Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

StratTom

StratTom

New member
I'm really wanting a new Strat but I'm torn if I should get a SSS or a HSS Strat. A few years ago, when I only had one guitar, I wanted a humbucker and decided to go with the hotrails. It's a great pickup and all but lately I've not been playing much punk or heavy rock stuff, so I feel like it may be too agressive for me, so maybe a SSS would be a nice fit. At the same time I feel that a new Strat will quickly become my favorite and I'll want the verisitility that a HSS will offer.

So what do you guys prefer, SSS or HSS? What makes or breaks it for you when it comes to the bridge pickup being a single or bucker in a Strat?
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

I like a S/S/H strat with a P90-sized humbucker in the bridge.

P90s give you all the fat and beef you need for heavy rock and metal but still have plenty of single coil clarity and definition for everything else.
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

My strat is sss with a mini humbucker in the bridge position, it's a GFS Lil' Killer. I think it's supposed to clone the Hot Rails. The thing is, I don't play metal at all. I go into some Van Halen every now and then, but other than that I play mostly rock, jazz, blues, and funk. It's never been to harsh for me.

I'd go with a standard sss, that way you have the option of just having a standard strat or sticking a mini HB in it. But since you have that SG, it looks like you've got that area covered anyway.
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

Of the true strats (strat body, pickguard) that I have, I've got:

H-S-S (rail hum)
H-S-S (full sized hum)
H-S-H (full sized hums)

Then two more Charvels that are
H-S-S and
HxH

And an Ibanez that's
H-S-H

So I guess from the evidence, I'd have to say that I prefer H-S-S. In all honesty, I probably make the most use of the HxH layout. I'm a 90% bridge hum player, so I can get by with single hum. I don't use the middle single, or the in-between position (2&4) unless I'm goofing around playing Little Wing. And I grew out of the neck single coil sound when I realized that a modded tubescreamer isn't the only way to get tone.
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

I like a full sized humbucker in the bridge position. The standard single coil bridge position pickup in a strat I find little use for. I mean I can live with it, but it's not ideal. I find single coils in the neck very useful, and a middle single coil is needed to get those unique notch position tones. A split option on the full sized bridge humbucker allows for a decent notch tone. With a full sized bridge humbucker you have the additional option of the full sized bridge humbucker tone; that I find much more useful for most bridge position playing, than a bridge single coil strat pickup.
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

Depends on how much Blackmore I listened to lately, but for general use I am pretty much settled for A2 PAF style humbuckers (e.g. the Pearly Gates) in a tremolo Strat-like.

A vintage Strat pickup at the bridge IMHO restricts the guitar for special use, I wouldn't like to "block" a well-playing and sounding instrument with that unless I had plenty - in which case you have one of each variant anyway.

I don't like overwound Strat-style pickups, I rather go PAF.

Things are different in a hardtail.
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

Empty Pockets said:
I like a S/S/H strat with a P90-sized humbucker in the bridge.

P90s give you all the fat and beef you need for heavy rock and metal but still have plenty of single coil clarity and definition for everything else.
Click to expand...

x2



With the volume all the way up and on the bridge / mid notch, or just the bridge, I get that humbucker growl and crunch, but I can roll the volume back, on a continuum, from 'bucker tones, to pure P90 tone, to a Tele tone, to a Strat tone.

Everyone should play a PSS Strat once, just to see what the deal is. I honestly believe I could fool you into "hearing" a LP tone, a Tele tone, a Strat tone, and a P90 tone just with changes in my volume knob.
 
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Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

Hehe, I'd just go with a H/H strat customization w/ a coil split on a 5 way switch. Any aftermarket Hum from the companies like Seymour Duncan or DiMarzio will most likely come with 4 conductor wiring, meaning that It has 4 electrical lines instead of 2, which is usually seen on cheap hums. The 4 lines allow the hum to be set up on a coil split, which splits the two coils of the hum and makes a single-coil sound. There are wiring diagrams on SD's home site for all kinds of wiring jobs, look up [2 humbucker, 1 volume, 1 tone coil split w/ 5 way switch] if you're interested in their wiring section.

