Inflames626
New member
Correction to my earlier statement about Hamer: I think Phil had a signature DG555 from Ibanez that was a 3 H. I thought it was a Hamer.
Rise and Fall of 3 Humbucker Guitars
- Thread starter Inflames626
- Start date
I don’t like Strat middles either. They get in the way of hybrid picking.
uOpt
Something Cool
It's easy to test.
Strum a bit with the right hand on the bridge pickup on a 2-humbucker guitar. Use the left hand to move around a spare humbucker around the middle position. You can hear the sound change.
(I don't say it gets worse. Just saying it is an audible change)
Aceman
I am your doctor of love!
They are playing shrimp fork Dean Caddy's in that. That is the vid that sent me on my Cadillac quest.
Mikelamury
New member
I don't think it's that big of a deal about the middle pickup getting in the way. I mean once you start playing I wouldn't even notice. So what if the pick scrapes across the top of the middle pickup? If it was a sound I was after I wouldn't let that even be a factor, I would set the height where it sounded best and if my strumming grazes the pickup cover then so be it, once I start playing I wouldn't even be able to tell I'm scraping the pickup unless I looked at it or the pickup made some noticeable sound.
eclecticsynergy
New member
Even aside from the placement, I believe there are plenty of Strat players who don't like the tone of the middle.
Blackmore of course, but I've seen plenty of forum posts from Strat guys saying they never use middle position.
I pick hard and deep myself, and I too find a middle hum is sort of annoyingly in the way. I only have one triple hum guitar.
Still, I agree: once the lights go up and the music starts you don't notice it anymore.
DCikes88
New member
I'm sure there are lots of them, I know some. I really like the middle position on my Strat. My least favorite pickup on a classic Strat layout is the bridge. I don't want to touch anything on this Strat, but I'd love another one for a HSS or HH layout.
I've never played a three hum guitar, but if I never had issues with the middle pup on a Strat while strumming/picking (or not enough to notice it affects my playing in a negative way), I doubt the humbucker would be that much different. Possibly even better.
Regarding sounds of a HHH guitar, my big heroes that used them made em sound great, so I believe there's something there, but it's obviously a matter of taste.
Looks, cmon. 3 gold covers on a black LP? Liking that is a scientific fact.
eclecticsynergy
New member
I actually like using middle position on Strats; it's at the bridge where I want some extra beef. Wouldn't mess with a vintage Strat of course, but most of my others have a stronger bridge pickup: Quarter Pound, Onamac Pinktone bridge, RioGrande Halfbreed, D.Allen Echoes bridge, and a Zhangbucker Paul Bunyan. Also a few with bridge humbuckers.
Inflames626
New member
I thought I noticed that based on the headstocks based on a rewatch or two--still there were so many lawsuit guitars around at that time (70s-80s) that I wasn't sure.
Dean is a brand I could never get into. I always found Dime's MLs to be tacky looking. His Washburn versions were a little better. I liked the DBZ designs a little better as they were sleeker.
But on the whole, yeah, I've always found some Dean lovers to be like folks who realllyyyy love the gawdy pink flamingos on their lawns. ; )
Artie
Peaveyologist
I don't use the middle much either, but I have one Strat with a Zhang middle pup, and I love it. It's one of my favorite pups.
alex1fly
Well-known member
Meh. Same reason there's Nashville Teles with middle pickups but 90% of folks gravitate towards the standard setup. Middle pickups sound different but not necessarily good and Strats already do notch tones better than anything. They make wiring needlessly complicated. They can get in the way, moreso than a middle single coil. They're just... not necessary beyond novelty. Learn to work the volume controls of a 2 humbucker guitar and you can get tons of tonal variety, no middle pickup needed. Do coil splits on those two humbuckers and you get even more useful tonal variety.
Middle is one of my favorite positions on a Strat. Nasal and cuts right through, also sounds different than anything.
Middle is one of my favorite positions on a Strat. Nasal and cuts right through, also sounds different than anything.
alex1fly
Well-known member
Dean basses rule. I have two - one cheapo P, one mid-level Jazz. Both basses beat out all other basses I tried in stores when I was building my bass stable. Superb construction and playability, beautiful frets, gigtastic tones. But yes.... one of them is an awful gawdy neon green but it worked because I was in a reggae/dub band at the time
DCikes88
New member
.... one of them is an awful gawdy neon green but it worked because I was in a reggae/dub band at the time
No matter the personal taste, I believe no instrument collection is complete without atleast one "gawdy" specimen.
beaubrummels
Well-known member
Two of my three Strats are 1960's models, so they only have 3-way, so I find the middle option useful, for rhythm clean or edge/gritty rhythm, at least.
Just like everyone need a "sticker guitar".
Inflames626
New member
Dean basses rule. I have two - one cheapo P, one mid-level Jazz. Both basses beat out all other basses I tried in stores when I was building my bass stable. Superb construction and playability, beautiful frets, gigtastic tones. But yes.... one of them is an awful gawdy neon green but it worked because I was in a reggae/dub band at the time
I may have seen the exact same specimen when I was working in a local high school. I think it was a neon green PJ owned by the band teacher. It struck me as particularly out of place in that setting. But I just thought, "That's a Dean being a Dean." Like Dean Zelinsky himself, not the easiest thing to work with.
I'll be a little kinder. I *do* like their more traditional looking stuff like their MAB and Rusty Cooley lines (I want one of his 8 strings with a scale length for a high A). But for the most part the styling of Deans and their derivatives alienate me. And I'm a guy who likes BC Rich.
Inflames626
New member
Getting slightly off topic but back to 3 pickups, one thing I miss about this period (late 70s-early 80s) is the degree of experimentation involved, especially from Japanese guitars.
I think something like a Fernandes BX-70 looks badass. I almost got one, but with Fernandes mostly out of business now except in Japan and a lot of the bridge designs in the late 70s-early 80s being kind of wonky because they were trying to come up with their own Floyd Rose or Kahler, I didn't buy it.
Yeah, I don't like Deans, but I like obscure pointy Japanese things from the 80s like Fender Heartfields. Go figure. : )
I think something like a Fernandes BX-70 looks badass. I almost got one, but with Fernandes mostly out of business now except in Japan and a lot of the bridge designs in the late 70s-early 80s being kind of wonky because they were trying to come up with their own Floyd Rose or Kahler, I didn't buy it.
Yeah, I don't like Deans, but I like obscure pointy Japanese things from the 80s like Fender Heartfields. Go figure. : )
Inflames626
New member
Also, regarding a middle pickup, I'm a big fan of Sustainers/Sustainiacs. I have a Jackson DK2 with one. It sounds pretty good as a pickup but you do sacrifice some tone for the sustainer function in the neck positon.
A sustainer being used in the bridge is probably less useful since the strings don't vibrate as much, but maybe with a third pickup in the center, either as HHH or HSH, a sustainer could be used in the middle and a proper neck pickup retained?
I like complex wiring schemes. I would love to build something with a Sustainer, Graphtech Ghost system, killswitch, Floyd Rose--the problem is by then things become very custom and expensive and you need someone who really knows what they are doing to make it work.
A sustainer being used in the bridge is probably less useful since the strings don't vibrate as much, but maybe with a third pickup in the center, either as HHH or HSH, a sustainer could be used in the middle and a proper neck pickup retained?
I like complex wiring schemes. I would love to build something with a Sustainer, Graphtech Ghost system, killswitch, Floyd Rose--the problem is by then things become very custom and expensive and you need someone who really knows what they are doing to make it work.
Similar threads
