Pickup Upgrade on HSS MIM Strat

[PK44]

First post here, thanks for having me :fing2:


Looking for recommendations for a pickup upgrade for an HSS MIM Strat with Rosewood fingerboard. The pickup selector pointed me in the direction I was expecting but I do have some questions. For reference I play a range of genres but lean towards reggae/rock/funk/blues but the humbucker can take me a little harder when needed which is why I chose this guitar.

Right now I'm leaning towards SSL-1's in neck and mid with either a 59/Custom Hybrid or Pearly Gates in the bridge. What humbucker would pair best with the SSL-1's between those and are there any better that I'm missing? Output will obviously need to be somewhat in line. I want to do this once and position 2 is important so the single coil humbucker being used for that position needs to be a good fit.

Also to dig a little deeper in my selection of neck and mid, for a while I was contemplating putting in STK-S7 in the neck and STK-S4M in the middle but i feel I'm going to be a little less agressive with my sound and noiseless single coil humbuckers may not be the route I want to take. How do the SSL-1's compare to the sound of the STK line..... one of my favorite artists use this combination and I just love this sound. Anything else I need to be opening my eyes to?

Thank you,
Sean

 

[Mincer]

Re: Pickup Upgrade on HSS MIM Strat

Welcome to the forum!

Well, I think you are great with the Hybrid. It seems to work really well in HSS, and is perfect for many styles- it splits really well, too. For the neck and middle, I like the STK-S4s for both, to keep the hum-cancelling. They are a little more powerful and slightly less bright than the SSL-1s, but seem to balance very well with the Hybrid. As far as the SSL-1, you also might consider the flat version, the SSL-2. It is better for modern strings and a modern radius. You can't go wrong with SSL-series pickups, they tend to do many things well.

 

[PK44]

Re: Pickup Upgrade on HSS MIM Strat

Thanks for the information, very helpful and now I need to read up on this some more. I believe my radius is 9.5 which I guess could be worse. For strings, don't most people use a more modern string these days regardless? I'm curious to know how much difference these two pickups sound.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Pickup Upgrade on HSS MIM Strat

9.5 is a fine radius. by modern string i assume you mean plain 3rd rather than wound, which yes, almost everyone uses. i always use flat poles given the choice but there isnt a huge difference.

between the ssl1 and stks4, the stk isnt quite as bright and has a touch of compression but is pretty similar. the stks7 is a bigger, fatter pup for sure. i love it in the bridge with vintage type pups in the neck and middle, havent tried it in the neck but it might match a bucker in the bridge fine. personally i like the pg much better than the hybrid but thats taste more than quality of either pup

 

[Mincer]

Re: Pickup Upgrade on HSS MIM Strat

Yes, most people use a plain G string these days. Staggered pickups are still sold because....of tradition. That's the way they looked back then. I use flat poles if there is a choice, however.

 

[donaldr]

Re: Pickup Upgrade on HSS MIM Strat

I add to lower my STK-S7 in the neck more than expected to match the Screamin Demon in the bridge, volume wise, so a STK-S7 should match the 59/Custom no problem but you will have to lower it for a Pearly Gate bridge IMO. The STK-S7 has a bit more bass than what I want in the neck, YMMV. Will move it to the bridge and add STK-S4 (or SSL2) neck/middle instead.
Here's a video of a Pearly Gate bridge with SSL1 neck/middle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggTyXwkwQx8

 

[PK44]

Re: Pickup Upgrade on HSS MIM Strat

Still thinking about my options but do have some questions related to the STK-S4's.

I don't think I mind the slight loss of treble that I hear people describe as I don't enjoy a bright sound to begin with, but wondering how much these clean up. There aren't many good videos online that demonstrate these in a clean/low gain tone so most of them sound edgy to begin with. Not sure if what I'm hearing are individual's amp settings and how much is from each pickup.

I ask because one of my favorite tones is a single coil with a compressor as a boost with a low compression blend. I'm not sure how these pickups would be affected by this especially since they are slightly compressed to begin with... or how they would react with pedals such as tube screamers or heavier dirt. Possibly overthinking this but again figured I would ask.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Pickup Upgrade on HSS MIM Strat

The STK-S4 have wonderful clean tones. The lows are like a piano, and the highs remain sweet. It is my favorite sound out of them.

 

[PK44]

Re: Pickup Upgrade on HSS MIM Strat

I'm going to attempt to do this myself, searched the wiring diagram area but couldn't find anything on the SD pickup diagram area for the two options below:

H-S-S

Option 1: 1 Vol 2 Tone, using the bottom tone for hb and the first for Neck and Middle (currently bottom tone is middle pickup), position 2 auto-split (stock HSS does this)

Option 2: Same as above, but position 1, coil split to single coil only.


From another post, if I split to the slug which is more common, I would need to put the RWRP in the neck. If I split to the screw, RWRP goes in the middle. Does RWRP in the neck change anything about the sound in the 4/5 positions?


This is Standard MIM HSS from 2016 so I'm not sure if they used RW/RP. The attached diagram was all I could find and it doesn't appear so, everything looks standard with 250 pots. Not straying away from this too far other than an option to split with one and the tone for the humbucker.

Again, thanks everyone for the help and feedback on my questions.