Can You Get Good Humbucker Tone on a Strat? - Let's Find Out!

[@andymacksoundvision]

Brian May's single coils are wired in series and can sound like humbuckers.

[@kryptych]

He actually has his pickups wired so that the switches can alternate each pickup between series and parallel, so he gets a massive variety of tones... but in general, he does tend to favor in series configurations from what I've been able to tell.

[@andymacksoundvision]

@@kryptych I'm sorry but you've been misinformed. They are hard wired in series. Three switches are to turn them on and off individually, and three switches are to reverse the phase individually.

[@MisterTee]

Ilker Yücel That is incorrect. The switches are for reversing phase

[@SuperZiggyCraft]

It also helps that his pickups have high output compared to regular single coils

[@1683clifton]

homade is best

[@ladyjulia4038]

Darrell you seem like the sweetest most down to earth kind of guy. I love how all of your videos are totally dummy proof too. If you have kids I bet they can't get enough of your patient and kind demeanor. Hope you see this and keep killing it! PS You are one hell of a guitar player!

[@waylonstar4423]

I’ve watched a TON of guitar KZbinrs and you seem like the most honest, most informative and most mature then the countless channels out here thanks for doing what you do it is much appreciated, Scott Paul Johnson is also a great KZbinr

[@RC32Smiths01]

I personally Strats are the most versatile of them all. Like for example, a Les Paul is more for Rock and Blues, and Strats can do so as well, adding on like Jazz, Funk, Country, etc. Strats are my favorite of the bunch. Great showcase and performance indeed here!

[@keeganaustin9078]

The Les Paul was originally designed to be a jazz guitar. Just wanted to point that out.

[@RC32Smiths01]

@@keeganaustin9078 Ahh gotcha. Didn't actually know that fact. Nonetheless, I don't see many playing Les Pauls for that Purpose

[@TheArmchairrocker]

@@RC32Smiths01 yeah they generally don't.

[@Luthiart]

@@TheArmchairrocker I had a roommate who was a brilliant jazz guitarist, and he played an LP most of the time, even though he owned archtops and more "traditional" jazz boxes. He's the only jazz guitarist besides Les Paul himself that I can recall playing an LP.

[@keeganaustin9078]

@@RC32Smiths01 I don't either. I just find it interesting how it was designed to be a jazz guitar but became the first guitar people think of when it comes to rock n roll.

[@priyonjoni]

That’s why I always found it weird when people claim “a SSS strat can sound like a Les Paul”. Position 2 and 4 always sounded more quacky.

[@laughingdaffodils5450]

They do, but if wired in series it's pretty close, and if you tweak the eq just right you get even closer. Certainly close enough for cover band gigs.

[@rocknrollguitar]

Use your tone pods, thats the secret, a strat has 2 for a reason

[@greg4673]

@@laughingdaffodils5450 Yeah, I'm kinda with you on that statement, to a point. The harmonics are significantly different as are the impedances. So when pretty close ain't cuttin it, I pickup my LP.

[@AcceleratingUniverse]

no one has ever said that

[@Ottophil]

@@rocknrollguitar pots, short for potentiometer. Not pods. And they are worthless

[@marcosvivanco2433]

I'm gonna tell you a secret: plug a fuzz into a marshall style amp. Dial the fuzz to around 80% fuzz and roll the strat volume to 9-8ish until you get just the enough of dirt from the fuzz but not entirely fuzz. Voilá there you have it.

[@toddthomas4761]

LOL - the smashing pumpkins sound : ) This is why I bought a Strat today... When you have fuzz on those single coils it screams...

[@lucaswelch1577]

Or you can buy an orange. Those things naturally have tons of thick fuzz, plus they look cool

[@davidkastin4240]

Great video Darrell. This is why we need guitars with different pickups. I tried explaining this to my wife but every guitar sounds the same to her 😳 lol

[@mitcharney1]

She must be watching GregsGuitars on KZbin.

[@sowhat5150]

This was a great comparison. I actually thought you were going to compare single coil sized humbuckers on a Strat to a HH Strat to a Les Paul. I think that would be interesting.

