Hey all, thanks for taking a look and/or adding your thoughts. I just picked up a strat that I'm going to mod to be an HH, and I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for the p/ups. She's got an alder body and rosewood fretboard, as far as woods go and a vintage trem that I intend on fully blocking. I play mostly blues rock, and I'm looking to work a tone that's not too trebly. My inclination tone-wise is to go with Seymour Duncan APH-1 Alnico II's, but I'm more than open to suggestions!

Please, no "why would you do that to a Strat/Just get a Gibson!" replies. If I wanted a Gibson, I'd have bought one. I know the difference in wood, neck joint, scale length, bridge type, etc. will yield a different sound. Gibson isn't the end-all, be-all of humbucking tone. My other strat does just fine for strat sounds; this one is to be something else.

Are you accepting "dude, I think you are gonna have a killer guitar when you are done" replies? If so, consider my reply submitted. Nice.

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

Yes, yes I am. Thank you!

I would seriously look at the new Seymour Duncan P-Rails. Each pickup is a P-90 and an Alnico single coil rail, combined. Check the Seymour site for details.

There's an ESP guitar that comes stock with them....check their website and you can find it. If someone has the ESP in stock, it would allow you to preview the pickup.

The reviews I've read are positive. It would give your Strat a lot of versatility.

My "second" guitar is a mahogany bodied Telecaster. I love the humbuckers on it....Seymour 59 in the bridge and a Seymour Pearly Gates in the bridge. Reverse wound so I get a really cool/complex sound with the pickups combined. They are coil tapped, which is a fairly useful feature.

But like I said, I'd be checking out the P-rails.

The P-Rails do look quite interesting. Damn me for never looking at the progressive section of the SD site. Now I just need to find the closest Guitar Center to the area I've moved to to check out that ESP. Thanks for the tip!

Have you considered the SD hot rails? Or andy other single coil-sized hb? It'd be an easy and clean swap. Plus they're also tapable so you could still get the single coil sound.

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-Classic 50's Strat.
-Std. Telecaster.
-Mike Dirnt P-bass.
-Custody of SE Strat.
-Peavey Predator/Dean Evo/Epiphone DR150/Gibson Slide (much older than me).

Rellik Productions Inc.

I've played a friend's thinline tele with SD hotrails at the bridge and found them to be lacking in character. Had the same issue with Carvin twin blades on a project years ago. For hum cancel they're great options, but I don't want to compromise tone just for an easy solution. I also don't mind gettin down and dirty with the dremel on the neck pickup route :p Thanks for your input!

Oh yea, I neglected to mention 500k pots. I'm sure the tele you played may have been lacking them as well.

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-Classic 50's Strat.
-Std. Telecaster.
-Mike Dirnt P-bass.
-Custody of SE Strat.
-Peavey Predator/Dean Evo/Epiphone DR150/Gibson Slide (much older than me).

Rellik Productions Inc.

Go for the EMG 81 and 85's. They are active pickups and have a sound like Kirk Hammett and Zack Wylde. Or just buy a Gibbson down the road and keep the Fender the way it is.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head