Any HM Strat guys out there?

[NYCityRocker]

  Haven't had the Super 3 in there in years and I've had all kinds of stuff in it...but the thing is I have used different amps, software etc, so to I never really got a comparison. Right now I got an old Super 70 p'up that was rewound but it's Gib spaced and I'm putting it in my Yamaha SBG, which means I will need to fill that space...and with something good I can solo with. Any other owners of the HM on here? I'm strongly considering an F-Spaced Emerald, because 1. I love the soundclips compared to the others on the "Classic Rock" option, and 2. I'm all about the highs. I can get low end anywhere, but if the highs suck, it all sucks...imo anyway. Am I going the right direction with the Emerald? I love the highs to be clear, thick and juicy. I hate tinny highs. I am also considering a VOX AC15 Handwired so that would be the amp matched to this pickup. My HM is a 1989 USA, so there's a chance it's alder instead of basswood. Thanks much, any insight would be appreciated. :)

[Telerocker]

The Emeralds needs a darker sounding mahogany based guitar I think. It would not be my first choice for a strat for sure. I think you best pick a choice along the lines of middier vintagehotpickups like the Abraxas and Crawler. They perform well in strats.

[Slartibartfarst42]

I can see your logic as the Emerald does sound fantastic and it is bright but I'd be inclined to agree with Telerocker that in a Strat it will be overpowering in its brightness. I tried an Emerald bridge in my PRS SE Custom 24 which is probably a bit darker than your Strat and it was ear piercingly bright to the extent that i had to send it back and took a Holydiver instead. The neck Emerald is a different matter - that's a keeper  :D

For your Strat I'd say there are 3 options depending on how modern you want to go. First up would be the Abraxas to give you a hot PAF tone with nice thick and fluid notes. Quite a balanced pickup from what I can gather but the brightness of your guitar will mean it cuts through OK. Next up would be the Crawler which is similar to the Abraxas but hotter and more compressed. Very fat, dark and smooth but with very sweet sounding highs and plenty articulation in a Strat. Finally would be the Holydiver, which works really well in Strats. It has a more modern tone but will do Classic Rock very well indeed and is very versatile. I use mine for everything from Doobie Brothers to Metallica! The bass is tighter than the other two and has great lead tones.

[Kiichi]

I can only agree with what my "collegues" have said here.

I however would probably steer slightly towards the Abraxas as you say you are all about highs and the other two, while having highs and cut, are more musically rounded in that area.

[NYCityRocker]

 Hey guys, thanks so much for these replies. Looks like Abraxas, Crawler and Holy Diver are the faves. I do want to tell you all that the HM Strat is Fender's entry into the Super Strat market. It's either Alder or Basswood, covered with that super thick airplane paint and has a Kahler Spyder tremolo. It's definitely darker than a "real" or traditional strat. More like a 24 fret bolt on Charvel imo. I took the single coils out of the mid and bridge and had a HB cavity routed there because I felt the guitar swallowed up the single coils. Besides all of the above, what is your opinion of the Riff Raff in the bridge of a Super Strat? Thanks again.

[Slartibartfarst42]

If it's basswood, that tends to be a more balanced wood while alder is a bit brighter and the trem should brighten it up a bit too so I'd be surprised if it's significantly darker than a normal Strat. I mention this only because, like the Emerald you originally mentioned, the Riff Raff is a bright pickup and would therefore lend itself better to mahogany, not entirely surprisingly, like an SG. I'm not at all convinced that would be the pickup for you. If you really wanted something more open and less compressed than the Crawler and Holydiver and you wanted an alternative to the Abraxas, I'd say you'd be better off looking at the Black Dog. It has plenty of thick mids like the Holydiver, is tighter than the Abraxas and has an open PAF character to it. As you insist on moving towards brighter pickups, I'd say you should replace the Crawler in my original 3 options with the Black Dog but I still think the Holydiver and Abraxas are fantastic choices for what you're after.

[NYCityRocker]

 Sounds like it's the Abraxas! I've been reading reviews and soundclips, and I think this one will definitely be a good match. Thanks all!