[@phililpb]

09:28 or even "a humbucker size single coil"

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Hi! Great idea, I'll add it to my list

[@michaellaws25]

@@phililpb which is essentially a p90?

[@philippegeorgiades4633]

@@phililpb lmao, I remember that

[@mairenared]

I use a Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster pedal. Apart from boosting the output on single coil pickups, the Resonance Switch lowers the resonant peak of the pickup giving you a sound similar to a humbucker. Position 1 on the switch drops the resonance 2-3kHz to sound like a vintage humbucker whilst position 3 drops the resonance 3-5kHz to sound like a high-output humbucker. Works for me :-D

[@GreenDistantStar]

I've tweaked and fiddled for decades, and beyond major pickup reconfigs, only humbuckers sound like humbuckers. I switch guitars, it's the only solution I've found. Thanks for this, excellent presentation and explanations.

[@jchap15901]

9:28 I assume you meant to say "single-coil sized humbucker"?

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

😂😂😂 Yup!

[@TelecasterLPGTop]

Yeah that's what he meant . Many years ago a mate brought his new Jackson or Charvel (don't remember which ) around to show me and it had stacked humbuckers on it and it sounded great but Kevin being Kevin lost interest in it and sold/swapped it for something else within a few months.

[@barbmelle3136]

From Leo: I love the 4 way mod. I have even used it on a Tele that I split the neck humbucker, between the tone knob split switch and the 4 way pickup selector, you can find about anything you need.

[@bricedavin1757]

My solution with an EQ pedal : look for the specific frequency range that cause the classic single coil harshness, and cut it. Boost the mids, and raise the lowest frequency a tad (it has to chug a bit). That's getting close to humbucker territory.

[@meiji...]

YES I was looking for this kind of comment. Of course, pickup construction (rail vs pole pieces, magnet placement and strength) is going to have some impact on things like string attack and overall output. But people think they have to change the whole electronics or literally buy a whole new guitar to get a certain sound when you can get close to any sound with EQ + compression with any pickups (even cheap ones). Not enough high frequencies in your singles? don't buy new pickups, just use EQ first in your chain. Your humbuckers or P90s sound too thin? don't buy new pickups, just use EQ first in your chain. I got this mindset from mixing my own music, guitarists have to stop being so snobby with gear stuff and focus more on their signal chain as a whole to really get the sound they want. If I'd search for a session guitarist, I'd rather work with someone with a low end Squier guitar w/stock pickups who knows how to manipulate their signal chain than someone with a Fender Elite Strat who believes their brand new 500$ Seymour Duncan pickup set is going to do wonders while neglecting the rest of the chain.

[@stefanoartuso001]

Smartest solution to me

[@stefanoartuso001]

​@@meiji...Im the guy with the low end squier

[@kdakan]

You can use a boost pedal, volume pedal, eq pedal, wah pedal, or a classic low gain overdrive pedal with gain set at min and level set at max and play with the tone control on the guitar and the pedal to simulate humbucker tone using single coils. They sound close enough this way.

[@74dartman13]

As an experiment, I recently installed a single coil sized humbucker in the bridge of my Strat copy. Just a cheap one...$12. I was amazed at the difference! If I liked it, I was planning on installing a better quality pickup. It sounds so good, I'm keeping it!👍😎🎸🎶

[@mateusmusic4383]

In my opnion with my experience, To make a single coil sound like humbucker you just have to change the location of the Middle pickup to the bridge pickup. then select the 3rd position, and you'll have a humbucker tone with TONE knob working (great to play Eric jhonson too)

[@fuzzfizz]

That's is hard work. Just wire the tone pots so that one is controlling the already there bridge pickup. Besides, fender stratocaster is not the only guitar in the world. Other SSS guitar with master tone knob will do this.

