buckers or singles on a strat?

[picker]

I'm looking at putting a partscaster strat together, and I'm strongly considering using two humbuckers in a classic two pickup set up. I'm thinking I'll use a 3-way switch with two volumes and a master tone, like a Flying V or Explorer. I have seen strats set up like that before, but was never drawn to the idea much. I try not to be snobbish, but hey, if you waant a Gibson, get a Gibson, right? It seems like the differents in scale length and body composition would make it harder to play than a Les Paul or V.
What do you guys think? Any of you rocking a 2 bucker strat, or have experience therof?

[CEB]

2 bucker Strats are great. I have several takes on the idea. I prefer two volume controls.   If I don’t have two volumes I will install a kill switch. 
 

My Fender Strats are three pickup guitars but my Charvels and Yamahas are essentially what you want to build. 

[picker]

17 minutes ago, CEB said:

2 bucket Strats are great. I have several takes on the idea. I prefer two volume controls.   If I don’t have two volumes I will install a kill switch. 
 

My Fender Strats are three pickup guitars but my Charvels and Yamahas are essentially what you want to build. 

DO you notice much difference between the way they play as opposed to a Gibson scale length guitar?

[CEB]

Yes. They play like a Strats.  The break angle at the bridge is sharp the the scale is a little longer so bends are stiffer.  Personally I think the string break angle is the bigger culprit than scale length. I have a top loader Tele and the bends are easier than my Gibsons due to no break angle and a flatter crown.   A big advantage in the Strat over the Les Paul is tuning stability.   I hate the tuning stability in stock 3+3 headstocks.  Any 3+3 guitar I gig I install locking tuners and have the nuts maintained. 

[Caevan O’Shite]

1 hour ago, picker said:

I'm looking at putting a partscaster strat together, and I'm strongly considering using two humbuckers in a classic two pickup set up. I'm thinking I'll use a 3-way switch with two volumes and a master tone, like a Flying V or Explorer. I have seen strats set up like that before, but was never drawn to the idea much. I try not to be snobbish, but hey, if you waant a Gibson, get a Gibson, right? It seems like the differents in scale length and body composition would make it harder to play than a Les Paul or V.
What do you guys think? Any of you rocking a 2 bucker strat, or have experience therof?

I think that would be a great way to go!

Well, one or two humbuckers on a more or less Strat-styled guitar (25-1/2" scale-length, bolt-on maple neck, "tremolo"
 type bridge) is the fast track to Van Halen-ville.

I played a 'super-Strat'-styled axe for many years, that had a humbucker at the bridge (EMG 85), and two single-coil stylees at the middle and neck positions (EMG SA). That 85 at the bridge was magnificent! I had a push-button switch that covered seven combinations, including 'all-off'. THAT was super versatile and sounded great!

It definitely played more like a Strat than a Les Paul, but that brings plenty of GOOD things, too- crisper attack, improved definition and wrangliness for the low/wound-strings, a brighter sound with more harmonic-overtones and a tad less emphasis on the 'fundamental'...

If you want a Les Paul, get a Les Paul. If you want a Strat or a Tele, get a Strat or a Tele. Not snobbish in the least. BUT, IF you want something a little different from those three while combining elements of all three- and along the lines of what Edward Van Halen did- get a humbuckered Strat stylee.

I'm sure that something similar with dual humbuckers would've also been excellent.

While seeming deceptively simple, the Volume/Volume/Tone control scheme would bring a LOT to the table. I love having the two volume-controls on my Les Paul, and I only ever use the Bridge-Tone-Control to "set it and forget it"; I sometimes change the one for the neck-pickup, but less and less often these days. I could get by very well with a three-knob Volume/Volume/Tone array on it, though I might have the bridge-pickup disconnected from the Tone-pot.

I might suggest a specific three-way blade style selecto9r-switch for the two humbuckers: the Free-Way 3-Way/6-Position Switch. They're fantastic! I love mine! Solidly built, looks and works just the same as a regular 3-way Tele switch, has the same usual three selections- until with a sideways 'click', you have three more combinations.

