HSS strats. What bridge humbucker are you using?

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  • My strat is currently SSS with a wonderful set of Lollar Blackface / Sixty Four vintage singles.
    But for a bit more versatility I fancy making it HSS.

    I don't want the humbucker to be particularly loud compared to the singles. I do want a full size pickup and not a single coil sized.
    Something suitably vintage and sweet sounding.

    So what would you put in there? 
    My HSS guitar Lollar Blackface single coils paired with a Lollar Imperial humbucker (with coil tap). Sounds great, though it did take a bit of fettling to get the pickup heights right so that the humbucker balanced with the neck and middle pickups, but also didn't sound too weedy if I then want to use the coil split. 

    £175 for a single humbucker is mad. I just can't do it!
    Hah, fair enough. Don't blame you! My guitar came (2nd hand) with them already in!
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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23916
    My strat is currently SSS with a wonderful set of Lollar Blackface / Sixty Four vintage singles.
    But for a bit more versatility I fancy making it HSS.

    I don't want the humbucker to be particularly loud compared to the singles. I do want a full size pickup and not a single coil sized.
    Something suitably vintage and sweet sounding.

    So what would you put in there? 
    My HSS guitar Lollar Blackface single coils paired with a Lollar Imperial humbucker (with coil tap). Sounds great, though it did take a bit of fettling to get the pickup heights right so that the humbucker balanced with the neck and middle pickups, but also didn't sound too weedy if I then want to use the coil split. 

    £175 for a single humbucker is mad. I just can't do it!
    Hah, fair enough. Don't blame you! My guitar came (2nd hand) with them already in!

    Lucky you!

    I can't complain really - I got my Lollar singles set on ebay for about £80. Brand new. I think I did ok!
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  • jeztone2jeztone2 Frets: 2160
    When I put a single coil sized humbucker in my old Kotzen Strat the Dimarzio Tone Zone sounded good. Articulate and medium gained. I sold it my brother and he’s not wanted to change it back. It works that well. 

    My current HSS has a Duncan JB in the bridge and it’s too dark. So I’ve got a Dimarzio Super Distortion going in there. 
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  • KebabkidKebabkid Frets: 3301
    edited May 2022
    I'm currently using a Seymour Duncan Trembucker and like it. It balances nicely with my single coils.

    Past ones that I had and liked were the Tyler Secret Humbucker and I think it's a good choice if you're used to single coils and are switching to or introducing humbuckers. The Suhr Thornbucker is similar and another goody but I've never heard the Thornbucker Plus which has a bit more oomph to it but they're still low output humbuckers.

    Whilst I had Lollar Imperials in my old PRS CU24 (a low wind in the neck position and a standard in the bridge), obviously, they weren't paired with single coils but were tapped and they were nice but they are rather pricey now.
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  • DavusPGDavusPG Frets: 446
    I have a Dimarzio Fred in the bridge of my Eric Johnson Strat, with an Area 67 in the middle and an Injector in the neck.

    Works really well, but I'm planning on putting the original guard with the EJ single coils back in soon
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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23916
    Kebabkid said:
    I'm currently using a Seymour Duncan Trembucker and like it. It balances nicely with my single coils.

    Past ones that I had and liked were the Tyler Secret Humbucker and I think it's a good choice if you're used to single coils and are switching to or introducing humbuckers. The Suhr Thornbucker is similar and another goody but I've never heard the Thornbucker Plus which has a bit more oomph to it but they're still low output humbuckers.

    Whilst I had Lollar Imperials in my old PRS CU24 (a low wind in the neck position and a standard in the bridge), obviously, they weren't paired with single coils but were tapped and they were nice but they are rather pricey now.
    Which trembucker?
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  • KebabkidKebabkid Frets: 3301
    Kebabkid said:
    I'm currently using a Seymour Duncan Trembucker and like it. It balances nicely with my single coils.

    Past ones that I had and liked were the Tyler Secret Humbucker and I think it's a good choice if you're used to single coils and are switching to or introducing humbuckers. The Suhr Thornbucker is similar and another goody but I've never heard the Thornbucker Plus which has a bit more oomph to it but they're still low output humbuckers.