[@mateusmusic4383]

@@fuzzfizz Good idea! but The focus of my comment is not the Tone knob to control bridge pickup, its that the middle pickup, in general have the "equalization" and tone of humbucker but this tone(humbucker sound/tone) will only really be noticed if you put the middle pickup on the location of the bridge pickup and use the 3rd position, of course maybe it will not sound like humbucker in all guitars but in my opnion it works on a big part of them because the middle pickup generally have his generic/standard sound characteristc. worked on my guitar.

[@fuzzfizz]

@@mateusmusic4383 it doesn't. Most guitar have the same pickup, the difference is middle pickup is Rwrp. The reason why yours sounded different is because previously the bridge pickup have no tone control. Adding tone control rolls of highs, as well as using different pot value. Just wire your bridge pickup to the tone pot and it will sound exactly as you described your middle pickup in bridge position. Also let the middle pickup be in middle as it will be in phase and humcancelling in position 2 and 4 with neck and bridge pickup. Don't swap place.

[@StuntcatTV]

This video is proof that this legend of a man does not give up on any of us, thanks for your patience and good will to make this video. :) Best regards from Austria

[@donharrold1375]

You’re addressing one of the biggest conundrums in Rock Darrell. Everyone loves the playability, look and the spanky bell tone from a Strat, but sometimes you want a thicker bridge sound for overdriven lead tones? People try installing a humbucker at the bridge, but end up with issues with the 250k pots. The series wiring option to me is really the ideal compromise.

[@SeemsLikeSomething]

This was so informative! I’m a bit embarrassed to say, I’ve never quite known the specific reason why people wire series and parallel. Now I understand better. Thanks, Darrel!

[@P_Ezi]

I was expecting at least one "solution" to involve tone control and a boost or OD pedal. I agree that the P-rails are a versatile and interesting way to approach this problem. I installed these in a Warmoth project Tele for humbucking options with Fender scale length.

[@nazmoking3171]

So how did you like the P-rails? Holy Grail or no?

[@P_Ezi]

@@nazmoking3171 I love the sheer number of options. The guitar is a a Tele with mahogany body, maple top, and rosewood fingerboard. I also added strat comfort contour cuts. I won't go into all the other details, but the theory was to get choice of LP tone with humbucker and big single coil tele sound with bridge P90. Neither are exactly those sounds, but it does make a huge array of tones. I wanted to experiment without giving up Fender scale length, as I just feel clumsy on Gibson scale for some reason. I would recommend the P-rails, but keep in mind that the guitar and scale length are part of the equation also. Also, if they were installed on a strat body, a floating bridge would have its own tone contribution aa well (the springs) I also HIGHLY recommend Warmoth. The quarter sawn neck with stainless frets plays wonderfully. The only bad thing about Warmoth is that it is easy to get carried away with options.

[@dragan4658]

The black Strat with the humbuckers is awesome looking and awesome sounding! Thanks Darrell.

[@ronaldstricker1412]

Informative info on pickups and guitar wiring, good job Darrel.He's not talking about pedals or amps people just how pickups work.

[@KaiVaiphei]

9:37 a Humbucker sized single coil 🤣🤣 no offense,love all of your videos

[@Deathgeist]

I laughed at this also lol

[@sohamsengupta6470]

Yeah that one really confused me, thought he was talking about p90s for a second there

[@Voxguitarsrock]

GFS markets a humbucker sized p90. The " mean 90". So there s that, lol

[@rangerdoc1029]

Love me some H90s

[@maxmustardman298]

Cant imagine the noise

[@mangelgc8963]

Exacto! Y de hecho pasa lo mismo cuando haces el split coil y pretendes que sonará como una single coil. Gracias por tus vídeos maestro, he visto varios y te las sabes we!!

[@jaimebenavides231]

I’ve put a hot rail on the bridge with pull/push to split it. Works great and sound amazing. Bought the whole pick guard assemble with three single coils and the hot rails separate and had my guitar teacher installing the whole thing. It costed all around $30aus at the time. The most amazing is that it is a Squier start affinity that already sounded amazing for some reason. Now it sounds killer and everyone who has either listened or played has made a face of unbelief when they see it. Great post by the way!

