Classic Humbucker tone in a single-coil Strat - Ludwig77 - 09:31 11-11-08
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Here's the deal:
I have a 50's reissue Strat. I don't want to change the vintage looks
of this guitar but because I don't find pickup position 1 very useful
(too much treble bite and noise), I'd love a humbucker tone for just
this position.
I'd still like to preserve your traditional Strat tones for positions
2-5. Is there a stackable single-coil pickup that I could get and wire
so that in position 1, I got a fatter humbucker type of tone (I'm
thinking AC/DCish) and still get that traditional Strat quack tone at
position 2? I would think it would have to disengage the extra stack
on position 2....
The other thing that I want is for the pickup to still look like a
traditional white single-coil so pickups like the blades would not be
in consideration....
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Re: Classic Humbucker tone in a single-coil Strat - White Spirit - 10:12 11-11-08
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Ludwig77 wrote:
> Here's the deal:
> I have a 50's reissue Strat. I don't want to change the vintage looks
> of this guitar but because I don't find pickup position 1 very useful
> (too much treble bite and noise), I'd love a humbucker tone for just
> this position.
> I'd still like to preserve your traditional Strat tones for positions
> 2-5. Is there a stackable single-coil pickup that I could get and wire
> so that in position 1, I got a fatter humbucker type of tone (I'm
> thinking AC/DCish) and still get that traditional Strat quack tone at
> position 2? I would think it would have to disengage the extra stack
> on position 2....
> The other thing that I want is for the pickup to still look like a
> traditional white single-coil so pickups like the blades would not be
> in consideration....
A stacked pickup won't achieve that sound. I'd recommend a JB Jr for
what you want, but it has two rows of polepieces.
Seymour Duncan make a high output hot single coil pickup that will get
closer to that sound. All the stacked pickups I'm familiar with are
wired in parallel for a single coil sound with no noise.
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Re: Classic Humbucker tone in a single-coil Strat - Amazing Disgrace - 10:40 11-11-08
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On Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:31:35 -0800 (PST), Ludwig77 wrote:
> Here's the deal:
>
> I have a 50's reissue Strat. I don't want to change the vintage looks
> of this guitar but because I don't find pickup position 1 very useful
> (too much treble bite and noise), I'd love a humbucker tone for just
> this position.
>
> I'd still like to preserve your traditional Strat tones for positions
> 2-5. Is there a stackable single-coil pickup that I could get and wire
> so that in position 1, I got a fatter humbucker type of tone (I'm
> thinking AC/DCish) and still get that traditional Strat quack tone at
> position 2? I would think it would have to disengage the extra stack
> on position 2....
>
> The other thing that I want is for the pickup to still look like a
> traditional white single-coil so pickups like the blades would not be
> in consideration....
I use the Duncan Lil59er in one strat of mine. Its never gonna sound like
"gibson humbucker tone" for a trillion reasons, but, its a nice, warm-ish
pickup. Loud, not overly hot.
There are some pickups that supposedly are geared towards "quack" in
position 2, but, those to me, sound very thin, on their own.
I'm not sure what are really after, actually exists.
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Re: Classic Humbucker tone in a single-coil Strat - Amazing Disgrace - 10:44 11-11-08
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On Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:12:00 +0000, White Spirit wrote:
> Ludwig77 wrote:
>
>> Here's the deal:
>
>> I have a 50's reissue Strat. I don't want to change the vintage looks
>> of this guitar but because I don't find pickup position 1 very useful
>> (too much treble bite and noise), I'd love a humbucker tone for just
>> this position.
>
>> I'd still like to preserve your traditional Strat tones for positions
>> 2-5. Is there a stackable single-coil pickup that I could get and wire
>> so that in position 1, I got a fatter humbucker type of tone (I'm
>> thinking AC/DCish) and still get that traditional Strat quack tone at
>> position 2? I would think it would have to disengage the extra stack
>> on position 2....
>
>> The other thing that I want is for the pickup to still look like a
>> traditional white single-coil so pickups like the blades would not be
>> in consideration....
>
> A stacked pickup won't achieve that sound. I'd recommend a JB Jr for
> what you want, but it has two rows of polepieces.
>
> Seymour Duncan make a high output hot single coil pickup that will get
> closer to that sound.
Thats probably the Quarter Pounder, which is great, but didnt sound like a
humbucker to me.... theres also the Muy Grande by Rio Grande. Both are
excellent.
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Re: Classic Humbucker tone in a single-coil Strat - White Spirit - 10:47 11-11-08
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Amazing Disgrace wrote:
>> Seymour Duncan make a high output hot single coil pickup that will get
>> closer to that sound.
> Thats probably the Quarter Pounder, which is great, but didnt sound like a
> humbucker to me....
I was thinking of their 'Hot' pickup:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/progressive/hot_for_strat_s/
I thought about mentioning the Quarter Pound, which I prefer, but it
only comes in black and doesn't look vintage.
