Best humbucker for an HSS Strat

[Philly Q]

I don't play Strats much, but I do have an HH Strat (alder body, rosewood board) and I find the current pickups - Duncan Pearly Gates Plus and '59 - uncomfortably bright, even harsh.

I suspect any "vintage" style humbucker might sound a little thin, but of course it's a matter of personal taste.

I'd be tempted to go for something with plenty of warmth in the bass - VHII, Crawler, maybe even HD.

[PhilKing]

Neck woods all depend what you are going for, I have several HSS strats and also have put together several more for TO with humbuckers in the bridge with maple and ebony fingerboards.

I have a SSS strat with an Angare/Pau Ferro neck and a HSH on an Ibanez body with a Satine/Ebony neck.  I am just putting together a Warmoth Mockingbird with an Aframosa neck.

I will be buildind 2 other guitars with 'Exotic' necks this year. One will be a Tele with Bubunga/Zircote and the other will be a 'CBS' strat with Goncalo Alves with hopefully a Wenge fingerboard.

In my swamp ash with maple/ebony I have a Holy Diver with 2 Trilogy's, I have the one on order with Rebel Yell and 2 Mothers Milk's (rosewood fingerboard), I have one with an MQ and Slowhands with walnut/ebony, and the Ibanez has Nailbomb/Irish Tour/Cold Sweat.

TO has VHII and Cold Sweat bridge humbuckers, with IT and Trilogy neck single coils (with maple and maple/ebony necks).

All of them have great but distinctive sounds, and pretty much in all cases I was able to bring the neck in line with the bridge.

I personally like unlacquered fingerboards, even my 57 Strat has lost all the lacquer!  With that in mind, the pau ferro is inbetween rosewood and ebony.

Satine is a hard wood, but has a great colour and works well with basswood in the body. bubinga and goncalo alves are more mahogany'ish and angare is between mahogany and maple.

[froglord]

Thanks, Phil. As always, you are a fount of knowledge!

What would be your personal choice for an HSS alder/maple Strat for clean/blues/rock? Or an alder/maple/pau ferro Strat if you've got one (which you probably do - you seem to have one of everything!).

Philly - yes, I agree: the VHII and Crawler are still very much on the cards. I'll have to take the Tim test soon and see what he comes up with.

[PhilKing]

I think for alder/maple I would go with either a VHII or Stormy Monday, with Apache's.  The VHII would give you a lot more push than the Stormy, but for a classic old blues humbucker tone the AII SM can't be beat.  Alder/maple/pau ferro would probably suit the Rebel Yell/Mother's Milk combination really well.

[horsehead]

just thread hi-jacking, I'm going to be either getting Jonathan to build a guitar for me or doing it myself don't know yet, but anyway I'm going for an alder body with an indian rosewood fretboard & flamed maple neck. I'm gonna go for neck & middle of irish tours, but would the best humbucker at bridge be a rebel yell?

[PhilKing]

Depends on what you want to play.  A Crawler might work better, but the Rebel Yell is a great pickup.  It has a lot of mids, the Crawler is more even.

[horsehead]

looking to do the classic mid-'70's & southern rock thing as well as bon jovi stlye rock. Is that any help?