[@ralphhyland8661]

This guy is easily top 3 of all the people ive seen in the way he describes things, presents details, and just the overall package of the post. As Judge Smails said: top notch, TOP NOTCH!

[@nixonos]

What about sound of normal humbucker vs angeled humbucker (like eddie van helen or billie joe armstrong)

[@dyoel182]

That really depends on how the humbucker is laid out. Angled was first done because it matched up the Fender string spacing better than when it was straight. Now both string spacings are widely available from the pickup makers.

[@timwhite5562]

20 years building and repairing guitars, and the last 10 working with amps has let me have experience with pretty much every type of guitar you can think of. The thing I never understood is; wh, with every type of pickup layout there are, had I never seen a Strat with single coils in the neck and middle with a P90 in the bridge position? Literally, I had NEVER had someone bring one in. You would think there's enough players who want to be able to use a Strat with higher gain about amps or pedals and not have it sound thin and harsh, but still want it to sound "Stratty," that there would be at least SOME like that. HSS layouts are everywhere, but no PSS. I have used Fralins Steel Pole pickups, and I think they're the way to go for a lot of players. A lot of players will get an overwound or high gain single coil thinking that it'll be like replacing a vintage output PAF for a Super Distortion, or something similar. They figure it'll drive the amp into overdrive the way Humbucker will, but they don't. Even the twin rail tyoe still sound like singlecoils, just with a different EQ curve. I've found then"Steel Pole" pup does what many think that a hot single coil will do. They designed to be "part singlecoil/part P90." The "42" if voiced to be 50% singlecoil/50% P90, while the "43" is 25% singlecoil/ 75% P90. One of those with a tone control that has a good, controllable taper and the right capacitor value, and you can use that Strat for anything. Or just go the way I have for a decade; Vintage Big Muff with a Tube screamer set clean with the volume just over unity, so it more or less is an EQ pedal with a bumped mid-range, or use an actual EQ with the mids up, into the front end of the Muff. I had recorded with that setup for a couple years and no one that hear those recordings thought I used a Strat, everyone assumed I was using a Les Paul or some HH guitar into a dimed Plexi or something similar. It certainly didn't sound like what it actually was: an Eric Johnson Strat with Lollar Blackfaces, which are his version of '62 vintage single coils. The tone is HUGE.

[@Luthiart]

A Telecaster with a 4-way switch can rule the world! I put a 4-way in all my Teles that have the traditional single coil pickups (I have a lot of Teles, with various pickup types). Turns a mountain cat into a Dinosaur! That seems to work best with Tele pickups, though. I tried it with P90s, and the effect was not so pleasing, and I think humbuckers would just sound awful (double series?). I just built a Strat recently (first time owning one). Maybe I'll add a switch for series/parallel at some point to see what it sounds like. I didn't even think of that when I was wiring it up.

[@mkovacic7]

The fender strat elite has a button that changes the wiring to series if you want and you have a lot more gain, it sounds amazing

[@SuperBriansmoke]

I’ve put a 10 way Freeway blade switch into my HSS guitar. It gives me 10 great sounds. Not a cheap option, but no push/pulls or mini switches. It gives me series or split JB humbucker along with all kinds of series and parallel combinations of the three pickups.

[@falcongunner33]

6:20 didn't even notice that the paoletti has the fretboard finish already worn down. That's cool!

[@TheLambLive]

I added a push/pull pot that puts the neck pickup in series with whatever combination is selected. With the bridge and a bit of tone rolled off it does a very good humbucker impression, but without the hum cancelling.

[@mai_mu0]

i'm absolutely in love with that humbucker tone

[@abdurrahmanvural9268]

I can't explain how helpful video you've made.. Seriously... You talked about all different perspectives, and you give such an helpful solutions.. Just.. Just thank you man ! 😊👌👏

[@cozmiklinc]

I just ordered the Epiphone Les Paul Modern with push-pull pots and coil splitting. So it can sound like a humbucker when I want that, but it can also sound like a single coil. I'm very excited to get my hands on that baby and start experimenting with all the tones!! Thanks for the great explanation Darrell. Your videos are some of the best out there!

