Thanks for a great reply!
And yes, the Thornbucker is in the bridge.
HB2 in the middle is an intriguing option I had not considered. And I agree on a brighter middle pickup. It's how it's bright, if you know what I mean. I ran an Area 58 in the middle of the s/s/s Strat for years but came to dislike it (or tire of it). I'm much happier with the Area 67 in the middle of the h/s/s Strat.
54 Pro - thanks for your comments there. I was learning that way but unsure. No longer. My friend's h/s/s Strat has 54s in both neck and middle and sound fantastic. But I already have too many pickups...for now anyway.
Your thoughts on the 54 in the middle and Area 67 in the neck have given me pause. I wasn't going to move the 67. But now I'm thinking I might.
One thing I learned last night - the s/s/s Strat temporarily has a Virtual Solo in the bridge and neck. My friend tried out my HB2 in the bridge of one of his Strats and I let him keep it. His HB2 has been shipped and then we'll do surgery yet again.
So he stuck a second Virtual Solo in my guitar. The neck VS is set way low for balancing. And it is balanced but frankly doesn't sound good to me. Driven hard is fine (but not great). Clean it sounds dull. The HB2 sounded much better there.
Current thoughts remain a little jumbled but your note was a huge help. I'm leaning toward HB2 in the bridge and 54 Pro in the neck. For now the Area 58 in the middle will have to stay but I like it there, and prefer it in the middle over the neck.
The h/s/s Strat (Thornbucker, Area 67, Area 58) was supposed to get the VS in the neck. Now I'm not so sure. We had thought it would balance better with the hum, but it balances fine now and doesn't sit too high. So I need to get out my screwdriver and play around with the VS in the s/s/s Strat and see if I can dial it in. But I suspect I'm going to have to buy one other pickup, probably another 54 Pro.
As mentioned, buying or building another Strat is tempting. I do have a decent MIM I could mod. It plays well, but compared to my other guitars, the neck is a drawback. Nothing Warmoth can't fix. And mixing/matching my "leftover" DiMarzios might motivate me.
There is something about that 54 Pro that really sits strong with me. And my friend's guitar with two of them is running a Thornbucker in the bridge and they balance great. This is IMO his best-sounding guitar (and all of his/ours are really good-sounding), so I can see myself going this way.
During all this, I have come to truly appreciate Steve and Larry's work. Great designs, something for everybody, and fairly priced. I noticed that is all but impossible to buy these used. They've sold thousands and nobody is selling, even if they sit in a spares box. I will sell a couple of mine, maybe a 58 and 61 (and will still have at least one of each on-hand). I looked very hard at Kinman, Mojotone, and others, thinking I needed a change of maker. But I am happy I stayed in the family and discovered pickups I had not noticed. I got hung up on Virtual Vintage vs. Areas.
One more time - many thanks!
Greg