For the additional three combinations, you can choose between:

• Parallel/Out-of-Phase, Series/Out-of-Phase, Series/In-Phase
   
• Bridge/Outside-Coil, Bridge-&-Middle/Outside-Coils, Neck/Outside-Coil
    
   

[Larryz]

@picker, I have a two humbucker Strat, they are referred to as a Double Fat Strat.  The Fat Strat just has a humbucker at the bridge with a middle and neck single coil.  The Double Fat Strat comes with 2 humbuckers and a 5-way selector which really doesn't do much in the 2 and 4 positions. One volume and two tones.  So, I found an EMG drop-in loaded pickguard with 2 humbuckers, a 3-way selector with 2 volumes and one master tone. It is called the Kirk Hammett drop-in.  It has an 81 neck and 81 bridge. I had mine modified with a 80 neck and 81 bridge.  I really fell in love with the 3-way and the two volumes as it is more Gibson-like.  You can set it in the middle position and blend the humbuckers just using the two volumes for more or less bass and treble and fine tune it with the master tone control.  My only complaint was the knobs are twice the height as stock knobs and had no numbers. So, I ordered two black stock volumes and one stock tone knob with numbers from Stew Mac.  

 

I really enjoy the 2 humbucker set-up in all 3 selector switch positions and I love the feel of a Strat with more of a Gibson-like tone settings. 😎

 

 

 

[desertbluesman]

I would use Duncan Little 59'ers if I wanted new pups in my strat clone
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Ltl59SrtWhtset--seymour-duncan-little-59-strat-pickup-set-white

[Caevan O’Shite]

1 hour ago, Larryz said:

It has an 81 neck and 81 bridge. I had mine modified with a 80 neck and 81 bridge.

As far as EMG's go, I really liked the 85's, alnico-magnet humbuckers voiced with vintage P.A.F.'s in mind. So smooth and warm yet with definition, presence, power and attitude. Add the SPC and EXG controls and W o w . . .

[Larryz]

@Caevan O’Shite, I have one Strat with the David Gilmour 3 EMG drop-in singles and with the EXG and SPC.  Very cool set up!  I think you are right in that what I thought was an 80 (poor old dude memory issue LoL!) may very well be an 85...I think the 80 is a mini?  Anyway, I wanted a jazzier neck pup and they do sell the EMG humbuckers in 85/81 sets. The 81 at the bridge makes for some nice trebly twang.  So, I had my tech modify the Kirk Hammett set up from an 81/81 to an 85/81... 😎

 

cc: @picker

post correction.

[Caevan O’Shite]

3 hours ago, Larryz said:

@Caevan O’Shite, I have one Strat with the David Gilmour 3 EMG drop-in singles and with the EXG and SPC.  Very cool set up!  I think you are right in that what I thought was an 80 (poor old dude memory issue LoL!) may very well be an 85...I think the 80 is a mini?  Anyway, I wanted a jazzier neck pup and they do sell the EMG humbuckers in 85/81 sets. The 81 at the bridge makes for some nice trebly twang.  So, I had my tech modify the Kirk Hammett set up from an 81/81 to an 85/81... 😎

 

cc: @picker

post correction.

Oh, I wasn't correcting you, I was just pointing out the one that I liked; other people prefer different ones.

[Larryz]

@Caevan O’Shite I didn't mean to give you the impression that I thought you were correcting me...but I did mean to thank you for the 85 correction info (as many years have gone by since I had it done). I had ordered the Hammett drop-in pickguard and took it to my tech as I also wanted the guitar routed under the spring plate cover for the battery before mounting the pickguard and soldering the jack connection.  For some reason I thought to ask if he would swap out the neck 81 for the 85, as I would like something a little more jazz-like up front.  He had no problem doing it as both pups cost the same, so I wound up with a custom-custom double fat Strat.  😎👍

[Caevan O’Shite]

A Custom-Custom Double Fat Strat!  😎👍😎👍   ✨

Try a Keeley Super Phat Mod, or even Retro Super Germanium Phat Mod, with that! 😆

[Ivan May]

I am perfectly okay with single coil pickups on a Strat.

 

However, Hiram Bullock played a heavily modified 62 Strat that had Gibson humbuckers in the bridge and neck positions.

[Caevan O’Shite]

46 minutes ago, IMMusicRulz said:

However, Hiram Bullock played a heavily modified 62 Strat that had Gibson humbuckers in the bridge and neck positions.

Indeed he did! To great effect. What a guy, what a player.

[Dannyalcatraz]

If I were going to make a HH Strat with a 5-way, I’d want to ensure I got the most out of it I could.  So:

 

1) I’d make sure I had it wired for coil splitting.

 

2) I’d get pickups I thought sounded good split.  My current faves for that are the Rio Grande TallBoys and Dirty Harry pickups- they’re made by housing a pair of RG’s singlecoils in a HB housing, so when split, they sound exactly like a singlecoil. 
 

In the alternative, I’d use Seymour Duncan P-Rails in both positions.  If you’re unfamiliar, they’re made to go from singlecoil to P90 to HB with the flip of a switch.

[surfergirl]

I would put a Seymour Duncan SC sized humbucker in the neck, leave the vintage noiseless in the middle and EMG S2 in the bridge.