[DreX]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

I split PGs, it's a rather weak sound. Not at all like fat 50s or any dedicated single coil.

 

[9unslin9er]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

Great.... So do you reckon the classic stack neck would be a better fit with my pearly gates bridge than a hot vintage (or other stk) in the neck?
Thanks

It would be a perfect fit. It's only a little quieter than the JB I have in my bridge.

For my lead tone, I use the Engl Fireball setting in my Line 6 Pod HD and there is no volume drop at all between the two pickups, I would presume it would balance out even more with the Pearly Gates.

Though, when I use clean settings, either a Fender Twin or Roland JC120, I've noticed the pickup gets even more Stratlike, i.e.way brighter, enough so that if vintage Jimi or SRV tones are all you're trying to get out of it, I'd at least try 300k pots. 250k would just ruin the Pearly Gates.

When I get back to my gear, I'll do my best with some Texas Flood and Sweet Child, just so you can hear how they balance.

*Also with the coil splitting thing, I've never had any luck with it. My last Strat with an H-S-S was a Lonestar with the new Twin Head pickup in the bridge. It just sounded abysmal when split, weak, way too bright...just irritating. I think to even make the splitting option viable, you have to have something really hairy, maybe a DiMarzio X2N or D-activator. Splitting medium output pickup is just a no-no in my book, and it'll still never sound like a real single coil.

 

[zenmindbeginner]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

I split PGs, it's a rather weak sound. Not at all like fat 50s or any dedicated single coil.

The point is to split the PG and combine it with a split Classic Stack Plus to get the Mark Knopfler RWRP middle + bridge sound.

 

[IMENATOR]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

That looks like a good pickup but it might be too far a departure from the vintage tones I'd like to acheive for hendrix/ srv/ strat covers. It's pretty high output as far as I can tell from video clips.

Ok, but for the record, I think the YJM it it goes a step forward for sweet child of mine and so you were saying but with a more single coil-ish vibe. Another option may be you try a very good splitable humbucker like StagMag, PRail or a Screaming Demon, in split mode you go for a usable true single coil tone, in HB mode you get a usable HB tone. James Ryan has a great couple of sound clips for PRails (including split mode) and Screaming Demon in the neck (only in HB mode).

 

[9unslin9er]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

Ok, but for the record, I think the YJM it it goes a step forward for sweet child of mine and so you were saying but with a more single coil-ish vibe.

I wanna just note that I've never been able to replicate that Slash opening tone with an Alnico II Pro, in a Les Paul through an actual Marshall AFD100.

It just doesn't happen. Not even with the mids down and the treble and presence all the way up.

I don't think Slash ever gets that tone live either.

I suspect in final mixing with Geffen, the entire recording utilized a lot of filtering effects to get the desired tone.

I get way closer sounds with the Classic Stack than any of the full-sized offerings under normal home studio conditions.

Low output, high treble good. Higher output, thicker mids bad.

 

[IMENATOR]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

^^ Another reason why I like HSS

 

[Dr.J4ckal]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

How about adding a boost pedal?
I use AT signature BB preamp, it's designed for single coils and it's very warm sounding. With treble knob at 10 o'clock I get very convincing humbucker tone.

 

[Ace Flibble]

Re: Noiseless neck and middle suggestions for HSS strat

American Standard Stratocasters are routed HSH, in most years. You could buy an HSH pickguard and fit a full-size humbucker to the neck which can then split to a single coil. I highly recommend a Catswhisker S-Bucker for this, as that has separate alnico magnets in one coil instead of pole pieces; when split it sounds just like a normal Strat single coil because it has the correct magnet configuration, but when both coils are used it sounds like a normal (if very slightly bright) humbucker because there's a bar magnet powering the other coil. The Strat coil is also overwound slightly so it is great for the meatier single coil tones of SRV, and it means it doesn't drop in output as much as other split humbuckers. The guy who makes Catswhisker will alter pickups any reaonsbale way, so if you wanted the humbucker mode to sound a little thicker for the Slash-ish tones then he could probably sort that out for you.

The SD Stag Mag is based on the same idea, but has both coils made like a single coil and is much brighter and thinner-sounding when wired series. Not very good for the whole Slash-esque thing.