Is a Hss strat better allrounder than sss ??

mark123

I think yes as you have the full on humbucker that a single coil can't do or is there a trick to coax a decent full sound from the spiky bridge pick up?(thinking punk /indie /fat humbucker sound ),I hate it and think its the weakest link of a strat and the hss solves this ....puts tin hat on and waits for the backlash 

RandallFlagg

I have just bought a Strat a few weeks ago after not owning one for a few years and am having the same thoughts.

I find that I can get a fatter drive tone from the bridge pickup by boosting the mids and cutting treble and presence on the amp, use a pedal such as a Tube Screamer to thicken the tone and roll back the tone on the bridge pickup but when I get it soundng right the neck pickup sounds mushy.

if I set the drive and tone to match the neck pickup then the bridge sounds too thin.

I used to own one of the original Fender American Deluxe HSS Strats around 2009 and could get much more pleasing bridge pickup drive tones, but, the inbetween setting between bridge and middle pickup didn't sound as good as with two single coil pickups.

I think it's tricky to get really satisfying drive tones on a Strat bridge single coil, but it can be done with the right pickups, amps and pedals. The Edge got it right live around 1983 with his black Strat and David Gilmour gets a great bridge pickup drive tone sometimes too. I like Crispian Mills tone with Kula Shaker as well.

I think a beefier bridge pickup than a typical 50s style wind helps for a great drive tone.

like you I am thinking about either a pickup swap on my Strat or even trade out for an HSS

Blink 182's 'All The Small Things' is my view of a great Strat drive tone, and that's a humbucker

nick_s

I have had (and still have) a selection of SSS/HSS Strats and they all have their purpose, BUT....

My MIM Sambora is the guitar I have said I'd be buried with.  It runs a DiMarzio PAF Pro in the bridge and it ROCKS.  In position 2, it splits to combine with the middle, and it still gives that wonderful quacky, bell like tone Strats are renowned for.  It is a guitar that for me covers all bases.

My 60th MIM Anniversary Strat (57/62 pups) also sounds good with a driven amp, but in a different way, it's stereotypical 60's overdrive tones, not quite as thick, but definitely more articulate than a HB tone.

Neil

Not for me, I want a strat to sound Stratty and that means single coils.

If I want a drive tone I'll use P90's or Humbuckers.

stratman3142

I've got an HSS and an SSS Strat. The HSS is more versatile for me.

The HSS Strat American Standard is my main guitar and the only guitar I used at gigs. I can approximate any sound I need. It has S1 switching which also enables a (rough) approximation of a neck humbucker by putting the neck and middle pickups in series.

The only sound I missed was a bridge single coil sound which isn't available from the S1 switching even though it's coil tappable to give bridge (S) and middle in parallel. I have considered adding an extra switch, but bridge (S) on its own isn't a sound I'd use much from a Strat. I prefer to get the bridge single coil sound from a Telecaster.

axisus

Neil said:

Not for me, I want a strat to sound Stratty and that means single coils.

If I want a drive tone I'll use P90's or Humbuckers.

That wasn't the question though. The answer to the question is undeniably that HSS is more versatile, it goes without saying

ICBM

It's always a better all-rounder - the question is whether it can get the one sound people seem to be picky about on a Strat, the bridge/middle. You can split the humbucker - OK, it never sounds *exactly* like a plain Strat, but some pickups will get a lot closer than others. It's worth seeing which coil gives the better approximation - it's usually the one closest to the bridge, but not always.

Generally a slightly hotter humbucker than a standard PAF-type works best. If you really want to get as close as possible, you need something like the Oil City Brassknuckle, which is actually built like two Strat (or Tele) pickups on a humbucker baseplate. With that, splitting it to the bridge side coil sounds like a Strat, to the neck side coil like a Tele.

HAL9000

My complaint with my MIM Strat was the 'thin' sounding bridge pickup. I had the pickups replaced with some Oil City StoneTones (the bridge unit is wound hotter than the other two). On Oil City's recommendation I also had a baseplate fitted to the bridge pickup. The bridge pickup now sounds fatter but still sounds like a Strat.

