HSS S1 switched Strat - Which pick ups? (new to forum)

[rotpunkt]

I have a HSS strat which while I love how it plays, I'm not overly keen on how it sounds... so looking to upgrade the pick-ups.

I'm not a great lover of positions 2 & 4 and I rarely play without the S1 on (I like the boost of the extra coil I guess).

So, what would you recommend for boosting the single coils.

Starter for 10 would be crawler with irish tours.

Looking for something clean-ish and warm, with as much bottom end as possible.

I play a mixture of stuff (all badly...  :lol: ) but no rawk or metal. Mostly alt stuff (esp. americana). Yeah, I know, there is no hope for me...

[Mr. Air]

If you want some more bottom end and still stay on the medium hot side of things then I think the Crawler paired with Slowhands would be a good choice.

[Telerocker]

I have the Crawler/Irish Tours-combo in a swampash-strat. Does everything, but metal, but I don't play that anyway. Crawler spits very good too. This pickup is great to fatten up strats. No whimpy leadtones anymore. It's a sort of very hot PAF, but nothing over the top. Sounds good on any of my amps.

The Irish Tours are great for funk, pop, rock, bluesrock en rock. They are fuller and grittier then Mother's Milk, but if you turn the volume on the guitar a tad down, you can get close to Frusciante-tones. The neckpickup is great for soloing. Slowhands are quite middy. If the second and fourth position are not that important, you could put an IT in the middle and a Slowhand in the neckpos. for more versality.

My ash Fender American Series HSS has a VHII/Mothers Milk-combo. This set is a bit leaner then the Crawler/IT-combo, but great on a good amp. VHII is balanced, but brighter then the Crawler. Great touchsensitive rockpickup. You get punch and nearly no compression. Screams when driven hard.
I did not only swap the pickups, I took out the S1-switchingcircuit. I went for a simple setup with autosplit on the fourth position. Swapped the pots for cts's. This strats sounds so much better then with the original S1-system/pickups. Really breathes now.

[rotpunkt]

Thanks for the relies guys. Much appreciated.

Telerocker, I think you must be psychic (either that or maybe all noobs ask the same questions) but you also answered most of my further queries (even the mix-match one.... spooky). Did you try your strat with S1 switching on upgrade or just bin it from the off?

Also, how easy is it to DIY it? I've not tried to solder for 25+ years but I work with a couple of sparkies, one of which is due me a favour...  :lol:

I'll be speaking to Ben Monday am.

ETA: Telerocker, don't suppose you have a photo of your crawler/IT combo? Interested in how they look installed (to help make me decide to keep the 'stock' white look or maybe change - its a black '03 US HSS with rosewood board that I've got.)

[Telerocker]

Here you go. MXG-strat with the cocobolo top has the Crawler/IT's-combo. The Fender HSS carries VHII and Mother's Milks. The S1-switching system has fans, but a lot of players (read the fora) think it takes away the sparkle. With the original pickups it sounded a bit muffled. I had pickups and wiring changed at once. I don't care for a lot of switching options. I like to keep things simple, yet effective. I want a good hb-sound and a nice quack on second and fourth position. You could try how BKP's sound with the S1-system. That would be interesting
I don't solder myself. A friend has a guitarshop and he does all the tech on my guitars. The Fender is wired according to the BKP-diagram for HSS-strats. You can find it under the support-button on the website.

https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/downloads/schematics/general/hsh_hss/hss__1_vol__2_tone__5_way_with_auto_coilsplit.pdf

[rotpunkt]

Thanks Telerocker, I actually managed to find most these pictures located elsewhere here (it's amazing what you find if you actually look...  :oops: ).

I think I might just go for a pre-wired guard as I assume that it's pretty much pull the old guard and fit the new (only the jack to connect?) which would mean that if necessary it would be easy enough to revert to stock. And it's not really much more than I was quoted for getting it wired locally. Guess something else to discuss with Ben come Monday am....

I haven't a clue about most of what you guy mean when discussing PU's (fat, articulation, ice-picky, etc) but I do know you're pretty helpful. So thanks again :D

[Telerocker]

Cheers!

A prewired guard is a good idea.

