Changed my Strat from SSS to HSS

[AlvisX]

I got a humbucking strat or two . My logic was to use 'em for fly-in gigs where I couldn't take 5 guitars .
Split the bridge coils ,so I could still play the country & ska sh*t...and have the humbuzzer for the rock
It mostly works OK . I swear I still hear the 25.5 scale with the humb ,and maybe I don't like it

This one worked out pretty good ...cheap stock double slug pickups .I replaced the magnets with A5 mags . Eventually , I replaced the pickguard with a SSS setup , but I have to fly to CZ , so I may put the dual humb guard back on

 

[BlueX]

Decided to change out my Fender American Ultra from a SSS to HSS.
Didn't want to do one of my usual butcher jobs like I do to my cheap mod guitars, so I got a Fender Shawbucker1 bridge pup and a WD Custom pickguard for a drop-in fit on the Ultra.
Here's a before pick:
View attachment 128843
Before I bought any parts, I pulled the existing pickguard to make sure the factory routs would accommodate the bridge HB.
Good to go...
View attachment 128844
Just needed to de-solder the red wire to the switch and the green/black ground to the pot back.
View attachment 128845
Swapped everything except the single bridge pup from the old to new pickguard.
Shawbucker gets same red to switch, white/black to center switch lug and green/bare to ground.
This gives HB in pos 1, and split/mid in pos 2.
View attachment 128846
Popped right back in.
View attachment 128847
Fresh set of DR 9-42's.
Saved the pup and original PG, so totally reversable if I change my mind or decide to move it, or trade it in the future.
I think the WD pickguard is an even better color match with the pups and knobs.
View attachment 128848
Tuned it up and tried it out.
Works as intended and sounds fantastic.
Might be getting some more play time on the Strat.
Here's a final glam shot:
View attachment 128849

Nice mod! HSS Strat is really useful (although I like that I have an SSS strat as well).

If you still got energy left you could have a look at the wiring I have in my stock '13 American Deluxe HSS Strat. S1 switch (push/push) in the volume knob, and a bypass switch (also push/push) between the tone knobs. The bypass sends the bridge HB straight out at full volume.

The S1 gives different options for the main switch (postions 5, 4, 3, 2, 1)
- S1 off: Neck, Neck and Middle in parallel, Middle, Middle and Bridge in parallel, Bridge
- S1 on: Neck and Middle in series, Neck and Middle in series with cap, Neck in series and Middle and Bridge in parallel, Middle and Bridge in series with cap, Middle and Bridge in series
Tone controls work different in different settings as well.

Lot of onboard options, and I really like this. Here are the details in case you want to have a look:

American Deluxe Fat Stratocaster 2013 0119100000 Service Manual · Customer Self-Service

 

[fitz]

Nice mod! HSS Strat is really useful (although I like that I have an SSS strat as well).

If you still got energy left you could have a look at the wiring I have in my stock '13 American Deluxe HSS Strat. S1 switch (push/push) in the volume knob, and a bypass switch (also push/push) between the tone knobs. The bypass sends the bridge HB straight out at full volume.

The S1 gives different options for the main switch (postions 5, 4, 3, 2, 1)
- S1 off: Neck, Neck and Middle in parallel, Middle, Middle and Bridge in parallel, Bridge
- S1 on: Neck and Middle in series, Neck and Middle in series with cap, Neck in series and Middle and Bridge in parallel, Middle and Bridge in series with cap, Middle and Bridge in series
Tone controls work different in different settings as well.

Lot of onboard options, and I really like this. Here are the details in case you want to have a look:

American Deluxe Fat Stratocaster 2013 0119100000 Service Manual · Customer Self-Service

Thanks, the Ultra has the S1 switch in the vol pot.
It's set to just turn the neck pup on regardless of the blade switch position.
I thought about other wiring options like 2V - 1T for a seperate bridge vol, or another S1 for on/off coil split on the HB regardless of blade position, but decided to leave the wiring as stock as possible for the option of returning it to the way it was.

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

Very cool, fitz! Welcome to the HSS team! I did the same with my MIM Strat several years ago. But she went through an interim period with a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails in the bridge before I decided to install a JB full humbucker which is one of the best pickups out there in my opinion. Rock On!! Cheers

Gust

I put a JBjr in the bridge of my MIM Strat, and the hot rails in the neck.
It’s the fire engine red one that I grab quite often. It does it’s job flawlessly.

