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Post subject: How Hot Should The SCN Bridge Pickup Be???
Posted: Fri May 23, 2008 10:13 am
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The reason I ask is because when I play through my amp with my buddy's PRS with the gain on 5, it has much more gain than if I play through with my strat with the gain dimed; not that I would ever play that way, but just saying. I knew there would be a difference between the full blown humbucker and the Strat SCN single coil, but is the difference really as big as it seems to be? Again, I have been playing for years, but I am a first time strat owner :shock:


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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 12:38 pm
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Changed title for hopefully some replies.

I'm not really looking for the actual numerical output of the pickup, but rather a general description of how much output and attack the pickup should have. I am starting to wonder how rough of a ship my guitar had with all the problems I've been having.


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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 2:24 pm
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It has nothing to do with shipping. I don't know what other problems your having but a humbucker is going to be a hotter pickup then a SCN. You can't expect a side by side comparison to be the same. Maybe you should have gotten a HSS strat? Maybe you need to use an overdrive pedal? Maybe you need to raise the height of your bridge pup to your liking? Remember if you do raise the pup, you'll gain distortion and loose sustain.

Did you even play your guitar, or test drive the same model before you bought it?

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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 3:03 pm
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cryingstrat wrote:
It has nothing to do with shipping. I don't know what other problems your having but a humbucker is going to be a hotter pickup then a SCN. You can't expect a side by side comparison to be the same. Maybe you should have gotten a HSS strat? Maybe you need to use an overdrive pedal? Maybe you need to raise the height of your bridge pup to your liking? Remember if you do raise the pup, you'll gain distortion and loose sustain.

Did you even play your guitar, or test drive the same model before you bought it?


Perhaps you didn't read the initial post in which I stated that I knew that the SCN single coil would not be as hot as the humbucker. I was justwondering how big the difference should be between them.

Yes, I tried out the model of the guitar for a few hours. Unfortunately, the particular one I tried had a some scratches and scuffs on it, yet they were still trying to charge full price and would not budge, so therefore, I did not purchase it on the spot. They also did not have my particular amp at the location. I played and sounded great with all other amps I tried it with. This was a few months ago.

I ended up ordering it online two weeks ago. When it arrived, all strings were completely limp and 2 of the 3 trem springs were unattached. I reattached them, tuned it up, but it would not stay in tune. Understandable, considering how it arrived. I took it in to my local guy who does all my guitar work for a setup and intonation check. He said he believed that one of the locking tuners was defective. Basically, the G-string would not come out of the tuner. You can read the other thread about it for more details.

Since I hadn't played it in a while, I didn't have a complete remembrance of how the guitar sounded, just that it sounded great when I played it in the store. Don't get me wrong; the pickups sound really good. However, since this is my first guitar with single coils (I have only owned dual humbucker electrics in the 9 years I have been playing), I am not completely familiar with the pickups, since I really don't have any prior experience with them.

Again, I wasn't expecting them to sound like a humbucker, I just didn't know how large the gap was between the SCN single coils and the humbuckers. That's it. No need for the disrespect.


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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 3:12 pm
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Dude, there was no disrepect intended at all. Really. They were just honest questions. You'll see them asked alot here. When I see someone had their guitar shipped it's easy to wonder if they ever actually played one before buying. You'd be amazed at the number of people who just pick one out of a catalog and then are disappointed when it arrives.

But, yeah, there's a decent difference between single coils and humbuckers when it comes to volume. If the difference is a problem you can install a humbucker at the bridge. A Lace Sensor Red is a pretty hot single coil. There's plenty of options out there if you need a hotter bridge pup.

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Or is that a sears poncho?
Hmmm...no foolin ...." FZ


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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 3:16 pm
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cryingstrat wrote:
Dude, there was no disrepect intended at all. Really. They were just honest questions. You'll see them asked alot here. When I see someone had their guitar shipped it's easy to wonder if they ever actually played one before buying. You'd be amazed at the number of people who just pick one out of a catalog and then are disappointed when it arrives.

But, yeah, there's a decent difference between single coils and humbuckers when it comes to volume. If the difference is a problem you can install a humbucker at the bridge. A Lace Sensor Red is a pretty hot single coil. There's plenty of options out there if you need a hotter bridge pup.


Fair enough.

I just want to make sure that the difference is normal, and not another potential problem. I am trying to avoid having to ship the guitar back to Sweetwater, and then have them ship a replacement to me.


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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 3:24 pm
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LedZep77 wrote:
cryingstrat wrote:
Dude, there was no disrepect intended at all. Really. They were just honest questions. You'll see them asked alot here. When I see someone had their guitar shipped it's easy to wonder if they ever actually played one before buying. You'd be amazed at the number of people who just pick one out of a catalog and then are disappointed when it arrives.

