Hey all,
I am looking at adding another Strat to my stable and was curious about the HSS Strats...thoughts from anyone who has one. Not sure if the Humbucker is really worth changing from the 3 single coils....just wanted to hear other folk's experiences. Thanks in advance.
ABS

Getting one with a humbucker is a great idea for rock and hard rock and a humbucker has warmer clean tones than a single coil. You can get a much better "heavy" sound from a humbucker than a single coil. The humbuckers are versatile too, you can have a lot of different wiring options, like series or series-humbucking, or parallel, including being able to switch off half of it to get back to a single coil sound if you want.

I just don't care for the look of a Strat with a humbucker in it, and I use my Kramer with Bill Lawrence pickups when I want that hard rock sound. But I have several friends that use HSS Strats and they love 'em, and I agree with them that the sound of the humbucker is great. The one with the "Pearly Gates" humbucker sounds pretty sweet, I think it is the Lone Star Strat.

You could always take one of your existing strats and add a single spaced humbucker in the bridge position. This way you wouldn't have to mod the guitar body or the pickguard. Both Seymour Duncan and DiMarzio make several different pickups that would do the trick. Not to mention, you could have it wired to split the coils in the humbucker and still retain a "strat-ish" tone.

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The mind is like a parachute; it doesn't work unless its open-FZ

If your talking about the factory H-S-S the thing to remember is it is a split humbucker, that is in position 1 (Bridge) is a humbucker, but in position 2 the humbucker is split and it is the neck side and the middle.

So other then 1 & 2 there is not difference, and it really comes down to how much do you use the bridge.

I use the neck and middle far more then the bridge, I set may amp for the tone i want with the neck, and with a standard strat, the bridge is way to bright.
That is why when I bought this strat I didn't care about the humbucker in the bridge, but I find the position 2 to be smoother.

One thing, I did drop the humbucker down so the signal output was closer to the other single coils, this helped to balance the guitar.

The HSS Strat is a useful tool but it's not for everybody. Purists don't feel humbuckers have any place on a Fender. I've had a couple of them and still have one. I like mine. You may infer from that that I am not a purist. I am a pragmatist.

YMMV.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

I don't know if I am a pragmatist, I consider myself more a "Function over form" type.

I am more concerned with how well it works more then how it looks or whether it conforms to someones ideal of what it should look like.

If you were to look at the guitars I have, you might think I am a big Van Halen fan as I have owned two Wolfgangs, and still have one of them.
It plays really nice, and has the quickest neck i have ever played, but I am not a VH fan.

+1 +1 +1. +10 if I could. This is the way to be.

The difference in tone between humbuckers and single coils are completely different, and with humbuckers your strat will not sound like a strat - though it could sound completely wonderful in a different way. Keep in mind the kind of music you're playing for, try guitars at stores, and listen to lots of online clips and your ears will tell you what's the right thing to do.

And if you don't have confidence in your ears, remember that you've been listening to music for years now... they have lots of training whether you realize it or not.

I have a lot of HSS guitars of various brands and consider them the most versatile of all configurations. Of course most of us like to have a reason to have more guitars, so there it is. Get it and enjoy it; you already have a couple of traditional strats, so why worry? I personally don't care for the bridge single coil sound, but love the #4 & 5 positions. To me, that is the quintessential strat sound. I dare even say some of my other guitars do that known and loved strat sound quite well.

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60th Anniversary AD Strat, Deluxe Nashville Tele, Player's P Bass. Mesa/Boogie Mk IV combo, Marshall JCM800, 1960A cab, Genz Benz El Diablo 60, Genz 2x12" cab, too many neat little practice amps and kit projects!

If I was to get one of the new Am Dlx (in sunset metallic of course) I would go with the HSS - the humbucker adds a some nice character to the tone.

Jeffy, from your discription you are indeed a pragmatist.

Pragmatist simple definition = if it works, it's good.

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

I dont like them, it feels like a compromise, I prefer my H-H Jag for my heavier stuff and an single coild strat or tele or jag for the pther stuff

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again I say everything has its place in the world of music...I have two Strats with the HSS and two SSS....I dont play in a band anymore but i do play with different people at different times ...so if im needing a Humbucker sound its a HSS i use.....at the same time i really with i would of bought a Big Apple when i had the chance...sometimes i need that HH sound (and before anyone says get a LP or Jag) the Stratocaster just feels right to me...the body,neck...even the look....I am a strat purist to the bone.

Jimmie

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2008 Am. Std. Strat
2008 Am. Deluxe Strat
2010 Am. Deluxe Strat
2011 Am. Std. Strat
2011 Am. Std. Strat
Hot Rod Deluxe
Hot Rod Deville 410

Big Apple?

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the Big Apple was the Strats with two humbuckers....i am thinking the last mass produced made was 2005 or maybe 2006

Edit: its just the name given...the Fat Strat = HSS....Big Apple=HH

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2008 Am. Std. Strat
2008 Am. Deluxe Strat
2010 Am. Deluxe Strat
2011 Am. Std. Strat
2011 Am. Std. Strat
Hot Rod Deluxe
Hot Rod Deville 410

Oh, cool. I have an HSH Charvel that's basically just that, but with a lame $@! bridge.

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