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Superstrat players: recommend HSS pickups?

HerrSquid

HerrSquid

Inspired
Earlier this year I picked up a '90 Ibanez RG760 in astonishing condition. It's a stoopid fun guitar, but my one gripe about is that the pickups are grotesquely mismatched. I know the bridge pickup is not stock, IIRC that model came with an F1(?) but it's got a V8 in it. The V8 is a pretty hot pickup and totally overpowers the two "single coil" pickups (which are actually stacked humbuckers).

This guitar is for hard rock and metal (I play mainly through an Axe-FX III), and I've got plenty of other more vintagey guitars. I think I want to replace either the H or the SS's or maybe both to match them better. I don't see HSS pickups sets on the market except for EMG, which I'm not interested in. So there's not a no-brainer choice I see out there. What passive manufacturer and model(s) would you recommend for this guitar?

IMG_5543.png
 
Dave Merrill said:
Every. Single. HSS guitar I've ever played had that problem.
That's why I don't own one.

Well, that, and I want noise rejection on the other pickups too.
Which must be why I'm mostly playing an SSS strat these days, doh!
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My Strat does not have this problem. The key is not to pair a plutonium-powered HB with the singles. 😉
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Mine has Lawrence L45S, L45S, L90-4H. In parallel mode, the HB matches the "singles" quite well. In series, it has a bit more beef and mids, but is still clear. The 5-way switch automatically switches the HB to parallel when engaged with the middle pickup, no matter what position the s/p toggle is in....
 
HerrSquid said:
Earlier this year I picked up a '90 Ibanez RG760 in astonishing condition. It's a stoopid fun guitar, but my one gripe about is that the pickups are grotesquely mismatched. I know the bridge pickup is not stock, IIRC that model came with an F1(?) but it's got a V8 in it. The V8 is a pretty hot pickup and totally overpowers the two "single coil" pickups (which are actually stacked humbuckers).

This guitar is for hard rock and metal (I play mainly through an Axe-FX III), and I've got plenty of other more vintagey guitars. I think I want to replace either the H or the SS's or maybe both to match them better. I don't see HSS pickups sets on the market except for EMG, which I'm not interested in. So there's not a no-brainer choice I see out there. What passive manufacturer and model(s) would you recommend for this guitar?

IMG_5543.png
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The Tom Anderson SC1s and HC2 balance well in my HSS guitar.
 
I collect the RG 760s. It was an early guitar of mine and has a sentimental connection. Some I have kept case queens like your example there, but the ones I have changed out I have used stacked single coils to match the bridge humbucker.

One is SD JB matched with SD Rails
Another is SD Black Winter with SD YJMs

Both guitars sound Great and much much better than stock!

JB Rails is great for hard rock and when I need to raise my voice, the Black Winter/YJM screams louder!
 
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Dimarzios all around: Mo' Joe for the bridge humbucker, Chopper in the middle, Pro Track in the neck. If you want more 'true' single coil tone in the middle and neck, use Injector (Neck-DP422) for both positions.
 
Sixstring said:
Suhr pickups are really nice a little pricey but worth it!
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Not disputing your experiences, but one of the HSS guitars I tried where the bridge humbucker was way louder than the 2 single coils was a Suhr higher-end strat-like thing, don't remember the exact model.
 
Dave Merrill said:
Not disputing your experiences, but one of the HSS guitars I tried where the bridge humbucker was way louder than the 2 single coils was a Suhr higher-end strat-like thing, don't remember the exact model.
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If you have either the SSV or Thornbucker Plus in the bridge you won't have that issue. Whatever you tried probably had the SSH+, which is in the realm of a Duncan JB.

That said, I think the OP should get hotter noiseless singles rather than put something bright and vintage in the bridge like those previously mentioned.
 
I’ve never tried them, but Alegree pickups has a humbucker specifically for this called the Solar Flare, designed to match his Texas Hailstorm singles. Some of his pickups look downright awesome from what he’s written. I know these might possibly be too vintage in flavor overall for what you’d like, but they might have the balance at least; you could always crank them into an awesome overdrive pedal. :)
 
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Stay under 10K for the humbucker and 6~8k for the single coils and you will be fine.
High output single coils and narrow field humbuckers that fit in single coil space don't sound like single coils ever anyway .They often sound good in there own right but nothing in the classic strat territory.
 
I"m not a singles connoisseur except for the Kinman I put in my one single coil guitar (Strat) . very nice pickup. My first thought for a super strat bridge position is something like Dimarzio 36th Anniversary or AT-1 (andy timmons model) or if you want to drop a little extra...a BKP Rebel Yell. I'm considering this one myself at the moment for my Les Paul
 
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