[Telerocker]

Sounds like it's the Abraxas! I've been reading reviews and soundclips, and I think this one will definitely be a good match. Thanks all!

That's for sure a good choice. Fiddle with the height to find the sweet spot, scatterwound-pickups are sensitive for the right height.

[nkay]

I have a couple Fender Contemporary Stratocasters from 85/86 that were the precursors to the HM strat. It's probably basswood like these, and for that I've found a powerful ceramic mag pickup sounds best. The tremolo system on mine really dulls the sound so you need something to overpower these weaknesses with some cut.
I did have Holy Divers and they were ok, but didn't cut enough, and I recently went back to Dimarzio Super Distortions.

I haven't tried them myself, but the Cold Sweat or ceramic Nailbomb or even the Miracle Man may work out here. They put a Super 3 in these guitars for a reason!

[NYCityRocker]

     Interesting. I picked the guitar up around 2006, and it had the Super 3, but I just thought it was too "metal'y" so I started experimenting with other pickups. This guitar swallowed up the Rio Grande BBQ bucker so I can understand your sifting through the similar build hums. I happened upon a pair of 1977 Ibanez Super 70s like in EVH's Destroyer so I put them in my LP and they sounded great. I then removed the cover off of one to experiment and I broke it. I had Wade from Motor City in Det, USA rethink the pickup and he wound it to 8.2k bridge spec and replaced the cover...it ripped my LP's head off. Loved it. Later I took the cover off again and it was just ear piercingly bright in the LP so I put it in the HM Strat and the HM Strat loves the pickup without the cover...and the Super 70s have a huge, powerful Alnico 8 magnet. So what you're saying is right on par with my experiments. The guitar sounds great with the p'up in there, it's just that I am having to have the baseplate repaired because the screws are stripped and it's mounted into the wood...I HATE mounting pickups into the wood. It sounded better when it floated, so after I get it repaired and recovered, it's going into the bridge position of an old Yamaha SBG 3000 and the HM Strat will get a new properly spaced pickup. Man, after all this I think I am back to the Emerald because of it's rep as a super bright pickup...for some reason I can't let that one go...lol. Tim from Bare Knuckle, btw, rewound, waxed and recovered my OTHER Super 70 after I broke it. Wound it to it's original reverse wound 7.9k and it's sounds magnificent in my Les Paul. I just moved it to the neck and the clean sound I'm getting is stellar. Thanks for the input...the Emerald it will be!

[Telerocker]

Well, let us know how the Emeralds performs in your strat. I'm curious about that.

[nkay]

Ok, I didn't realize at first you were looking for something more classic rock sound. That's hard to do with these types of Strats unfortunately. I use my Fender Contemporaries for metal only, and switched to LP's for rock 'n roll for that deeper chunky sound. Hope the Emerald works out for you if you try it.

[Slartibartfarst42]

Well you're certainly not going to get 'that deeper chunky sound' out of an Emerald fitted to a Strat! I hope it works out for you and I also hope you like it really bright. Granted basswood tends to be a bit deeper than a conventional alder Strat but even so, I'd be surprised if it's darker than my PRS which is mahogany with a trem and the Emerald was way too bright for me in that. The Emerald is great for Classic Rock and the clips do sound great but that is in a Les Paul, which will naturally be a lot darker than your Strat. As for 'cut', I know what you mean because I find that a maple neck-thru like my Jackson tends to deaden things a bit but I wouldn't say you need a ceramic pickup to make it work. OK, I have a Miracle Man in there now and I've used a Cold Sweat before but the alnico V Holydiver also worked really well and the alnico Nailbomb had so much aggression and cut I had to send it back. The ceramic Miracle Man cuts less than that A-Bomb!

[NYCityRocker]

 ...still intrigued by those Abraxas clips. I am pondering.

[darkbluemurder]

Abraxas bridge is a great sounding pickup with good highs but I would not call it really bright. Never played the Emerald but if you want highs compared with a solid midrange the Black Dog would be another option.

Cheers Stephan