Trying to decide on a pups config for...

cohibacris

cohibacris

New member
Hey there everyone - first time poster and I hope I don't stray out of norms... I'm building (well, Warmoth is) a one-off chambered Strat; Maple on Swamp Ash. The neck is a Maple w/Pau Ferro fingerboard and a Schaller locker. H-S-H routing...

With that out of the way, I'm building this triple pickup rig to fill the void in my guitar harem that is an ultra flexible tone rig on the heavier side. I would like to get a range of sounds out of this thing that rivals the Epi Ultra 339 on the heavier side of the spectrum. I’m not afraid of wiring and plan on coil tapping at least part of the configuration. If my experience holds (quite limited I might add) then the neck to bridge range would include an ecclectic mix of sounds that could easily play the straight ahead stuff but also get to the Vai/Petrucci edges of sanity sounds. I hope that I am making sense….

What would you put into this particular rig?

My music particulars are Dave Matthews Band, Metallica (esp the lower dynamics stuff (middle of Day that Never Comes)); Rush – esp the Gretsch work Lifeson does; Motorhead crunch; Adrian Smith of Maiden; you get the idea…

I've also got a Tradition (knock-off LP) with SD Hot Rods and the Epi U-339 with a Taylor 412CE to fill out the guitar kit - so I'm hoping I can get the rest of the general tone library with this new rig as the finisher. I know this is a long first post but hopefully not too long & enough info...

Cheers everyone,:thanks:
Cris
 
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Re: Trying to decide on a pups config for...

Welcome to the forum!

From my experience, the best thing I can recommend is the sound samples that SD offers of the different pickups. Get yourself some good speakers or headphones to listen to them. That helped me narrow my selection down to what I eventually put in my Strat (Lil 59 bridge, Duckbucker middle, Lil 59 neck). I knew I wanted hum canceling and a versatile sounding guitar....more Les Paul-ish was the general sound I was aiming for while still being able to retain some Strat twang. I read the descriptions of the SD pickups to get about 5 or 6 different models that seemed to suit my needs, and from there I carefully listened to the audio samples to help narrow down my choices.
 
Re: Trying to decide on a pups config for...

Chris of Arabia said:
That sounds very like my Warmoth Strat which has a C5 and JazzN on it, no middle pup though - you can check it out here for a few more build details
Click to expand...

You and I are on the same page; here's the body (photoshop stitched together; no rout; will be amber dye finished) attached.... You have a beautiful set of kit there Chris!

After many rounds & a flat spot on me head, I've settled into the following (Chris we're quite close on sounds for sure, I just wanted a little fatter sound on the neck)

SH-10 Full Shred (7.4k - Treble-8; Mid-4; Bass-4)
SHR-1 Hotrails (10.8k - Treble-4; Mid-7; Bass-5)
Dimebucker (16.25k - Treble-8; Mid-5; Bass-6)

Any obvious 'no-no's' with that config? I will likely include coil-tapped options and if it visually works out the tripleshot rings as well...
 
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Re: Trying to decide on a pups config for...

hareek said:
Welcome to the forum!

From my experience, the best thing I can recommend is the sound samples that SD offers of the different pickups. Get yourself some good speakers or headphones to listen to them. That helped me narrow my selection down to what I eventually put in my Strat (Lil 59 bridge, Duckbucker middle, Lil 59 neck). I knew I wanted hum canceling and a versatile sounding guitar....more Les Paul-ish was the general sound I was aiming for while still being able to retain some Strat twang. I read the descriptions of the SD pickups to get about 5 or 6 different models that seemed to suit my needs, and from there I carefully listened to the audio samples to help narrow down my choices.
Click to expand...

Thanks hareek - Yeah I think I have cauliflower ear from the earphones and those sound files (both SD, DiMarzio, etc etc...) I guess my real quandray is whether picking a specific pickup will be sub optimal from another. My ignorant but eager brain (with available knowledge & personal experience) would say, "Don't put the Custom 5 in the bridge with a SH10 Full Shred in the neck - it'll wash out the C5..." - voodoo BS, perhaps, but I don't have access to the DC outputs from the web to know for sure.

Ostensibly, my thinking is that the choices are so varied and the sound differences so subtle in the same class of pup, that there might be a formula to say, "Oh - you want that; do this..." inside the brains of the wonks in this forum & tech desks, etc. Given the subtlties and the wide range of choices it 'feels' like I'm a moron with a stock car stereo and no head unit/surround sound for my TV walking into the tube driven McIntosh section of the store and being bewildered by the choice.

