Opinions... best HB and single coil/neck for a 'thin' sounding superstrat

[Guitarweb]

Guitar is a Hamer Californian, 1st gen Korean version (technically a slammer but no slammer name on headstock).
Very stratish and thin sounding.

I guess my love for this thing is because the neck is identical to a crappy samick made Korean guitar I played growing up. Down side... it sounds very thin.

Neck is 3pc maple, rosewood, and body is mahogany... floyd copy for bridge. A few nice cleans off the duncan designed slant neck pickup. It has a duncan designed HB 102 in the bridge that is kind of ok. Did some googeling and another owner said not to go the JB route as some of the growl is lost and it doesn't really improve the sound all that much it just sounds more disappointing.

I have a spare TB-11 on hand that I haven't tried yet... my gut says to go ceramic in this case but I'm not a fan of the DD. Don't know what way to go on the single coil neck, other than the obvious hot rail. I might want to keep it just a single coil.

 

[hamerfan]

Re: Opinions... best HB and single coil/neck for a 'thin' sounding superstrat

A big part of that thin sound is the cheaply made Floyd copy, it needs more mass of steel and brass to get a fuller tone. My superstrat (alder and maple) worked better since i tried pickups with Alnico8 magnets. All ceramics i put made it fizzy (some folks here call that scratchiness) and too much into the face. My current fav is a screamin demon8 and a Custom8.
Just search in the guitar shop dept. for better floyds or trem blocks.

 

[vinta9e]

Re: Opinions... best HB and single coil/neck for a 'thin' sounding superstrat

A big part of that thin sound is the cheaply made Floyd copy

My thoughts exactly.

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Opinions... best HB and single coil/neck for a 'thin' sounding superstrat

Is it the Trem with Hamer stamped on it that's made by Schaller? Or is it one of the cheap ones?

I have a Hamer Centaura that is sorta in the same ballpark. A JB works fine. A BKP Rebel Yell lives in there right now and is great in that mahogany.

Even if you keep that bridge, a brass block will beef it up a bit.


Sent from my armored battle station using Tapatalk

 

[jorge5150]

Re: Opinions... best HB and single coil/neck for a 'thin' sounding superstrat

I have a spare TB-11 on hand that I haven't tried yet...

Try that CC. I have one in a similar guitar and it sounds really fat.

 

[Guitarweb]

Re: Opinions... best HB and single coil/neck for a 'thin' sounding superstrat

A big part of that thin sound is the cheaply made Floyd copy, it needs more mass of steel and brass to get a fuller tone. My superstrat (alder and maple) worked better since i tried pickups with Alnico8 magnets. All ceramics i put made it fizzy (some folks here call that scratchiness) and too much into the face. My current fav is a screamin demon8 and a Custom8.
Just search in the guitar shop dept. for better floyds or trem blocks.

I've tried 3 different DDs in various guitars, including a coveted "J" wound one it always sounded harsh to me and fizzy... making me gunshy on ceramic. I was thinking maybe SH-5 to play it safe but the custom8 really seems to be better suited to strats I might grab one.

I'll likely change the block but not change the floyd I don't feel like getting into that or dealing with any complications and I might find another californian I like more. I know the floyd and block are obvious culprits but I've heard the same kind of thin out of similar era korean guitars (fixed and v-trem equipped).

Is it the Trem with Hamer stamped on it that's made by Schaller? Or is it one of the cheap ones?

I have a Hamer Centaura that is sorta in the same ballpark. A JB works fine. A BKP Rebel Yell lives in there right now and is great in that mahogany.

No its a cheap licensed one... Centuras are the closest cousin. I've been looking at BKPs for a while but I'm a lot more familiar with SDs. My original thin sounding guitar was only improved by an EMGs but even that was debatable.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Opinions... best HB and single coil/neck for a 'thin' sounding superstrat

I'd be very tempted to do a Hot Rails for the single. It's fat, dark, and loud in the neck position, but wiring it up (or using a switch) for parallel humbucking will lower the level, thin it out, brighten it, and soften the texture -- making it somewhat more Strat-like than the sledgehammer that it is in series. (I'd kinda like to try a Cool Rails like that sometime.)

 

[elelpe]

Re: Opinions... best HB and single coil/neck for a 'thin' sounding superstrat

Try that CC. I have one in a similar guitar and it sounds really fat.

+ 1

and pair it with SSL-5 in the neck

 

[GilmourD]

Re: Opinions... best HB and single coil/neck for a 'thin' sounding superstrat

Can you take a pic of your bridge from above? An OFR might just drop straight in without having to do anything but a setup depending on the shape of the route in the body.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

 

[Artie]

Re: Opinions... best HB and single coil/neck for a 'thin' sounding superstrat

(I'd kinda like to try a Cool Rails like that sometime.)

Yup. A Cool Rails would be killer in the neck. Along with an Invader, (wired parallel), in the bridge. Make the volume a push-pull so you can switch the Invader into "turbo" mode. (Series.)