Vintage Hot Stack pickup buzzing.

[TheDarkOne]

Hello all, new user here. Great site and so many helpful topics. Awesome.

I have a slight problem with an old "Hot Stack" pickup. Have had a search and couldn't really find what I'm looking for, sorry about the new "newbie" thread.

I have installed the pickup into a mexican Fender S/S/S strat following this diagram: https://docs.google.com/gview?embed...ploads/2016/05/1SCH_1S_1SCH_5W_1VppSPL_2T.pdf (single coil hum, single coil, single coil hum, push/pull. The 2nd diagram in the "strat" list).

All works fine and is sounding great, however, when I switch to the mid/bridge position I have that single coil buzz. Have heard that swapping the wires around can help, but I don't know which ones? It's an old pickup I don't want to damage it by repeated installs/soldering etc otherwise would just try work it out by myself.

Any help, or advice that could steer me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

^Edit, the Hot Stack is in the bridge, and using the standard mexican single coils in mid and neck. Push/pull is on tone pot^

Thanks guys.

From a forum newbie.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Vintage Hot Stack pickup buzzing.

Welcome to the Forum!

Usually, Fender's and SD's pickups are wired opposite. You may try reversing the green and black on the SD pickup (bare goes to ground) and see if it remains in phase with the middle and cancels hum.

Is the middle pickup rw/rp? Does it cancel hum with the neck & middle?

 

[TheDarkOne]

Re: Vintage Hot Stack pickup buzzing.

Thanks Mincer, ill give that a crack, yep I think the mid is reverse wound as it was all good and silent in the mid positions before the swap. Mid-neck still humbucks. It is also possible I guess that being a "stacked" pickup, that hum cancelling won't even work, due to the 2 coils?

Yep have read that Fender pups are wired reverse to SD, but also read they are wound the same as SD's. Hence my confusion about what to do.

I'm wondering now if just swapping the neck and mid would work? Surely this buzz would be a common problem? Knowing me I have probably just done something wrong hahaha, but I really don't think so.

Welcome to the Forum!

Usually, Fender's and SD's pickups are wired opposite. You may try reversing the green and black on the SD pickup (bare goes to ground) and see if it remains in phase with the middle and cancels hum.

Is the middle pickup rw/rp? Does it cancel hum with the neck & middle?

 

[TheDarkOne]

Re: Vintage Hot Stack pickup buzzing.

So, I just swapped the black and green on the SD- and buzz got much worse, humbucker mode is also buzzing now, where it was very quiet before.

Any one else been through this with hot rails or hot stacks?

Thanks.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Vintage Hot Stack pickup buzzing.

Don't swap the Duncan wires, swap the Fender wires.

Also you are talking Bridge/Middle with the pot in single cool mode, right? In full humbucker mode, the single coil will always hum when added to the HB.

 

[TheDarkOne]

Re: Vintage Hot Stack pickup buzzing.

Ohh, another from the Dark side, Hello and thanks for the reply.

Okay, ill try flipping the mid and neck wires see if that helps, and yep, I meant with bridge in single coil mode it buzzes in mid/bridge mode.

Should I/could I even just "turn around" one of the pickups do you think?

 

[jeremy]

Re: Vintage Hot Stack pickup buzzing.

physically moving the pup doesnt effect the polarity

 

[TheDarkOne]

Re: Vintage Hot Stack pickup buzzing.

Okay, so I swapped the wires in mid and neck pups, and buzzing again got worse. Rewired it all back up normal about to give up- then I remembered I had a set of neck and mid single coils from a 94' Jackson Soloist and thought I would try them out instead.

Bam, problem solved first go. It still softly buzzes when selecting both mid/bridge pickups (when on single coil mode), but it is a quiet/gentle/normalish buzz and prob the closest to in phase can get them. They do sound in phase, maybe just need to shield the cavities a bit better.

Another thing I noticed, is that with the Fender pickups installed, that the Duncan would slightly buzz when I touched it's polepeice/blade, now that has completely stopped?? Very odd.

Not sure if I want to keep these pickups in there forever though, and I'm sure that others may have a similar issue in future so do please continue to post solutions in this thread guys. Or delete it, whatever suits best. Thanks for the assistance too, I think you were all right all along, just a funny set/fender set of pickups the blame.


So the negative now is: I now have Jackson Soloist pickups in a Fender Strat.

The positive is: I now have Jackson Soloist pickups in a Fender Strat.


Will update the "sound" in a few days, could be interesting.

Thanks, from

TheDarkOne

 

[Mincer]

Re: Vintage Hot Stack pickup buzzing.

My guess is the soft buzz is there because even though they are in phase and hum cancelling, they are sensing very different parts of the string, so they won't be totally silent.

 

[TheDarkOne]

Re: Vintage Hot Stack pickup buzzing.

Update:

Sounds great now. The Hot Stack is a beast! Defiantly given the strat a lot more bite I'm into metal and mainly own RG's and Dinky's. Only bought the strat for something different, and to have a guitar in E standard for once. Dabbling in the "tallica's and such was not the best on it, but it can at least keep up to the Ibanez's now if I need, without that single coil buzz and stratty thinness/lack of harmonics. The strat actually squeals now \m/ \m/

Sounds SO cool through the Zoom G2 "acoustic sim" patch too. Real plucky and warm for a bridge. Little to no noise. Will be good for recording some clean stuff me thinks. Now I think I want them in the mid and neck, but I do like the idea of just getting the original Fender neck/mid ones working one day for "genuineness sake/sound".

The Jackson pickups (mid/neck) suprisingly seem a little weaker than the "mexican fender" ones. Still, they sound nice enough and at least don't buzz or make the Hot Stack buzz. So they will do for now but it is annoying me that they kinda shouldn't be in it.. A strat should have strat pickups IMO.

If anybody comes up with a way to chuck 'em back in without the buzzing/polarity/phase issues with the Duncan, I would be very keen to hear it.

Thanks

TheDarkOne

 

[Mincer]

Re: Vintage Hot Stack pickup buzzing.

I am happy you like the Hot Stack. I love the Classic Stacks, with the Hot Stack in the bridge. It is a great combination.