But, yeah, there's a decent difference between single coils and humbuckers when it comes to volume. If the difference is a problem you can install a humbucker at the bridge. A Lace Sensor Red is a pretty hot single coil. There's plenty of options out there if you need a hotter bridge pup.


Fair enough.

I just want to make sure that the difference is normal, and not another potential problem. I am trying to avoid having to ship the guitar back to Sweetwater, and then have them ship a replacement to me.


I'm suprised that Sweetwater shipped that out. They usually do a better job in my experience.

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"is that a real poncho...i mean
Is that a mexican poncho
Or is that a sears poncho?
Hmmm...no foolin ...." FZ


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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 3:29 pm
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cryingstrat wrote:
LedZep77 wrote:
cryingstrat wrote:
Dude, there was no disrepect intended at all. Really. They were just honest questions. You'll see them asked alot here. When I see someone had their guitar shipped it's easy to wonder if they ever actually played one before buying. You'd be amazed at the number of people who just pick one out of a catalog and then are disappointed when it arrives.

But, yeah, there's a decent difference between single coils and humbuckers when it comes to volume. If the difference is a problem you can install a humbucker at the bridge. A Lace Sensor Red is a pretty hot single coil. There's plenty of options out there if you need a hotter bridge pup.


Fair enough.

I just want to make sure that the difference is normal, and not another potential problem. I am trying to avoid having to ship the guitar back to Sweetwater, and then have them ship a replacement to me.


I'm suprised that Sweetwater shipped that out. They usually do a better job in my experience.


That's exactly why I went through them. I was hesitant to order a guitar online, but I had heard nothing but good things about them. I know they do a thorough inspection check before shipping, so I am thinking that it had quite the ride on the truck.


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Posted: Mon May 26, 2008 6:47 pm
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LedZep77 wrote:
cryingstrat wrote:
LedZep77 wrote:
cryingstrat wrote:
Dude, there was no disrepect intended at all. Really. They were just honest questions. You'll see them asked alot here. When I see someone had their guitar shipped it's easy to wonder if they ever actually played one before buying. You'd be amazed at the number of people who just pick one out of a catalog and then are disappointed when it arrives.

But, yeah, there's a decent difference between single coils and humbuckers when it comes to volume. If the difference is a problem you can install a humbucker at the bridge. A Lace Sensor Red is a pretty hot single coil. There's plenty of options out there if you need a hotter bridge pup.


Fair enough.

I just want to make sure that the difference is normal, and not another potential problem. I am trying to avoid having to ship the guitar back to Sweetwater, and then have them ship a replacement to me.


I'm suprised that Sweetwater shipped that out. They usually do a better job in my experience.


That's exactly why I went through them. I was hesitant to order a guitar online, but I had heard nothing but good things about them. I know they do a thorough inspection check before shipping, so I am thinking that it had quite the ride on the truck.



The SCN's were touted as the closest yet Fender had come to the classic single coil sound in a 'noiseless' pickup design. Man, you had to have read the catalog that year. Not unlike the press on the new American Standard. They had the 'Einstein of Pickup Design' do that one. And that S-1 switching....everything they do seems to have reinvented the wheel...... until next year......when you find out that what you just bought is antique compared to the new ubiquitous comestible.

That's the way you move product, my friend.

You can attempt to equate 'noise-cancelling' with humbucking in the pure sense but not in specific design. You have to compare pickups with respect to output. That's why players in these pages are continually modifiying their instruments, and Fender keeps thinking they can come up with something that no one will have to touch. The Alpha/Omega Strat so to speak.

I don't think soooo........

My CS strat is basically a Clapton with SCN's. Why SCN's?? Because I took it for granted that they had surpassed the Vintage Noiseless which were first used in the Clapton in place of the Gold Lace Sensors.

If I set up my Line 6 AX2 (Bassman mode) for the Strat with the midboost on full, and the TBX on 10 and the neck pickup in the circuit, then swap in my Les Paul Heritage Custom Classic with Burstbuckers, neck pickup in the circuit, the Paul will eat that Strat alive!

Also own PRS. Just traded my CS 24 bolt on for a Hiland. Now when you talk PRS you could be talking Vintage Bass and HFS in a 24 " scale guitar with the pickups placed at the correct resonance position for a 24 fret neck;( HFS- hot,fat and screaming?- definitely!) or Dragon pickups in the resonance position for a 22 fret board; with coil splitting circuits etc...need I go on.

Different outputs, different woods, different weight, different scale.

Different strokes for different folks.

Take, for instance, Andy Fairweather Lowe's main stage guitar.....Stratocaster.....Humbuckers. If anyone out there know's what's in his guitar, give it up!! I've always wondered.

Likely there's nothing wrong with your guitar. Have a competent tech set it up, and keep those magnets the proper distance from the strings. They are NOT Lace Sensors.

If you want humbuckers, in the truest sense of the word, and all they stand for, by all means, get them.

Keep us posted.

Doc.


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