Hi everyone, first post here.

I'm looking to get my first Strat (probably the American standard), and I'm thinking about doing a H-S-H configuration on it. For the bridge and neck, I want humbucker pickups that can give me a warm and punchy metal sound such as Iron Maiden, or Metallica. In the middle would be a single coil with a more bluesy and pure clean tone (would it be a good idea to keep the stock pickup in this case?).

I've done some research on what could possibly fit my needs, but there is just so many options and I want to get some personal opinions. Here are some possible candidates that I've come across for humbuckers:

DiMarzio Super Distortion Dp-100
DiMarzio PAF Dp 103
Seymour Duncan hotrails
Seymour Duncan SH-4

If anyone has opinions/experiences with the above, or any other recommendations as far as both humbuckers and single coils are concerned it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

Welcome,
I must ask, with your Metallica and Iron madien tastes are you sure your looking for a strat? If i were you i'd look for a Metal guitar with coil taps....

Good luck either way but huh....

Cheers.

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Strats are great for a vintage Heavy Metal sound, but I would agree that want some hot pickups. The guys in Iron Madien uesed Strats for years.

As for Metallica, well I'm thinking HB deffinately.

Coil tapped pickups never quite fill the bill for me. I own a '98 PRS McCarty, and though I like the coil tapping ability, the pickups don't really sound like anything Fender puts out.

There are HB with a more narrow field.

The Super Distortion at the bridge will be warm, very hot and it will have a fairly nice compliment of harmonics. This pup is the defacto standard for classic vintage metal. I would suggest a DiMzo Humbucker From Hell at the neck to give you some versatility. A Seymore Duckbucker in the middle will help you recapture a small portion of the Strat quack that you lost in positions 2 and 4 when you installed the humbuckers at the neck and bridge.

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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.

EMG's and leave the middle alone.

Agreed totally, I realise Iron Madien and other heavy bands used strats too.....But if i were focued on heavy metal i would be on a ESP or something of the like......EMG's as Tbazz said....I wouldn't bother with Coil taps either they sound terrible....Just givin the kid suggestions......You'd have to have a real affinty with strats to want one and be focued on metal..... JMHO.....

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I have the DiMarzio Super Distortion in the bridge position and it sounds great, especially through my Mesa amps.

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Fender American Series Stratocaster
Marshall JTM612
Marshall JTMC12
Gibson Vintage Reissue strings
DiMarzio pickups
Souldier guitar strap
Spectraflex cables

I'm not so much only focused on metal, but I figured a decent Strat combined with pickups capable of giving that warm hard hitting tone could go a long way with metal, rock, progressive, and all kinds of other genres. Not to mention, I've just always wanted a Strat; its the classic guitar IMO.

Thanks for the opinions though everyone. Really appreciate it! Keep 'em coming!

One of the best and most versatile rock Strats I've ever owned (and was stupid enough to sell it due to debts), is the Fender Iron Maiden Signature Strat made in Japan.

A fantastic guitar which should perfectly suit your needs.

It was equipped with Seymour Duncan Hot Rails and it sounded fabulous! There was a JB Junior in bridge position.
Not as warm as fullsize humbuckers but you can adjust the amp settings to get a murder sound. Just a little tweak on the amp controls and you're there. You can get many sounds from this Strat. Well, the typical Fender clean tone is not possible, the pickups have a very high output. But when rolling back the guitar volume quite a bit, you can get it fairly clean.
Replace the middle pickup with an American Texas Special and you have a Strat that can do it all! (I wouldn't do that with the original due to the collectors value, but if you equip an American Standard with this configuration, then I would consider it.







Unfortunately they've become very rare nowadays.
The new American Iron Maiden Strats are ugly and not as versatile as the MiJs.

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Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

I have an '07 Hwy1 SSS, that has pretty hot pickups in it. When I use my DS1 pedal and the tone knobs, I get some great metal like tones.

I like the idea that you like the Strat concept, but want HBs.

The body is very comfortable and a thing of beauty. The necks are some of the most comfortable I've ever played on. To my hands, they are much better than any of modern Gibson necks I've ever owned. In fact I just traded my Les Paul for a PRS McCarty, which to me is a far superior guitar.

As to the pickups I would suggest that you play a bunch of guitars with the pickups you like in them.
Good luck and have fun.