[Guitar74]

I see nobody has written a review on this one. Is it possibly because there are so many newer stacked singles in the line that have more output? Maybe.

This is my experience with it. The output is VERY low. The tone is absolutely gorgeous. especially in the neck position. They are just a tad warmer, but still have a pretty nice single coil tone along with being dead quiet. Just don't expect screaming output. You will have to adjust them closer than your standard single coils, or adjust gain/volume accordingly. Or use a boost pedal, overdrive like Mr. Malmsteen, or simply adjust your distortion settings a little higher. I actually used to use this pickup with traditional style humbuckers with good results. The big trick was to not go too high output with your bridge humbuckers, adjust the hs higher, and badda boom badda bing.

It is a VERY good pickup, just a little misunderstood because of its main user. Yes he flat out screamed, but his pickups were a little weak, boosted by the od250, and into a CRANKED 50 watt Marshall.

The only thing that confused me was the super high D.C. resistance, but low output. Most pickups with a dc resistance in the 20+ range are LOUD. Anyhow, maybe someone who is more well versed in pickup winding will chime in on that one.

[marcwormjim]

Historically, those that know the least are the most likely to chime in.

Resistance isn’t output. Bear in mind that you’re only hearing one of the two coils.

[Guitar74]

This makes sense. This isn’t the first time that it has been explained to me that dc resistance doesn’t mean output. And your point is more than proven with this pickup in particular.  What’s funny is the misinformation provided, in large part, by manufacturers. One in particular states that dc resistance is a better measure than millivolts of a pickups output.

I am no expert on the subject, but it can be a little confusing when going from one manufacturer to another and getting so much conflicting info. It’s like asking a drag racer for the camshaft specs they are running. You’ll either get no answer at all, or a bs spec as a polite way of telling you to not ask.

[darkbluemurder]

@Guitar74: your description of the HS-3 is spot on. Great pickup for overdriven leads as the guitarist you mentioned superbly demonstrated. Not necessarily the best pickup if you want sparkly clean tones (the HS-1 or HS-2 would do that better than the HS-3) or if you need high output.

There also was a tele bridge version of this pickup, the HS-3T.

Cheers Stephan

[Guitar74]

I did forget to mention that when used in true single coil mode it sounds terrific as well. In fact, it seems a little louder.

[darkbluemurder]

Yes, because the lower coil not only cancels hum but also output signal. That was always a problem in the pickups with identical or near identical stacked coils. In that regard, the design is somewhat dysfunctional. To counteract, more turns of very small diameter wire were used - hence the high DC resistance. Designers like Bill Lawrence tried to shield the coils from each other to counteract the signal cancelling, thus being able to use less turns on the coils. The Area series pickups use a dummy coil of much lower resistance - probably also with a larger diameter wire.

In fact many HS-2 users use this pickup in single coil mode. I never used a HS-2 but I have used the HS-1 and the HS-3.

Cheers Stephan

[Guitar74]

And now we know.......The rest of the story (sorry, was channeling my inner Paul Harvey). NOW I get the high resistance, low output, etc. It seems me that the vvHB2 does what the HS-3 does but with higher output. At least under gain, the BH2 on tape sounds very similar but has a little more high end "cut" in my Maple/Maple guitar. Just comparing them in the same axe. In fact, with the recordings, the HB2 in full humbucking sounds a LOT like the HS3 in true single coil in that guitar in the neck slot with the same amp settings.

[RayBarbeeMusic]

Just beware if you adjust an HS3 close to the strings.  It's A5 rod magnets, so it will cause intonation and fret buzz issues if you get it real close due to string pull issues.

[Guitar74]

I actually had that issue with my first one, and quickly learned to lower my bridge humbucker to help even things out.