Those terms try to capture tonal differences and characteristics.
Icepickey - to much highs that annoy the ears
Fat - strats usually sounds thinner then mahogany based setneck guitars, so if you want a big full sound and thick leadtones, you need a humbucker that delivers good mids and bass. 'Fat', guitarists usually say. Or 'beefy'.
Articulation - even when you playing with a lot of gain you want to retain pickingattack and you still want to hear the difference between each string (noteseparation).

[Slartibartfarst42]

I haven't a clue about most of what you guy mean when discussing PU's (fat, articulation, ice-picky, etc) but I do know you're pretty helpful. So thanks again :D

It's a minefield isn't it and it can be very confusing. The one that really got me was the difference between 'Tight' and 'Articulation' so I initially found I was asking about tight pickups when that wasn't actually what I wanted. You live and learn.

[rotpunkt]

Ha, yeah, just been reading the 'tighest' pick up thread; woooooooosh...

I lack the suitable frame of reference! My own musical influences range mostly from the pre, punk and post via the likes of James Burton... I mean I've never even heard Reign in Blood (or Megadeth). I have a split Anthrax/PE 7" somewhere though....

Just makes it all the more difficult to comprehend. It's like I know all the words, just not their meaning
 :D

[Telerocker]

Sounds are difficult to describe. As a winefan I have the same problem reading winemagazines. You've got to taste the wine to understand keywords like oaky in the nose, hints of pencil, limestone and lychee. :-)
Oh yeah, we keep on tasting... which is not a bad thing.  :D

[rotpunkt]

Well, just off the phone to BKP's. Ordered a pre-wired guard (tortoiseshell after seeing Nolly's reliced cream start on here) with a crawler and IT's. Went mad and got the zinc plates too.

I did consider the Slowhands and I thought they sounded better clean but thought the IT's sounded better driven.

Thanks everybody for their help.

[Telerocker]

Well, just off the phone to BKP's. Ordered a pre-wired guard (tortoiseshell after seeing Nolly's reliced cream start on here) with a crawler and IT's. Went mad and got the zinc plates too.

I did consider the Slowhands and I thought they sounded better clean but thought the IT's sounded better driven.

Thanks everybody for their help.

The baseplates you will definitely add some extra bottom. Nolly's relic looks fab. What colour has your strat? Cream white and tortoise will look badass. When it's finished it would be nice if you post some pics.

Enjoy your BKP's.

[rotpunkt]

The baseplates you will definitely add some extra bottom. Nolly's relic looks fab. What colour has your strat? Cream white and tortoise will look badass. When it's finished it would be nice if you post some pics.

Enjoy your BKP's.

Mine's black (although having spied Nolly's I'm kinda wishing it was that colour!). Gone cream (zebra) guards and hardware. I did consider black but thought it'd be a bit too much.

Yeah, if I can workout how to post photos I'll stick some up. There's not a lot of HSS strats up so another wouldn't go amiss...  :D and I enjoyed looking at other set ups so it seems only fair.

Just the wait for them now....

[Telerocker]

When you start a new topic you can add attachments (by example photo's). Easy. Just make them small/suitable for the net. By the way, black and tortoise is classy too.

[rotpunkt]

Arrived Friday, got fitted Saturday.


Pre-wired BKP guard (with Crawler and Irsh Tours) , on Flickr


HSS Strat with BKP pre-wired guard #2, on Flickr

Initial reactions are mixed.

First up the neck pick-up (IT w/ base plate) is pretty much what I was after. Sounds great clean or driven... Chuffed at hitting that nail on the head.

Not really got a strong opinion either way on the middle coil. Guess I miss the S1 switching at the moment.

Crawler will take a bit of getting used to. I need to find the amp settings that makes it what I want. Its been too hot to spend the time sweating up in the hotbox of a room I use to play in (best for the neighbours...)

However I am impressed with the service and the wiring job is pretty much perfect!

I have a whole heap of other photo's. If anybody is interested I'll stick 'em up in the gallery.

Thanks to iimusic (for turning the fitting/set up around to fast) BKP and everybody who bothered to offer an opinion/help. Its appreciated :D