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I have always been a humbucker guy. Every guitar I own (6) has a humbucker in the bridge. All of the guitars I gave with single coils are stacked single coils. I don't own anything traditional.

Now, I THINK I am ready to get a S-S-S strat but just can't pull the trigger. I am worried I'll dump a lot of cash on a guitar I don't play because it sounds too thin. Anyone else ever experienced this anxiety relating to the single coil pickup?? I thought about getting a H-S-S but that really defeats the purpose of getting a strat I think.

Question- How many of you would bring a S-S-S guitar with you do a session or to jam with your #1 guitar hero? Who here has a true single coil strat as there #1??

why not get a tele? still has clarity like a strat, but more balls.......i'd use my tele for anything

Or a 3 pickup tele, with wiring to allow the tele bridge-neck tone...


Originally Posted by RGNI have always been a humbucker guy. Every guitar I own (6) has a humbucker in the bridge. All of the guitars I gave with single coils are stacked single coils. I don't own anything traditional.

Now, I THINK I am ready to get a S-S-S strat but just can't pull the trigger. I am worried I'll dump a lot of cash on a guitar I don't play because it sounds too thin. Anyone else ever experienced this anxiety relating to the single coil pickup?? I thought about getting a H-S-S but that really defeats the purpose of getting a strat I think.

Question- How many of you would bring a S-S-S guitar with you do a session or to jam with your #1 guitar hero? Who here has a true single coil strat as there #1??

I'm with you, bro. Single coils scare me, too. Would I bring one to jam with my guitar hero? No, because it's EVH. But I think with the right pups and a good shielding job, I might be cool with one. I don't see it ever being my main axe, but I can see myself recording or gigging with it if I got the opportunity.


Originally Posted by RGNQuestion- How many of you would bring a S-S-S guitar with you do a session or to jam with your #1 guitar hero? Who here has a true single coil strat as there #1??

I would DEFINITELY bring my 3S MIA Strat to a jam session with David Gilmour! Just listen to the work that man's done with his Strat.

I will admit though my number 1 guitar is a H/S/S Strat, but I really do love the sound of my 3S, and I would say it's a close second in terms of amount I play it. The tone of the bridge pickup on its own is much mellower and fatter than I thought it would be, and there is no substitute for the bridge/mid notch position. You can split your humbucker all you want - you won't get that tone (unless maybe you have a Stag Mag).

The key is getting a good Strat with a nice alder body and a rosewood board, and choosing a bridge pickup that isn't too harsh or trebly.

Good luck!

I looking very seriously at a Suhr with that new noiseless single coil system. They are true vintage style single coils but have some prioprietary (sp?) shielding to make them noiseless. I am extremely worried I'll dump all that cash and then not really dig the tone that much because I am so conditioned to 80s style shred sticks....

For the longest time I couldn't imagine not having a humbucker in the bridge (or a floyd for that matter). I liked the same stuff you like when I was a kid, and my tastes started changing in my early 20s. It started with a friend lending me a duncan ssl for the neck spot of a custom shred stick I built. I was amazed at how the tone breathed. But it would still be a few years before I got round to owning a strat with a bridge single.

The key points of reference for me getting into bridge s/c tones were the sounds Eric johnson, Jeff Beck and (to a lesser extent) Yngwie were getting. I also tend to go for warmer sounding single coils like the alnico pro to take some of the edge off.

I've found that you need to learn how to make your hands work single coils. I play a lot of fingerstyle and hybrid stuff, and that helps round out the attack of the bridge pickup, while allowing the distinctive midrange of the pickup to come through. A nice strat will have an almost pedal steel kind of sound if you know how to hit it right. Bridge single coils will really give you a grownup guitar player's right hand.

I remember when I switched to PAF-output humbuckers after using overwound stuff for years. After a while, all I could hear when I went back to overwound pickups was the muddiness and compression.

Switching to single coils from humbuckers is a similar experience. you find yourself becoming very used to the articulation and character.

i'd be happy to take my #1 guitar -a strat- to Jam with my #1 (Jeff Beck) or any of the 100 or so players I really admire. I f I had to Jam with EVH, I'd take a tele.

Been in this boat. I'm not scare of single coils at all. It's just a matter of finding which ones work for me the best. So far it's the Texas Specials, SSL1's and APS1's. HOWEVER....lol, my Strat has a Little 59 in the bridge because I haven't been able to get either of the above mentioned single coils yet but I have played them all in other guitars, at a store or a friends.