As regards the original question, I'm not sure an HSS Strat is more versatile - it's just different. To be fair though, the only HSS Strats I've tried have been MIMs which don't have the option of splitting the HB.

guitarfishbay

On paper more coils plus wiring options equals more versatile, as in greater number of distinctive sounds.

There's another argument though that having pickups matched in terms of output makes the guitar more versatile without touching any amp/pedal settings. To an extent I've sometimes found HSS setups a bit of a compromise due to the volume mismatches, however it can work if you want to utilise that output difference.

Personally I've come to the conclusion I like matched pickups/outputs so S[/S]/S or H[/H] for me regardless of guitar style.

guitars4you

No definitive answer - horses for courses and and of course the style of music you play and the tone you want - I can understand in many rock styles players wanting more 'guts' and probably sustain from a bridge  pick up, hence they go down the HSS route - The other option with a SSS format is a boost pedal with a touch of EQ, or an overdrive with gain down and volume up, to achieve similar results and try and obtain the best of both worlds - Depending what you need then both HSS and SSS can be a compromise or exactly what you need

I find a good humbucker sounds great in the bridge position, but the 'out of phase' combination with the middle pick up never sounds right, so is to big a compromise for me - So SSS with a good boost option and a touch of EQ accordingly, this way I can SSS all the time and HSS when I need a touch more

BloodEagle

Bareknuckle Sinner in the bridge solves this issue 

EricTheWeary

That Tim Pierce at the Grammys thing, he did 70 bits of music all (I think) on his HSS strat type. Probably not incredibly diverse but ACDC, bit of funk, blues,etc.

IIRC the Jeff Beck thing with the bridge single coil on a strat is to turn the guitar down - never have it full on 10 so it naturally knocks the spikey top end off. 

Fretwired

I have two US Strats - one is HSS and the other is SSS. Both sound good. The HSS has the push button malarkey on the volume control that gives some lovely tonal variations. The humbucker does sound good though ..

kjdowd

I've found using strat with p90 style single coils to be very versatile. Gets the strat in between tones and very usable bridge pickup tones as well. 

richardhomer

As a practical gigging option, a HSS Strat is a Swiss Army Knife. It's hard to think of any music that couldn't be played on one - but they reek of 'session' guitar - which kind of puts me off.

When I gigged regularly I had a HSS Schecter which allowed me to retire my vintage Strat and not to have to grapple with a Les Paul's ergonomics on stage. When I stopped gigging, I'd didn't have any need for a guitar which was always a compromise, so I sold it.

Nick

Better? For me, no. I tend to miss the second position sound of two single coils.

DulcetJones

I have a hard time getting pinch harmonics to amplify unless there's a humbucker involved.  I can hear them when I play any guitar unplugged but when I plug in they don't cut through without it.

siraxeman

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a263/sir-axeman/my 3strats_zpszckjkjzp.jpg

my 3....the SSS one has this on its way to go on it.

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/vagAAOSwXeJYHJoe/s-l1600.jpg

siraxeman

I guess you can see my preferences! ;-)

Schnozz

I think HSH with Coil Splits and a Blade in the Middle Position is the most versatile.

That way you don't get a huge drop in volume when you change Pickups and it's more balanced.

Dave_Mc

ICBM said:

It's always a better all-rounder - the question is whether it can get the one sound people seem to be picky about on a Strat, the bridge/middle. You can split the humbucker - OK, it never sounds *exactly* like a plain Strat, but some pickups will get a lot closer than others. It's worth seeing which coil gives the better approximation - it's usually the one closest to the bridge, but not always.

Generally a slightly hotter humbucker than a standard PAF-type works best. If you really want to get as close as possible, you need something like the Oil City Brassknuckle, which is actually built like two Strat (or Tele) pickups on a humbucker baseplate. With that, splitting it to the bridge side coil sounds like a Strat, to the neck side coil like a Tele.

But wouldn't that make the full humbucker tone not quite right? (I don't know, I've never tried any of those "2 single coils together" type humbuckers, but that's what I assume.)

But yeah personally if I were only playing on the one guitar I'd prefer HSS to SSS, though I'd likely prefer HSH to either.