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Post subject: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 12:34 pm
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Thinking of converting my SSS to an HSS with a Dimarzio Tone Zone humbucker. Pretty sure the body is already routed for HSS but if not I can route it. Anything else in particular I need to consider - different caps, vol/tone pot values, etc?

Oh, and the big questions which seems to have answers all over the place is what happens with position 2 quack? Lose it, sounds the same, have it but not as pronounced? I have a feeling I'm going to have to wait and see for myself but thought I'd ask.

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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 4:17 pm
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Pots are a potential problem.
250k pots are normal for single coils, but humbuckers can get too dark.
500k are normal for humbuckers, but single coils get even brighter.
One option is to run a 2-layer 250/500k pot, but that introduces wiring complexities.
Most seem to stick with 250k, and that is what Fender does on the Lone Star Strat.

Switching options are available using a Superswitch.
Here's a link to the Lone Star strat so you can see what Fender did.
https://p4.zdassets.com/hc/theme_assets ... B_SISD.pdf
With that wiring, the switch positions are:
Bridge Humbucker
Bridge split + Middle
Middle
Middle + Neck
Neck

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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Fri Mar 22, 2019 10:22 pm
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Thanks Rich. Later this afternoon I ran across a thread that recommended using a 500k pot for the volume and 250k for the tone controls. Then adding a 500k resistor (not sure where yet - haven’t seen the wiring diagram) so when it’s in position 1 the humbucker sees 500k, but in positions 2-5 the single could see 250k. I need to find how to wire that.

Thanks for the link!

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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 2:39 am
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CB91710 wrote:
Pots are a potential problem.
250k pots are normal for single coils, but humbuckers can get too dark.
500k are normal for humbuckers, but single coils get even brighter.
One option is to run a 2-layer 250/500k pot, but that introduces wiring complexities.
Most seem to stick with 250k, and that is what Fender does on the Lone Star Strat.

Switching options are available using a Superswitch.
Here's a link to the Lone Star strat so you can see what Fender did.
https://p4.zdassets.com/hc/theme_assets ... B_SISD.pdf
With that wiring, the switch positions are:
Bridge Humbucker
Bridge split + Middle
Middle
Middle + Neck
Neck


Yes 3 X 250 pots


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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 2:40 am
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kraftybob wrote:
Thanks Rich. Later this afternoon I ran across a thread that recommended using a 500k pot for the volume and 250k for the tone controls. Then adding a 500k resistor (not sure where yet - haven’t seen the wiring diagram) so when it’s in position 1 the humbucker sees 500k, but in positions 2-5 the single could see 250k. I need to find how to wire that.

Thanks for the link!


Show the link for the thread you are talking about


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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 2:59 am
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The Fender Mex Standard HSS uses 250k pots and a standard 5 way to achieve coil split in position 2.
https://www.fmicassets.com/Damroot/Orig ... -27-16.pdf


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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 3:06 am
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That pot value thang is weird. Fender has used (at least) 250, 500 and 1meg in their HSS models…
In general, I'd say that cutting off too much treble is easier than adding brightness that isn't there, but that's just my opinion…

And in general, there are so many wiring options that I'd start by planning the combinations one wants.
Splits? Phases? Parallels/serieses? N+B? All pups at once? Tone pot on which pups? Superswitch, S1, extra switches? And so on...


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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 5:55 am
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Quote:
With that wiring, the switch positions are:
Bridge Humbucker
Bridge split + Middle
Middle
Middle + Neck
Neck

Actually, a standard 5-way will do this. I worked it out for myself but I've no doubt there are diagrams online. I put a PG in an HSS Strat (on a WD scratchplate) and have wired it it to split. You can choose which coil to knock out, but I found the bridge-side was best, otherwise the quack isn't great.

Edit: Just thought... I have no tone pots on mine, just 1 x vol, so perhaps adding 2 x tones is what makes the superswitch necessary? Off the top of my head I would think a master tone would be doable with the 5-way, though.

Cheers - Peter.


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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 6:53 am
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stratele52 wrote:
kraftybob wrote:
Thanks Rich. Later this afternoon I ran across a thread that recommended using a 500k pot for the volume and 250k for the tone controls. Then adding a 500k resistor (not sure where yet - haven’t seen the wiring diagram) so when it’s in position 1 the humbucker sees 500k, but in positions 2-5 the single could see 250k. I need to find how to wire that.

Thanks for the link!


Show the link for the thread you are talking about



Here it is - second comment down. There are others online that talk about doing the same thing. I did find a wiring diagram that shows a 500K resistor in the switch, but it's just the diagram with no explanation so I'm not 100% sure if that's what I'm looking for.

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/500k-pots-vs-250k-pots-for-hss-strat.1738304/

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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 12:08 pm
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jmattis wrote:
That pot value thang is weird. Fender has used (at least) 250, 500 and 1meg in their HSS models…
In general, I'd say that cutting off too much treble is easier than adding brightness that isn't there, but that's just my opinion…

I have an early 90s G&L Climax HSS that uses 1meg pots from the factory.
For 25 years I've been torn over keeping the guitar all-original, and switching the pots out to something that would make the single coils usable, or replacing the single coils with SD Hot Rails.
I even went so far as to buy the pickups.

