Pickup help

LightB4sound

So I recently found a dream guitar in terms of playability and looks and basically all other metrics.... Apart from the pickups.

My issue is I play live with a Strat (with hot rails in bridge. Basically a free overdrive!) and have done since about 2008. 

However, the new guitar in question is HH configuration. I tried to find HSS version but also you know how it is when you find an amazingly playable guitar which is different even from the same models in a shop.

My question is (although i think i know the answer it would be good to hear thoughts from people here), can i get a single coil sound from a humbucker slot in the neck without routing the guitar? Is the SD phat cat P90 the closest I'm going to get?

Also any ideas (passive not active) to a humbucker that sounds like SD hotrails in the bridge?

I am in full acceptance that I'm not going to get exactly a start sound or of this guitar, but i really dislike the sound of it at the moment (acoustically however it's great!)

Thanks in advance!

Revolutions

DiMarzio super distortion is going to be close to a hot rails, although slightly less treble.

for the neck, you can get pretty much any pickup you want in a humbucker sized enclosure, or can easily buy an adapter.

or, why not buy a different pickguard so you can fit single coils?

strtdv

If it's a strat routed for HH you'll be able to switch the pickguard and have it as a HS no problem.
If there's no pickguard obviously options are more limited 

LightB4sound

Thanks for your help, sorry should have said there is no pick guard to deal with!

Funkfingers

If your guitar has a lever selector switch, use a five-way Superswitch to copy the DiMarzio/Ibanez circuit that offers:
1) Bridge humbucker
2) Inside coils (faux Stratocaster " in between" sound).
3) Bridge + neck.
4) Neck humbucker (coils in parallel)
5) Neck humbucker ( coils in series)

Dave_Mc

I haven't tried them but certainly Alegree has a Strat pickup under a humbucker cover. You've got to figure (depending on exactly where the neck humbucker is in the guitar compared to where the neck single coil would be in a Strat) that's going to get you pretty close- and with much less wiring faff than the next suggestions I make, especially if all you care about is getting a Strat neck pickup tone.

https://www.alegree.co.uk/collections/humbucker-sized-stratocaster-single-coils

(His other pickups I have tried are great.)

Another option would be a humbucker that's geared up towards splitting- I've tried the Gemini Fireflies, and they're excellent. One of the coils is basically a Strat-style single coil, and the other coil is more humbucker-like. Together, the Strat coil is too powerful, so its output is tapped so it doesn't overpower the other coil for humbucker mode. He has several other models in this style too, so you have about 4-5 options IIRC to choose from depending on the tone and output you want.

Again I haven't tried it (and again his other pickups I have tried are great) but Catswhisker seems to offer something similar with his "S-bucker" pickup.

I think Alegree's Solar Flare is a similar idea too, or his Chameleon which offers a ton of different pickup settings from the one pickup.

These will be more awkward to wire, but the advantage with these ones is that you'll be able to get (more or less, at least) a genuine neck humbucker tone, too. (Or get a bridge version too- as long as it sounds close enough for you to the Hot Rails!- and get the option of good single coil and humbucker settings from both pickup positions.) Just watch, though- I've got a vague feeling that the Fireflies at least are marginally deeper than standard humbuckers, and the other ones might be too. Depending on what guitar you're planning to fit them in, that might be a problem.

There are probably other options, too, that I haven't thought of.

normula1

Try wiring the current neck pickup in parallel. This can work better than splitting... of course it depends on the pickup

nacnudnai

When talking about single coil sounds in a neck humbucker, I will always recommend giving a Dimarzio Bluesbucker a shot. Way better than a SD Phat Cat, I've never been impressed by those. As others have said, you can get loads of different winders to put a strat pickup in a humbucker casing if you want that. Alternatively, get any decent neck humbucker and coil split it.

Bridge pickup, hard to think what would emulate the Hot Rails. From what I remember, they are hot and very middy. The Dimarzio Super Distortion won't really do the same thing imho, but you could look at the Duncan Custom Custom (the Alnico 2 one) or the Custom/59 hybrid - both of those are quite hot and middy, with enough high end. 

