H-S-H combination suggestion

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DNG67

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H-S-H combination suggestion
« on: November 20, 2021, 03:58:46 PM »
Hey guys. I have a super strat (alder, no pickguard) and i'm looking for a specific sound. I would like to have in split positions (2 & 4) as much as closest to quack single coil strat sound for funky rhythms and clean blues soloing. I have tried so far:
1) Fred (B) - Virtual Vintage 2.1 (M) - Paf Pro (N)
2)  Paf Pro (B) - True Velvet (M) - Bluesbucker (N)
Surprisingly the first combination worked better than the second one to my ears.
I would like in the bridge the fat creamy sound for a kind of jazz fusion
style (Holdsworth, Henderson)  but i know that i can have it with a booster pushing my amp.
Any suggestions? (Keep in mind that i would like to keep the true single coil in the middle position.
Thanks!

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Offline mmmguitar

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Re: H-S-H combination suggestion
« Reply #1 on: November 21, 2021, 05:58:25 AM »
I go for similar tones. For me, I’ve found the key to getting decent n+m and m+b strat tones is to find pickups that end up being more similar than different (Henderson uses three of the same pickup for this reason). This is difficult to achieve when balancing split humbuckers with a middle single (and why players such as Vai, Gilbert, Govan, etc. have signature middle pickups in their guitars which were designed to be in parallel with the split humbuckers).

The Bluesbucker is my go-to neck pup, but I find it so hot in split mode (which is the whole point) that I need a hot middle pup to balance with it. In one guitar, I have a Bluesbucker paired with a Duncan Quarter Pounder middle. It’s in no way a vintage strat sound, but I’m much happier with the combo than I am with the guitar that pairs the BB with an FS-1 (the FS-1 just isn’t hot enough to hold its own in parallel). I have the opposite problem with a guitar in which I have a PAF Master neck paired with a Dark Matter 2 single as an experiment (The DM dominates a humbucker that frankly wasn’t designed with splitting in mind).

Still, the output rating isn’t everything - I tried pairing a Bluesbucker with a Jem single, and found their voicings simply didn’t gel together at all - Same experience in pairing it with a Duncan SSL-3.

Do you have all these pickups on-hand, or are you exchanging/selling them between sets? I ask because a PAF Pro neck paired with a True Velvet is fairly common; and your personal results would help us counter-recommend a pairing.

For the bridge humbucker, the Holdsworth recipe is a low-output, double screw PAF through several gain and EQ stages, along with a lot of processing (e.g. UD Stomp delays). I currently like the Al DiMeola bridge and Breed neck pickups for this, though, because their fatter sounds and medium output means I can get in that ballpark with fewer gain stages. Honestly, you can get that “Fusion”-y, creamy lead tone with all kinds of gear and pickups - So it’s probably going to come down to what your rig is. If you’re using an Axe FX or something, then the pickup is going to end up being one of the least crucial components in the signal chain. But if you’re using something like a Fender amp with two particular stompboxes, then the right pickup will make all the difference in getting you into that ballpark.

« Last Edit: November 21, 2021, 06:00:50 AM by mmmguitar »

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Offline darkbluemurder

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Re: H-S-H combination suggestion
« Reply #2 on: November 23, 2021, 03:13:52 AM »
I set up a HSH guitar recently with Norton bridge, Injector neck (wired as a true single coil) and Bluesbucker neck. I second the output description - it is fairly hot and balances great with the Injector neck.

For the bridge tone you are describing I would take the Fred over the PAF Pro (if I had both of them lying around) as it has slightly more midrange. I am not sure I would be dead set on a Fred if I had the PAF Pro as the difference is not huge.

No experience with any of the others mmmguitar mentioned.

Cheers Stephan
Area 67, Area 58, Area 61, VV Pro 54, Injectors, VV HB2, Virtual Solo, SDS-1, Area T, Area Hot T, Area T 615, Virtual Hot T, Chopper T, Bluesbucker, Breed set, Air Norton, Super Distortion, DLX+ set, DLX-90, DP240, DP198, DP168, VPAF b, AT-1, Mo' Joe, FRED, Super 2; GS b

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Offline greenlion

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Re: H-S-H combination suggestion
« Reply #3 on: November 25, 2021, 08:01:26 AM »
I have experimented around a lot with HSH combos in my Ibanez RG. I like an Air Zone bridge, Virtual Vintage 54 Pro middle, and PAF Joe Neck. The Paf Pro also works well here, but I like the way the PAF Joe tightens up the bass end a little. The Air Zone bridge has the fatter bridge tone you are describing, and has amazing sustain.
I also like the Fred Bridge, Cruiser middle (I use the cruiser bridge model for the middle position, because it keeps up with the humbuckers better) and PAF Joe neck. I kinda like the Humbucker from Hell neck with this combo, but always end up thinking it needs just a little more output. The Norton Bridge works in this combo too, but not in a basswood body. Only in Mahogany, or Mahogany/Maple.