Metropoulos Forum

Ok my strat project has actually been making headway… ash body maple/maple neck.
I am going with a traditional trem and a Gibson spaced Duncan custom/custom hum Ber in the bridge position. I do not want a pickup in the middle position. But I would like a single coil for Trower/Hendrix in the neck position.
Looking for suggestions for something with enough output and the right tone. Also if it were quiet it would be a big plus.
Looking for possible suggestions on wiring these two pickups in the guitar.
Also worth noting, I bought the pick guard without any pick up holes so if anyone has any suggestions as for exactly how far from the neck I would love the hear them and why.
Everyone please feel free to toss you .02 in.

What do you think of these MotorCity WWIII's ?
http://forum.metroamp.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=41181" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I would still like to try some Sliders for some of my other type guitars after hearing a couple of demos.
Funny a few years ago we all didn't have a lot of choices and were held hostage to pay the price of a Lindy or a Holmes...

fillmore nyc help my with my latest 'n greatest wiring config.
Since this was a SuperStrat there was no need for a mid pup, but still wanted to use the pickups together just for being versatile.
I instaled a "Les Paul" switch for normal pickup selection and the 3 way Stratocaster switch to control the humbucker.
Series/Parallel/Cancel. Works when the LP switch is in Bridge pos. (or middle pos.)

The hardest part was to shape & contour the LP switch cover.

Matched up with early 70's DiMarzio Super Distortion & a Dual Sound

Just lay a regular s/s/s pick guard over the one you have and trace out the neck pu with a pen.

I have a custom custom bridge/single coil neck configuration in my warmoth strat with floyd. You need a 7 to 8k single coil adjusted up a bit closer to the strings. StewMac has great stuff at a good price. Thier Hot single coil is 7.2 or 7.4K I believe. I'd try one of those. Mine is a unknown brand, but is 6.8k and it works just fine. I'll be getting a StewMac for my recently aquired KnE's neck spot.

Sorry it took me so long to get back I forgot to subscribe to this thread so I didn’t think anyone responded.
So something pushing 8k that sounds about right and those MotorCity pups sound good what is the price on those and where do you get them?
I like the sound of the inexpensive stewmac stuff but are they quiet? I would really like this guitar not to hiss when I stop playing lol… As for the cutting of the pickup hole in the pick guard I am not worried about the actual task but was wondering if anyone had played around with shifting it back a little farther away from the neck than the stock position?

TONGA wrote:But I would like a single coil for Trower/Hendrix in the neck position.
Looking for suggestions for something with enough output and the right tone. Also if it were quiet it would be a big plus.

I would look at DiMarzio's Virtual pickups, and in your case, either the Virtual Blues, or the Virtual Heavy Blues, depending on how hot you want it to be. I've used both of these, and they're right in the ballpark of what you're looking for tone and output wise, and they ARE hum cancelling.
The Virtual Blues is a really nice, authentic sounding Strat neck pickup, just a touch on the hot side without deviating from a Strat at all, and does the job very effectively. They call it their "workhorse" Strat neck pickup, and I'd agree with that... its Stratty without being too hot OR too weak.

The Heavy Blues is a real nice, big sounding Strat pickup in the neck. If you're really looking for a strong pickup there, you can go wrong with the HB. It sacrifices highs just a LITTLE bit, but the punch and throaty neck tone is a beautiful thing. The highs can always be made up at the amp anyway.


I've also used the Virtual Solo, but thats almost bordering on a P90 tone... not much on the highs, but powerful, and fat as a bastard in the neck, but its really made for the bridge position, though.

As far as wiring, the only "mod" is that the hot and ground on one of the pickups has to be reversed... Duncan and DiMarzio have reversed hot and ground. Assuming the Duncan doesnt have a metal cover, I'd reverse the Duncan. They call for the black wire as hot, and green as ground... just reverse that. Connect green to hot and black to ground and you're good to go.
Red and white get tied together as the diagram states, and could be connected to a switch connected to ground when the switch is closed if you wanna coil tap the Duncan.

http://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/strat/h ... tage-blues" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/strat/h ... vy-blues-2" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/strat/h ... rtual-solo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Filmore you said quote “As far as wiring, the only "mod" is that the hot and ground on one of the pickups has to be reversed... Duncan and DiMarzio have reversed hot and ground. Assuming the Duncan doesnt have a metal cover, I'd reverse the Duncan.”
OK why do you bring up the metal cover? I ask because I was really planning on putting a gold pu cover on the Duncan and was hoping I could find one for the single. My reason is strictly cosmetic but I have my heart set on a pearl-white stat with all gold hardware
As for your recommendations they all sound like possible candidates I might grab the V-blues and the H-blues and try them both but the P-90 sound is not really what I am looking for to have that in a strat is tempting because I could always drop it in one of my other stats… Yea it’s tempting to buy all three and swap them around to see what I like.
I really like your description of the H-blues but what is throwing me is the line in the Dimarzio’s description quote --“its Alnico 2 magnets allow it to work very well in the neck position as well, for players who want a very warm, round sound”….. I find the words very warm, round sound often translate to bland and muddy!
However I think I will trust your description.
Thank you and everyone for all the info