Another option I'd consider is Oil City Brass Knuckle set. They are essentially two strat pickups wired up as a humbucker, with magnetic polepieces etc. This means when they're split, they sound much closer to strat pickups. Additionally, I also found with the bridge pickup, due to the construction, was a bit brighter and edgier compared to a "typical" humbucker, which I also find is a quality of rail pickups. Could be a good choice.

BlackbirdCabs

As a wildcard suggestion, how about putting a humbucker sized firebird in the neck. It has a Strat-ish quality to it but juiced up, I really love my Oil City Winterizer in the neck position, sounds great clean but loves overdrive as well. I think they do a humbucker sized version - yes they do, just checked!

ICBM

Duncan Stag Mag or Oil City Brassknuckle for the neck.

Kent Armstrong Motherbucker for the bridge.

You will understand why when you see them .

What type of switch does it have? You will most likely want coil-splitting options for both of those pickups.

LightB4sound

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and insight. Looks like I'm narrowing it down, I didn't realise there were so many small builders. 

The selector switch is 5 way, so plenty of options it seems. 

Now to narrow it down.

Thanks again for your time!

Ps I don't like the sound of spilt coil but thanks for the suggestions.

stickyfiddle

Lollar makes Tele pickup in humbucker sizes. Should be absolutely epic. 

https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-other-single-coil-pickups/novel-t

They also do P90, Charlie Christian, Gold Foil and Ricky-style pickups in the same series. 

Dave_Mc

nacnudnai said:

Another option I'd consider is Oil City Brass Knuckle set. They are essentially two strat pickups wired up as a humbucker, with magnetic polepieces etc. This means when they're split, they sound much closer to strat pickups. Additionally, I also found with the bridge pickup, due to the construction, was a bit brighter and edgier compared to a "typical" humbucker, which I also find is a quality of rail pickups. Could be a good choice.

Yeah that's what I've noticed too with the Gemini Fireflies I mentioned.

ICBM said:

Kent Armstrong Motherbucker for the bridge.

You will understand why when you see them .

LOL good shout, I forgot about that one. I haven't tried it, but I had something similar in my MusicYo-era Kramer Striker- it was a bit crap, but I'm guessing the MotherBucker is a fair bit better. Or else I just don't like those Hotrails-style pickups! (I really didn't like the neck version of the Duncan Hotrails in my Framus.)

Slartibartfarst42

No full-size humbucker is going to sound like a Hotrails because the construction is too different. Instead, I'd focus more on humbuckers that simply sound good in a Strat. Your two main popular options would be a JB if you like things smooth, or a Super Distortion if you like things more aggressive and Rock. 

For the neck position, I'd just get a PAF leaning pickup that's hot enough to be able to split effectively. A BKP Emerald is a great neck pickup and is quite hot so will split OK.

ICBM

Slartibartfarst42 said:

No full-size humbucker is going to sound like a Hotrails because the construction is too different.

Apart from the Motherbucker.



... although you may want to split it to only half the full pickup.

LightB4sound said:

The selector switch is 5 way, so plenty of options it seems. 

Ps I don't like the sound of spilt coil but thanks for the suggestions.

I understand why you don't like split traditional humbuckers, but that's not what the Stag Mag and Brassknuckle sound like - they're literally two Strat-type pickups mounted on the same baseplate, so their split sounds are like true single coils and not like a split humbucker.

There's an interesting scheme with a 5-way that gives you the full pickups at each end and the split pickups in the 2 and 4 positions, with two split pickups in 3.

Seziertisch

stickyfiddle said:

Lollar makes Tele pickup in humbucker sizes. Should be absolutely epic. 

https://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-other-single-coil-pickups/novel-t

They also do P90, Charlie Christian, Gold Foil and Ricky-style pickups in the same series. 

Closer to home https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/134536/oil-city-the-big-block-range/p1