HSS Strat Alder/Maple pickups

[xXNicFlairXx]

Hi, i'm in the final and most interesting part of my HSS Strat build - which pickups to choose. I adore fender strats but i've never really got on with the bridge pickup (too bright to my ears) so i decided on HSS and versatility is what i'm looking for. Guitar is nitro alder bodied and maple neck. I want pure classic strat tones from the neck and middle but i want something fat and beefy in the bridge. i play many different styles but tone-wise i'm looking for rock/rockabilly/surf tones from the singles and something that can go heavier from the bridge. i was considering Apaches or MM's for the singles and for the bucker i was looking maybe a black dog or mule, or even putting a HSP90 in there (maybe MQ). Alder and maple guitar will be naturally bright and i would like whatever i put in the bridge to play nicely with the middle so not such an easy choice.
Let me know what you guys think, or feedback from anybody who's tried any of these.
Cheers fellas.

[Telerocker]

Easy for the bridge: Crawler, fat, beefy, round but not dull topend (highs are there, don't worry), really growls when pushed. Big solotones, also higher on the fretboard. Splits very well, for a nice classic quack in the fourth position. I have one in a swampashstrat, paired with Irish Tours. You can play nearly everything with it. And it's not that high output, not much more then the VHII in my ash Fender HSS. The Mule would not be beefy enough in alder. the Black Dog would do, but somehow few people choose that one for a strat. On the contrary the Abraxas is popular as a stratbridge-pu. That one is more or less a blend of the Mule and the Crawler.

Single coils are a matter of taste, but I would not pick Mother's Milk on a strat with a maple neck. Might be on the bright side. Irish Tours would work better, I think. IT's have a tad more beef and bass then the MM's, but turn the volume on your guitar a tad down and your in MM-territory.
Apaches are very good too and maybe the best choice for a maple neck. I don't know how they combine with a Crawler.

[xXNicFlairXx]

nice recomendations. the more i read about the crawler, the more it sounds like what i'm looking for, vintage sounds with a bit of kick. you mentioned that MM's would be bright with my guitar(alder/maple), so i think those are out. i never really considered IT's, curious how they would sound with a maple neck strat. i once tried fender texas specials and wasn't impressed at all. my other guitars are 79 Guild S-60(all mahogany with single guild hb-1 humbucker) great rock tones, and a Dearmond starfire-special semi with dynasonics and flat-wound 12's (super-twangy). so with this strat build i'm looking for a bit of everything, classic fender tones and a bridge bucker with plenty of oomph!
cheers.

[Telerocker]

The IT is like an overwound MM, a little grittier, hotter, and with more mids and bass, a slightly less bright topend. The IT cleans up great and you can early sixties with ease. The MM is woodier and leaner, compared to the IT. If that is your cup of tea you might want to check out the Pat Pend 63, which would fit a maple board too. If you want a fuller clean 50's sound, pick the Apaches. They are more then a one trick pony and handle gain very well.

[darkbluemurder]

Isn't Crawler and two Mothers Milks a set HSS combination? I would go with these unless you are sure that your particular guitar is on the bright side. Not all maple board guitars are really bright - in fact I have one guitar with a swamp ash body and maple neck/board, and that is the darkest guitar I have.

Cheers Stephan

[Telerocker]

Set combinations or not, from my experience Crawlers/IT's work great, so do VHII/Mother's Milk.

[xXNicFlairXx]

I'm strongly leaning towards IT's + Crawler combo. my only concern is that the IT's might be a bit too hot for what i want. that said, i generally play with my volume and tone pots at around 7 and dial in a sweet tone and then turn them all the way up and dig in when i want a bit of grit. how do they clean up? how does the crawler clean up? my amp is not high gain and when i feel the need i got a keeley modded rat for distortion and a creamy-dreamer modded big muff for wall of noise fuzz, i'm sure the crawler could handle this. yes?

[darkbluemurder]

The Crawler cleans up very well. Absolutely no issues here.

Cheers Stephan

[Telerocker]

No issues at all. BKP's have unsurpassed clarity and cleaning up qualities. Especially with the volumeknob down the IT's sound close to Mother's Milks. They have a great clean sound.
You will the splitqualities of the Crawler too. It's a beefy strat under your fingertips. Go back to full humbucker and bazooka.... I use dist. and drive/boostpedals with the Crawler on the cleanchannel too. Works fantastic.

[itamar101]

No issues at all. BKP's have unsurpassed clarity and cleaning up qualities. Especially with the volumeknob down the IT's sound close to Mother's Milks. They have a great clean sound.
You will the splitqualities of the Crawler too. It's a beefy strat under your fingertips. Go back to full humbucker and bazooka.... I use dist. and drive/boostpedals with the Crawler on the cleanchannel too. Works fantastic.

Typing on your phone, or just tired? :lol:

[Telerocker]

No issues at all. BKP's have unsurpassed clarity and cleaning up qualities. Especially with the volumeknob down the IT's sound close to Mother's Milks. They have a great clean sound.
You will the splitqualities of the Crawler too. It's a beefy strat under your fingertips. Go back to full humbucker and bazooka.... I use dist. and drive/boostpedals with the Crawler on the cleanchannel too. Works fantastic.

Typing on your phone, or just tired? :lol:

Hahaha, I see I missed some words and maybe it's not proper English. Like: cleaning up qualities, hahaha. Now I see. My Dutch is way better I can tell you!  :) Yeah it was late!  :)