TONGA wrote:Filmore you said quote “As far as wiring, the only "mod" is that the hot and ground on one of the pickups has to be reversed... Duncan and DiMarzio have reversed hot and ground. Assuming the Duncan doesnt have a metal cover, I'd reverse the Duncan.”
OK why do you bring up the metal cover? I ask because I was really planning on putting a gold pu cover on the Duncan and was hoping I could find one for the single. My reason is strictly cosmetic but I have my heart set on a pearl-white stat with all gold hardware
As for your recommendations they all sound like possible candidates I might grab the V-blues and the H-blues and try them both but the P-90 sound is not really what I am looking for to have that in a strat is tempting because I could always drop it in one of my other stats… Yea it’s tempting to buy all three and swap them around to see what I like.
I really like your description of the H-blues but what is throwing me is the line in the Dimarzio’s description quote --“its Alnico 2 magnets allow it to work very well in the neck position as well, for players who want a very warm, round sound”….. I find the words very warm, round sound often translate to bland and muddy!
However I think I will trust your description.
Thank you and everyone for all the info

Hey Tonga. I guess I should have explained that. When HB pickups have metal covers, the cover is grounded just by being soldered to the bottom plate. If you reverse the Duncan at that point, the cover will be connected to "hot" and the pickup will hum like a bastard.
This being the case, wire the Duncan as the diagram says, and reverse the DiMarzio, again, assuming the DiMarzio doesnt have a METAL cover... a plastic cover wont matter.

Trust me, the Virtual Blues, AND the Virtual Heavy Blues have NOTHING to do with "bland" or "muddy"!! The Heavy DOES sacrifice a bit of highs in favor of "hotness" but its not critical, at least to me.
Lets put it this way... I never thought of SRV'S or Trowers tone as being "sharp, piercing, or lacking bottom end". Those tones are as ballsy as a Strat gets.

My Strat currently has a Virtual Blues in the neck and a Heavy Blues in the bridge. Its a GREAT sounding Strat, with awesome balls in all positions.

I HAVE used the Heavy Blues in the neck and a Virtual Solo in the bridge.
THAT, my friend, is one strong-ass Strat... NOT muddy, but tons of bottom, and a "slightly" rounder sounding top, but nobody would mistake it for anything but a Strat.

As a matter of fact, at one time, I was gonna sell it to a friend of mine that has a PRS Custom 22, and the ONLY reason he didnt buy it was because with the Heavy in the neck, and the Solo in the bridge, it had as much output as his PRS... it didnt SOUND like his PRS, cause he did feel it still sounded like a Strat, but he didnt want THAT much balls. He wanted more of that thinner, classic "clangy" Strat tone.

I prefer the type of tone you're talking about... SRV, Trower, Hendrix, Walter Trout, and either of those pickups will give you that in spades... again, it just comes down to how hot you want it, and how much highs you want, but dont misunderstand... the Heavy is NOT a dull, muddy pickup... its just not clangy-bangy Strat. Its BALLSY and STRONG Strat in the neck position.

The Virtual Blues is a little closer to "clangy-classic", without being harsh, thin or otherwise disgusting sounding. Its also ballsy and tight, and somewhat brighter than the Heavy, but again, brightness, one way or the other, can always be made up at the amp.

Here's a short clip with a Solo in the bridge and a Heavy in the neck:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf-zJj3XfTA[/youtube]

Hope that helps.

Thanks for the explanation on the metal cover, do you know if you could just glue the cover on so it would not be grounded and does it matter? I only ask because the pup didn’t come with a cover I bought a gold Gibson cover to put on the Duncan.
Do you know if I am running an H-S configuration with a 500 pot do I need to add any resistance to the hot lead of the single coil?
I would like to keep the controls on this very simple like one volume and a switch, not sure if I want to sue a strat style switch or Gibson style LP switch,,, I would like to leave a dead position in the switch for effect, but it might be nice to blend both pups?? Decisions decisions?
Yea that sounds pretty good, I followed the link from the dimarzio site to GC, MF, SW ect… and they don’t list those pickup?,,,, where did you buy yours? I am in a real buying mood lol…….. thank you for all your input you have been a great help.

TONGA wrote:Thanks for the explanation on the metal cover, do you know if you could just glue the cover on so it would not be grounded and does it matter? I only ask because the pup didn’t come with a cover I bought a gold Gibson cover to put on the Duncan.
Do you know if I am running an H-S configuration with a 500 pot do I need to add any resistance to the hot lead of the single coil?
I would like to keep the controls on this very simple like one volume and a switch, not sure if I want to sue a strat style switch or Gibson style LP switch,,, I would like to leave a dead position in the switch for effect, but it might be nice to blend both pups?? Decisions decisions?
Yea that sounds pretty good, I followed the link from the dimarzio site to GC, MF, SW ect… and they don’t list those pickup?,,,, where did you buy yours? I am in a real buying mood lol…….. thank you for all your input you have been a great help.

Nah, dont glue the cover on. First, you WANT it to be grounded, and second, it would be nearly impossible from keeping it from touching something it shouldnt touch if it was just glued. Just reverse the hot and ground on the neck pickup. The 500k pot should work fine with those pickups, and WILL "slightly" brighten the single coil, so that may help to get it more "Stratty" sounding.

I bought mine a while ago, but you shouldnt have an issue finding them. I just looked it up on Ebay, and they're available used and brand new.

Im glad if I could be of some help... ask anytime.

JimiJames, Tone Slinger and Filmore thank you, you are all awesome for throwing in you time and info!
JimiJames the two switches sounds interesting and I would like to see a diagram of that if you have one handy but don’t go out of your way to post one because I think I am keeping my wiring and switching to the minimum.
Thanks again to all and I will try to keep you updated as I go along.