sets or bought single

[kidsquij]

So I've been wondering if buying pickups in a set, or buying them individually would be better. I have an HSS stratocaster. Also, different kinds, I'm looking for something fairly versatile with nice some gritt/crunch to them though.

 

[Day-mun]

I think Fender sets are too expensive for what they are. Some of the other boutique sets are so pricey, I can't rationalize even trying them out. -Seymour Duncan's have rarely let me down; they are fairly inexpensive and they don't make a single-coil that I don't like.

Humbuckers are a matter of taste, and there are few that I think I'd buy again if given the chance. -From any manufacturer. -You want grit? throw a  SD Phat Cat in the bridge position! -A P-90 made to retro-fit a HB pickup route... -grit-city! :guitaristgif:

Take Bagman's advice and checkout the super-bargain websites to get started; just because something costs a ton of $$$ doesn't always mean it is gonna be better. Your holy grail may just be a parts-caster loaded with 'fetish or Bill Lawrence pickups... :icon_thumright:

 

[Jumble Jumble]

I gotta say if you want grit and crunch, stay away from high-output pickups. Talking Seymour Duncan as an example, you'd want a '59 or Pearly Gates in the bridge, and SSL-2s probably in the other two positions.

 

[Day-mun]

Couldn't agree more! Low output=tone  :guitaristgif:

 

[Neo Fender]

I don’t see many H (full sized) SS set.  Most seem to be HH or SSS so set options may be limited in this regard.

 

[Surf n Music]

Bare Knuckle has some nice HSS sets and their wiring setup automatically splits the bridge humbucker when paired with the middle and then converts back to full humbucker when bridge only is selected. The do cost a bit though with the exchange rate and all.

 

[kidsquij]

Hey, sorry I've been absent lately, I think I'm going for either the 59' or a phat cat in the bridge position. I'm still a bit fuzzed about the middle and neck single coils though, should I just buy two of the same kind?  ???

 

[kidsquij]

Also, I don't know what to expect the prices to be, I don't want to be swindled out of my money.

 

[stratamania]

Also, I don't know what to expect the prices to be, I don't want to be swindled out of my money.

When you have decided what you want. Do a google shopping search and ebay search for them, that should give you a feel for what to expect to pay.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

It's not 59', it's '59

 

[Day-mun]

-Just make sure that whatever SC's ya get have a RW/RP model in the middle; it really makes a pleasant difference for the in-between position(s). -I personally favor the SD Alnico II's or the five-two's.

 

[KaiserSoze]

Funny you mention it..Due to some needs of my part in my band, I changed up my strat to an SSH configuration.  I have two Roadhouse '65 single coils with a Dimarzio 36th anniversary humbucker.  Those pickups are all lower output and sound really good together.  They have a lot of detail and are a nice set for me.  Can go from a spanky clean to AC/DC pretty well. 
A small note that they are all running on 250K pots and the humbucker still sounds really good.  It seems to still have plenty of treble. 
Ditto that the lower output pickups sound really nice. 

 

[musicispeace]

For what it is worth my HSS set was done as a set and has two of the same model single coils in the middle and neck position. I have only had this for a couple weeks and am still sorting out some adjustments on my first Warmoth parts guitar but what I did on the question of the two single coils was the following. I thought about what role I thought each would have in my individual playing. I foresaw relying far more on the neck pickup than the middle so put a lot of thought into that choice. I personally see the middle pickup as a good, general purpose guitar sound and the bridge humbucker is there to kick butt. The 2 and 4 positions are useful but I wasn't worried about them at all because I figured, whatever I chose, 2 and 4 would do what one would basically expect them to do regardless of pickups. So my choices followed from this.

I did go with vintage output pickups all around this time as I was drawn to the philosophy of tone over output. They still crank well, even if I throw assumptions to the wind and use more gain than crunch. And although I never believe in overpaying or paying for hype, I guess I am in the camp that feels you should decide on what you really want and if you have to save for a while so be it. I used Bare Knuckle pickups (an HSS set) in my build and like them and echo the comments I came across about their stellar customer service. But I also kept my little $79 second hand copy guitar because the pickups in it sound pretty good and I still play it at home just for my own enjoyment. So I think you have to go by what sounds good to you.

 

[Day-mun]

The 2 and 4 positions are useful but I wasn't worried about them at all because I figured, whatever I chose, 2 and 4 would do what one would basically expect them to do regardless of pickups. So my choices followed from this.
...And although I never believe in overpaying or paying for hype... I also kept my little $79 second hand copy guitar because the pickups in it sound pretty good and I still play it at home just for my own enjoyment. So I think you have to go by what sounds good to you.

I agree with MiP on this stuff:
-N+M & M+B (2 & 4) are gonna be okay as long as N & B are good sounding on their own
-Brand isn't everything
-Tone and sound are personal and terribly subjective

For the record, I got a W build that ended up with a set of MiM Strat pickups... -just like the sound of it.

 

[bagman67]

If you want to save trouble and some dough, Carvin offers a prewired pick guard, either HSS or SSS.  $144 or $134, I think ,respectively.  I've had good luck with Carvin generally, and found their AP11 single coils to be quite useful in particular.