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

Decided to change out my Fender American Ultra from a SSS to HSS.
Didn't want to do one of my usual butcher jobs like I do to my cheap mod guitars, so I got a Fender Shawbucker1 bridge pup and a WD Custom pickguard for a drop-in fit on the Ultra.
Here's a before pick:
View attachment 128843
Before I bought any parts, I pulled the existing pickguard to make sure the factory routs would accommodate the bridge HB.
Good to go...
View attachment 128844
Just needed to de-solder the red wire to the switch and the green/black ground to the pot back.
View attachment 128845
Swapped everything except the single bridge pup from the old to new pickguard.
Shawbucker gets same red to switch, white/black to center switch lug and green/bare to ground.
This gives HB in pos 1, and split/mid in pos 2.
View attachment 128846
Popped right back in.
View attachment 128847
Fresh set of DR 9-42's.
Saved the pup and original PG, so totally reversable if I change my mind or decide to move it, or trade it in the future.
I think the WD pickguard is an even better color match with the pups and knobs.
View attachment 128848
Tuned it up and tried it out.
Works as intended and sounds fantastic.
Might be getting some more play time on the Strat.
Here's a final glam shot:
View attachment 128849

Excellent work brother, I don’t think I even have a Strat left with single coils in the bridge.. lol

 

[Mitchell Pearrow]

My first big money guitar I bought in the late 70’s did not have the route for a humbucker, I took it to a custom guitar builder that my friend Delfin recommended.
And him route and install the Bill Lawrence HB into it, along with a brass nut.

So I have had this type of setup for some time now. And I love it.

 

[fitz]

Oh, and I love that little Ceriatone stack!

Thanks!
I built those cabs for my JCM600 chassis.

JCM600 Cab Builds - Done

(Just posted the same stuff on TTR, so If you frequent both, my apologies for the repeat.) Using up the last of these beat up old plywood frames that were used as forms to bend plastic around. Nice 3/4" plywood that I just cut in half and already have a face frame for a Marshall style speaker...

www.marshallforum.com

Wound up doing a chassis swap with some head shell mods.

I found the speaker cabs I was looking for...

...I already had them. I've been looking for something other than the 1965A&B cabs for my Ceriatone JTM45. I tried swapping the L-35's and the M-30's from A to B, but still couldn't get what I wanted from my Ceriatone. Decided to haul the head around and try it through some of my other cabs...

www.marshallforum.com

Those are my main 2 amps now, but I still make the rounds through the harem.

 

[Dogs of Doom]

So Fitz, why did you go with an actual humbucker instead of one of those single coil DiMarzio's like the JB Jr. or Hot Rails, etc.? Sometimes I'd like a humbucker in my SSS Strat's bridge.

Also, what cable brand are you using there? I like the heavy-duty spring.

tonality they are very different...

The single-spaced humbucker (SSHB) is a lot thinner. The regular humbucker is a lot fatter sounding. Depends on what you're looking for. The SSHB being thinner, has a more precise, tighter definition of what it captures from the string resonance. The pickups, have a spread of, let's say, ½" from pole to pole (or rail to rail) between coils, whereas a normal humbucker is spread out 1" or so.

This can make the standard more muddy, when compared to the SSHB, but... the HB is fatter sounding & can sound more rich in tone - ballsier...

This is also why many HB guys turn the bass tone on their amp's way down.

The SSHB can cut through a mix better, but, someone used to a regular HB will note the lack of tone.

It's a trade-off.

That said, I tend to prefer the HB over the SSHB. I've done a project or 2 like this in the past & now, tend to simply load (new) a whole pickguard. So, I leave the old guard alone & simply swap out the newly loaded guard. That way, if I want to go back, all I have to do, is melt a couple solder joints & the guitar is restored.

Then, if I want the new thing, I can simply swap guards again. I now have quite a few full loaded guards, but, that's cool, if, for some reason, I ever want to go to a specific setup, I have it pretty much there. Or... if I want to try a new setup, I can just buy (& load) a new pickguard & swap it out...

My Strat has a swimming pool route, so, I can put any kind of pickup anywhere...

I can load 5 single coils, if I want. I had thought even about installing some sort of rail system, so I can slide a pickup up/down back & forth between the bridge & neck position & anywhere inbetween...

 

[Mike_LA]

Nice, but isn't it a SSH?

 

[fitz]

Nice, but isn't it a SSH?

American Ultra Stratocaster® HSS | Electric Guitars

American Ultra Stratocaster® HSS, Rosewood Fingerboard, Cobra Blue

www.fender.com

 

[jmp45]

Strat looks great Fitz. HSS is the best IMHO.

I picked up a 2000 big apple strat years ago with pearly gate plus pups. Bridge A5 pup was overly bright so I changed mags to A2s, IIRC. Anyhow, it tempered it a bit. I have that guard ready for a drop in with quick disconnect as well as an SSS guard with texas specials. I settled on this HSS setup. DP155 Tone Zone in bridge and alnico Parker singles.

 

[PaulHikeS2]

That looks great, Fitz! I've always been a SSS guy myself, but lately I've been getting the itch to turn one of my strats into a HSS. But I just finished the guitar wiring job from hell - 3rd full rewire of a HH LP style with coil splits and I finally got it right. Was a measure once, cut thrice kind of deal, so I have to take some time away from the soldering iron!

 

[SonVolt]

I'll take HSS any day but the pickguard has to perfectly hug the bridge humbucker the way stock Fender HSS's do. No Ibanez (and some after-market) style pickguards where the bridge is a rectangle cutout, leaving gaps in the corners.

 

[Vinsanitizer]

As far as Strats and Teles go (I'm primarily a Les Paul player who also loves Strats, Teles and Jazzmasters)...

