Humbucker vs. Rails Please Help

[G&Legacy]

Okay as some may know I have a strat with a hotrails in the bridge. I am thinking of putting in a fullsized humbucker. In general what would a full-size give me that the hotrails wonted. Should I keep the Hot rails or go for a full size?

[Benjy_26]

What do you feel you're missing with the HR?

[baritone]

The full-sized humbucker will sound more like a humbucker. But the Hot Rails is one of the most aggressive passive pickups available. If you are looking for a softer tone or more of a "Gibsonish" tone, a full-sized humbucker will be more likely to get you there. "Squished" humbuckers sound a little different from regular humbuckers and from single-coils, kind of how P-90s are a totally different beast. I love the squished humbuckers I have in my Strat, but it is a matter of preference.

[G&Legacy]

I don't know what I am missing with the hotrails. That is the deal. I need to know what I am missing to see if it is worth replacing. I am looking for a awesome distortion tone but one that I can play smooth melodies with. (and good pinch harmonics is always a plus).

[Benjy_26]

In my experience, smoothness comes from your amp and pinch harmonics come from your technique.

I think that the only thing you'l gain from a full sized 'bucker with similar specs to the HR is a bigger bottom end. This is mainly due to the pickup reading more of the string. Conversly, you'l also notice that a full sized 'bucker will be looser sounding than a single coile sized humbucker. This may be a good or bad thing, depending on your point of view.

[saladin]

One thing I've noticed while recording is that a Hotrails cuts thru a mix better then a full sized 'bucker. Hotrails don't have that satisfying humbucker sound when played when solo but as soon as the bass and drums come in, the Hotrails seem to blend better with the other instruments.

[mindbender]

Keep the hotrails.

[Heavy]

The hot rails is so hot. It's a ton of mids and while it does cut through a mix because of the mids, it's real honky. An invader has this too. Can be too much mids imo. These pickups sound like someone shouting through a megaphone. Like there's a megaphone on your speaker and it sounds like all the bass and highs are gone.

A full size bucker will usually be more balanced and versatile. This is all a big IMO. YMMV.

[walt]

to the best of my knowledge, the hotrails is the little brother of the Invader. to compare a full size bucker to a "squished" bucker or stacked bucker, I have noticed that the little guys seem to be more focused probably because of the smaller magnetic field. It's a matter of personal taste and pickup models for example the jbjr has almost no bottom like the full size version but is tighter sounding that the full size version, the hotrail has tons of bottom and is also tighter sounding to me than the invader. Same with Dimarzio, I have a full size ToneZone in a Wolfie special that has tremendous low end/lower mid and a strat with a tonezone s that has a more focused lower end than it's bigger brother. With that in mind, I have used a little 59 in the neck and middle positions with a full size 59 in the bridge. The lil 59 doesn't seem to be as boomy in the neck position to me, however, I won't put a hotrail or a tonezone s in the neck of any guitar as you seem to lose defination in that position with such hot pickups (my opinion only). The hotrail and tonezone s belong in the bridge of any strat style guitar.

[Robert S.]

I like alll of the Rails, lil and jr series single sized HBs but they do have a single coil type of vibe to them due to their smaller apature. The magnetic field from the Rails pickups is smaller and the rails are closer together than in a full sized HB so a smaller area of the string is exposed to the pickup.

Full sized HBs sound "bigger" for lack of a better term and seem to have a bit more push as well.

[Markk]

I have the SH4 and the SH2n. I think the situation is comparable because essentially I understand that you're contemplating between a high output and a lower output pickup.

So, comparing it to my situation, I have a high output (SH4 JB) in the treble and a lower output (SH2n Jazz) in the Rythm. I love this setup because it gives me the raunchy high mids (and some treble) and allows me the range from rock to hard rock and rock and roll. The lower output jazz pickup gives nice clear notes and a beautiful "pop" in the sound.

So my advice is this, keep the hot rails and get another pickup in the rythm that will balance the high output in the treble so you get the best of both worlds (especially when you have the selector in the middle)

Hope that made sense

[baritone]

The JB Jr. and the Lil 59, for example, are not totally like their full-sized counterparts. Their structure and design are actually completely different in an effort to recreate the same sound. But the result was a totally different sound, but a totally cool one. The JB Jr. in my guitar gives a hint of bass rumble when playing palm-muted rhythms over distortion.