I know in the end what I want, and I can sort of describe that to others - but the three sounds coming together making a new noise is a realm I've not gotten to yet (so far as figuring out how they blend/work together)....

Cheers mate, and thanks again :approve:
 
Re: Trying to decide on a pups config for a H-H-H Custom strat...

Re: Trying to decide on a pups config for a H-H-H Custom strat...

cohibacris said:
You and I are on the same page; here's the body (photoshop stitched together; no rout; will be amber dye finished) attached.... You have a beautiful set of kit there Chris!

After many rounds & a flat spot on me head, I've settled into the following (Chris we're quite close on sounds for sure, I just wanted a little fatter sound on the neck)

SH-10 Full Shred (7.4k - Treble-8; Mid-4; Bass-4)
SHR-1 Hotrails (10.8k - Treble-4; Mid-7; Bass-5)
Dimebucker (16.25k - Treble-8; Mid-5; Bass-6)

Any obvious 'no-no's' with that config? I will likely include coil-tapped options and if it visually works out the tripleshot rings as well...
Click to expand...


My build blog is on my site: http://www.crisrogers.com/2012/05/04/taking-the-plunge/

Ok - part two of the $24 dollar question;

I've settled on a H-H-H; Full Shred, SHR-1 Hot Rails and Dimebucker configuration. (it's not soldered but I'm pretty sure those tones give me what I want)...

I also want to (as previously mentioned) get a bit nuts with the options for selection, so...

I would like to ring the neck and bridge with the triple shot's and run two volumes/one tone alongside a 5way - 4 pole switch. My to be guitar is a rear mount so the controls are preset that way. I can add micro switches but I'd be loathe to omit anything (or end up doing a null knob option). I'd do three triple shots but the middle is an SC space, with the Hot Rails, so I'm outta luck there. I'm also pretty sure I'll end up needing Push/pull DTDP pots for this setup (although technically I'm ignorant as to why).

Any advice on wiring? I've read reams of advice on H-H-H configurations, and even a 4 pole, two vol one tone setup or one that includes the triple shots. I've yet to see something that is this customized in the Strat controls layout. My goal is total (or near as makes no difference) control of the way the pickups are used. If adding a Jimmy Page six-way switch is the only eventual solution, so be it, but I'm hoping a wiring supra-genius will take empathy/pity and offer a schematic or just some advice. Thanks everyone!
 
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Re: Trying to decide on a pups config for a H-H-H Custom strat...

Re: Trying to decide on a pups config for a H-H-H Custom strat...

cohibacris said:
snip

I also want to (as previously mentioned) get a bit nuts with the options for selection, so...

I would like to ring the neck and bridge with the triple shot's and run two volumes/one tone alongside a 5way - 4 pole switch. My to be guitar is a rear mount so the controls are preset that way. I can add micro switches but I'd be loathe to omit anything (or end up doing a null knob option). I'd do three triple shots but the middle is an SC space, with the Hot Rails, so I'm outta luck there. I'm also pretty sure I'll end up needing Push/pull DTDP pots for this setup (although technically I'm ignorant as to why).

Any advice on wiring? snip
Click to expand...

Hopefully this will help anyone skilled enough to get what I'm after. I'd like to (fantasy island land) have a neck/mid volume pot and a bridge volume pot with a single tone and a supra switch. Since the switch doesn't (to my untrained eyes) fit in well with a dual volume setup, I'm content to do a single vol and dual tone. The trick is I want to have override control of the neck and bridge pups regardless of the switch. and I'm stuck on the wiring..... Help!@?:banghead::banghead::wizard:
 
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Re: Trying to decide on a pups config for...

cohibacris said:
Ostensibly, my thinking is that the choices are so varied and the sound differences so subtle in the same class of pup,
Click to expand...

This is somewhat true. I did have a hard time telling the difference between a few like Lil 59 versus the JB Jr. I ended up just biting the bullet and taking the chance on the 59 since it seemed to give the best overall tone from what I read and heard. Unfortunately I'm not as well experienced in the full size humbucker area, so hopefully some of the other brains around here can provide some better insight.
 
Re: Trying to decide on a pups config for...

Thanks hareek - sometimes it's just nice to hear "I dunno" vs nothing at all, you know? Cheers
 
Re: Trying to decide on a pups config for...

cohibacris said:
Thanks hareek - sometimes it's just nice to hear "I dunno" vs nothing at all, you know? Cheers
Click to expand...

haha yeah when you don't know, you don't know. Aint no sense in trying to fake it. Good luck!
 
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