Help conceptualizing a build; Pickup info is a wide spectrum of confusion

[Southpaw Soldier]

So.


Body I like is chambered basswood Strat hybrid, with Tele controls. Super lightweight and contoured/comfy. Invert the control plate, so volume knob is closer to picking area for easier swells.

Neck; either a Gibson conversion, or baritone (I like baritone tone versatility, but Gibson scale is easier for my stubby digits to work); this is my first build, so eventually I'll have both.

But pickups.... wooof. There are generalizations (humbuckers being "warmer" but having less high frequencies/responsiveness; single coils being "brighter", "jangly", etc) but for every rule, it seems there's a dozen or so exceptions. "Hot" humbuckers scream and squeal, SRV's beefy low end; it's enough to drive this engineer (background in Avionics, not sonics) totally mad from lack of consistency.

I *was* thinking standard Tele plate and single coil in the bridge, and a humbucker neck. Then I saw the stacked humbuckers in the store, making me wonder if they were viable (though I've seen some folks say they lose a lot sonically/signal wise). I'm also wondering if I should copy the build I saw the GC tech working on, which was a Tele with an extra 3 way toggle for the neck HB that switch from split, series, and parallel wiring. He demo'd it for me, and even my untrained ear heard a difference.

So many broad general statements about pickup selection, and there's also a bunch of individual experiences and testimonials for specific makes and models, and sorting wheat from chaff is a challenge for me to sift.

 

[teleme01]

We have all had and do still have the same issue with pickups but eventually find the direction we're going. My suggestion is to route a tele for 2 charlie christian pickups in the neck and middle,
and then knock out the piece between the 2. standard tele bridge pickup route,,
Suggestion only for the thought process, then you have the universal route and can experiment. I doubt they would do it but for an upcharge warmoth could maybe knock out the middle piece for you you would have to call. Afterwards you order different pickguard for whatever you zero in on. Versatility

 

[Rick]

Experience is the best teacher. Play lots and you'll find your path.

 

[teleme01]

I'm sorry, you said you prefer strat, universal route is already available for strat

 

[Bruce Campbell]

Definitely go universal swimming pool rout if you're unsure, since then you can do anything. Plus, it offers some additional weight reduction/chambering, which I personally prefer to a traditional Strat 3-single-coil rout. The wiring is also a lot easier to fit in the chamber, and shielding is more straightforward.

You have to have a certain amount of experience, and then be willing to do a ton of research (listening), and ultimately change your mind multiple times in order to find certain pickup tones. I do all my comparison & listening in a control room-type environment, with a lot of room treatment and nice monitors with sub. That's also the rig I hear my amp coming through most of the time, either direct or miked from another room. So I feel confident about my next pickup choice (Seymour Duncan Saturday Night Specials), but I won't know for sure until I try it if it's cool or completely off the mark.

 

[Southpaw Soldier]

I see Universal route in the master list of route option descriptions, but not in the drop down when actually selecting them for a build. Is this an option I have to call in for?

Tried changing body from chambered to solid, in case chambering prevented universal routing; not the issue.

Also noticed a similar website issue, where pant schemes weren't appearing on the sample pic, but not caring about that at this point.

 

[J-Bones]

The universal pickup rout is not available on the Hybrid Strat body.

 

[Southpaw Soldier]

The universal pickup rout is not available on the Hybrid Strat body.

Well, darn.