[jazzfromhell]

Howdy,

I'm getting an Ibanez AT10P (Timmons model - 22 fret, Alder body, vintage trem) but since I'm not a huge fan of the AT-1 pickup nor the Cruisers I am going to swap em all out. I want versatility and authenticity. Good quack, great strat tones, good balance with the bridge HB. Musically it should be able to handle everything up to hard rock but with a focus on rock, blues, pop.

I've got a Virtual Hot PAF that will possibly go in the bridge but which singles will pair good with it? I'm thinking either 54 Pro (m) / HB2 (n) or Area 67 / 54 Pro. Nothing is set in stone, Im open to all suggestions.

Thoughts?

[darkbluemurder]

Hi,

the AT-1/Cruiser/Cruiser combination may work for AT but for me it certainly would not. I would be fine with the AT-1 but with the Cruisers I think it is too strong.

I have one strat that has a VHPAF in the bridge, a Virtual Vintage 54 Pro in the middle and an Area 67 in the neck, all with 250k volume and tone pots. I really like it - good balance over all five positions.

HB2 in the neck would also be a good option but I would go for a 500k volume pot in that case. You will have to check whether that is OK with the bridge humbucker and add a resistor to ground if it it too bright.

I have not yet tried the VV 54 Pro in the neck position of anything, so I cannot really comment on 67 middle/VV 54 Pro neck.

Cheers Stephan

[darkbluemurder]

And by the way - there is no such thing as "the ultimate HSS set up" but I guess you already knew  .

You will always have to strike some compromise between the two extremes - do you want the humbucker to balance with the singles when split (then it will likely overpower the singles in series mode) or do you want it to balance with the singles in humbucking mode (then it will most likely sound thin in split mode compared to the singles). The set up I described in my previous post roughly covers the vintage camp and extends into hard rock territory easily.

Cheers Stephan

[jazzfromhell]

Haha, sure Stephan, I know that
Great points as always man, kudos to you.

I'm thinking neck and bridge are most important with 2 and 4 close behind. I guess some experimenting will ensue.

[greenlion]

Virtual hot Bridge, Area 58 neck, Area 67 middle. If the Virtual hot isn't enough, use an Air Zone bridge.

[daenius]

I have the VV54Pros and they are AMAZING! The Area '58 and '61s are great too. All of them are great at replicating a specific type of vintage Strat sound without the pesky noise, and trust me, they are DEAD QUITE. Quieter than any of my humbuckers, and I have a ton of different ones.

What type of sound are you looking for in the bridge? High output? Medium output? Rich harmonics? Long sustain? Bright? Warm?

PS: Shameless plug here, but I happen to be selling a '58 and a '61. If you're interested, hit me up and I'll cut you a deal: https://reverb.com/item/4788134-dimarzio-dp415-area-61-dp416-area-58-like-new-aged-white

[corypheus]

For the kind of tone you said, and since you said you dislike the At-1 and the Cruisers... I'd go for 36 ann model on the bridge - but normal, not the bridge model which is overwound, and ofcourse 4 conductor version not a single - and I'd take Area 58 on both other positions. That said, my first choice would actually be cruiser on both positions but since you said you dislike them, I guess they're off.

And really, ultimate setup for a guitar is a personal thing. Mine would probably be someone else's worst setup, and vice versa.

Regards,
Cory

[Kurt R Kish]

I'd suggest Area 61/Area 61/PAF Master bridge!

[jazzfromhell]

I have the VV54Pros and they are AMAZING! The Area '58 and '61s are great too. All of them are great at replicating a specific type of vintage Strat sound without the pesky noise, and trust me, they are DEAD QUITE. Quieter than any of my humbuckers, and I have a ton of different ones.

What type of sound are you looking for in the bridge? High output? Medium output? Rich harmonics? Long sustain? Bright? Warm?

Thanks for your comments!

I'm mainly looking for...
1) versatility. I want the guitar to be able to do pretty much everything, apart from the heaviest metal. It should sound convincing in all 5 positions.

2) the humbucker to balance well with the singles, tonally as well as output-wise. I hate going from comping on the bridge HB to the neck SC for a solo and feel like the gain is being drastically lowered. Thats a biggie for me.
I also don´t mind if the HB is slightly scooped (or at least doesnt have a big mid-hump)  since I tend to like that better with singles.

Like this: Id like to get AC/DC in the bridge and SRV/Eric Johnson in the other positions

[daenius]

OK! I have some ideas! Listed by makers:

Dimarzio:
PAF Master
PAF 36th Anniversary
EJ Custom Bridge

Duncan:
Alnico 2 Pro
Custom Custom
'59

Suhr:
SSV
DSV
Thornbucker+

Most are medium to low output with pretty even or slightly scooped mids so they'll sound real open and jangly. They all pack a bit of growl too so if you plug in to a medium gain amp you'll ACDC all day everyday. They're not the fattest and most muscular sounding humbuckers though so if you want more gain and mid punch you should invest in a Tubescreamer or something. The EJ Custom in particular is extremely bell clear chimey sounding. Given the output levels and EQ curve they should all balance nicely with your vintage flavored noiseless single coils in all departments. Don't forget to install the correct pot and load (make the single coils see 250k and the humbucker see 500k) and mess with the pickup heights for maximum balance too!