Alder/Rosewood strat question

[Robert Delahunt]

I hate to ask this question, since it's probably been asked before, but I'd like to ask only Stratocaster fans (single coil pickups). I'm thinking about buying a Standard Stratocaster and upgrading the pickups (so that I have an alder body guitar with three true single coils, rosewood fretboard). If I wanted low / medium / high output to correspond to neck / middle / bridge respectively, would the best combination be Vintage Staggered / Custom Staggered / Quarter Pound Staggered? Just wondering....

[uOpt]

I think that will sound wired. Going down with the three-position selector from the Custom to the Quarter-pounder will come out wrong. The QP is not hotter than the Custom. It is not a high output pickup.

If you really want hotness (heat?) to increase as you go towards the bridge you'd have to do Vintage/Custom/Hot or Vintage/QP/Hot. But of course the hot for Strat is really in a different zone.

I have used my Quarter-pounder in the middle with good results.

Personally I would go APS-2, APS-2, Quarter-Pounder, but either put the middle pickup in parallel to a capacitor to make it a little darker, or I would think about a solution to have the 4th switch position (middle + bridge) with the pickups in series, not parallel. Dunno.

If you are not dead set on single coils you could also go Vintage/QP/Demon.

[Robert Delahunt]

I think that will sound wired. Going down with the three-position selector from the Custom to the Quarter-pounder will come out wrong. The QP is not hotter than the Custom. It is not a high output pickup.

If you really want hotness (heat?) to increase as you go towards the bridge you'd have to do Vintage/Custom/Hot or Vintage/QP/Hot. But of course the hot for Strat is really in a different zone.

I have used my Quarter-pounder in the middle with good results.

Personally I would go APS-2, APS-2, Quarter-Pounder, but either put the middle pickup in parallel to a capacitor to make it a little darker, or I would think about a solution to have the 4th switch position (middle + bridge) with the pickups in series, not parallel. Dunno.

If you are not dead set on single coils you could also go Vintage/QP/Demon.

Well I already own a guitar with the A2Ps, so I was thinking something different, so long as I can play metal in the bridge, which is what caused me to think of that combination. So you'd suggest that the Custom is hotter ... ok, how about Vintage / Vintage / QP? I'd really rather have something low output / medium output / high output, but the Custom (according to the description) can't do metal, but the QP can. I'm just confused now that you said that.

I guess I could go Vintage / Custom / Hot....

[JB_From_Hell]

It is not a high output pickup.

I don't know.... I think the QP is pretty loud. It's an awesome bridge pickup, regardless, especially if you want something ballsy.

[uOpt]

I have a QP in an Ash strat and I don't think it does "real" metal. Neither sound-wise nor gain-wise and it is too noisy to run through gain-enhancers. Crunchy things, sure. It also does the Blackmore thing for me very well, but that's not metal.

it is entirely possible that it does differently in a different guitar. I have a highly resonant Ash body and a maple pickguard. A more middly alder body and rosewood might come out different.

Maybe re-think the little Demon? I think it's awesome.