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Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: Humbucker From Hell

« Last post by KH Guitar Freak on February 26, 2026, 01:52:38 AM »

How does the HFH sounded in split?

Definitely weaker in my case too, with the added hum like a single coil. However, it did cut some of the bass out, which in some applications might be favourable

I actually just installed an HFH in a clients Les Paul with the Dial-A-Split control instead of a tone and to be totally honest, running the HFH in single coil mode sounds pretty much the same as it does in humbucker mode, except it's got a little less output and it's got the 60 hz hum.

Hey mate. Old bump in post. I have wired the ability to split a HFH in the neck of one of my guitars (outer coil closes to the neck), but did not bother trying out the inner coil (coil closest to the bridge). I have it mounted where the wire is exiting towards the bridge side.  Just wondering if you have tried splitting each coil and hearing/measuring the differences

I wired my HFH splitable can't remember well which coil was working but sounds too weak and low when split.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Neck pickup options for HS superstrat

« Last post by gregr on February 24, 2026, 05:42:12 PM »

Andy Timmons relies on the Cruiser Bridge for his clean tones, either with a compressor or an overdrive pedal with the volume rolled way back that has a treble bleed. This pickup is the second brightest (and second weakest) rail pickup that DiMarzio makes.

Bear in mind that with rail pickups the top end drops very quickly as the output increases. By the time you get to the Pro Track cleans become more suited for jazz, though unfortunately they’ve already lost articulation. Luckily that sounds like a non-issue for you. So that out of the way, yes, the Air Norton S or BC-1 will pair well with the Tone Zone in terms of output and sustain. They are almost the same pickup; if I were to choose between the two for the neck position I would opt for the slightly tighter Air Norton S.

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The Pickup Place / Neck pickup options for HS superstrat

« Last post by aizenx on February 24, 2026, 02:20:45 PM »

Hey guys,

I'm looking for opinions on a good neck pick up to put in my HS superstrat. I currently have a Tone Zone in the bridge. Really, I'm just looking for something that's powerful enough to keep up with it, that isn't too bright, and has great sustain. I play mostly distorted tones, but occasionally I'll play cleans similar to Andy Timmons (nothing too clean, as I usually have 'some' gain on it). I love my other guitar that has a full size Air Norton in the neck. Would the S version work here? What about the BC1 (supposedly a modified Air Norton S). Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance! 

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Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: Humbucker From Hell

« Last post by nienturi on February 23, 2026, 05:46:01 AM »

How does the HFH sounded in split?

I actually just installed an HFH in a clients Les Paul with the Dial-A-Split control instead of a tone and to be totally honest, running the HFH in single coil mode sounds pretty much the same as it does in humbucker mode, except it's got a little less output and it's got the 60 hz hum.

Hey mate. Old bump in post. I have wired the ability to split a HFH in the neck of one of my guitars (outer coil closes to the neck), but did not bother trying out the inner coil (coil closest to the bridge). I have it mounted where the wire is exiting towards the bridge side.  Just wondering if you have tried splitting each coil and hearing/measuring the differences

I wired my HFH splitable can't remember well which coil was working but sounds too weak and low when split.

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Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: Humbucker From Hell

« Last post by KH Guitar Freak on February 23, 2026, 02:03:28 AM »

How does the HFH sounded in split?

I actually just installed an HFH in a clients Les Paul with the Dial-A-Split control instead of a tone and to be totally honest, running the HFH in single coil mode sounds pretty much the same as it does in humbucker mode, except it's got a little less output and it's got the 60 hz hum.

Hey mate. Old bump in post. I have wired the ability to split a HFH in the neck of one of my guitars (outer coil closes to the neck), but did not bother trying out the inner coil (coil closest to the bridge). I have it mounted where the wire is exiting towards the bridge side.  Just wondering if you have tried splitting each coil and hearing/measuring the differences

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Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: FRED

« Last post by darkbluemurder on February 16, 2026, 05:58:56 AM »

Glad my post helped. Indeed, HSS is one application where the FRED shines because it works well with a 250k load.