Both pickups can get closer to the AC/DC sound because they have enough
output to drive the amp nicely, and will also give the 'quack' sound
together with the middle pickup.
The JB Jr. is the best choice in terms of the sound the OP desires as it
will 'quack' nicely in the second and fourth positions in addition to
being a series humbucker.
> theres also the Muy Grande by Rio Grande. Both are
> excellent.
I remember you mentioning that one. I think I'm going to try it.
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Re: Classic Humbucker tone in a single-coil Strat - Squier - 12:04 11-11-08
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> Ludwig77 <gregjgman@gmail.com> wrote:
> Here's the deal:
>
> I have a 50's reissue Strat. I don't want to change the vintage looks
> of this guitar but because I don't find pickup position 1 very useful
> (too much treble bite and noise), I'd love a humbucker tone for just
> this position.
>
> I'd still like to preserve your traditional Strat tones for positions
> 2-5. Is there a stackable single-coil pickup that I could get and wire
> so that in position 1, I got a fatter humbucker type of tone (I'm
> thinking AC/DCish) and still get that traditional Strat quack tone at
> position 2? I would think it would have to disengage the extra stack
> on position 2....
>
> The other thing that I want is for the pickup to still look like a
> traditional white single-coil so pickups like the blades would not be
> in consideration....
no... here's the deal:
Young could plug into a stock Strat playing into a cranked Super reverb
and sound more like Young than if he handed you his rig and you played
through the exact same setup as he played.
Rule #1 -- sounding like someone else is more about how he or she plays
than what rig they are using. There are too many people that fall into
the belief that playing electruc guitar is some sort of widget that can
easily morph you into sounding like someone else with just a quick
flip of some electric gear.
Rule #2 -- the apple and orange will never taste the same no matter
whether you color the orange skin red or the apple skin orange.
Essentially you are saying - "I have an apple and I want it to taste
like an orange... what can I do ...? "
Answer 1 - buy an orange... err.. marshall (and SG too while you're at it
with the same pups he uses)
if you really want to play through the
rig Young plays through - then get a similar rig. Then study is style
of playing. The trick to sounding like him is playing like him and
it's those straight up hard hitting leads he does that is the true
signature with clean overdriven sustain and Marshall honk and grunt.
Answer 2 - if you can play like him (no matter what guitar/amp rig
you are using) then you are going to catch the vibe and the audience
will relate to it and not really care if you aren't playing with a
Marshall stack. Which means with your Stratocaster you are NEVER going
to sound like him. But you can elicit the vibe.
So...
get yourself a DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Solo (DP404) or
a DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Solo Pro (DP414) and you'll have
a single coil sized stacked pickup that will get you a P90
type of sound. You are NOT going to get a full sized humbucker
sound out of ANY stacked single coil. Nope. Nada. No way.
But you can get some P90 goodness out of them. The 2 suggested
above can get you there. Now all you need to do is to play in
the same style as Young plays. The 'gear' part is easy - playing
like Young is the hard part. No magic 'gear' can do that for you.
If you are playing with an amp rig other than what Young plays
(and if you do have the same rig or close then cranking it up
means you probably don't have neighbors within 1/4 mile range or more)
then you might want to get a tube amp (probably a 5 - 18 watt EL84 based amp)
that you can crank up and get natural tube overdrive.
Personally I find that Strats usually do their best with
Fender 6V6 or 6L6 amps but... well... you want AC/DC "Young" rather
than Neil Young... so consider EL84 or better yet a blasting EL34 Marshall amp.
Of course you might also consider that great accessory known as
the effects pedal. You can catch the AC/DC vibe with the Dimarzio DP414
and a cranked Deluxe Reverb using an MI Audio Crunch Box pedal.
I know from personal experience. I have one and also have Deluxe Reverb
and also have a "Fat" Strat but I use a blade pickup at the bridge
(DiMarzio Chopper pickup). But I also have used the Dimarzio DP414
and it has more of a P90 type sound then the Chopper blade pickup (which
has actually more of a clear sounding hot single coil type of sound)
So there ya go. Your apple still won't taste (or sound) like an orange.
But we can dress it up a little so at least you might think it's now an orange
(Dimarzio DP414 and MI Audio Crunch Box) and if you can play in the same
style as AC/DC then the audience will also believe the illusion.
And that's all that matters.
rock on.
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Re: Classic Humbucker tone in a single-coil Strat - boardjunkie - 15:15 11-11-08
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On Nov 11, 10:47=A0am, White Spirit <wspi...@homechoice.co.uk> wrote:
> Amazing Disgrace wrote:
> >> Seymour Duncan make a high output hot single coil pickup that will get
> >> closer to that sound.
> > Thats probably the Quarter Pounder, which is great, but didnt sound lik=
e a
> > humbucker to me....
