HH VS HSH VS HSS on a superstrat

[james...]

In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages to all of these?

Assume you have a 5 way switch with whatever wiring you can imagine.

 

[blackba]

The HH can you can go with all 500k pots for the humbuckers. Lose the straty sounds of the positions 2 and 4.
The HSH, you get the kind of straty sounds in positions 2 and 4. Not as clear if we choose 250k or 500k pots here.
SSH I assume you mean, where the humbucker is in the bridge. Its a compromise if you use 250k pots, but some humbuckers worth fine with 250k. Can use 500k pots and just have 500k resistors switch in parallel when you use the single coils.

My choice would be SSH, then HH, then HSH. I have a couple of strats with the SSH configuration. When you split the humbucker, you can still pretend you have a SSS strat which is nice. You also still have the neck/middle combo which is nice. I find this the best of both worlds between having all humbuckers in a strat and all single coils.

 

[Badronald]

While all my Stratocasters look like Stratocasters and I'm a Stratocaster guy to the core I've never actually had a single coil pickup in the bridge position (for long). I really hate them. Mine are stacked humbuckers.

Later today I pick up one of my Stratocasters from the shop. Put a Suhr Aldrich in there and got a set-up. Really looking forward to it. 1st full size humbucker I've ever put in a Stratocaster.

 

[Beret]

A couple of questions that may help choose direction...

• If you don't need/want a neck humbucker for jazzier or thick leads, then the solution is easy, SSH.

• If you do want a neck humbucker, then the next question is how often do you switch positions on a strat. Are you a 1st and 5th position guy or do you use 2, 3, and 4? If the former, then I recommend HH. You split the humbuckers and life is good. Pots are simple.

• If the latter, then go HSH. You can get a lot of different tones with a 5 way + push/pull (think Guthrie).

My personal preference is I like the thick neck leads and jazzy cleans so I want a neck humbucker. I like the single coil sounds but I'm a 1st, 3rd, 5th position guy so HH with a 5-way is perfect for me. My favorite super strat (Suhr Modern) is HH and I have no regrets.

~B

 

[Gainfreak]

These days with all the available super switches you can pretty much wire your guitar to whatever sound you want. The devil is in the details of knowing what type of sounds you like.

If you are a guy who wants every single sound known to man then it's tough to beat a HSH with coil taps and push pull pots.

Here is what ive discovered and YMMV

HH
Powerfull lead and rhythm on both pickup. Can be split, series or parallel, coiled tapped, you name it. you can get a single coil type sound without the noise when pairing coils.
Disadvantages: Even when you coil tap and use a n/s split in parallel, you still lose that strat single coil sound a bit. You can get close but ive never been able to get it to sound exact. If that's ok then you are good to go. If you also coild tap a humbuckers pickup you will get the noise associated with a single coil. (because it will be a single coil because you are using 1 coil of the HB at that point)

HSH, already covered in my first response but the negative is that some people hate the way this feels because the added middle pickup does get in the way of your pickhand if you are not used to it.

SSH.
Will get you the closest to a strat type sound with the more powerfull Bridge p/u. Disadvantage is if you still use a true single coil you will get the hum and noise that is associated with single coils. If you get a stacked single coil then you would probably be better off going HH IMHO.

 

[grooveHT]

A few things with respect to the HSS setup; I typically go all hum-cancelling with noiseless single coils, either Kinmans, DiMarzio Areas or Cruisers, or SD Stack Plusses. With all the good noiseless choices out there, plenty of options to be had. Also, I believe Suhr came out with a wiring scheme that utilizes a 5-way mega switch and resistors to allow your single coil pickups to "see" 250k and the bridge bucker to "see" 500k. Another neat product for an HSS super strat is a Deaf Eddie Fat-o-for-Fatties switch - http://www.deaf-eddie.net/fatties.html - which gets you additional pickup configurations where the neck and middle pickups are wired in series to act as a neck humbucker..great addition to a strat, especially if you use a master vol/master tone configuration and have an extra potentiometer hole.

 

[mrkmas]

My biggest problem with a superstrat in the HSS config or even more so the HSH config is my pick hits the middle pickup whenever i play. It drives me crazy.

 

[glassjaw7]

My biggest problem with a superstrat in the HSS config or even more so the HSH config is my pick hits the middle pickup whenever i play. It drives me crazy.

Same here

 

[mrkmas]

My biggest problem with a superstrat in the HSS config or even more so the HSH config is my pick hits the middle pickup whenever i play. It drives me crazy.

Same here

Glad I wasnt alone on that one.

 

[Badronald]

My biggest problem with a superstrat in the HSS config or even more so the HSH config is my pick hits the middle pickup whenever i play. It drives me crazy.

I drop my middle pickup down to the pickguard. I don't use that thing. John Mayer lives there. I don't. Hate that tone.

 

[russellconner]

My biggest problem with a superstrat in the HSS config or even more so the HSH config is my pick hits the middle pickup whenever i play. It drives me crazy.

Same here

Glad I wasnt alone on that one.

wow. i thought i was the only person in the world who cant stand conventional strats for this reason. ive tried, and just constantly bang into the middle pickup.

i guess im just a sloppy player, but i also have a problem with accidentally hitting the volume knob on a strat, and turning the guitar down over time.

i would love to have a strat to go with my paul, but it would have to be the HH configuration for how i play. and then, it wouldnt really be a strat.

so, since i cant deal with having a "real" strat (SSS configuration), ive never got one.

 

[petejt]

I'm currently wondering what the best option is for me.

I've got two Suhr Doug Aldrich humbuckers and a coil-split switch, so the neck and bridge basically become two single coils when the switch is on.

The thing is I want that 2nd & 4th Strat sound, so need a middle pickup.

Would I be better off wiring in another Aldrich for the middle, and include it in the coil split?
Or wire in a single coil?



Are there any humbuckers that are the same size as a single coil? I don't the space between the neck and bridge pickups looking too crowded.

 

[Beret]

I'd definitely wire in a single-coil if it were me.... well, if it were me I'd have a tech do it, but yeah.

~B

 

[Badronald]

Do people actually read threads or do they just read the title come in a post comments and questions that have already been answered?

 

[chipples10]

HH all the way mid pups suck! they just get in the way

u could also try coil tapable pups

 

[Robotechnology]

For those of you who hit the middle pup on HSH guitars, have you tried using a smaller pick.
On HH guitars I use a full sized pick (Dunlop Ultex Sharp) and on non HSH guitars I use a Cool Picks Juratez Jazz.