Pickup Recommendations for Strat (Moving away from single coils)

[ghosty999]

Hey guys. I've got a 2013, '72 reissue MIJ strat which I loaded up with YJM Fury pickups. I've enjoyed them but at times can be a little shrill with a strange mid-range honk I can't remove even with an EQ pedal.

When I plug in my Jackson DK2M with a B-4 at the bridge, and an SH-2N at the neck, it sounds exactly how I'd like it. And works really well with my amp. (JMP-1 with EL84 20/20).

So my idea was to just change over to humbuckers but retaining the original pickup layout. So was thinking a Seymour Duncan HotRail in the neck and bridge, with a JB Jr in the middle. I want the same jangley strat spank with the split coil positions.

Think this is a good plan?

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

Hey guys. I've got a 2013, '72 reissue MIJ strat which I loaded up with YJM Fury pickups. I've enjoyed them but at times can be a little shrill with a strange mid-range honk I can't remove even with an EQ pedal.

When I plug in my Jackson DK2M with a B-4 at the bridge, and an SH-2N at the neck, it sounds exactly how I'd like it. And works really well with my amp. (JMP-1 with EL84 20/20).

So my idea was to just change over to humbuckers but retaining the original pickup layout. So was thinking a Seymour Duncan HotRail in the neck and bridge, with a JB Jr in the middle. I want the same jangley strat spank with the split coil positions.

Think this is a good plan?

I don't know how they split but it is a fantastic sounding combination for rock in humbucker mode. Those pickups fuck.

 

[ghosty999]

I don't know how they split but it is a fantastic sounding combination for rock in humbucker mode. Those pickups fuck.

Thanks for confirming. I know it works for the Maiden guys and many others.

 

[EyesOfTheSouth!]

Where are you located? I have a Dave Murray loaded pickguard that I’m about to list. Hot Rails/JB Jr/Hot Rails setup. Fully wired and ready to pop in.

 

[ghosty999]

Where are you located? I have a Dave Murray loaded pickguard that I’m about to list. Hot Rails/JB Jr/Hot Rails setup. Fully wired and ready to pop in.

Currently in the UK. Would need to be the white / cream pickup covers.

 

[heath]

I have had a similar experience with single coils over the years and have tried many of the mini humbuckers as well as noiseless single coils. Here are some of my findings.

• Many of the rail pickups (dimarzio, duncan, barden, etc) sound closer to an overwound p90 than a humbucker.
• Duncan
  • Found the duncan hot rails a little brash sounding in the upper mids. If you like a JB, you may like that mid spike. I found it a little grating in ash guitars especially.
  • Lil' Screamin Demon felt anemic and was lacking the push I would associate with even a low output humbucker. Probably my least favorite SC sized humbucker.
  • Lil' 59 sounds pretty balanced. Still more of a p90 vibe than PAF to my ears, but still one of the better offerings. I have this one in my main telecaster now. Probably my favorite of the duncan offerings.
• Dimarzio
  • The Chopper is a great all around rail pickup. Still very p90, but it cuts like a knife and is pretty balanced. I had one of these in my strat and also in a few of my teles for nearly 7-8 years.
  • The Cruiser is probably one of my favorite neck and middle pickups. They just have a nice vocal quality about them. I have one in the neck of a telecaster paired with a Chopper T, and two of them in a PRS Starla paired with a Dimarzio AT-1.
  • Virtual Vintage Solo + looks like a single coil but is stacked and sounds scarily like an old p90. It may be one of the best pickups for soloing I have ever used. It was a little flubby sounding for rhythm but with a TBX tone control and a little of the lows pulled back it was fine. One of my favorites in both bridge and neck. I have one in the neck of my main tele currently and it just sings.
  • Super Distortion S was one I really wanted to love, but it was muddy. Like tonezone with the tone knob at 6. I could see it working in an extremely bright guitar, but this was one of my least favorites.
  • Tonezone S is another one I really wanted to like. It was better than the Super Distortion, but still lacked cut.
• Barden
  • These were great sounding pickups and had a unique tone, but still more in the realm of single coil/p90. Through a rectifier style amp, they are the tone of Ty Tabor on Dogman. I will own another set of these eventually.
• Kinman
  • The Heavy Kick in the Arse is probably the most humbucker sounding single coil sized pickup I have tried. It sounds like a good 8-10k Alnico II humbucker. The feel, the response, the cut is all excellent. It looks like a standard single coil, but it sounds like PAF. It screams and grunts. This is my favorite and it has lived in my strat bridge position for 4 years now. It makes for a really good sleeper guitar. You get some really wild looks when you pull what appears to be a strat with all single coils out at a hard rock/metal show and proceed to rock out. It is the most expensive of the list here, but it is well worth it.

