Dumb question of the morning:

Fishboy7

Suppose one had a HH configuration Strat type but really wanted a single coil in the neck position.  What’s the best compromise?:

 

1.       Coil tapped HB (I’ve never tried one that produced convincing SC tones)

2.       An HB size P90

3.       Lollar Single Coil for humbucker

4.       Somehow mounting a Strat neck pickup into the HB route  

5.       Something else, …….. 

rlw

Yes.

SteveRobinson

P-rail?
Catswhisker S-bucker?

Sassafras

Option number 5.

Trade it in for a real Strat.

Snags

Another guitar?

Fishboy7

Tempting, but would like to modify this one as it’s perfect in all other respects. 

 

I wonder if you can get a special mounting ring that would fit? Would look a bit shit though, ….

 

Leaning toward the P90 route at the moment

maltingsaudio

I would get another scratch plate and load it HSS or SSS. Point of the single coils on a strat is position 2 and 4 for the quack, never gonna get that with an HH configuration convincingly as they are too far apart

HAL9000

P90s are awesome. However, they don’t really have the clean ‘chime’ of a standard SC - unless you wind the volume right down P90s IME always have a bit of ‘grit’ in them.

The P-Rails idea as suggested by @SteveRobinson ;could be interesting though.

Fishboy7

SteveRobinson said:

P-rail?

Just looked those up. Thats the solution I think !

Thanks

Henrytwang

If you really must do it you could buy a Strat scratchplate and cut out a humbucking pickup ring shaped piece around the middle pickup hole. I’m pretty sure that somebody made such a thing for people wanting to fit Strat pickups in humbucker routs, it might still be available.

axisus

I just stuck an SC in the space. I rather like the ad hoc, off the cuff look, although it won't suit all guitars of course.

Maynehead

You can get adaptors like this one:

https://www.guitarfetish.com/assets/images/ssmain.jpg

5redlights

Assuming you're using a scratchplate, just get one of these  https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/202386486390

Funkfingers

Fishboy7 said:
Suppose one had a HH configuration Strat type but really wanted a single coil in the neck position. 

All of the replies so far assume that this means an "S" type guitar with the pickups and controls mounted on a pickguard. The obvious solution to your question would be a new pickguard and the transfer of parts.

If, instead, your guitar has no pickguard, the adapter plate illustrated by Maynehead is the simple solution. 

If you want something that sounds a bit single coilish and fits the cavity, consider a Firebird type humbucker or a Filter'Tron clone.

Jalapeno

maltingsaudio said:

I would get another scratch plate and load it HSS or SSS. Point of the single coils on a strat is position 2 and 4 for the quack, never gonna get that with an HH configuration convincingly as they are too far apart

This.  Wis'd

ICBM

Coil-split the *right* humbucker. The P-Rails isn't really it, I don't think - the P90 bit sounds too much like a P90 and not like a Strat pickup, and the rail by itself sounds shit not very much like a good pickup of any kind...

The right humbucker will probably be something a bit hotter than a PAF-type, but not that much, and you need to split it using the PRS DGT-type split with a resistor - oddly, even though it means that the humbucker is not quite completely split, it sounds *more* like a single coil rather than less.

Funkfingers

ICBM said:

the rail by itself sounds shit not very much like a good pickup of any kind...

Quoted for truth. 

ICBM said:

Coil-split the *right* humbucker ... using the PRS DGT-type split with a resistor

Agreed. Partial coil split is far more convincing than fully shutting off one coil. PRS uses different cap and resistor values for the neck and bridge positions.

Another option is the Ibanez/DiMarzio thing of running the neck position humbucker coils in parallel. I find that this works better in some guitars than in others.

Fishboy7

Sorry, I should have mentioned at the outset, it’s a no pickguard situation.  So the ideal thing would be a HB sized pickup that can do SC tones.   

octatonic

Harmonic Designs Z90 in the neck.

ICBM

Fishboy7 said:

Sorry, I should have mentioned at the outset, it’s a no pickguard situation.  So the ideal thing would be a HB sized pickup that can do SC tones.

What pickup does it have now?

I forgot to mention - there are also specialist humbucker-size pickups which are effectively two Strat pickups on the same baseplate, the Duncan Stag Mag and the Oil City Brassknuckle (maybe others). Unsurprisingly these give a perfect single coil sound when split - the downside is that the humbucker sound is less traditional.