Has anyone ever built a guitar with just TWO Strat pickups?

[screamin_conure]

I recently picked up one of the "Purple Tribute" Telecaster bodies, and I'm trying to decide on what pickups I'll eventually use in it.  Unlike a normal Tele, this body is routed for two Stratocaster pickups.  On a typical three-pickup Strat, you would normally want the middle pickup to be reverse wound / reverse polarity to give the in-between switch positions a bit less hum. 

But what do you all think I should do on a guitar with just TWO Strat pickups?  Still go with RWRP for the neck position?  I'm planning to stick with a standard 3-position Telecaster style switch.

From all the sound samples I've heard, plus my desire to still give this guitar a bit of a Tele personality, I've pretty much decided on the Seymour Duncan Twangbanger for the bridge.  Still undecided on the neck though.

Thoughts or suggestions much appreciated!

Ron

 

[Logrinn]

Before I put two Dimarzio DLX P90's in my 7/8 Strat I had only two strat pickups in it. Of course those were rail humbuckers and perhaps not relevant to the kind of sound you're looking for ...

But the answer to your question in the thread title is, yes, I have.

[youtube]hF5IN4YjARg[/youtube]

 

[bagman67]

The old Fender Bullets and Mustangs had two single coils each.  While they were technically not Strat pickups, they were Mustang pups - which were basically a very slightly underwound Strat pickup with a shallower bobbin.  The model's there.  Indeed, Telecasters are two-single-coil guitars, albeit with pups having very different characteristics from Strat pups and from each other, for that matter.  My own prejudice leans me toward the RWRP second pup just so you can kinda approach the Strat position 2-and-4 quack a little.

 

[Hendrix]

on bareknuckle pickups youtube channel , has video about RWRP for the neck position or not compare .

I have order RWRP for the neck position pickups for them . both tele & strat style .

 

[Verne Bunsen]

If I were doing it, I'd wire it 4-Way Tele style and have both parallel and series combinations. And you wouldn't even have to mess with a neck pickup cover!

 

[new-killer-star]

If I were doing it, I'd wire it 4-Way Tele style and have both parallel and series combinations.

This is what I did with mine, it's great!

I used regular wound neck and bridge strat pickups.

 

[jackthehack]

I once had a 66 Gibson Melody Maker I routed and put Strat neck and bridge pickups in...

 

[stratamania]

Fender's R Blackmore strat, has two Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders in it and the middle pickup described as a dummy. No idea if one of them is RWRP.

For noise reduction I personally prefer to go with some type of noiseless pickup.  Although some of the backplate systems look promising for single coils.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Typically in a Strat set, the neck and middle are the same tech spec, minus the rwrp aspect.

Just put a Strat middle pickup in the neck.

 

[mayfly]

Typically in a Strat set, the neck and middle are the same tech spec, minus the rwrp aspect.

Just put a Strat middle pickup in the neck.

This

 

[screamin_conure]

So you really do learn something every day. 

I did my first Warmoth Strat build last year, pretty much just for the experience of seeing how one goes together, and to also have a great guitar built to my specs.  I really had no clue what I was doing, but it came out really nice.  When I chose the pickups for it, I went with a set of Seymour Duncans (SSL-1, SSL-1 RWRP, and SSL-5).  I was under the impression that a 3-pickup Strat HAD to have a RWRP middle pickup, but after watching the Bare Knuckles video I see that's not the case at all.  After doing a bit more research on various pickup manufacturer's websites, I see that most pups designed for neck or middle use can be ordered with either standard or RWRP.  A moment of clarity has emerged for me.

So this is a good thing!  I guess I don't need to worry whether the neck pickup on my Tele is RWRP or not.  Thanks for all the help everyone.

Ron

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

I have not seen the video to which you speak, but if you want 2 single coil pickups to hum cancel, regardless of series or parallel wiring, one of them needs to be rwrp in relation to the other.

 

[screamin_conure]

I have not seen the video to which you speak, but if you want 2 single coil pickups to hum cancel, regardless of series or parallel wiring, one of them needs to be rwrp in relation to the other.

This is the video I was referring to:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2Z7ZIKAXTA

I get what you're saying about hum canceling requiring an RWRP pickup.  I had just thought that a RWRP mid pickup was ALWAYS installed in ALL Stratocasters.  From a comment made in this video, I learned that wasn't always the case as many early Strats did not use them.  And I learned that a guitar will still play just fine (albeit with a bit of hum) without a reverse wound pickup.

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

True.  Strats didn't always have the middle pickup rwrp.  They also didn't have a 5 way switch.  With 2 single coil pickups of the same magnetic and electrical orientation, when shared in the middle position of a switch, their output drops and sound thinner and extra twangy.