Mileage varies and there are some newer models I have yet to try, but hopefully this list can help.

 

[Mike Oxhuge]

I have had a similar experience with single coils over the years and have tried many of the mini humbuckers as well as noiseless single coils. Here are some of my findings.

• Many of the rail pickups (dimarzio, duncan, barden, etc) sound closer to an overwound p90 than a humbucker.
• Duncan
  • Found the duncan hot rails a little brash sounding in the upper mids. If you like a JB, you may like that mid spike. I found it a little grating in ash guitars especially.
  • Lil' Screamin Demon felt anemic and was lacking the push I would associate with even a low output humbucker. Probably my least favorite SC sized humbucker.
  • Lil' 59 sounds pretty balanced. Still more of a p90 vibe than PAF to my ears, but still one of the better offerings. I have this one in my main telecaster now. Probably my favorite of the duncan offerings.
• Dimarzio
  • The Chopper is a great all around rail pickup. Still very p90, but it cuts like a knife and is pretty balanced. I had one of these in my strat and also in a few of my teles for nearly 7-8 years.
  • The Cruiser is probably one of my favorite neck and middle pickups. They just have a nice vocal quality about them. I have one in the neck of a telecaster paired with a Chopper T, and two of them in a PRS Starla paired with a Dimarzio AT-1.
  • Virtual Vintage Solo + looks like a single coil but is stacked and sounds scarily like an old p90. It may be one of the best pickups for soloing I have ever used. It was a little flubby sounding for rhythm but with a TBX tone control and a little of the lows pulled back it was fine. One of my favorites in both bridge and neck. I have one in the neck of my main tele currently and it just sings.
  • Super Distortion S was one I really wanted to love, but it was muddy. Like tonezone with the tone knob at 6. I could see it working in an extremely bright guitar, but this was one of my least favorites.
  • Tonezone S is another one I really wanted to like. It was better than the Super Distortion, but still lacked cut.
• Barden
  • These were great sounding pickups and had a unique tone, but still more in the realm of single coil/p90. Through a rectifier style amp, they are the tone of Ty Tabor on Dogman. I will own another set of these eventually.
• Kinman
  • The Heavy Kick in the Arse is probably the most humbucker sounding single coil sized pickup I have tried. It sounds like a good 8-10k Alnico II humbucker. The feel, the response, the cut is all excellent. It looks like a standard single coil, but it sounds like PAF. It screams and grunts. This is my favorite and it has lived in my strat bridge position for 4 years now. It makes for a really good sleeper guitar. You get some really wild looks when you pull what appears to be a strat with all single coils out at a hard rock/metal show and proceed to rock out. It is the most expensive of the list here, but it is well worth it.

Mileage varies and there are some newer models I have yet to try, but hopefully this list can help.

Hotrails are nothing like P90 tonally and sound very much like a full size humbucker.

 

[heath]

Hotrails are nothing like P90 tonally and sound very much like a full size humbucker.

Agreed. The Hot Rails is more humbucker-y than many of the other rails and stacked coils. That upper mid spike/brashness was my issue with that one. I also don't care for a JB or EMG 81 for the same reasons. The hot rail was not a good fit for my ash guitars, but maybe for alder or mahogany. The rail pickups that sound more p90-ish to me are the mid-output dimarzios and the barden variety.

I also prefer my humbuckers to have a little less output. Of the ones I have tried the hot rails are in my top 5, but from duncan I still prefer the lil'59.

1. Kinman Heavy Kick in the Arse
2. Lil' 59
3. Chopper
4. Cruiser
5. Hot Rails

 

[stratjacket]

I went through a similar adventure with an 80’s Charvel 1A. Here’s what I ended up with:

Dimarzio Super Distortion (B), Dimarzio Chopper (M), Air Norton S (N)

I never use the middle pickup, but the SD and Air Norton sound great. Bridge is meaty, full and sings. Neck is excellent for solos, the Air Norton S is my favorite single coil sized neck pickup.