Changing the neck pickup on my fender strat

qwerty

New member
Hi everyone, I'm thinking of changing my neck pickup on my strat to something that can handle distortion and heavier rhythms. i was thinking of a duncan hotrails, any opinion on that? Any other suggestions or advice would be appreciated. I would like to keep the mid and bridge pickup. Please advise.. thanks
 
if you plan to retain the mid + bridge single coil then it'd be a quirky but unique combo. i'd keep the neck + mid single coils & have the bridge humbucking for a more useful combo. nothing beats the jangle of the neck + mid Fender single coils...
 
I was just thinking of changing the neck as i feel its a little muddy IMO, i want to keep the middle pickup definitely, and the bridge i feel is quite good for solos and stuff. If i do change the bridge with hot rails however, will i still be able to get a nice clean sound off them? I just feel like the bridge pickup gives me more quack? i dunno... just want to find out more from others with more experience before i make my decision. I'm also quite new to my strat so still taking some time to get to know her. :wink:

I really don't know much about this so any advice at all would be appreciated. Thanks

Oh and if anyone can tell me the prices and where to get them that would help too. Thanks
 
i'm still of the opinion that you should keep the single coils... but it's up to you really 8)

one option is to get a higher output single coil for a beefier tone, eg:

*Dimarzio FS-1 DP110 (Swee Lee)
*Duncan SSL-7: Quarter Pound Staggered (Music Plaza)

if you still can't come to terms with that, i think you need a humbucker... 8)
 
I really am not too sure what i want so i'm just hearing all the views and trying to make a decision

I'm using a standard MIM strat. all stock, maple fretboard. hope that helps

but if i keep the single coil, i don't think i will be able to get that nice chunky rhythm? not too sure about these things.
 
hi qwerty im using a maple necked strat too.. what particular sound are you shooting for?...

technically theres nothing wrong with having a hotrails on the neck with stock single coils at mid and bridge.. as long as it can be used to create the tone you want..

but if you want heavier dist sounds.. like metal rythm etc.. then youd need the hotrails at the bridge.. for the tighter dist sound.. playing rythm on the neck is really quite muddy..
 
I like the single coil sound, but i was thinking of making a change so that my strat can be more versatile and handle distortion and playing rhythm and well. I really don't know much about pickups thats why i was thinking of putting hotrails in the neck as i felt the current bridgepickup is more useful then the neck. now that i am hearing from ppl that the bridge is a better choice for rhythm so i might change the bridge one lor.

I just want to hear from ppl who may have done mods like this or more experienced. Thanks.
 
If you're not familiar with your guitar and its pickups, then learn to use it properly first. Get a nice tube amp and that'll keep you occupied for quite a while honestly.

Personally maple necks are seriously too bright for rock music unless you dont mind classic rock.
 
calibre2001 said:
Personally maple necks are seriously too bright for rock music unless you dont mind classic rock.

I respect your personal opinion, but i think that's a sweeping statement. Maybe you're thinking of metal bands, but ALOT of alternative rock bands use guitars with maple necks.

Just look at jonny greenwood from radiohead
radiohead_jonny.jpg


Basically, my point is that rock bands use all sorts of guitars.
 
Yep sweeping it is. Apologies. I had GnR and Darkness in mind when I typed that out.

BTW how do I paste pictures in message posts?
 
To post images, click on "img"(insert image URL), click "img" again to close the command line.
 
How about the Seymour Duncan Little 59 for the neck? Heard lots of good things about it .... and is getting one soon.
 
i think the reference is to maple fretboard as oppossed to maple neck (very few fender guitars have non-maple necks, yes?)

maybe i'm the very few black metal proponents who plays a tele????

telecaster_pickups_close_up1.jpg
 
haha cool.. i also wanted to get a tele, but the second hand prices were a bit too steep for me. I got my strat second hand at a really good deal. haha i do like gnr and darkness, but just don't have the money to get a gibson, and i don't really like the epiphones. anyway, i don't have the money to get a tube amp la... wish i did though.

and is it really true that the maple fretboards sound really bright? most ppl i know say that the difference tonally is not really that significant. lol i dunno.. seymour duncan little 59? i'l go to the duncan website and check it out....
 
Just went to duncan's website and heard the 59's i like the clean sound more then the hotrails.. hmm... seems like a nice choice. distorted wise it sounds quite good too, less bassy. ,maybe i'll just keep testing all the pickups at the site... lol.. anyway if you are getting a 59, how much is it? thanks
 
Seems like i'm too late, but i would go against the idea of putting hotrails on the neck. get something more warm sounding cause the bridge pickup is what the hotrails really do good at.
 
no you are not too late... i was just trying to find out the price, doesn't mean i've made up my mind. still trying to figure out my guitar and what mods i really need. still would appreciate more help... more warm sounding you say? ok... now that i am fiddling around with my strat i am starting to love the single coil sounds la... but can't play heavy stuff.. lol.... sigh... i need more money.... :?

thinking of doing this mod so i can use the strat for more genres of music, if i had the money i'd get a double humbucking guitar and forget about the mod.. haha....lol
 
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