Roadhouse pickup hss question..

[KaiserSoze]

Already have Ken's humbuckers and love them.  I just started a strat build and ordered the body.  Swamp ash HSS configuration.  Has anyone joined Ken's strat pickups with his humbucker?  I have every confidence that any of his strat pickups will be great but wondered if anyone had experience with a set that includes the humbucker.  I guess I'm looking for a texas blues set with a well matched humbucker. 

Thanks

 

[Cagey]

I only have one of Ken's pickups - a PAF-style humbucker wound slightly hot for the bridge position. I mixed it with a single coil type (GFS TrueCoil) for the neck on one of my Teles. Each pickup sounds fantastic on its own, but in combination they sound... less than thrilling. I did a similar thing on another Tele using a Seymour Duncan JB at the bridge (GFS Neovin at the neck). Similar results. Great on their own, but together? Not so much. It's like mixing spaghetti and cheesecake. Both great on their own, but you wouldn't want to slobber them together. It's just too great a difference. It seems you can't get Jimi Hendrix, EVH and Larry Carlton out of the same guitar. Not that I play like any of those guys, but you understand what I'm saying.

 

[hannaugh]

Send TroubledTreble a message about it and see what he says.  He can probably wind a set for you that's designed to work all together.  He custom wound my Strat pickups, so I don't think it would be a problem. 

 

[TroubledTreble]

I can be difficult to get different pickups to work well. The "Specials" for strat have the same coil structure and would keep up nicely with the humbucker. Other wise I would possibly go with a rail type single.

I have pretty liberal return policies so it's not scary to try.

 

[KaiserSoze]

Thanks Ken.  I'll think about that.  The only reason I'm really considering a humbucker in the bridge is that I've never had a single coil bridge pickup that is useful in any way.

 

[stubhead]

Great on their own, but together? Not so much.

Separate volume controls are required or at least can open the door to workability, and you have to watch your phasing? It can be really hard to hear phase problems with single coils at (weenie) civilized (weenie) safe adult (weenie) volumes.  :sad1:

(Warning: I have never, ever considered "strat quack" as being something (weenie) worthy to pursue if it was (weenie) interfering with righteous saturation bombing.)

 

[bagman67]

I've never had a single coil bridge pickup that is useful in any way.

Two words:  Tele.  Caster.  I never liked the Strat bridge pup, and after 20+ years in the game, I finally got my first Tele.  Maybe an overwound Strat-sized pup with a brass base plate?  Some folks have had good luck with that sort of thing.