software

I have a strat and wanted a slightly heavier sound , so I got 2 hotrails (wants the best of both worlds) I wanted a slightly funky sound as well,so I add in a duckbucker on the bridge.I used a schaller 7 position switch I now have a grubby sound that is loud on the neck and middle and an in audible bridge pick-up.I have checked the circuits and all is ok .. The bridge sound livley but low in amplitude compared with the hotrails.I assume I have made a fundimental mistake with my choice ..Can I please get some advice on why these dont seem to work together and what should I go for to make my next pu unit....I am sticking with a fender switch thats for sure...

The hot rails is a significantly higher output pickup than the duckbucker, as the duckbucker is simply meant to be a hum-canceling not-so-hot single coil.

I'd say switch the duckbucker and the middle hot rails, that'll make it sound a bit more balanced, though the middle position will be a bit quieter than everything else.

I've got an ernie ball W/ a JB/duckbucker/hot rails combo, and to tell the truth I'm not so crazy about the neck hot rails, lotta bass, very quot;overpoweringquot;. Great for soloing, as it'll give ya a powerful, fat sound, but not so great for clean, cause everything just sounds a tad bit muddy.

If you're still not happy with the sound you're getting, I'd suggest either swapping out the duckbucker with a cool rails (if you're unhappy with the duckbucker), or swapping out the hot rails for a JB jr. and a lil' 59.

I'm guessing that a Duck is a poor match for a pair of Hot Rails. I have Cool Rails in my bridge and neck, with a Vintage Rails in the middle. (A VR is the same as a Duck, except for the pole pieces.) My CR's definitely outpower the VR, but not too bad. A pair of Hot Rails should be way too much.

Thanks all ... Helps if you read the specs.... I am going to try the JB JNR as it looks similar but the response looks good..Problem is old fart plus degree = know it all ..Must have a stern talk to myself .... will post if it sounds better ... I had the guitar test on a peavey 212 .. wow will check to see if someones messed with the vol pot next time.. new shorts please..I do agree with the hotrails comment ... very bassy and growley .. and a tad muffled...

First of all, completely agree with the Duck in the middle-
But as the spin a split fanatic on the board, I'll throw you another option- You can't split the duckbucker, but you could roll off the hot rails and with less powerful pups like Joe Bardens and Cool rails, I have found I can get a less powerfull, but still increased bass sound by almost rolling the 2nd rail all the way off, so you could consider a 2 pole spin a split when you want to roll in a less powerful sound but still be able to roll it back in-

And if you want to really get a new sound out of a strat try the spin a split off of a signle pot- This gives my 2 4 positions even more quacky and seems to reduce level even more-

However if you combine them on one pot you are really running both pups and selecting 2nd coils with the 5 way, so I put a bypass on this type of spin a split to go back to the 'full' sound.

Hope this helps-

Zion, I never would have thought of splitting the pick ups like that ... will try a twin vol pot wired as you suggest ... I am going to try some off the wall things while I have the guitar in bits and on the bench .. I have an idea to try one of the rails on a treble boost ... I know but its just while its in bits and I await the jb jnr ...


Originally Posted by amputeeI used a schaller 7 position switch

Offtopic, but is this really a switch with 7!! positions, with the same design as the 5-way switch?!?
I never heard of it!

Yeah, I've got a pair of Vintage Rails matched with a bridge Hot Rails and they are way overpowered by the HR. All 3 pickups have great tone, but it's not the most balanced combo.

Lets see if I can shed some light on this. I have tried quite a few of SDs non-traditional Strat pickups in the quest to get my Strat right and a few others in customer guitars.

The Hot rails are killer pickups but they are best used in complete sets or paired with Cool Rails, JB jrs, lilSDs or lil59s in the mid and neck slots if balance is a concern. The HRs are hot and dark and often the clarity is improved with 500k pots. The HR in the bridge is killer. Always make sure not to install a HR bridge model in the neck slot. I wouldn't suggest it in the mid slot either.

The HR/VR/CRn combo was very popular around here for a long time and I have installed that combo in Strats before with great results but you will see a volume drop in positions 2,3 and 4.

For output and warmth balance I prefer the Hot Stack over the VR when paired with single sized humbuckers. Something else that helps is to add series/parallel switching to the HBs. Split is simular but splitting the HBs will get you 60 cycle hum. Parallel HBs when combined with the VR or Hot stack will get you a more traditional style Strat tone.

To salvage your tone with the least expense and most versatility I'd suggest getting a HRb for the bridge slot and leave the HRs in the mid and neck. Get 3 500k dpdt push pull pots and wire all 3 pickups for series/parallel. That should add clarity to your tone in std HB mode and the parallel options will get you some of the Strat glass back.