Bridge pickup advice

fretmeister

I have a lovely strat loaded with Lollar Black Face singles. They are awesome. But I need some grunt from the bridge, so I'd like to drop a bucker in there - ideally without needing to change the pots. Is there a humbucker that will play nice with a vintage control pot?

digitalscream

SD Lil '59 should do the trick.

Although, honestly, I'd probably be a total hooligan and put a Hot Rails in there

ICBM

The Li'l Screamin' Demon is miles better than either of them. It actually has tone, unlike the Li'l '59 , and is less over-the-top than you'd think from the name - it will balance better with the singles than the Hot Rails. The JB Jr. isn't bad either.

littlegreenman

I put DM Freds in everything, and you may just have one of them still lying around Might need some woodwork doing though.

martinw

I prefer the Dimarzio Chopper.

OilCityPickups

Is what you want 'actually' a humbucker? There are plenty of high output Strat units from many different makers that keep a 'stratty' quality while allowing more drive.

FX_Munkee

I can echo the NOT a li'l '59. I had one in the bridge on my strat and it sounded nasty, shrill and nasaly.
As GuitarWeasel said, what about a Quarter Pounder or similar?

fretmeister

Deffo want a bucker.

I have Iron Maiden inspired tunes to play.

Didn't know about the Dimarzio Chopper - I'll have a look at that too, ta

OilCityPickups

fretmeister said:

Deffo want a bucker.

I have Iron Maiden inspired tunes to play.

Didn't know about the Dimarzio Chopper - I'll have a look at that too, ta

Then I'd get out the router ... them nasty little rails things sound about as much like a real humbucker as I sound like Ian Gillan on vocals

ThePrettyDamned

TheGuitarWeasel;85714" said:

fretmeister said:

Deffo want a bucker.

I have Iron Maiden inspired tunes to play.

Didn't know about the Dimarzio Chopper - I'll have a look at that too, ta





Then I'd get out the router ... them nasty little rails things sound about as much like a real humbucker as I sound like Ian Gillan on vocals

Spot on?

I'm inclined to agree. I've not tried the Lil screaming demon, but the others have their own voice. Not a bad voice, but not like a proper bucker either. It's cool in its own way though. I like most rails (not hot rails though) but as they're own thing - an approximation or a unique voice.

martinw

I think the rails pickup sound works well in the bridge of a Strat, as it doesn't overpower the single coils, and can use the same 250k pots without any issues.

Of course, it doesn't sound like a proper humbucker, but it can still be a really useful sound.

OilCityPickups

The problem I have is that pretty much all the advertising (and even the name with 'Lil 59') would lead you to expect a proper, full humbucker tone from a Strat sized pickup. That's not actually possible due to the physics involved in pickup design. Usually what you get is a somewhat nasal, overly compressed 'too hot for it's size' sort of sound. Magnet choice is limited with these designs as you have to develop a lot of field strength from a small package ... and that leads to brittle trebles and characterless mids.
Just not my idea of a nice sound

martinw

TheGuitarWeasel said:

The problem I have is that pretty much all the advertising (and even the name with 'Lil 59') would lead you to expect a proper, full humbucker tone from a Strat sized pickup. That's not actually possible due to the physics involved in pickup design. Usually what you get is a somewhat nasal, overly compressed 'too hot for it's size' sort of sound. Magnet choice is limited with these designs as you have to develop a lot of field strength from a small package ... and that leads to brittle trebles and characterless mids.
Just not my idea of a nice sound

That's why I recommended the Chopper.

I think you're right in what you say when talking about the ones that imply they can sound like a full-on HB. Dimarzio don't claim that though for the Chopper (or Fast Track or Cruiser but I've not tried those). They sell it as just beefier than a single coil which I think it achieves. I'd guess the one @ICBM mentioned is the same. The SD Cool Rails is ok too, although not as open sounding and natural as the Chopper.

There's nothing nasal or overly-compressed about the Chopper; it just sounds alike a particularly beefy single-coil, with no hum.

mike_l

fretmeister said:

Deffo want a bucker.

I have Iron Maiden inspired tunes to play.

Didn't know about the Dimarzio Chopper - I'll have a look at that too, ta

Davey Murray uses hot rails. Jus' sayin'

 

I'd look at a alnico5 'bucker which can be split.