[@melomane01]

I have a S-Type guitar in a HSS configuration. The humbucker can be split so it's very versatile.

[@gmscurto]

Thank you for continuing to do the math for us to see. I, for one, learn so much from your videos. 🤯

[@rayschoch5882]

The comparison demo videos are really useful, even if I lack the musical vocabulary to describe those differences. Nicely done, Darrell, as usual.

[@dawidspamer5312]

I had my local guitar shop install the single coil humbucker as per your last option and it made a world of difference.

[@paristhalheimer]

I find that the mid boost kit in my Clapton Strat can get some very humbucker tones. Also if I use the neck pickup on my Tele with the tone rolled back and overdriven, I can get very nice Cream era Clapton tone out of my guitar.

[@Pinguinsose]

Do you have experience with the clapton mid boost kit without noiseless pickups?

[@matthewbarr5274]

@@Pinguinsose I do. It works, but your wiring must be impeccable and be completely shielded.

[@jcar1_five]

You can get closer to humbucker tone with a compressor pedal since humbuckers are compressed sounding pickups. But you can't eliminate that single coil twang.

[@nonebeliever5321]

You can also get single coil sized humbuckers and switch out the single coils for them and it would make a really unique sound

[@barnettg66]

I added a Seymour Duncan Lil 59 single coil sized humbucker and it works fantastically. I had tried to do an HSS pickguard but found that 500k pots don't work well for the single coils, and 250k pots cause too much power drop for the humbucker. I even tried one of the Obsidian Wire circuits that uses both 500k and 250k, and found it still didn't get the sound I wanted. So on a whim (and with a rapidly draining wallet) I bought a Seymour Duncan Lil 59 and JB Jr. Both only use 250k pots (like the regular single coils) and both sounded fabulous and massive. I think the Lil 59 is brighter and better defined, so that's what I've stuck with ever since. The Lil 59 screams when overdriven, and has a really nice full clean sound when clean. Best of all worlds. I can't recommend it enough. And it is dirt simple to install on a stock Strat.

[@countblue]

I love my Ultrasonic Singlecoil shape humbuckers they are the best of both worlds totally silent when it comes to hum and as bright as possible for a humbucker.

[@trevorclark7985]

here’s a trick. put the neck pickup in the middle spot and the middle pickup in the neck spot. That way when you put the pickup selector in the bridge/middle spot, you’re actually getting bridge and neck. this sounds pretty humbuckery

[@jjdillon2007]

Yep. They'd have to be wired in series. My American Deluxe Tele, has the S1, so it's in series when engaged and both pickups are chosen.

[@fredericmora5252]

About a year ago, I bought a 10 way switch for my 2006 highway one strat : I wanted to add some more versatility to it. I followed the wiring schema provided with it, and I do have 5 new positions witch are very interesting : neck and bridge in parallel, neck and bridge in series, middle and bridge in series, all 3 pickups in parallel and all three pickups in series. The two last are the most interesting in my opinion: the 3 in parallel position offers a very round, soft and full sound in clean, and the 3 in series position transforms my strat into some wild beast with an incredible output lever and aggressiveness. I recommend you get this kind of switch and try , and maybe show us the results in a video :)

[@nazmoking3171]

Who makes it?

[@fredericmora5252]

You can find it searching for "freeway 10 positions Stratocaster switch" :)

[@fredericmora5252]

And if you happen to buy one but do not get a wiring schema, I might be able to find it back for you :)

[@carlosanvito]

What a great video! You've answered many of the theoretical questions I had about series/parallel tones on two classic platforms. Well done. By the way, gorgeous finish on your LP. SDG.

[@rhydianlewis2867]

I've added a 2nd 5 way switch, so now my strat has 4 serial modes beyond the 5 parallel modes of a standard strat. 1st new mode is of course bridge and middle series with RWRP (Humbucker style). 2nd new mode is middle and neck in series but out of phase (Brian May style) and then I can put those new serial modes in parallel with the 3rd pickup for more gain and a slightly different sound.