Cheers Stephan

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Everything you wanted to know about .... / Re: FRED

« Last post by singleplayer75 on February 13, 2026, 07:52:11 PM »

I thought some of you might be interested in a direct comparison to the Mo' Joe, which I had back to back in the bridge position of the same guitar (a partscaster tele, poplar body, roasted maple neck w/ rosewood board, two humbuckers, two 500k audio controls for volume and tone, 3-way toggle, very simple set up).

The Mo' Joe sounded fat and good in there but a bit too dark compared to the Fralin Twangmaster in the neck so I tried the FRED as I wanted to brighten things up and to have a better balance with the neck pickup.

With the original wiring intact, the FRED sounded way different from the Mo' Joe. This was a surprise for me as the Mo' Joe was supposedly developed on the basis of the FRED but the FRED was much brighter and thinner and did not sound anything like the Mo' Joe. It was only when I added a 680k resistor from hot to ground to drop the load to about 290k, then the sound got closer to the Mo' Joe with a load of 500k. The missing midrange came back, and I reached the goal of getting a tone that is a bit brighter and leaner compared to the Mo' Joe. So from my experimentations I like the FRED with a load of 250k to 300k max. I also like the middle position so far, which got more quack than it had before.

These are only my first impressions after having installed the FRED in that guitar.

Cheers Stephan

Replying to an old post, but still, your notions on the pots used, and what I've done with my guitar further reassured me I did the right thing with my HSS project done a few months ago. Your post was one of the most helpful out there.
So the guitar is an Am. Series Strat, that had the stock neck and middle pickups but the SD Hot Rails in the bridge. It was too compressed, dark and lacked dynamics, so after a long time of putting up with it I decided to go full humbucker.
I knew I wanted the true late '60s vintage single coil sound in the neck and middle though, so I went with Lollar'64s - it turned out fantastic, so I began researching for the right humbucker to match with those single coils AND my humbucker taste.
I wanted a hotter PAF design, nothing too powerful, with enough dynamics to cover wide range of playing styles. Not too bassy, but still powerful and clear. So I went with the FRED and it turned out being a fantastic pickup for me. I didn't want to use resistors and a 500K volume and tone. I left it all stock, and it worked perfectly. All stock 250K pots, the middle pickup lost it's tone 2, an the bridge has a dedicated no-load 250K tone. It turned out great, there's even not much noticeable volume difference between FRED and the single coils, has enough quack when split + middle in the position 4, sounds awesome clean or distorted. Just about what I had in mind at the beginning.
So looks like my idea that FRED was bright and low inductance enough to work fine with stock 250K pots was legit. After a while I started thinking about something a bit punchier than FRED, still AlNiCo V, but a bit higher in output, maybe fatter. Mo' Joe came to mind, so there I was reading about it, but after all, I think the FRED was an ideal choice. I'm still kind of on the fence with it, to be honest. I think it may require a 500K volume pot, the 250K might choke it.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Which Pickup Features Which Technique

« Last post by gregr on February 01, 2026, 05:24:15 PM »

43AWG provides an increase in capacitance and resistance per turn over 42AWG. The Screamin’ Demon is slightly darker and has more growl than a 59. It also seems to be just a touch weaker, though not in any appreciable way; I mention this only because Duncan classifies it as medium output and I believe that to be misleading. At the end of the day they are different, and seeing that my favorite bridge pickup is the TB-12 I’m glad they decided to manufacture an under-wound 43-gauge design.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Bridge pickup for Strat

« Last post by RayBarbeeMusic on February 01, 2026, 02:43:23 PM »

Chopper, or Air Norton S (darker).  Never cared for the Duncan little series, and I've heard them all.  They don't sound like full sized pickups; the DiMarzios do.

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The Pickup Place / Re: Which Pickup Features Which Technique

« Last post by RayBarbeeMusic on February 01, 2026, 02:41:53 PM »

The bobbins are normal sized (for DiMarzio) and not overflowing.  10.8k of 43 is roughly equivalent to 8.5k of 42, number of turns wise, which would be ballpark correct for A5 and the stated output.  Might be and in-between gauge, hard to say.  Why they would have gone with 43 instead of 42 for that number of turns, who knows.  The Duncan "Screamin Demon" is wound with 43 but #turns roughly equivalent to an 8k ish 42.  No idea why they did that.