Any words of wisdom about pickup choice for a "Superstrat" Soloist build?

[rgand]

I agree that the solid black body it has looks best. That neck color needs to be the full center of esthetics.

 

[stratamania]

It sort of works with the black dye, but as the headstock has solid black  perhaps that for the body is the way to go.  A possibility might be to route the existing body for an HSH set up ?

 

[DangerousR6]

I dig the stone finish...but then, I have my reasons... :laughing7:

 

[mrpinter]

DangerousR6 that's a great looking guitar. Thanks for posting it!

 

[DangerousR6]

DangerousR6 that's a great looking guitar. Thanks for posting it!

Thank you sir, it is an incredible sounding guitar too. They were made with basswood bodies, so it's super light. But the stock Jackson pick ups are just out of this world. I liked them so much, I put them in all my Jacksons...J85 and J80C, which were made by Seymore Duncan.. :guitarplayer2:

 

[Strat Avenger]

I don't like that neck with any of those bodies. Fretboard's the wrong color.

Well, I think you're right about the silver flake and probably the burst, but I think it would work aesthetically with the black dye on the flame. Another way to go might be to simply get another black body for that neck (and I've been thinking maybe that is the way to go). Here is the guitar right now:

Street Avenger: the Wilkinson trem bridge I would reuse has 54mm string spacing. Gibson/humbucker spacing is about 50mm. Do you think the extra 2mm on each end would really affect the sound that much? If I can't use that pickup again the whole project gets a bit more expensive.

I'd keep that pickup in the neck position, Put a "trem-spaced" 'Demon at the bridge, and a Dimarzio Area-61 in the middle. Standard wiring.

You'll have all your tones, plus some Strat "quack". You could even wire the neck humbucker in parallel for a more single-coil sound. All positions would be hum-cancelling.

 

[mrpinter]

I'd keep that pickup in the neck position, Put a "trem-spaced" 'Demon at the bridge, and a Dimarzio Area-61 in the middle. Standard wiring.

You'll have all your tones, plus some Strat "quack". You could even wire the neck humbucker in parallel for a more single-coil sound. All positions would be hum-cancelling.

Well, I made my decision and it's not too far off from Street Avenger's solution. I'm keeping the Demon at the neck. I was going to go with a new body because I thought the cost and effort compared to using the existing one and routing it out would be at best a wash, cost-wise. But my tech is telling me he can do the work for a lot less than I thought. So I'm keeping the body, and routing it out for a bridge pickup - and for this I ordered a Seymour Duncan Blues Saraceno model parallel trembucker. The man at Seymour Duncan said this would be a good combination. And I'm ditching the idea of a "Superstrat" configuration with three pickups. That will be for another guitar someday.

Many thanks everyone for playing along with me and my machinations. I learned a lot from all of you and it was fun. Can't wait to get this project finished.

 

[mrpinter]

Project completed! My tech installed the Blues Saraceno trembucker in the bridge position for me today, and after playing it some this afternoon I have to say it exceeds my expectations. The Saraceno trembucker bridge and Screamin' Demon neck, to my ears, are a perfect match. The combo is very musical and "pretty" in the middle position, but there is still plenty of attitude there, thanks to that trembucker. Here is a shot of the pickups:

 

[stratter]

If you're going to do a shredder superstrat, I would recommend looking at the 7 string body, it looks alot like a soloist.

 

[pabloman]

So does his Soloist body :doh:

 

[Strat Avenger]

'Glad you're happy with it.

Why is the neck pickup mounted backwards?

 

[mrpinter]

'Glad you're happy with it.

Why is the neck pickup mounted backwards?

It actually isn't mounted backwards. Since it is designed as a bridge pickup, when the pole pieces are in the customary position relative to the neck the logo is facing the opposite direction it would be if mounted at the bridge position. I asked my tech this as well when I first saw it, and that is what he told me. In any case, it sounds quite right just where it is.

 

[Strat Avenger]

If the cable is on the opposite side, it's backwards.

 

[Cagey]

It actually isn't mounted backwards. Since it is designed as a bridge pickup, when the pole pieces are in the customary position relative to the neck the logo is facing the opposite direction it would be if mounted at the bridge position. I asked my tech this as well when I first saw it, and that is what he told me. In any case, it sounds quite right just where it is.

It's not backwards because there is no backwards. The orientation won't change the sound. I suspect your tech just didn't want to take the guitar back apart to mount the thing properly. But, the logo doesn't line up nicely, so minus 2 points. Out of 1000, that means you're still sitting at 998 points. Just don't let it happen again, or we'll be forced to point and laugh. You don't want that, do you?

 

[mrpinter]

Nope, we don't want that LOL