[RockQ]

What I Have: I have a Fender MIM Stratocaster with the stock single-coils. I'm using my DigiTech RP350 setting to convert SC>HB (single-coils to humbuckers). If I change/get pickups I will buy GFS, GuitarHeads, or something like those. I've heard that they are really good quality for the price. I won't buy any "name brand" stuff. It's just nonsense IMO. Really I'm fine with the "amp" I have. My DigiTech RP350 sounds great through my 12" powered speaker. That Behringer EQ, I need to get one anyways. That's almost a must-have for anyone wanting to do some tone-tweaking and creating.

All I need is HSH or HHH and 24 frets.

So here's my options:

Option #1.0: Buy SX SR1 guitar from Rondo Music

Option #1.1: Buy SX SR1 from Rondo Music and change pickups

Option #2.0: Buy used guitar with 24 frets with HSH

Option #2.2: Buy used guitar with 24 frets routed for HSH or HHH and change pickups

Option #3.0: Change pickups in Fender Strat

 

[RockQ]

Updated options. Check it.

 

[RockQ]

+1

And then for $20 you can pick up some borax, a bucket, and some Rustoleum and swirl the shit out of your Strat. Totally metal. :lol:

To my baby?

 

[RockQ]

Tell me this. What does a guitar with 2 HBs sound like when switched to the middle position? Is it like having a single-coil rail in the middle? This is very important because I currently like using a slightly warmer sound for my rhythm but not as warm as my neck pickup and not as cold as my bridge pickup. I like both of them, I just like the middle better.

 

[RockQ]

I'm not going to be particularly helpful here, but I'm really keen to understand what on earth you are talking about here? :spock:

I'm not going to buy anything Dimarzio or Seymour Duncan. GFS or GuitarHeads is what I would buy. Most people who have tried the X2N said it was not as good as GFS's Power Rails for $35 instead of $70 or whatever the X2Ns are. Pickups are not that expensive material wise. It's nuts, for me anyways, to pay that much for some magnets and wire.

 

[RockQ]

If the humbuckers are 4 conductor, you can wire them pretty much any way you want. I've got a HH guitar with a three-way switch with this config:

\ = Bridge
| = Neck-side coil of Neck
/ = Neck

...because I love the sound of a neck single coil.

I was just wondering when you have a HH guitar in the middle position where both HBs are selected if it sounds like the guitar is using a middle pickup. Not raw and raunchy like the bridge but not warm and fuzzy like the neck. An in between sound just like a middle HB. Maybe something like parallel or series wiring does this? I don't know what either of those it is that would get me what I want. Can someone clarify?

 

[RockQ]

If you're having doubts about using strats for metal:

YouTube - ‪Cryptopsy - Cold Hate Warm Blood Live‬‎

2:53, notice what Jon Lavessuer is playing (and played with for almost all his time in Cryptopsy) -- A Fat strat.

Edit:

BTW, your mexi-strat is a FAR better guitar than the SX series from rondo.

Yeah, I know! My mom, yes I'm 16 I do have a mom, says I shouldn't mod my Fender Strat 'cause it will lower the resale value. I do respect my mom's opinion but I feel I should do otherwise. There wouldn't, for me, be aneed to keep my Fender Strat if I had the guitar I really wanted. IDK a lot about that resale value stuff but it seems like a lot of guys actually made more money on the guitars BY changing the pickups.

So I guess the real question is: Will me changing the pickups, correctly, on my Strat lower the resale value of my guitar? I would keep the stock PUs and pickguard and everything if I was to ever sell it. Maybe I should buy an all new pickguard assembly? New pots, wiring, and pickguard, and knobs and everything? I'm going to have to get 500k pots, a push/pull pot, and a new pickguard anyways.

 

[RockQ]

People pay $250 for a single pickup

The reason why I'd go with a known brand is because you know it's going to be a good product. Buy used.

Doesn't mean that I can justify it or any others above $75 for that matter. GFS does returns you know, and I can purchase from a lot of those companies through eBay which will give me some security. :yesway:

 

[RockQ]

I'm gonna do it guys. I really think I'm gonna do it. Now what all do I need.
Here's what I'm going to do with all of this.

Step #1: Get 2 humbucker-sized rail pickups and a middle single-coil sized rail pickup for in between.

Step #2: Buy a black HSH pickguard (ya know, black, for METAL!!! LOL)

Step #3: I'm also going to get 3 toggle switches for each pickup to coil-split them.

Step #4: I'm going to need to upgrade the pots to 500k also. Can I wire all of my pickups to one "master" tone control or do I need individual ones for each? I want to be able control the tone of each pickup selection.

I could get 3 push/pull pots for each pickup that would coil-split it and control it's tone. Maybe that would be a good option.

Is there anything else I should do or get? I can get the pickups in black or black on black. What would be best?

 

[RockQ]

Can you wire a 5-way switch so it goes like this?
Position 1 - Bridge pickup split
Position 2 - Middle pickup split
Position 3 - Neck pickup split
Position 4 - nothing
Position 5 - No pickups split

 

[RockQ]

I'm not sure he's getting what "split" means. Or, he's talking about using two 5-way switches, one for pickup selection and one for splitting the pickups as detailed above.

Yeah. That's what I was thinking about doing. Just using two 5-way switches. One for pickup selection and one for coil-splitting. The one for coil-splitting should work like this right?

Position 1 - Bridge split, 2 - Bridge & Middle split, 3 - Middle split, 4 - Middle & Neck split, and 5 - Neck split. Using a 5-way switch would make it where there always has to be one pickup that's split but it would be cheaper to do. What do you guys think?

 

[RockQ]

Ok. I'm closing this thread and starting one about wiring.

 

[RockQ]

Closing it? :lol:

Well, I thought I could. I'm a newb here but the other forums I have been allow closing threads. I guess this one doesn't! LOL