Strat bridge humbucker ideas for Surf/Country/Prog?

[Kostop]

Hi Everyone, new member here

I have a Fender American Special HSS strat which I use mainly for playing Surf, Country, Bluegrass, Progressive, Psychedelic and a little bit of hard rock. It has an Alder body, mahogany fretboard, 2 Texas Specials single coils and a Fender Atomic Humbucker. Overall it's a great guitar, albeit a bit too bright for my liking. I really like the neck TS pickup and I am planning to keep it. I never use the middle pickup, it sits there mainly to complement the other pups in positions 2&4.
I definitely want to replace the humbucker, as it sounds completely indifferent and it has too much top end shrill in my opinion.

I am looking for something with rich bottom end, clarity and a touch of twang.
Not trying to turn my strat into a Les Paul, what I want to achieve is a distinct tone that has rich lows without getting too muddy, with elements of a filtertron punch and twang.
I know that many will say what I am describing here is called a telecaster, but I really like the flexibility and feel of my strat, so I am looking for a solution that combines the best of both worlds, or at least gets as close as possible.

Any ideas would be more than welcome! Thx

 

[VinceT]

Re: Strat bridge humbucker ideas for Surf/Country/Prog?

TVJones Powertron comes to mind https://store.tvjones.com/powertron---mounting-options-c45.aspx


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Mincer]

Re: Strat bridge humbucker ideas for Surf/Country/Prog?

Welcome to the forum!

I'd pick the 59/Custom Hybrid. It has a great split sound (for the twang) and has nice, tight bass. I use it in an HSS Strat, and it balances well with the singles, too.

 

[Kostop]

Re: Strat bridge humbucker ideas for Surf/Country/Prog?

Thank you both for your suggestions. The 59 Custom Hybrid was already on my radar. I was not aware of the Powertron, but the sample clips on the TV Jones website sound awesome. Time for some YouTube searching.....

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Strat bridge humbucker ideas for Surf/Country/Prog?

For surf or country, the single coil sound is king.
Have you considered getting an sss pickguard and then going all singles?
Going by the descriptions of the sounds you like (re: twang, punch, clarity etc) I reckon another texas special would fit the bill perfectly. They are a lot more gutsy than most vintage style single coils with some real heft in the lows and some growl in the midrange (something normally associated with humbuckers). They sound really excellent when using overdrive.
One advantage of an sss setup is that all three pickups sound their best when wired to 250k pots (buckers usually need 500ks)
Another advantage is that your guitar will have a ton of character in all 5 positions, rather than a bland and generic middle of the road "rock" sound in the bridge.
Added to this, you can dial in your amp to sound good in all five positions, rather than trying to find a setting that is a compromise between the singles and the humbucker sounding good.
Plus...twang for days...AND you already have t.specs in the neck and bridge already so it will be a matched set!
If you do go this way, taking into account your preference for not too much treble in the bridge, I would recommend adding a small jumper wire in the 5 way so that the tone control governs both the middle and bridge.

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Strat bridge humbucker ideas for Surf/Country/Prog?

Sounds like a job for the TwangBanger. And a tone control jumper as gibson175 suggested.

PRS Starla humbuckers are very Gretschy in character. I've heard DiMarzio has a humbucker like that too, one of the Evo models I think.

You might also think about the Quarter Pound Strat for the bridge. It has big lows and fat mids, packs a punch yet retains a distinctive singlecoil attack.

 

[Kostop]

Re: Strat bridge humbucker ideas for Surf/Country/Prog?

Indeed, nothing beats single coils for "true" twang. But there are times when I need to switch to a slightly thicker tone and that's when the HSS configuration comes handy.
I am a big fan of the texas Specials by the way. I have found the perfect setting for them; Overdrive at maximum, volume knob down to 2-3. A fuzzy twangy growl that cannot be beaten. They also work better with thicker string gauges in my opinion.

I don't know much about PRS pickups to be honest, but the Starla humbuckers sound promising from what I have heard on YT.

 

[Kostop]

Re: Strat bridge humbucker ideas for Surf/Country/Prog?

Thanks for the advice everyone.
I have finally ordered the '59 Custom Hybrid
This video gave me the final push

 

[Mincer]

Re: Strat bridge humbucker ideas for Surf/Country/Prog?

Awesome! Let us know how it works out! I love the 2 that I have!

 

[cherryagent]

Re: Strat bridge humbucker ideas for Surf/Country/Prog?

Right decision . I accidently got one myself and the thing is amazing for everything from cristal cleans, to crushing Distortion... Hope you enjoy it