I'm building one of those right now and They're really fun to work with. They give the versatility you want and a unique look, but you'll have to be willing to risk a pickup you may not have heard in your guitar before and the work hours required to complete it. And you'll have a pretty rare H/H strat.
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

SSS for me. I have many other guitars that are equipped with hummers, so I just use them when I need to. Usually when I gig I bring two guitars. One with singles(either a Tele or a Strat) and one with Humbuckers (either my 335, 359, Les Paul or Bluesbird)
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

I choose HSS.... more versatile.

Got to have the Humbucker in the Bridge for its Tough, Thick and Cutting Tones.
 
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Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

El CHupacabra said:
Hehe, I'd just go with a H/H strat customization w/ a coil split on a 5 way switch. Any aftermarket Hum from the companies like Seymour Duncan or DiMarzio will most likely come with 4 conductor wiring, meaning that It has 4 electrical lines instead of 2, which is usually seen on cheap hums. The 4 lines allow the hum to be set up on a coil split, which splits the two coils of the hum and makes a single-coil sound. There are wiring diagrams on SD's home site for all kinds of wiring jobs, look up [2 humbucker, 1 volume, 1 tone coil split w/ 5 way switch] if you're interested in their wiring section.

I'm building one of those right now and They're really fun to work with. They give the versatility you want and a unique look, but you'll have to be willing to risk a pickup you may not have heard in your guitar before and the work hours required to complete it. And you'll have a pretty rare H/H strat.
Click to expand...

I have a H/H guitar that I built like that. While it does increase the flexability over what is possible with a three way and two buckers, and some of the tones are very good themselves; the single coil tones by themselves or in combination are just not up to a classic single coil strat tone. I highly value the single coil strat tones from the neck or middle positions and can't do without the real deal. I can do without the bridge position single coil though. I would rather have a good humbucker there.
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

i have a truck load of guitars and most are strats or strat styles... i love SSS, HSS, a HH guitars for different reasons... but if i had to have just one strat i guess i'd have to have an HSS model....

but the thing is to get a Humbucker that is not going to over power the single coils.... i have a USA strat that i stuck a JB in the bridge and with distortion it's ok to switch to the Fender Noiseless in the neck and middle but with a clean channel forget it... the output difference is insane...

i have a newer MIM strat that i just stuck a Lil'59 in the bridge and it's a perfect match for the neck and middle pickups output... it gives a little boost and more mid's when you switch to the Lil'59 in the Bridge...
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

I use G&L Legacys (S-S-S) for about 60-70% of the classic rock, blues and country that I play.

When I want humbucker tones, I switch to a Les Paul, 335 or other 2HB guitar. Strats don't sound like Pauls, and Pauls don't sound like Strats.

Bill
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

For me, it depends on what I'm doing. If I'm recording, I love to layer a strat in there using the single coil bridge, which was one of Ace Frehley's manuevers. For live playing, I would probably rather have the bucker in the bridge, pref the P90 like everyone is saying.
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

Interesting to hear that alot of you really like the P90 bucker in the bridge. I might consider it although I've been wanting one of those PRS Soapbars as well, which would cover the P90 area.
 
Re: Which do you prefer, SSS or HSS Strats?

SSS just doesn't cut it for me.

With me it'll either have to be HSS or HH BUT in both cases with splitting the bucker(s) AND having the ability to turn BOTH neck and bridge at the same time (that's more of a problem for a typical HSS wiring rather than HH obviously).

See if I have HH I HAVE to be able to split at least the neck pickup and preferably, individually, both to fully make use of the HH setup.
With HSS all I need is a switch to split the bridge pickup and another to turn both neck and bridge on (usually I only use one switch for both) and I'm golden...
 
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