    Whilst I had Lollar Imperials in my old PRS CU24 (a low wind in the neck position and a standard in the bridge), obviously, they weren't paired with single coils but were tapped and they were nice but they are rather pricey now.
    Which trembucker?
    TB-4 JB Model.
    Crunches and sings nicely and taps ok, too
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  • KittyfriskKittyfrisk Frets: 18376
    First admission. I don't own a Fender HSS Stratocaster.
    I do however own a Godin SD24 with STK-S4's in the neck and middle & a Pearly Gates HB in the bridge.
    It is a thing of great expressiveness & general versatility, with articulate warmth & gorgeousness.
    I also have a 'cheap' Fender Squier 'Showmaster' that is HSS. I put a black, covered Wilkinson humbucker of unknown provenance & specification in the bridge as I happened to have it & was practicing soldering...
    Again it is very balanced, delicate & sounds waaaay better than it ought to do on paper.
    More that the sum of it's parts seems appropriate  ;)
    Enjoy whatever you settle on, there are no recipes for success :+1: 
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14321
    edited May 2022
    I just bought an Air Norton S (hot rail type) for the neck.
    Good thinking, Batman. That pickup is great in both series and parallel modes. I don't like it so much in split mode with a centre single coil.


    My HSS guitars have, variously:
    Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB*
    Seymour Duncan Perpetual Burn
    Seymour Duncan TB-16 '59/Custom
    DiMarzio Breed B
    EMG-HA (yes, an -SA in a humbucker cover.)
    Oil City Pickups Scrapyard Dog Plus.
    Alegree Old Timer Blazer 


    * Yup. Regular pole spacing, on an old MIJ Charvel Model series guitar, with a Kahler flatmount vibrato.
    Be seeing you.
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  • BoromedicBoromedic Frets: 4700
    edited May 2022
    I can see Lollar Imperials have been mentioned here a few times, I had a Tokai that came with them and I wasn't overly impressed tbh. I preferred the Slash Alnico 2s, the Thornbucker+ and the Vinehams in my Les Paul more. They're all quite a bit cheaper too.

    Can heartily recommend Vinehams along with the Thornbucker and they're not too pricey either. 

    http://www.vineham.com/humbucker_pickups.html

    My head said brake, but my heart cried never.


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  • TTBZTTBZ Frets: 2873
    edited May 2022
    There's a way you can use 500k pots then wire up some resistors so the singlecoils only see them as 250k. Bare Knuckle have a video on it. Not tried it myself but might be a solution for getting the humbucker sounding it's best and not dulling it with 250ks. 
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  • ZappleZapple Frets: 81
    If you can find one, an SD Pearly Gates Plus is great in a strat. Also SD Saturday Night Special is great - got one in my FR Strat…rocks! 
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  • StratavariousStratavarious Frets: 3595
    BKP Holydiver
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  • exocetexocet Frets: 1948
    Another Thornbucker + user here. Wired so that it "sees" 500k (ish) when Bridge only selected.
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  • FezFez Frets: 499
    I have one strat with a Seymour Duncan hot rails and stone tones. Main gigging strat stock Fender pickups. Other hss Seymour Duncan full shred stock single coils.
    Don't touch that dial.
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  • WhitecatWhitecat Frets: 5378
    David Allen P51, purely by chance as that’s what the guitar came with. Like it a lot though. 
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  • jeztone2jeztone2 Frets: 2160
    Boromedic said:
    I can see Lollar Imperials have been mentioned here a few times, I had a Tokai that came with them and I wasn't overly impressed tbh. I preferred the Slash Alnico 2s, the Thornbucker+ and the Vinehams in my Les Paul more. They're all quite a bit cheaper too.

    Can heartily recommend Vinehams along with the Thornbucker and they're not too pricey either. 

    http://www.vineham.com/humbucker_pickups.html
    I had a set in a Les Paul and they sounded lovely on clean, yet strangely underwhelming as soon as you added gain. 
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  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    edited May 2022
    Suhr SSV, and the wiring done so the singles see 250k and the humbucker 500k pots. Partial split instead of full split on a push pull. I prefer it left as a full HB in pos 2 personally. I’m happy with it, a solid sounding pickup with enough power to work for a good HB tone but not so loud the volume drop to singles isn’t useable. 
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  • BlueStratBlueStrat Frets: 966
    Put a Thornbucker + in my start when I converted it from sss, excellent pickup with lots of great sounds in there
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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23916
    Decisions Decisions!

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