New Strat Build - Pickup Opinions

ninjaking67

Ambassador of Good Will
Country flag
Gents,
I have started amassing parts for a new Strat H-H build based on a body from Warmoth. I was able to pick up a chambered, quilted maple top, ash back strat body from a guy who bought it for a project that he never started. It is finished in transparent black burst and looks fantastic. Pics to follow.

My question, however, is about pickups. I already have an F-spaced JB that I plan to use in the bridge position but I can't decide on whether to use a '59 or a Jazz in the neck. The main criteria for the decision is that it has to sound great as a humbucker but also has to have really decent single coil tone when split.

I am looking for your opinions please.
 
+1 on the Anderson humbuckers; they split amazingly well. I love my H2.

If you're thinking about a vintage output neck pickup, maybe consider series/parallel wiring instead of split. Low output pickups tend to sound pretty wimpy when split especially next to something as strong as a JB, and they can be noisy for high gain playing. Parallel gives you a singlecoilish tone with stronger output plus full hum rejection.
 
+1 on the Anderson humbuckers; they split amazingly well. I love my H2.

If you're thinking about a vintage output neck pickup, maybe consider series/parallel wiring instead of split. Low output pickups tend to sound pretty wimpy when split especially next to something as strong as a JB, and they can be noisy for high gain playing. Parallel gives you a singlecoilish tone with stronger output plus full hum rejection.

I surprised at the double slug nature of those pickups. I recall buying some double slug humbucker pickups back in 2004/2005 and everyone thought they were junk because they had no screws.

Now I have recently seen Gibson double slugs on a colleague's workbench.

What about a hot humbucker, say around 9.5k in the neck??? That may have more output even when split???
 
I surprised at the double slug nature of those pickups. I recall buying some double slug humbucker pickups back in 2004/2005 and everyone thought they were junk because they had no screws.

Now I have recently seen Gibson double slugs on a colleague's workbench.
The H-series Andersons actually are said to use vertical magnets, a very different design from regular humbuckers. I suspect those slugs could be rod mags like the ones typically found in singlecoil pickups. Thia yields better split tone because the magnetic field is stronger and concentrated in a smaller area.

Back in the 1980s, the original PRS humbuckers used rod mags in their slug coils along with a conventional bar magnet underneath. I credit that feature for part of the extraordinary clarity which has made them legendary.

The double slug Gibson hums are a conventional design. Some were made like that.

What about a hot humbucker, say around 9.5k in the neck??? That may have more output even when split???

Yes, the hotter the pickup, the stronger the output when split. I've seen even high output humbuckers like the Super Distortion or even the JB used in neck position. Of course, there's some trade-off in clarity when running full series, but the split tones are indeed stronger.

Some medium output humbuckers normally used at the bridge can work very well indeed at the neck. Perhaps a Jazz Bridge instead of a Jazz neck? A little more mids but perfectly well-suited to neck position, and better when split than the neck model. (The regular Jazz Neck splits pretty well too, but wouldn't be able to stand up to a JB.)

One slightly hotter example is the Duncan Screamin' Demon at just under 10K; it's got a nice PAF-ish voice yet uses a modern wind that's relatively tight & crisp sounding. Great pickup for neck position - especially in a maple-neck Fender-scale guitar - and it splits well.

Another good choice might be the 59/Custom Hybrid; they run around 11.5K but have quite a bright clear character thanks to the extreme difference between their coils. When split to the more powerful Custom coil they have decent output and good tone.

The 12K Duncan Distortion neck model has a ceramic mag and is hot & bright; it splits very well indeed. I've used this pickup at the bridge (it was originally designed for bridge - it used to be called the SH-7 Seymourizer). Holds up very well under lots of gain. A bit of ceramic stiffness to its feel but IMO that's less critical in neck position.

There are also some humbuckers made up of two actual singlecoil pickups. Unfortunately their series tone tends not to be as smooth as a regular humbucker. Not sure they'd do too well at the neck.

~

Are you totally sold on split wiring? Perhaps choosing a very clean humbucker could render that unnecessary. Something like a PowerTron or a TV Jones or a Lollar El Rayo might suit you. Or even a hum-sized P90 if you were willing to do without hum rejection. I love P90 neck tone.
 
The H-series Andersons actually are said to use vertical magnets, a very different design from regular humbuckers. I suspect those slugs could be rod mags like the ones typically found in singlecoil pickups. Thia yields better split tone because the magnetic field is stronger and concentrated in a smaller area.

Back in the 1980s, the original PRS humbuckers used rod mags in their slug coils along with a conventional bar magnet underneath. I credit that feature for part of the extraordinary clarity which has made them legendary.

The double slug Gibson hums are a conventional design. Some were made like that.



Yes, the hotter the pickup, the stronger the output when split. I've seen even high output humbuckers like the Super Distortion or even the JB used in neck position. Of course, there's some trade-off in clarity when running full series, but the split tones are indeed stronger.

Some medium output humbuckers normally used at the bridge can work very well indeed at the neck. Perhaps a Jazz Bridge instead of a Jazz neck? A little more mids but perfectly well-suited to neck position, and better when split than the neck model. (The regular Jazz Neck splits pretty well too, but wouldn't be able to stand up to a JB.)

One slightly hotter example is the Duncan Screamin' Demon at just under 10K; it's got a nice PAF-ish voice yet uses a modern wind that's relatively tight & crisp sounding. Great pickup for neck position - especially in a maple-neck Fender-scale guitar - and it splits well.

Another good choice might be the 59/Custom Hybrid; they run around 11.5K but have quite a bright clear character thanks to the extreme difference between their coils. When split to the more powerful Custom coil they have decent output and good tone.

The 12K Duncan Distortion neck model has a ceramic mag and is hot & bright; it splits very well indeed. I've used this pickup at the bridge (it was originally designed for bridge - it used to be called the SH-7 Seymourizer). Holds up very well under lots of gain. A bit of ceramic stiffness to its feel but IMO that's less critical in neck position.

There are also some humbuckers made up of two actual singlecoil pickups. Unfortunately their series tone tends not to be as smooth as a regular humbucker. Not sure they'd do too well at the neck.

~

Are you totally sold on split wiring? Perhaps choosing a very clean humbucker could render that unnecessary. Something like a PowerTron or a TV Jones or a Lollar El Rayo might suit you. Or even a hum-sized P90 if you were willing to do without hum rejection. I love P90 neck tone.
All great information. Thank you Eclecticsynergy. I play an extremely varied array of music from the Beatles and Simon and Garfunkel to AC DC and the Scorpions. I really am hoping to have this guitar versatile enough to do it all convincingly with just this one guitar. I realize that there will be compromises in both tone and volume. That can be dealt with somewhat through my pedal settings. I can not foresee ever needing to switch from single coil to full humbucker in the same song.

I am light years away from being any sort of professional musician and I tinker and play with guitars as a hobby but do play the occasional gig. I appreciate everyone’s ideas and opinions on making this guitar a jack-of-all-trades!
 
Back
Top