I like the top-end "airy" or "breathy" sound of single coils, as well as the dynamics they offer over humbuckers. With the exception of the Les Paul 50's reissues, what I hear from most HB guitars is they slam the input of the amp with the whole frequency range of the guitar & pickup. What I hear from songle coils, usually, is an open, dynamic sound, which lends itself toward more diversity in tone and harmonics than HB's. DiMarzio makes a DP-103 HB that pulls this off nicely for a HB, though for me they require a outboard EQ to dump some of the mud and pull out their "breathy" sound.

As far as SSS on a Strat, in my case, I always turn the bridge pickup's tone control down to 5 or 6. That way, for good higher gain solos, I get a thicker top-end and a really tight bottom (I can't stand the muddy tone that comes from too much in the 250-400Hz area).

I imagine a DiMarzio JB Jr. type, single coil-size pickup, to sound perhaps a 'little' breathy on top like a single coil, while keeping the low end nice and tight. ...But that's just my imagination talking.

 

[SonVolt]

I've been very pleased with these.

The Cruiser® Bridge | DiMarzio

If you’re a serious traditional Strat® player, you probably won’t want to know about pickups with side-by-side coils. But if you’re the player who’s up for something more modern with no 60-cycle hum, string drop-outs or sustain-killing magnet pull, we designed The Cruiser® for you. Harmonic...

www.dimarzio.com

If you’re a serious traditional Strat® player, you probably won’t want to know about pickups with side-by-side coils. But if you’re the player who’s up for something more modern with no 60-cycle hum, string drop-outs or sustain-killing magnet pull, we designed The Cruiser® for you. Harmonic overtones are right where you expect them to be from a “true” single-coil, and the mid-range is open and vocal-sounding. It’s hotter than the traditional single-coil, and the bass strings have a bit more chunk; this is an excellent pickup to combine with medium-output humbuckers, and it maintains its tonal identity with high-gain amps and multiple effects.

 

[fitz]

I'll take HSS any day but the pickguard has to perfectly hug the bridge humbucker the way stock Fender HSS's do. No Ibanez (and some after-market) style pickguards where the bridge is a rectangle cutout, leaving gaps in the corners.

I have to say that I have absolutely nothing bad to say about the WD pickguard.

 

[El Gringo]

Decided to change out my Fender American Ultra from a SSS to HSS.
Didn't want to do one of my usual butcher jobs like I do to my cheap mod guitars, so I got a Fender Shawbucker1 bridge pup and a WD Custom pickguard for a drop-in fit on the Ultra.
Here's a before pick:
View attachment 128843
Before I bought any parts, I pulled the existing pickguard to make sure the factory routs would accommodate the bridge HB.
Good to go...
View attachment 128844
Just needed to de-solder the red wire to the switch and the green/black ground to the pot back.
View attachment 128845
Swapped everything except the single bridge pup from the old to new pickguard.
Shawbucker gets same red to switch, white/black to center switch lug and green/bare to ground.
This gives HB in pos 1, and split/mid in pos 2.
View attachment 128846
Popped right back in.
View attachment 128847
Fresh set of DR 9-42's.
Saved the pup and original PG, so totally reversable if I change my mind or decide to move it, or trade it in the future.
I think the WD pickguard is an even better color match with the pups and knobs.
View attachment 128848
Tuned it up and tried it out.
Works as intended and sounds fantastic.
Might be getting some more play time on the Strat.
Here's a final glam shot:
View attachment 128849

Bravo, awesome job !

 

[DirtySteve]

That came out great!

 

[paul-e-mann]

Decided to change out my Fender American Ultra from a SSS to HSS.
Didn't want to do one of my usual butcher jobs like I do to my cheap mod guitars, so I got a Fender Shawbucker1 bridge pup and a WD Custom pickguard for a drop-in fit on the Ultra.
Here's a before pick:
View attachment 128843
Before I bought any parts, I pulled the existing pickguard to make sure the factory routs would accommodate the bridge HB.
Good to go...
View attachment 128844
Just needed to de-solder the red wire to the switch and the green/black ground to the pot back.
View attachment 128845
Swapped everything except the single bridge pup from the old to new pickguard.
Shawbucker gets same red to switch, white/black to center switch lug and green/bare to ground.
This gives HB in pos 1, and split/mid in pos 2.
View attachment 128846
Popped right back in.
View attachment 128847
Fresh set of DR 9-42's.
Saved the pup and original PG, so totally reversable if I change my mind or decide to move it, or trade it in the future.
I think the WD pickguard is an even better color match with the pups and knobs.
View attachment 128848
Tuned it up and tried it out.
Works as intended and sounds fantastic.
Might be getting some more play time on the Strat.
Here's a final glam shot:
View attachment 128849

I put a Super Distortion in my Strat bridge last Sept and its become my every day player since!

 

[paul-e-mann]

So Fitz, why did you go with an actual humbucker instead of one of those single coil DiMarzio's like the JB Jr. or Hot Rails, etc.? Sometimes I'd like a humbucker in my SSS Strat's bridge.

Also, what cable brand are you using there? I like the heavy-duty spring.

Cuz they dont sound as good as a regular humbucker.