Bridge pickup for HSS Strat--Balanced but still ROCKS??

[bassface732]

Pick your favorite humbucker, and instead of wiring the coil split to ground directly, pop a 10k trim pot inbetween the coil and ground. Dial this in once to find your perfect partial split sound.
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I would also add the DiMarzio Fortitude to your list of potential hot PAF candidates. Excellent pickup.

This is super cool!! I will definitely be looking into this, thanks!!

 

[Hodgo]

You know you COULD attenuate any humbucker you like with a resistor in series. Something like a 100k resistor would give the same effect as turning the volume knob down slightly. I wouldn’t though.

The Blondes are not super low output, but they are low-ish. Any HB that truly balances with them is not going to push your Dual Rec patch the same way as the JB and 59 you own, so you’re probably going to end up tweaking the gain on that patch if you go with something like a Thornbucker+.

Having said that I would totally pursue a lower output HB with an A2 or preferably A3 mag. Lower impedance = higher resonant peak, so they cut really well through a lot of gain despite what people in the 80s said when the JB became notorious.

IMHO keep it in the Lollar family and get a Low-Wind Imperial, use a trim pot like I suggested for a partial coil split (or flip it to parallel coils in position 2 for a truly glorious sound)

THEN if you don’t want to tweak your patches, just get a mild EQ or clean boost to push the output to the amp so that your low output guitar can match your hotter rigs.

 

[bassface732]

IMHO keep it in the Lollar family and get a Low-Wind Imperial, use a trim pot like I suggested for a partial coil split (or flip it to parallel coils in position 2 for a truly glorious sound)

THEN if you don’t want to tweak your patches, just get a mild EQ or clean boost to push the output to the amp so that your low output guitar can match your hotter rigs.

So based on what I’ve learned so far, it sounds like the EQ of the Low-Wind Imperial might lend itself to a slightly more aggressive sound than the Thornbucker+ even though it’s lower output, which might be the closest thing to the best of both worlds The parallel wiring mod in position 2 is a great call as well- should be able to get plenty of quack without losing as much volume as a true coil-split Pushing the signal to the amp with an EQ or clean boost would be easy to set up as well- thanks so much for the suggestions!! I think this might be the ticket!

 

[Hodgo]

it sounds like the EQ of the Low-Wind Imperial might lend itself to a slightly more aggressive sound than the Thornbucker+ even though it’s lower output

Indeed. The hotter the pickup, the wider the Q factor and lower overall resonant peak freq. Low output humbuckers carry more high end as a result, which has a distinct effect on the perceived volume because of the way your ears work. You’re going to love a Low Wind Imperial, it’s one of the best. You could even get the neck pickup version which has an A2 mag, 7k DCR and 3.61 henries… that is so low it would probably be near imperceptible in terms of output with a little tweaking of pickup heights. That would be overkill IMHO, unless you’re Steve Morse and you’re flipping from bridge to neck in the middle of a run of notes.

 

[Rick]

Shoot I looked it up and it wasn't a chopper in the middle it was a cruiser

 

[bassface732]

OK so just when I thought I had put this to bed, someone suggested the “Lil’ Screamin’ Demon” Strat-size humbucker from Seymour Duncan. I listened to some demos and it sounds like this thing can really rip, and get substantial chug under high gain. Output-wise, it seems like this might be the right balance where it can still push something like the Dual Rec, but won’t be too unmanageably out of balance with the Lollars (obviously still a lot less hot than the JB). Lastly, the somewhat scooped EQ of this pickup has me thinking it should give me some good quack if I wire it to switch to parallel in position 2.

All of this, and as an added bonus I must admit I like the idea of keeping a more vintage look with the single coil-size pickup in the bridge

This is what I’m noticing, but as I said before, I am a noob Haha so I thought I would run it by the experts!! You all have helped me realize that some output imbalance between the bridge and middle/neck is not necessarily a terrible thing, and may well be necessary to get the tones I’m looking for. Does this option seem like maybe the right compromise? Love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks again to everyone for the feedback, and your patience and willingness to help a noob like me My apologies for my ignorance- I’m trying to learn and this community has been super helpful, thank you!

 

[Strat Avenger]

A Dimarzio "Super Distortion-S" (DP218) would be better.

 

[Spud]

I cannot speak to the Scremin Demin" but I have a Duncan Red Devil single size humbucker in the bridge of a guitar and am very happy with that. It is probably more middy than the demon I imagine though.

 

[Hodgo]

Does this option seem like maybe the right compromise?

It’s definitely a compromise

You have two high output humbuckers already, will a third really be too different?

 

[bassface732]

I definitely hear where you are coming from I will continue to give it some thought—outside factors say I won’t be able to order this guitar for a while anyway, and overthinking is what I do best

At the moment though I’m not too worried—I personally think the JB and the 59/Custom I already do each have a unique character, and the Lil’ S.D. is lower output and more scooped-sounding than either one, so I’m thinking it shouldn’t be TOO too similar…

More importantly, I just know that (given the type of music I play most predominantly,) I’m just not going to reach for this guitar as much if it can’t give me a useable high-gain rhythm tone. Maybe that makes it a little redundant, but the main reason I’m making this guitar is to do the Strat thing anyway; the bridge change is just for utility so I know it can rock when I need it to.

I hope that makes sense… if I’m way off I’m willing to be straightened out

 

[MajorZ26]

I was about to post a very similar thread when I found you asking almost the same question I had.

I'm contemplating a HSS setup with a Bare Knuckle Holy Diver as the bridge HB, and single coils DiMarzio Area 67 (middle) and Area 61 (neck). From what I've read about them, the Holy Diver is slightly less than high-gain ("medium-high" gain?) and the Areas are slightly-hotter-than-vintage but still clearly lower output than the Diver. In my band I play mostly pop and rock, loving a stratty clean tone for funky rhythm riffs but needing lots of oomph in the bridge for heavier 80s rock (like...Holy Diver).

Experts here-- would the Holy Diver output totally overshadow the output from the Areas?

 

[Strat Avenger]

I was about to post a very similar thread when I found you asking almost the same question I had.

I'm contemplating a HSS setup with a Bare Knuckle Holy Diver as the bridge HB, and single coils DiMarzio Area 67 (middle) and Area 61 (neck). From what I've read about them, the Holy Diver is slightly less than high-gain ("medium-high" gain?) and the Areas are slightly-hotter-than-vintage but still clearly lower output than the Diver. In my band I play mostly pop and rock, loving a stratty clean tone for funky rhythm riffs but needing lots of oomph in the bridge for heavier 80s rock (like...Holy Diver).

Experts here-- would the Holy Diver output totally overshadow the output from the Areas?

I'm not familiar with the Holy Diver and don't know what it's output level is, but I'd suggest the 61 in the middle and the 67 at the neck. In my experience, the 67 is too thin sounding in the middle position. You'll get plenty of "quack" with the configuration I am recommending.

 

[Spud]

Stop whining, install a pickup and get rocking!