To route or not to route - Hxx Strat to HxS or HSS

[dvadneau]

Hey all,

I'm looking for actual experience from anyone that has done this to a guitar. I want to know if there is a significant (or any) difference in tone after routing for a single coil neck pickup.

The Instrument:
I have an '85 MIJ Strat. It's alder with a medium scale (24-3/4") maple/rosewood neck/fretboard, vintage vibrato bridge and one humbucker at the bridge.

It's got a pickguard, and when I bought it I was hoping I'd find an HSS route or swimming pool, but no, it's only routed for the one humbucker.

The thing is it's a very sweet sounding guitar. Acoustically I could play it over any of my other guitars, even my 335. I'm still working on getting a good sound for the bridge humbucker.


What I really want is an HSS or SSS strat. I'm just looking at the possibility of routing my guitar, even if it's just to add a neck single coil.

For anyone that has routed a guitar to add a neck pickup, did you notice a significant change in tone afterwards?


I know my gut tells me to wait and buy an actual HSS/SSS strat, but I want to know if anyone has done the route and what was the outcome.

Thanks!

 

[CTN]

Re: To route or not to route - Hxx Strat to HxS or HSS

can't say I've done the conversion you're talking about, but I routed my SSS strat for HSS and the tone didn't really change at all.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: To route or not to route - Hxx Strat to HxS or HSS

NO, it will not, at least not enough that any normal human could hear it. You MIGHT be able to measure it in a lab, but turning your pick 5 or 10° has a much more noticable tonal impact.

How often have I done it? A few dozen if not hundred times.

I would go with your gut and wait for an SSS, or just grab a body and put the neck on that, though. THe 80s japanese fenders are starting to become somewhat of a collectible from what I gather. In other words, it will impact the value more than the tone. But it´s your guitar, so it´s your call.

 

[uOpt]

Re: To route or not to route - Hxx Strat to HxS or HSS

Not sure. The thing is that you aren't talking about enlarging routes. You are talking about taking something that has no route near the neck pocket at all and cut into that. If anything that could change things.

 

[dvadneau]

Re: To route or not to route - Hxx Strat to HxS or HSS

I would go with your gut and wait for an SSS, or just grab a body and put the neck on that, though. THe 80s japanese fenders are starting to become somewhat of a collectible from what I gather. In other words, it will impact the value more than the tone. But it´s your guitar, so it´s your call.

It's a Squier Strat, and it's got a good amount of body dings, etc. I'm not going to ever sell it for a lot of money. Although, if you ever played the neck you'd really think about it. It's got rolled edges and just fits perfectly in my hand. Luckily only the body has any damage, which is fine.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: To route or not to route - Hxx Strat to HxS or HSS

As far as tone goes, I'd just swimming pool rout that sucker and not look back. Some of the best sounding Strats and Strat-style guitars I've ever played (including every G&L I've ever looked under the guard of) had swimming pool routs. It's a total non consideration in the tone department IMO.

However, think about it first. Those early MIJ Fenders are becoming recognized as "modern classics," and for good reason. With the decent selection of single coil sized humbuckers out there, I'd at least do some research into those pickups before deciding to rout for bigger ones. How many times have we seen a cool old guitar for sale, and lamented the fact that someone routed it out for a larger pickup at some point? And how many times have we seen such a guitar sell for far less than it would have without the mods? I'm not saying that the guitar will ever be worth a ton of money, but I would at least consider maintaining its original construction.

Personally, if the guitar was a keeper, I'd do it with no qualms. But if I was just chasing a tone on a guitar that I wasn't exactly in love with, but which was fairly desirable on the market, I'd do a less permanent mod.

 

[dvadneau]

Re: To route or not to route - Hxx Strat to HxS or HSS

Not sure. The thing is that you aren't talking about enlarging routes. You are talking about taking something that has no route near the neck pocket at all and cut into that. If anything that could change things.

I know, all I can think about is EVH talking about how he ruined his Destroyer by cutting out that chunk near the bridge. I know I'm not him, at all, but I'd hate to ruin this guitar.

NO, it will not, at least not enough that any normal human could hear it. You MIGHT be able to measure it in a lab, but turning your pick 5 or 10° has a much more noticable tonal impact.

How often have I done it? A few dozen if not hundred times.

So, you're talking about cutting a single coil (or humbucker?) route where there was none before, in a guitar that was playable, and it didn't change the sound to any real degree? Hmm. I may try this out on a project build first.

Oh, and I can't just throw the neck on another body, unless I find another of the same. It's 24-3/4 scale, so, afaik, I can't just throw the neck on another body, or throw a stock neck on this body.


Thanks guys, much appreciated.


Anyone else have similar experiences?

 

[dvadneau]

Re: To route or not to route - Hxx Strat to HxS or HSS

@ Itsabass - I'd be putting a route where there was none before, not just resizing a single. I want a single at the neck. Right now, it's just a humbucker route at the bridge and the control cavity - being oversized for just a single pot and the jack, which is on the pickguard.

So torn...

 

[jacksontrader]

Re: To route or not to route - Hxx Strat to HxS or HSS

I'm going to do something similar to an old Charvel model 2. I hope it works out for you.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: To route or not to route - Hxx Strat to HxS or HSS

I know, all I can think about is EVH talking about how he ruined his Destroyer by cutting out that chunk near the bridge. I know I'm not him, at all, but I'd hate to ruin this guitar.

Yeah, and when you look at how huge the chunk is that he hacked out beneath the bridge, it´s no wonder the tone changed, he knocked out about 1/4 of the instrument´s total mass

Explorer:

Ed´s "Shark":

You want to take away less than a cubic inch of material, he was working on getting a cubic foot out of the guitar somehow. It´s comparable in the way that a Top Fuel dragster is comparable to a Prius :chairfall

So, you're talking about cutting a single coil (or humbucker?) route where there was none before, in a guitar that was playable, and it didn't change the sound to any real degree? Hmm. I may try this out on a project build first.

Yes, I am talking about standard guitar tech work, article 237c, "Installing a pickup where there wasn´t one before". I used to do it about once a month, sometimes 2-3 times.

Oh, and I can't just throw the neck on another body, unless I find another of the same. It's 24-3/4 scale, so, afaik, I can't just throw the neck on another body, or throw a stock neck on this body.

You are absolutely correct, I missed that, sry.

 

[dvadneau]

Re: To route or not to route - Hxx Strat to HxS or HSS

You want to take away less than a cubic inch of material, he was working on getting a cubic foot out of the guitar somehow. It´s comparable in the way that a Top Fuel dragster is comparable to a Prius :chairfall

LOL, fair enough

Yes, I am talking about standard guitar tech work, article 237c, "Installing a pickup where there wasn´t one before". I used to do it about once a month, sometimes 2-3 times.

I forget sometimes that there are people are here that are techs/luthiers as well. Cool. Thank you very much for taking the time to help out.