Bridge Humbucker In Strat

guitarmansteve77

Hi there,

I've just bought a Fender Custom Shop strat which has a hss set up, the single coils are Ancho Pablano and the bridge is a Seymour Duncan 59.

I find the 59 to be too thin and quite shrill on the high notes. I'm looking for something to give me a thick warm lead tone with smooth highs and a nice midrandge that stands out in the mix. I play mainly rock, blues and a bit of fusion.

Any suggestions would be great.

Cheers

Steve

Funkfingers

Is the Duncan '59 providing enough output? 

If so, its tone could be improved by changing the bar magnet from polished Alnico 5 to Alnico 4 or un-orientated Alnico 5. The highs could be smoothed by fitting a good quality metal cover.

For more output, consider the Duncan '59/Custom Hybrid or the custom shop Brobucker. 

axisus

As a generally good HB I have always liked the Bare Knuckle Crawler. BK are rather expensive though. 

guitarmansteve77

Thanks for the suggestions. I’m quite happy with the output, I like vintage to medium output and nothing too hot. I looked at the crawler @axisus ;but it’s double the output of the 59 and sounds  like it’s probably a more modern sounding pickup. I’ll check those other Duncan’s out @Funkfingers ;

guitarmansteve77

Some that I’ve been considering 

BKP Black Dog
BKP Abraxas
Duncan Pearly Gates
Dimarzio 36th Anniversary

Just discovered Creamery Pickups, anyone had any experience with them? It says that they will build them to the voicing of your choice. 

normula1

If you set the pickup heights correctly, The Crawler isn't massively overpowering but is much darker than the '59. It splits quite well too, I swapped mine out for a covered Bare Knuckle Mule which is probably more in line with your requirements, I split mine with a PRS style partial split.

guitarmansteve77

@normula1 does the crawler have that PRS style sound?

normula1

I wouldn't say so. It's kind of dark and smooth. I did like it but wanted something more "classic"

ICBM

If you're finding the '59 too thin, avoid the Pearly Gates - it's even more so.

Look at Oil City, Bareknuckle, Mojo or Creamery UK-made pickups that sound every bit as good as US-made ones and can often be custom-spec'ed.

Bear in mind that you probably need hotter/fatter-sounding pickup than you would chose for a Gibson, to get the same sort of tone in a Strat which is inherently brighter.

AdamHarkusBlog

You paid money for a custom shop strat only to have a humbuck put it the bridge?

Why not just get a Les Paul if you're after that sound?

guitarmansteve77

@AdamHarkusBlog cos I wanted a strat with a humbucker...... I never said I wanted a les Paul sound. 

AdamHarkusBlog

"Thick warm lead tone with smooth highs and a nice midrange that stands out in the mix"

Sounds like a Les Paul to me.

guitarmansteve77

Either way, I want to get that sound in my strat as I prefer strats. Any helpful suggestions would be appreciated. 

ICBM

AdamHarkusBlog said:

You paid money for a custom shop strat only to have a humbuck put it the bridge?

Why not just get a Les Paul if you're after that sound?

Sometimes you want both sounds in the same song, or you don't want to carry two guitars, or you prefer the feel of a Strat, or you don't like Les Pauls...

There aren't only two choices.

AdamHarkusBlog

I had a 59 recommended in the neck of my old LP.  This says to me it's brighter / clearer, so no as well suited for the bridge.

I'd get over to the pickup manufacture's sites for audio comparisons as it's a minefield and totally subjective.

andy_k

I've tried most of the Duncans for bridge on strats, agree avoid the pearly gates, have you considered a JB, its slightly hotter than a PAF, which isnt that hot anyway--Ancho Poblanos are quite high output arent they?
JBs were the pickups used in the original Kramer Barrettas, good for the EVH tones.
and if you get a chance, try out the Frankenstein, its a fantastic pickup-in one of mine it was the best bridge tone i'd heard. Since then , Bareknuckle VH11 are nice, Cold sweat sound good in a maple topped LP junior type, havent tried it in a strat though.
SD custom/59 hybrid is ok, screamin demon is a more trebly JB,
JB's are very under-rated in my opinion, and work very well in strat, trem equipped guitars.
YMMV--wildly, good luck with the journey.
cheers
andy k

Alegree

JB is slightly hotter?
It's approximately 40% more winds, much hotter than a PAF. You definitely won't get a volume match unless you're using hot singles.

You want a hot PAFish wind with an alnico 2 magnet I reckon.

kennedydream1980

The JB always worked best for me in strats, although I’m also quite fond of the custom 5 in my Yamaha 611.

CasperCaster

Hot PAF with A2 magnet = Duncan Custom Custom. Not as hot as a JB, tight bass, lots of mids, smooth treble.

andy_k

IMO, the JB is a bit hotter than a 59,  but is still  just a hot PAF, not an overwound  power thing, it used to be more about DC resistance, now its all about the magnets, you'll only know when you swap em, the JB was originally made as a hot PAF, and always  ( in my exp ) works really well for the bridge in a strat, being a humbucker, it allows for OOP and coil split as well, which also works well in a strat config, strats have other pickups, JBs work well enough on their own for certain things.
just my 2 cents anyway
cheers
andy k

andy_k

as a follow up, the last strat i put together, fat neck, light ash body, is waiting to have a JB installed--next string change it will be getting carved out for a JB, frankenstein style, it just works.