[@algrundau9441]

I knew a dude back in the 1980's that was a stratocaster freak...(Yngwie/Blackmoore/Dave Murray) were his big inspiration's....anyway, in an age where everyone pulled out their pickups and did the "Frankenstrat" he left his tremelo intact and kept the stock pickups!!....his "secret" to a convincing Metal tone, was a Boss 7--Band Graphic EQ pedal and a Boss Noise Gate pedal....Those 2 pedals or FX can go a looong way to combating "noise, hum and thin sound's2 that can come from single coil's...The upside is that his sound cut through very well in any mix.

[@juanpanchoec]

I have a parts-caster with 3 single coils and a circuit of my own design consisting of a "master" 3-way switch that has neck-middle and middle-bridge in SERIES on the outside positions, and in the middle all the single and parallel (or all off) combinations possible with individual on-off switches. EDIT: I forgot to add that those series positions actually give that fat-boost humbucker sound, although a little muddy (I blame the tone pot and cap that have strat-like values since that's this guitar's primary function).

[@MauricioJaguan]

I recently moded my strat to have a parallel/series switch for positions 2 and 4 and have kind of a humbucker sound. The best mod I could have made! I love the sounds and versatility!

[@zacharylagler242]

i have got a 2010 American Special HSS with Atomic humbucker and Greasebucket circuit, absolutely love this guitar.

[@devinwaggoner702]

Hi Darrell, can you do a video that shows us specifically how to wire the pickups in series to get the desired effect?

[@dancotterman1267]

The one I was talking about was for a strat not a tele, I have a four way switch on my tele but I haven’t installed it, judging by the sound of the tele bridge and neck in series it does work. I’ll just have to wait to hear a strat wired that way.

[@rudikessler]

If it was a car, I'd say cylinder capacity can only be replaced by more cylinder capacity. 😁 I have either Humbuckers with a coil split option (LP, Tele Custom, Tele Thinline), or 4-way switch on the trad. Tele. Makes it most versatile.

[@Diego-uq3yg]

I suggest neck in series with bridge . You just need a jumper lead wiring if you want it permanently. Or you can use a pot as a blender for such mode . It s like a gilmour in series . Cheap an unique!

[@timothyrice1621]

2:25 I've heard alnico a million times before but just learned from this vid that that means AlNiCo (Aluminum, Nickle, Copper). Thanks Darrell!

[@timothyrice1621]

cobalt, not copper

[@andrewglazier8940]

Your Tele at 6:50 is absolutely beautiful.

[@Solod49]

Have wired my bridge humbucker with push-pull on parallel instead of coil tap. Tried both wiring, but overall preferred parallel

[@OutstandingBill1]

Good topic Darrell! Looking forward to watching this video later. I have a push-pull on both my strats to give me neck+middle and middle+bridge in series. I use it sometimes, but generally prefer the less muddy tone of single coils. I find there's a bit more of a quack with my Strat pseudo-humbuckers than on my LP's proper humbuckers, but they're a bit closer to a proper humbucker sound than the LP gets to single coil tone when I split the coils.

[@Neil-Aspinall]

What I like about your style Daz is you don't muck around and just do it.

[@93greenstrat]

Get a guitar with humbukers....I have a Strat with one of the tone control wired as a "series blender". When fully blended in series, positions 2 and 4 are louder (i.e.: more output) and a little "fatter" sounding as well but while it does gain some attributes of a series wired humbucker, it just doesn't sound the same.

[@zosojstro]

You get such great sound on your vids. Even my iPhone sounds clear and can discern tonal differences. Nice demo!!

[@DBSG1976]

Fascinating video, thanks Darrell. Your Fat Strat is still one of the best sounding guitars that you own.

[@harrydemooy1754]

Darrell, I placed a Seymour Duncan humbucker sized as as a single coil pick up on my Strat. I also have a switch installed so I also can use the bridge pick up as single coil

[@p.s8950]

I did this series mod on a G&L. Asat. Tribute and the sound was massive. Great mod.

