What pickups for double humbucker strat

J

jmcorey

New member
Play mostly at church through Traynor ycv40 with Emi Texas heat or Egnater Tweaker. I have a jb in the bridge, and want to replace it. Too modern sounding for the type of lead work I prefer, but good for distorted power chords.

I play lots of styles. Thinking of going with a vintage set, e.g., 59/59, PG/PG, etc. Would entertain higher output bridge HB, though. I am the guy they call to play leads or harder stuff, which goes as far as classic rock tones.

I've read some good things about custom 8.

Grateful for all suggestions.
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

What woods in the guitar, and what sort of bridge? How does the JB sound in it? Can give more specific recommendations with more information.

But here's some general possibilities:
If you want to thicken it up to get more of a Les Paul sound, might look at a PATB-3 and PATB-1n setup. That'd get you a hot, but vintage bridge sound, and a more vintage neck tone. With reduced string pull, more sustain, improved articulation, enhanced harmonic response and sweeter upper mids.

Some people feel they're too beefy for a fixed bridge, others love them both with floating vibratos and fixed bridges.

If you prefer the hybrid strat tone, go for any of the pickups you mentioned, they'll work. Custom 8 is fabulous for a hot but open tone, the '59 and PG are different takes on the classic PAF. Either can work fine as a neck pickup for the C8, matter of taste there.
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

If you feel the JB is too much already, the C8 is not what you're after. Check the Demon, PATB-3, PG+, 59, and S Deco. As far as a neck pickup is concerned, I dig the APHn as well as the PGn if you want something with a bit of grind to the upper mids.
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

+1 for the PG+. Plenty of crunchy drive but without overpowering the neck pickup.

Alternative suggestion #1 - Swap the magnet in the JB to A2. It will behave more like the Allan Holdsworth signature HB.

Alternative suggestion #2 - Install a DiMarzio Pro Parts special resistance taper volume pot. Use that to govern the level of valve saturation overdrive.

Suggestion #3 - Perform both of the above alterations.
 
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Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

Just use a 5-way switch and wire up some weaker sounding split options. You can get a neck single coil kind of sound (neck-side coil of your neck HB), and a notch-position type sound (parallel wiring of one coil from your bridge HB and one coil from your neck HB) for lighter sounds, and keep your regular humbucker for leads and heavily distorted parts.
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

Thanks for the input so far. Nice to see some familiar faces around, I haven't been here in a long time.

Spent some more time thinking about what I do not like re: the JB. Not snarly enough and a bit too smooth. When I jump to that from the 59 neck, it doesn't sound different enough. I of course HEAR the difference, but I am looking for something a bit thinner.
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

Woods in the guitar are alder body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard.
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

Super Distortion bridge--Air Norton neck, if you were considering other brands. In the hot-range, but not really "distorted", despite the name. Thick, meaty and nice cleans, the both of them. Very versatile.

But I have a similar guitar to yours' and after umpteen changes in pickup configurations, etc, it's now a single humbucker rocker with a Custom/59 hybrid with an A8 mag.... to me, the most perfect and versatile pickup I've ever heard in this kind of guitar. Basically this thing covers sounds I like in both bridge and neck positions. Just some food for thought.
 
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Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

OK, sounds like output isn't so much the problem as the JB's tone. Is it just thinner, or just broader that you want? The JB is rather focused a pickup, heavy on the upper mids. Though it should be better balanced in alder (ie, not soggy bottomed like it gets in say my basswood guitar), the rosewood fretboard might make the highs a bit too smooth.

I have a PATB-1b, it's pretty amazing. Can do smooth leads, but gets a great snarling crunch as well. Can move between the two with pick articulation, which is wild, I've never played a more responsive pickup. PATB-3 is similar, but with more of a classic PAF vibe. Both have mellower mids, and much broader lower mids and bass than the JB, and yet are tighter than the JB.

The 5-way suggestion is a good idea with any pair of 4-conductor humbuckers, a lot of pros do that (or even 6-way on some knob pickup selector models).

Magnet swaps are a great idea as well, the JB2 is a much more balanced pickup than the stock JB, might be a cheap fix to your problem. But it's not a thinner pickup than the stock JB, if anything thicker, but sweeter. Not as focused. But you may want something with less mids to balance out with the neck pickup more readily without amp fiddling.
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

Pearly Gator bridge and Jazz neck.

The Jazz is a great neck pickup if (and only if) you have a tremolo block to wake it up.
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

Funkfingers said:
Alternative suggestion #2 - Install a DiMarzio Pro Parts special resistance taper volume pot. Use that to govern the level of valve saturation overdrive.
Click to expand...

what the heck is that?



i would say a set of 59's or set of pearlys will be fine for you. if you already have a 59n just get a 59b and youll be fine.

jimmy herring plays a strat loaded with a pair of 59's and sounds great
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

So you're looking for a bridge that snarls and has bite to it...... Are you using 500ks with the JB?, BTW? If you dig the tone out of the '59, I say you keep it there. If not, go with a PGn. As for the bridge, based on your posts I think a Duncan Custom, C5, or PG would suit your needs.
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

oh, so its just a pot

Use that to govern the level of valve saturation overdrive
Click to expand...

thats the part that confused me
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

PATB 3 will do the trick if you want more vintage output than a JB. They come in at 10k but sound like they're underwound (ie less compressed). Still gives fat tone though....not sure how they manage to pull that one off???
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

I have an alder-bodied tele with a Seth set. Works great for classic rock. I used to have an alder-bodied strat with an Antiquity set which worked just as well as the Seths, albeit a bit milder-mannered.
 
Re: What pickups for double humbucker strat

jmcorey said:
Both.
Click to expand...

curious as to what you settled on? i have a new strat with factory HH and my ears are a hurtin so i'm gonna replace em with some SD's. just don't know which and was curious what you ended up with
 
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