I'd be taking my Baretta to jam with my #1 hero, no question.


Originally Posted by RGNI looking very seriously at a Suhr with that new noiseless single coil system. They are true vintage style single coils but have some prioprietary (sp?) shielding to make them noiseless. I am extremely worried I'll dump all that cash and then not really dig the tone that much because I am so conditioned to 80s style shred sticks....

Well if it's a Suhr you can be certain the wood and construction are top notch. I have no experience with those pickups, but IMO Strats sound better with low output (i.e. vintage) single coils than with screaming hot pickups. There are a few exceptions, of course.

I use APS-2's in my strat and can cover pretty much anything I need with it. Tat said, I feel much more comfortable with a tele.


Originally Posted by Hot _GritsFor the longest time I couldn't imagine not having a humbucker in the bridge (or a floyd for that matter). I liked the same stuff you like when I was a kid, and my tastes started changing in my early 20s. It started with a friend lending me a duncan ssl for the neck spot of a custom shred stick I built. I was amazed at how the tone breathed. But it would still be a few years before I got round to owning a strat with a bridge single.

The key points of reference for me getting into bridge s/c tones were the sounds Eric johnson, Jeff Beck and (to a lesser extent) Yngwie were getting. I also tend to go for warmer sounding single coils like the alnico pro to take some of the edge off.

I've found that you need to learn how to make your hands work single coils. I play a lot of fingerstyle and hybrid stuff, and that helps round out the attack of the bridge pickup, while allowing the distinctive midrange of the pickup to come through. A nice strat will have an almost pedal steel kind of sound if you know how to hit it right. Bridge single coils will really give you a grownup guitar player's right hand.

I remember when I switched to PAF-output humbuckers after using overwound stuff for years. After a while, all I could hear when I went back to overwound pickups was the muddiness and compression.

Switching to single coils from humbuckers is a similar experience. you find yourself becoming very used to the articulation and character.

Thanks HG. That is very, very useful information. I keep going through the same thought process. Doesn't Malmsteen use some fake single coil that is really a stacked humbucker? I believe Gary Moore used a S-S-S strat and didn't sound wimpy. Hendrix was classic strat sounding. Beck is a good one.

P-90s man! They are the perfect middle ground for me.


Originally Posted by RGNThanks HG. That is very, very useful information. I keep going through the same thought process. Doesn't Malmsteen use some fake single coil that is really a stacked humbucker? I believe Gary Moore used a S-S-S strat and didn't sound wimpy. Hendrix was classic strat sounding. Beck is a good one.

I believe Yng's pickups are overwound stacked singles. Moore's strat was stock, I think. I beleive Beck's guitar has an overwound bridge pickup. Eric's new strat has a slightly overwound bridge pickup.

In your case, I'd order a slightly overwound bridge pickup to give you a bit more punch and round off the highs while still being a single. I'm sure Suhr can do that for you.

Light, warm woods are pretty critical, too. I play a 57ri, and pick up lots of similar guitars that sound too bright due to the wood. I'd go for lightweight alder, as it has less natural top than ash. For a more complex tone, go for a rosewood board.

FWIW I tried a Telecaster and hated the single coils. Ended up returning it within the 30 day grace period. I guess I could learn to set up my gear to make the single coil sound fuller, but if I'm gonna go thru all that trouble, why not just stick with the buckers?

I'd like to hear what Lew would say about this issue....

Isn't there a thread about all this by Lew in the vault?

RGN...check your PM's bro...

i can't live without single coils....you can just whack em and they wail out even when clean, or you could lay back and they whisper. They just pick up more of YOU and the way you play-if you're not used to 'digging deep', you could end up souding like crap

the strat in my avatar has APSs with an SSL-3 in the bridge

the SSL-3 is a true single coil, but sounds fat, and though the notch position isn't vintage, it still sounds cool

no need to miss a humbucker bridge, IMO

Since you already have guitars with humbuckers you definitley need a strat with true single coils. I only played LP copies and an Explorer in my younger days. For some strange reason I bought a strat this past February...I really like it. It offers lots of tonal variety. It can play clean for beautiful nice sounds and if you want to get some rougher OD distortion tone going then it does that as well, better than I expected that it would. Once you play some clean neck stuff and turn on the OD for the bridge, then mix in some 2 and 4 notch flavors, you'll be hooked. Don't be scared of a little ol' triple S strat. You will be surprised how much you will like it. Strats aren't wimpy guitars. They will sound how you want it. It all depends on you the player and a quality amplifier.