What pickups would you choose for an H/S setup?

I used to be a Duncan dealer and tried every combo of a single coil sized neck pickup and full sized bridge humbucker I could think of.

I gave up.

For me, that "perfect" combo doesn't exist.

I like guitars with a pair of humbuckers or guitars with two or three single coils.

Anything else doesn't sound good enough for me and is too much of a compromise.
 
Generally, I think the HS combo is a tough one. There is always a compromise between balance and output, where the perfect single coil is quieter than a normal humbucker.
 
This is one of those things that is SO subjective. To me, the "standard" is either HH, (aka, Les Paul), or SSS, (aka, Stratocaster). Of course, a Tele is also pretty standard. My favorite Tele is SH. A Jerry Donahue in the bridge, with a full humbucker in the neck. I think it's a 59 or A2 Pro. Middle position of the 3-way splits the humbucker, and it works/sounds great.

There's a lot of fun things you can do with HS when you do a non-standard single in the neck. Like HR's, CR's, VR's, Duck's, etc. Stacks and STK's. It's a fun road.

And I'd love to try that Parallel Axis single in there sometime. I bet a PATB-1b and Parallel Axis single stack could be sweet.
 
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ColeJustesen said:
I have a GJ2 Arete that utilizes a humbucker in the bridge and a single coil in the neck. I actually really like the sound of the stock pickups, however there is a volume disparity between the two. I was thinking of swapping out the neck pickup for a stacked single coil to help match levels. That said I am not sure which one would be the best. I predominantly play rock style music, so I need something that can do gain and cleans well.

My guitar is a sapele body and neck, with a rosewood fretboard. The bridge humbucker reminds me of a Duncan '59 volume and sound wise. I was looking at the STK-S4 or the STK-S7, but not sure which would match the best. I think I like the sound of the STK-S7 more than the STK-S4. If I wanted to change the humbucker to match the STK-S7 best, what humbucker would match it the best. What do you all suggest? Maybe a Custom/STK-S7 set?

Cole
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I'd be playing with pickup and polepiece height to equal out the volume before ripping out pickups that I like. You'll have to do all this pickup tweaking with a new set anyways, so why not get weird with height adjustments first? I've had good success with lowering pickups as far as they'll go, and then raising polepieces up almost a full inch. Get weird!
 
I've had a few HS setups. The best one was Brobucker in the bridge and APS-2 in the neck. Really good setup.

If I was to do one today, probably Custom Custom, Perpetual Burn or Screamin' Demon with a STK-S7 in the neck.
 
Part of the problem is that singles tend to sound best with 250K volume pots and humbuckers tend to sound best with 500K volume pots.

I think if I owned a guitar already routed for a neck single size pickup and a bridge full size humbucker I'd go for something like a bridge Antiquity HB and for the neck a Little 59.
 
i think the stks4/59b combo with 250k pots would be good. stks6/custom with 500k pots would be good for a higher output alternative
 
IME, The Brobucker sounded great with a 250k volume when I had that setup. So does the Screamin' Demon. Both a great candidates to match with a neck single-coil.

Another option is use a 500K volume put but toss a 470K resistor in parallel with the pickup to ground to make it "see" 250K. The middle and neck positions on the switch see roughly 250K but the bridge only sees 500K. Or do the George Lynch trick and uses a push/push pot to switch between the two, also with that same resistor in place for the neck pickup.
 
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Well, whatever you use singles in the neck for and whatever you use bridge humbuckers for without that damn middle pickup getting in the way. Also, it's useful for people like me who don't like the "quack" positions.
 
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TVFV said:
Well, whatever you use singles in the neck for and whatever you use bridge humbuckers without that damn middle pickup getting in the way. Also, it's useful for people like me who don't like the "quack" positions.
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:laugh2:
 
There has been a lot of great information posted in here. Thanks for all the input!

I originally thought about something like a Lil '59 for the neck, and somewhat thought that it would defeat the purpose. That said, I have really enjoyed them in the past. I feel like they have a certain clarity that a full size humbucker can't achieve due to the smaller coils. I figured but using an overwound stacked coil, I could get the noise free benefit and for the most part, a single coil sound. I have come to really enjoy the P90 sound, especially in the neck. So having the overwound stack can somewhat check those boxes.

Thanks again for the input!

Cole
 
TVFV said:
I suppose my response came off as a little harsh. That was not my intention and you have my apologies.
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No prob man. I was just concerned that I had irritated you. Sometimes it's difficult to get tone of voice into text. It's all good. :beerchug:
 
ErikH said:
... Screamin' Demon with a STK-S7 in the neck.
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Have you really tried that combo? I tried it and IMHO it's not a good match, except if you like a dark neck and a bright bridge. The STK-S4 is a better match to the Screamin Demon, and the SD works very well with a 250k volume pot. Check that demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-xkwOtdvRM&t=107s
This is with SSL-1 neck/middle and a PG bridge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggTyXwkwQx8

I would match the STK-S7 neck with a high output dark humbucker pickup in the bridge, but I suspect the STK-S7 will be very dark with a 500k pot.

Edit: My mistake, STK-S7 might actually sound better in the neck with a 500k pot. It's dark in the neck with 250k (and very nice in the bridge with 250k).
 
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i wouldnt think the stks7 would be overly dark with 500k pots. might be dark compared to the sd in the bridge though. in the neck with 250k too dark for my taste for sure
 
Mincer said:
That sounds like a great setup, too. What's the sound difference between the Little 59 in series or parallel?
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To my ears, it gets thinner and brighter than series, but still not as single coil-like as a Cool Rails in parallel.

Does cleaner tones very well in parallel, since in parallel it can get boomy.

Gainier tones get a bit of "stratiness" to them, more in feel that in sound.

I just love it either way, at least on the aforementioned guitar.
 
jeremy said:
i wouldnt think the stks7 would be overly dark with 500k pots. might be dark compared to the sd in the bridge though. in the neck with 250k too dark for my taste for sure
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You are right, I edited my post.
Actually it makes a lot of sense having the STK-S7 in the neck with 500k pots. Me it was wired with 250k which I think sounds better for the Screamin Demon in the bridge.
Your fault jeremy now I want to try a STK-S7 neck with a bridge humbucker!!!! Any suggestion for "hotter than a Screamin Demon and a bit darker too"?
 
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