Which humbucker is best suited to a Stratocaster?

[Dave_M]

I'm trying to find out which humbucker would work best in the bridge position of a strat. Strat will have: 1 piece maple neck, alder body, appaches in neck and middle positions.


Because its a strat and not made of mahogany, would it be better to go for a humbucker that is on the full and meaty side? So it doesnt sound too thin and harsh.

Neck is 7 1/4" radius... do you think that would be a problem for the humbucker as it will not have a vintage stagger?

I'm thinking holydiver would work well in a strat. But there is a problem with matching volume to the single coils. I'm just not convinced that Stormy Monday is best for a strat... having trouble deciding, give me your opinions plz. As for the tones I want to get out of it... it must cope well with crunch/distortion.

[TwilightOdyssey]

There is no 'best' pup, but there might be a 'worst'.

Any rig/playing style details would help us help you!

Off the top of my head, however, I think that the Holydiver will sound great in a maple strat.

Here's a quick clip I did of an all maple guitar using a HD:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tzk3VygT0y8

[Philly Q]

I agree with you about the Stormy Monday (or similar), to me lower-output pickups sound too bright and thin in a Strat.

But then I mostly own mahogany set neck guitars, so those are the kinds of humbucker sounds I "hear in my head".

If I did have a Strat with a humbucker, I'd be considering the Holydiver or Crawler.

[Dave_M]

If I had a Les Paul or similar, I would go for nailbomb. It will sound sweet and I would be happy. But in a strat... I am worried that it will sound harsh and too bright and a little unpleasent (made worse by the maple fretboard - bright and hard).

But there is still the problem of matching it to the single coils. Is there any way round that? How about putting a resistor in series with the humbucker or wiring in some sort of fixed volume control?


I think one of these will be best (if volume can be matched):
Holydiver
Crawler
Nailbomb

[tremblox]

I personally think that a Mule is terrific in a strat bridge (alder body, rosweood board) and matching with vintage-like single coils (Apache, Sultans etc). I have a tremspaced, naked Mule in my HSS Grosh and it is wonderful. I get a slight volume boost when hitting the bridge alone but that is what I want. Harsh? No way. It's full on trebly when opened up but by using the tone pot (ToneStyler in my case) I can get a really middy and throaty lead tone too. The pickups sounds fanatstic clean with the tone fully opened up and with bit of grit and played hard there's a "stadium rock" tone to die for. The Mule mixes wonderfully with neck and/or mid vintage type single coils for wonderfulyl complex "between toness". I wouldn't want anything hotter myself but that is probably because I'm not a death metal grunge goth queen. Or whatever.
 
 cheers!

[Catalyst77]

I have three superstrats one made of maple the other two alder.

Ive got a VH2 in one, a nailbomb in the other and a holydiver in the third.  And to be honest they are all great.  The holydiver especially works really well i think.

[Catalyst77]

I have three superstrats one made of maple the other two alder.

Ive got a VH2 in one, a nailbomb in the other and a holydiver in the third.  And to be honest they are all great.  The holydiver especially works really well i think.

[Antag]

Holy Diver is sensational in Alder/Maple guitars.  However, I worry that it might massacre the Apaches because it's a fairly powerful pickup.

FWIW I don't have any Apaches, but I do have a Holy Diver/Irish Tour HSS set & it just about balances - IMO HD would be too much for anything less powerful than ITs.  IIRC Irish Tours were originally paired with the "old spec" HD (13k Ceramic) so perhaps Slowhands (or even Trilogies) are a better match for the Alnico HD in an HSS set?

Also, I made the rather silly mistake of putting Sultans mid & neck with a Miracle Man bridge in my alder strat & it's totally unbalanced.  I like the Sultans & the Miracle Man but they just don't work in the same guitar (basically, if I dial in a good clean sound for the neck/mid, then the bridge is unusable on that channel & vice versa)

Tremblox's suggestion might be the best idea - others have posted before about the Mule sounding good in strats (but I don't have any Mules so can't comment...)

[Dave_M]

Thanks for your input. I've been searching the forums and what I came up with is that both Stormy Monday and The Mule are great pickups but Stormy Monday was designed around the AII magnet and Mules around the AIV. So... I now think it would be good to go for an AII Stormy Monday for smoothness. That should take the edge off a bright guitar like the strat.

In my head this makes sence anyway. But I cannot find any sound clips to confirm. If my logic sound ok to you guys I think I may just take a chance.

[Antag]

There are big differences between a Holy Diver & Stormy Monday.

Rather than trying to balance with the Apaches, perhaps we should really be asking what styles of music you planning to play with this strat, what sound you want to achieve etc?

I still think it's very important that the pickups balance (wouldn't want to repeat my alder strat experience), but just buying a humbucker because it won't bury the Apaches might not give you the sound you want.  If "Holy Diver" is the answer to your sound requirements (& trust me, it will sound great in an alder/maple strat :D) then get that & if necessary, change the Apaches later.

[Dave_M]

But the Apaches! I cannot change them! :P

I'm definitely a Strat person not a LP person (for playing). I just wanted a humbucker in the bridge so that it rocks more like an LP. I don't have any specific sound that I'm after but ideally I would like it to cover a range of different stuff. Lightly overdriven blues to rock n roll to modern high gain rock with harmonics.

[Antag]

But the Apaches! I cannot change them! :P
...
Lightly overdriven blues to rock n roll to modern high gain rock with harmonics.

In that case, either Mule or VHII, or perhaps even Black Dogs?

Doesn't sound like you really need/want a Metal Monster pickup, just something that will give an "edge" to mild overdrive sounds that retains clarity under high gain.

I know it's a bit of a cop-out, but "phone Tim" might be the best bit of advice I can give from here.... :)

[Dave_M]

In that case, either Mule or VHII, or perhaps even Black Dogs?

So many pickups so little time! :P

Doesn't sound like you really need/want a Metal Monster pickup, just something that will give an "edge" to mild overdrive sounds that retains clarity under high gain.

Yes that sounds right. I was thinking mules would be the best out of the vintage lot. But then IF it is better to go with AII then maybe Stormys would be better because of somthing Tim said...

I'm not keen on AII in Mules, the bass sounds too soft in a LP and the high end losses definition.AII Mules are fine in Strats but that's about the only time I'll go with AII in a Mule.SMs are a brighter pickup all round and sound lovely and sweet with AII.

But then again that is advice for a mahogany guitar. I think I'll ask tim if I cannot decide.

[gwEm]

But the Apaches! I cannot change them! :P
...
Lightly overdriven blues to rock n roll to modern high gain rock with harmonics.

In that case, either Mule or VHII, or perhaps even Black Dogs?

+1

once tried steve's strat with a Mule, sounded very nice. pickups outputs can be deceptive compared to what you imagine IMO. i'm still certain mules can be a bit louder than miracle men if you whack the strings. p90s are also really loud pickups for example.

[Catalyst77]

I'm pretty sure that I spoke to TIM about Black Dogs in a strat style guitar and he said they werent the best match.

Personally i'd go with VH2's to balance out the apaches; you wont be dissapointed.