Pickup recommendation for Superstrat / H-S

[hunter]

Hey guys,

I recently acquired a 2005 Charvel Pointy US - amazing guitar and believe it or not, this 80s rocker has become my main guitar, it's just so much fun to rock out on.

I even love the bridge Duncan HB (an TB-14 Custom 5) in it and don't think about changing that one at the moment.

However, on the neck, there seems to be a Duncan Classic Stack STKB-1 right now. I find it bright and thin, although it is a stacked model. My guess is this comes from the fact that there is:
-No tone pot
-a 500K Volume pot

So obviously these are two factors contributing to a bright tone on this SC.

Ideally I would be able to use this pickup to extend the tonal range towards
-Clean picking tones with bell like response
-Neck Lead tones à la David Gilmour
-Neck Lead tones à la Richie Blackmore

Output-wise, this neck pickup should be a little less than the TB-14 in the bridge, so they balance out almost even in perceived loudness when switching over, just a tad lower volume on the neck would be ideal.

[hunter]

bump with pic :(

[Twinfan]

Have you checked the wiring of the neck stack?  If it's a four conductor, it may be wired up to be split all the time?  I've had stacked coils before and they're usually anything but thin sounding.  I'm also assuming you've checked the pickup height?

You could also wire a capacitor in-line with the pickup for some treble roll off?

[darkbluemurder]

That is a nice looking guitar, congrats!

I have never played a strat-style BKP before but I would look at the two loud ones for this guitar.

And BTW: did you fit a Pigtail bridge on the PRS? I did that to my Single Cut together with the Tone Pros Locking Studs.

Cheers Stephan

[hunter]

Haven't checked the wiring in detail TBH, will do. It's not really thin, but just doesn't gel well with the TB-14 in the bridge, which is a pretty meaty HB.

The height is as high as I would go with a SC so I could give it a go at lowering it down some, maybe it helps. But it would make it even less output then. I wonder if those stacked SCs are made for 500K or 250K pots? Would there be a way to wire another 500K resistor to the SC? Wonder how to do it.

Indeed, for BKPs I think the higher output ones are the ones to look at. But maybe I'd have to ask Tim for a custom wind to make it more suitable for a single 500K pot?

And yes, mr. eagle eye, that is a Tonepros bridge on the PRS. I took the bridge off after a few days and kept just the locking studs with the old bridge. So TF was right that the original PRS bridge remains the best sounding one (at least among those two options).

Back to topic: Hmmm, or I was wondering if I should put in a tele neck PU (Piledriver) - would it fit at all? But again the issue with the 500K pot. I will definitely not change the pot itself, as 85% of times I play the bridge pickup anyways, so the bridge must remain no compromise wiring.

I'm kinda lost...

[Twinfan]

I have a stacked pickup in my CS Esquire and it likes to be really close to the strings, 2mm.  You can't treat them like single coils, more like a humbucker.  I'd crnak the pickup closer and see how it sounds...

[darkbluemurder]

I would not switch to a tele neck pickup. The string spacing is narrower which would look weird and potentially cause uneven string loudness.

Cheers Stephan

[James C]

Slowhand in the neck? More Vintage than the Trilogies but still with some oomph

[Telerocker]

I guess Slowhand too.

[hunter]

I have a stacked pickup in my CS Esquire and it likes to be really close to the strings, 2mm.  You can't treat them like single coils, more like a humbucker.  I'd crnak the pickup closer and see how it sounds...

Ok done this and you are right, it does sound better, thanks for the tip! I could actually get along with it like this, but all else being perfect on this guitar, I still don't hear what I am after for the neck tone.

Slowhand? But isn't that much too low output to pair with a TB-14? And what about the pot value issue?

Thanks for your help guys!

[darkbluemurder]

Have you checked the wiring of the neck stack?  If it's a four conductor, it may be wired up to be split all the time? 

If you split a stacked humbucker so that only the upper coil works then it will actually sound less thin. So this may be an option if hum is not an issue.

Cheers Stephan

[Zaned]

And what about the pot value issue?

You can wire that 500k resistor. I have done this with a HSS setup and liked the results (Holy diver + Irish Tour). It's an easy and cheap mod.

In short: "Using a 500K volume pot or 500K volume and tone pots, you can get 250K out of it when switched to the single-coil(s) by putting a 500K resistor in parallel with the volume pot. The way to do this is to solder one end of the resistor to the same lug on the switch where the single-coil hot wire connects. The other end of the resistor gets soldered to ground."

Mind you, I didn't miss this when I had a Trilogy suite in that neck position, as it was darker and thicker already. However, the Irish tour was a bit too bright in that guitar with the 500k pot.

-Zaned

[Philly Q]

Slowhand? But isn't that much too low output to pair with a TB-14? And what about the pot value issue?

Nolly has a Slowhand neck in this Strat with an Abraxas bridge pickup and 500k (or 550k) pots, seems to work OK  :) :

http://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=25139.0

Have you checked the wiring of the neck stack?  If it's a four conductor, it may be wired up to be split all the time?  I've had stacked coils before and they're usually anything but thin sounding.  I'm also assuming you've checked the pickup height?

If it's the Classic Stack, that is pretty weedy and thin-sounding (IMO).  Agreed with Stephan, it should sound less thin if you split it (provided you get the right coil!)

[darkbluemurder]

You can wire that 500k resistor. I have done this with a HSS setup and liked the results (Holy diver + Irish Tour). It's an easy and cheap mod.

In short: "Using a 500K volume pot or 500K volume and tone pots, you can get 250K out of it when switched to the single-coil(s) by putting a 500K resistor in parallel with the volume pot. The way to do this is to solder one end of the resistor to the same lug on the switch where the single-coil hot wire connects. The other end of the resistor gets soldered to ground."

Yes, this works as described, except that 500k is not a standard resistor value. You can either use two 1 Meg ohms in parallel or a 470k or a 510k. The difference will in most cases be negligible.

Cheers Stephan

[Philly Q]

So, silly question, but.... for an HSS guitar you'd need two resistors, one for each single-coil?