Icepicks poked into my ears is less painful than positions 3 and 5 on that guitar.

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Last edited by CB91710 on Sat Mar 23, 2019 12:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 12:24 pm
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kraftybob wrote:
Here it is - second comment down. There are others online that talk about doing the same thing. I did find a wiring diagram that shows a 500K resistor in the switch, but it's just the diagram with no explanation so I'm not 100% sure if that's what I'm looking for.

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/500k-pots-vs-250k-pots-for-hss-strat.1738304/

OK, I think what they are talking about doing is switching in a 500k resistor in parallel with the volume pot when on the single-coil positions.
That starts getting more complex with the Superswitch wiring, and really not needed with 250k pots with a humbucker that is a lower-gain, brighter EQ pickup.
If you start getting into the more "metal" pickups like the SD Nazgul and Invader, then it might be worthwhile to do some of the more complex wiring.

The nice thing about the Superswitch is you do have a lot of options available. Example, the Lone Star switches as I drew out above.
Now, say you never use the middle pickup by itself, you could wire that switch for:
Bridge Humbucker
Bridge Split
Bridge split + Middle
Middle + Neck
Neck

Or if you don't want to split the bridge, traditional Strat wiring:
Bridge Humbucker
Bridge HB + Middle
Middle
Middle + Neck
Neck

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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 6:12 pm
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An HSS Strat with regular switching and pots appropriate to the application will provide quack in positions 2 & 4.
It may not be quite as quacky as a true single coil (non-noisless) SSS Strat but it will quack.
A lack of quack comes from having a bucker in the middle as well as the neck/bridge it is paired with by the switch.
I recently went through doing all the research on this exact issue.
It is the pairing of two humbuckers that eliminates quack and replaces it with jangle.
I have had a number of HSS Strats over the years and I still have one.
I also currently have an HSH strat.
They all quack.

Just so there is no confusion here, when I use the letter H or use the word humbucker, I mean a real humbucker, not a silent single or noiseless single or a stacked single.
That means sided-by-side coils, each having their own magnet or set of magnets.
The Tone Zone is such a pickup, so yes, you will have quack.


For those persons who may wish to argue that silent singles may justifiably be called humbuckers, I refer you to the Seymour Duncan website.
Take note the left column in which they make a distinction between noiseless and humbuckers.
Making that distinction is preferred since it reduces confusion.

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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 7:35 pm
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BMW-KTM wrote:
For those persons who may wish to argue that silent singles may justifiably be called humbuckers, I refer you to the Seymour Duncan website.
Take note the left column in which they make a distinction between noiseless and humbuckers.
Making that distinction is preferred since it reduces confusion.

Absolutely.
They may not sound exactly like your favorite single coil, but depending on the design, they will sound similar to single coils.
The construction of stacked singles, is similar to the theory that Taylor uses on their acoustics.
Any RWRP coil in parallel with a single will silence the 50/60hz hum.
For the stacked singles, it's just a matter of putting a small coil under the primary coil, but then shielding the top of that coil from the strings, resulting in the reduction of hum, but very little signal from the strings themselves.

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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 8:23 pm
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Peter S wrote:
Quote:
With that wiring, the switch positions are:
Bridge Humbucker
Bridge split + Middle
Middle
Middle + Neck
Neck

Actually, a standard 5-way will do this. I worked it out for myself but I've no doubt there are diagrams online. I put a PG in an HSS Strat (on a WD scratchplate) and have wired it it to split. You can choose which coil to knock out, but I found the bridge-side was best, otherwise the quack isn't great.

Edit: Just thought... I have no tone pots on mine, just 1 x vol, so perhaps adding 2 x tones is what makes the superswitch necessary? Off the top of my head I would think a master tone would be doable with the 5-way, though.

Cheers - Peter.

When you say "bridge-side was best", do you mean to keep that side live for best for quack, or knock out bridge-side for the best quack?

Thanks.

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Post subject: Re: 2018 Standard (MIM) SSS to HSS?
Posted: Sat Mar 23, 2019 8:28 pm
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All good information guys - thanks. I don't think I'm going to have time tomorrow to mess with this so probably sometime during the week.

I didn't specify above but this is the pickup combination I'm after:
1: Humbucker - no push/pull coil spit, just full humbucker
2: Humbucker split & Middle pickup (for quack)
3: Middle pickup only
4: Middle and Neck Pickup
5: Neck Pickup

I have no desire to split the coils in position 1 for a single coil bridge pickup option. I never use that on my guitar now so I'd prefer to not bother with that.

I'll let you know what I end up doing and how it turns out. Thanks.

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'78 Harmony Les Paul Copy
Takemine GS330S
Gretsch Dorado
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