[@ducamuk]

Your videos are always top notch quality and loaded with valuable information. They are an invaluable tool for teaching and informing. Please keep up the great work. ✌️

[@paradox7743]

Good demo-I just put a Seymour Duncan Hot Rail in the Bridge position which sounds great & is a easy solution n keeps the aesthetics of the American Standard tight.

[@ScoopzyDaizy]

Hey Darrell, when are you gonna get a Harley Benton? I'd love to see your thoughts on their Fusion ii HSH with a baked maple neck. There are a couple of review videos on YT, but I don't really find them all that informative. You'd definitely do a better job and it seems there are a lot of people (including myself) interested in adding it to their collection because of baked maple and stainless steel frets at $399.

[@superweak]

I suppose Clapton’s active mid boost with the TBX control exists to get into humbucker tone territory? I have not tried it but am curious.

[@Casey3-P-O]

I'm about to pick up my Strat from the tech tomorrow. I had him throw a hot rail in the bridge position. It's gonna be awesome.

[@stratorarious]

There are LOTS of ways to thicken up a weedly Strat tone especially if you want to use the bridge PUP for lead tones however it's not that easy for someone who doesn't know how to get around on a Stratocaster. It's all in what and how you play as well as what gear you are using and how you configure that.There are well known guitarists who have jumped this hurdle very well of course, Carl Verheyen, EJ, Blackmore, YJM, Thomas Blug, Jeff Beck, Carson Brock, Eric Gales, Joe B., David Gilmor to name a few. Or...do what I and many others have done, toss in an Injector (hum cancelling) or a 1/4 pounder in the bridge position and there are lots of other more powerful single coil style PUPs to choose from. They sound great and more powerful and you keep the esthetic, true look of a Strat. Personally, I have never liked the look of an HSS Fender Strat, to me they just don't look or sound like a Strat. IMO Fender should change the name of those guitars to something like the fender inspired by others who shall remain nameless series lol. So the FIBOWSRN...yes I like that a lot.

[@Nate_P]

Great Video Darrell. I like that your finding creative ways to show off many of your fine guitars in one single video. Inspired!

[@bluwng]

Those two positions have even lower output due to nature, the resistance in parallel is always lower than the lowest output resistor or this case pickup. Better explanation, parallel is two 3V batteries with output still 3V,in series it’s 2 , 3V batteries added so you have 6V, now you see.

[@nbrowser]

I wanted a Strat with a humbucker sound to it...ended up just buying a new Strat Player series...HSS...with a true HB at the bridge...yeah worth it!

[@daviddalziel884]

Kenneth James aged 62 I bought my first Strat -a 2000 deluxe fat Strat , the humbucker sound is great ! The other pickups are noiseless and they are great too . Always found the bridge pickup on an SSS a bit brittle but with the player you can roll off the tone a bit .

[@collintibbitts]

Goof to hear you like it! I'm wanting a versatile guitar! Planning on the player series with hss

[@KyLesCaster]

HSS are great, but you lose that signature Strat tone when you select bridge+middle pickup. It just doesn't sound the same.

[@jamesskaggs7691]

I have a Tone Shaper system in my Strat & I have it set for Series/Parallel. In parallel, I get the normal 5 way settings. In series, position 1, it gives me the bridge & middle in series & position 5 gives me the neck & middle in series. 2,3 & 4 give just the middle pickup. The series settings produce a great humbucker tone. You should install one in one of your Strats!

[@nazmoking3171]

Which Tone-Shaper did you go with? I see a lot of options there.

[@EctInc]

Your riffs today are off the charts. Real interesting

[@byronofcalgary6985]

exc info + vid - - def going back to the P-Rails vid too - - to me, an angled bridge humbucker is the ticket - a "no Quack" H/B that's brighter than HSS and less shrill than SSS bridge... plus the 2&4 tones

[@nicolamontoro]

Loving that new studio.

[@dlux703]

So what you have confirmed for me is that a humbucker with a coil split is a better option than just the single coils. It gives you much of the glassy single coil tone when split and the thick mid heavy tone when left alone.

