Members metal0822 Posted November 23, 2009 Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 Is there a way I can do this without buying new pickups? Maybe putting a capacitor on something? I have a HSS superstrat with 1 vol 1 tone coil split and 3 on/off switches. I put a super distortion in the bridge and i love the sound of it. The problem is, when i add in any of the other pickups, or just switch to another one the volume drop is very dramatic. I like the pickup height of the SD where it is, and i dont think the other ones are adjustable. heres a pic for reference...also would new pickups with a high output be the answer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members linusâ„¢ Posted November 23, 2009 Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 raise the sc pickups, lower the humbucker if you can.. if that won't do it you need to buy hotter singles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted November 23, 2009 Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 raise the sc pickups, lower the humbucker if you can.. if that won't do it you need to buy hotter singles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metal0822 Posted November 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 hate to quote myself but, read this above...I like the pickup height of the SD where it is, and i dont think the other ones are adjustable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dwerlin Posted November 23, 2009 Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 you could try a clean boost pedal that you'd kick in when you switch to singles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metal0822 Posted November 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 i already use my clean boost with the SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dwerlin Posted November 23, 2009 Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 i already use my clean boost with the SD try another? if you're ONLY using the clean boost when you use the SD, then there's your problem. if you're not willing to lower your humbucker (which will resolve the issue) then i'm pretty sure your only option is to get new pickups (really really high output single coils, or single-coil sized humbuckers). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted November 23, 2009 Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 It's funny, I pulled a set of those "Selects" out of a Steinberger GT Pro and put in a DiMarzio TZ, DiMarzio VirtuAL middle, and DiMarzio Virtual PAF. Once I was done I decided the Selects were a better match. It wasn't that what I put in wasn't good, it was just that the duller tone of the Selects fit the tone off that maple paddle better than more articulate DiMarzios. Now that guitar has "articulation" up the kazoo from that maple paddle. The neck pup sounds almost like a bridge tone. But back to your OP, I'd bet that if you contacted a good technician they could come up with some good electronic mods for you. Try calling Randy Parsons in Seattle if you don't get any other ideas of the boards here. Tell him you're thinking about bringing it in but wanted to know what your options are. He even says he can put a distortion unit right into our guitar, so I'm sure he can come up with something. http://www.parsonsguitars.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PunkKitty Posted November 23, 2009 Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 The EMG Select humbuckers are 8.4K ohm. The EMG Select single coils (really they are rail humbuckers with a cover) are 6.2K ohms. As a matched set, they will balance nicely. I'm guessing that the SD that you put in is in the 13-15k range. That's significantly more than the humbucker you replaced. You can try playing with pickup heights. But if you are set on keeping the SD pickup, you will likely need to replace the single coils. The EMG Selects are noiseless. You likely won't find that in a replacement single coil unless you go with a Bill Lawrence, GFS Neovin or a EMG. Also, there is likely to be a tone difference between the EMG Selects and whatever you replace them with. I would go back to the manufacturer of the SD pickup and ask them for recommendations based on what kind of sound you are looking for. Another option is to check with a custom winder like BG to see if you can get something that will blend well with the SD pickup. Unfortunately, once you start straying from matched sets of pickups, you start playing a game of trial and error when matching sounds. That can get expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metal0822 Posted November 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 ill probably just wind up using my strat for all single coil sounds, or only use the singles on this guitar for recording. i love the sound of the SD where it is, i played with the pickup height quite a few times. i tried to raise the singles and they are body mounted, plus the screws are in so tight i cannot turn them. i tried lowering the SD and its still much much louder. i guess im stuck using the guitar for one thing or another and not for both in the same session. cant complain for an awesome guitar with hsc for 99 bucks. and i know only using a clean boost with one pickup would make it louder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cephus Posted November 23, 2009 Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 i love the sound of the SD where it is, i played with the pickup height quite a few times. i tried to raise the singles and they are body mounted, plus the screws are in so tight i cannot turn them. You can raise the body mounted singles by putting a spacer under them. If you can't turn the screws, save your capacitor money and buy the proper screw driver. If the tip of the screw driver bottoms out, then the screwdriver doesn't bite into the sides of the slots in the screw. You may need to grind down the tip so it looks like this: _|_/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrockbridge Posted November 23, 2009 Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 You could wire it so that when you select the single coil pups, you get both of them in series. This will balance the output with the bridge pup. Another solution is raising the sc pups. This can be done and will help some, but won't work as well as my other solution. You can raise them by unscrewing them, placing a washer or two over the screw hole and screwing them back into the body. The washers act as a spacer raising the pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metal0822 Posted November 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted November 23, 2009 i have all 3 sizes of screwdriver, and it needs the #1 size. still cant grip it though. its been sitting in there for over 20 years. i bought the guitar NOS last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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