>
> I was thinking of their 'Hot' pickup:
>
> http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/progressi...
>
> I thought about mentioning the Quarter Pound, which I prefer, but it
> only comes in black and doesn't look vintage.
>
> Both pickups can get closer to the AC/DC sound because they have enough
> output to drive the amp nicely, and will also give the 'quack' sound
> together with the middle pickup.
>
> The JB Jr. is the best choice in terms of the sound the OP desires as it
> will 'quack' nicely in the second and fourth positions in addition to
> being a series humbucker.
>
> > theres also the Muy Grande by Rio Grande. Both are
> > excellent.
>
> I remember you mentioning that one. =A0I think I'm going to try it.
If you want the Malcolm Young tone get a TV Jones Filtertron replica.
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Re: Classic Humbucker tone in a single-coil Strat - Meat Plow - 15:27 11-11-08
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On Tue, 11 Nov 2008 06:31:35 -0800 (PST), Ludwig77
<gregjgman@gmail.com>wrote:
>Here's the deal:
>
>I have a 50's reissue Strat. I don't want to change the vintage looks
>of this guitar but because I don't find pickup position 1 very useful
>(too much treble bite and noise), I'd love a humbucker tone for just
>this position.
>
>I'd still like to preserve your traditional Strat tones for positions
>2-5. Is there a stackable single-coil pickup that I could get and wire
>so that in position 1, I got a fatter humbucker type of tone (I'm
>thinking AC/DCish) and still get that traditional Strat quack tone at
>position 2? I would think it would have to disengage the extra stack
>on position 2....
>
>The other thing that I want is for the pickup to still look like a
>traditional white single-coil so pickups like the blades would not be
>in consideration....
You're not going to get a double row poled humbucker sound out of a
single row of pole pieces or blade. What I've found to give you the
best of both worlds are the Kent Armstrong line. I have them in two
Strats and love the sound. If I want true Strat sounds in a single
pole humbucker I rely on the DiMarzio HS 2/3 line in another Strat.
The dual blade Kent Armstrong pickups can be wired to give you single
coil selection if you want extra switches but I'd rather just change
guitars.
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Re: Classic Humbucker tone in a single-coil Strat - RichL - 15:38 11-11-08
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boardjunkie <boardjunkie@techie.com> wrote:
> On Nov 11, 10:47 am, White Spirit <wspi...@homechoice.co.uk> wrote:
>> Amazing Disgrace wrote:
>>>> Seymour Duncan make a high output hot single coil pickup that will
>>>> get closer to that sound.
>>> Thats probably the Quarter Pounder, which is great, but didnt sound
>>> like a humbucker to me....
>>
>> I was thinking of their 'Hot' pickup:
>>
>>
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/progressi...
>>
>> I thought about mentioning the Quarter Pound, which I prefer, but it
>> only comes in black and doesn't look vintage.
>>
>> Both pickups can get closer to the AC/DC sound because they have
>> enough output to drive the amp nicely, and will also give the
>> 'quack' sound together with the middle pickup.
>>
>> The JB Jr. is the best choice in terms of the sound the OP desires
>> as it will 'quack' nicely in the second and fourth positions in
>> addition to being a series humbucker.
>>
>>> theres also the Muy Grande by Rio Grande. Both are
>>> excellent.
>>
>> I remember you mentioning that one. I think I'm going to try it.
>
> If you want the Malcolm Young tone get a TV Jones Filtertron replica.
Yup! They're called "Classics" and I've got two of them on my Gretsch
Tennessean! Instant AC/DC through my JCM 800 2204.
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Re: Classic Humbucker tone in a single-coil Strat - AJ - 16:32 11-11-08
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In article <b903e908-225e-4a4e-baeb-c76751bb46e3
@o40g2000prn.googlegroups.com>, gregjgman@gmail.com says...
> Here's the deal:
>
> I have a 50's reissue Strat. I don't want to change the vintage looks
> of this guitar but because I don't find pickup position 1 very useful
> (too much treble bite and noise), I'd love a humbucker tone for just
> this position.
>
> I'd still like to preserve your traditional Strat tones for positions
> 2-5. Is there a stackable single-coil pickup that I could get and wire
> so that in position 1, I got a fatter humbucker type of tone (I'm
> thinking AC/DCish) and still get that traditional Strat quack tone at
> position 2? I would think it would have to disengage the extra stack
> on position 2....
>
> The other thing that I want is for the pickup to still look like a
> traditional white single-coil so pickups like the blades would not be
> in consideration....
>
Regarding the treble bite of the stock PUP, most Fender RI's come wired
so there's no tone control connected when the bridge PUP is used alone.
A common mod that many newer Fenders have, is to add a jumper on the
switch so the tone control for the middle pickup also works for the
bridge pickup. Makes a big, big difference, but of course that won't
turn it into a humbucker.
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