[@wallyg3]

I wired a push pull on my HSS strat to put the neck and middle in series. It's more humbucker than standard position 4, but not all the way there. For me, it was a compromise, between that sound plus a true single coil 4 and 5, or true humbucker with split coil neck. It's not perfect, but IMHO, it's the better compromise.

[@skarfie123]

I asked this question on your previous video, thanks for the response! Very clear and informative video as always!

[@midiman5045]

Good Info Darrell. I have a Seymour Duncan hot rails in my old strat in the bridge. It sounds pretty good. I didn't want to cut/ route anything on the guitar so I went that way.

[@Rvezz28]

I replaced my bridge PU with a DiMarzio super distortion humbucker. Bought a new pickguard and my Mexican strat already had the cavity routed out to be made into a fat strat. I've never been happier. The happy accident that I didn't think of when I did the mod was in position 2 having a full humbucker and the middle single. It sounds massive and crunchy

[@paj1015]

Try to make the same comparison, but this time use your blue Strat with the Freeway-switch and the series combinations of the bridge and middle, or neck and middle. That would give a more correct/fair comparison to a humbucker.

[@SuperJony90]

I have the american standard hss and switch the pick ups against bare knuckle black hawk Thats the best pick ups i ve ever heard in a strat

[@karmicselling4252]

YES you can get an excellent humbucker tone on a Strat with its stock pickups. The late great Dan Armstrong's SuperStrat switching system includes a "three pickups in series" setting that produces a very creamy humbucking tone. Of course, it doesn't turn the Strat into a LP but its close enough to save you switching guitars when playing live.

[@aleksej79novosibirsk]

I installed series - parallel switch on my strat, it sounds great! Far more better than regular position 2 or 4. :) Everybody should try it!!

[@johnsimms3957]

Just a reminder strats sound pretty good with just three single coil settings. I mean Jimi Hendrix and Robin Trower accomplished a lot that way.

[@KevinORourke25]

You are certainly one of the most knowledgeable and talented players that I sub to. I just really enjoy your channel. Thanks. Kevin O'Rourke

[@DarrellBraunGuitar]

Thanks for the kind words Kevin!

[@overvieweffect9034]

the pickup diagram also helps explain why splitting the coils on a humbucker doesn't make it sound like a real single coil either. So basically, you just need at least you single coil and one humbucker guitar, period

[@jonthehermit8082]

Overview Effect split coil is nice to have too, just for the option, of course I needed all three.

[@overvieweffect9034]

@@jonthehermit8082 I agree

[@usuallyclueless4477]

Beginner here, what do you think about HSS configuration strats? Heard they're versatile in terms of tones.

[@kayt8911]

I really love the sound of series-connected 2 pickups of my jazz master.

[@suegates5]

Ooh.. did I see a Godin on the Wall? U were in Canada (think) so it would make sense. I'm a Seagull owner.. Love It. Wish there line had more choices. Well made!

[@dylanlamarre3768]

Actually that answers a question that i've always had: why position 2 and 4 still sound glassy and transparent while most of the hum-cancelling single-coil-sized pickup just sounds like a really bleaty humbucker.

[@akosidodzkie6412]

Since you are using strats, you should also use strats wiring in parallel and series.. You can do that by adding DP3T mini toggle switch..

[@wertherellerbrock]

Nice video. Thanks! Although it would've been great if you had actually compared positions 2 and 4 in parallel against positions 2 and 4 in series. Like you said, pickup location is relevant, so using a Telecaster in series is a bit more like demoing a Strat's neck and bridge in series. Just sayin'.

[@hoagyguitarmichael]

Great vid. Very informative. I just had the two tone controls on my Strat wired with two different resistors. One is the typical bass-y sounding one, and the other makes it sound more midrange-y. With the midrange tone rolled down, it starts to sound very humbucker-like and drives dirt pedals more like a weaker output humbucker - think PAF. Not exact, but close.

[@andrewharper1609]

I swapped out the single coils on my Starcaster for blade style humbuckers. Cost was about thirty pounds sterling. Sounds like a nice jazzer now.