Seymour Duncan Hot Rail?

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JK202

JK202

Squier Talker
Jan 17, 2017
34
Arlington VA
Hello Everyone,

I'm new to the list and was wondering if anyone plugged in an SHR1 bridge pup in their Strat.

I've seen a few vids and I do like the crunch that these pickups seem to have.

Does anyone here w/ a Strat have any experience with these?

Thanks and cheers!

JK
 
Eddie

Eddie

The Artist formerly known as Chug Berry.
Nov 5, 2016
27,128
New York
Are you asking specifically for that particular model or are you inquiring about Hot Rails in general?

I can't say about the SD HR ... but I have a few guitars with Dragonfire HR's, and the tone is fantastic. HR's and Strats go very well together. :)
 
JK202

JK202

Squier Talker
Jan 17, 2017
34
Arlington VA
Hello Eddie,

I guess I was inquiring about HR pups in general...

Are the GFS Hot Rail pups comparable to the Seymour Duncan ones, which seem way overpriced in my limited view).

I was watching a few vids and I do believe thats the sound I want for my Strat's bridge pickup.

Cheers!

JK
 
Triple Jim

Triple Jim

Guy Who Likes to Play Guitar
Silver Supporting Member
Feb 16, 2018
6,680
North Carolina
Seymour Duncan's pickups seem pretty reasonable to me, for the work that goes in, and what you get. He and his company have been making pickups for a long time and they're good. The trouble is that compared to the overseas-made pickups they do seem high priced.

I have a couple of his pickups in different guitars, and they have fully lived up to what they claimed to be. No hot rails though, sorry.
 
Eddie

Eddie

The Artist formerly known as Chug Berry.
Nov 5, 2016
27,128
New York
JK202 said:
Hello Eddie,

I guess I was inquiring about HR pups in general...

Are the GFS Hot Rail pups comparable to the Seymour Duncan ones, which seem way overpriced in my limited view).

I was watching a few vids and I do believe thats the sound I want for my Strat's bridge pickup.

Cheers!

JK
Click to expand...

I've heard some very good things about the GFS Hot Rails. Great values. Probably only a small difference from the SDs ... but you get a ton of bang for your buck. You can't go wrong either way. :)

Are you gonna load up all three pups with HR's? Swapping out the harness will make a big difference also. :)
 
Eddie

Eddie

The Artist formerly known as Chug Berry.
Nov 5, 2016
27,128
New York
Triple Jim said:
By the way, I probably wouldn't spring for a set of SDs that cost more than the guitar they're going in, I was just sticking up for their products and pricing.
Click to expand...

It's actually not too bad. You can always pop out the SD's when you sell the guitar. But I tend to stick with the import pups ... Dragonfire, GFS, Guitar Madness, et al. Great values, and not very pricie.

My brother was going to install a James Hetfield EMG set on his LP clone. I convinced him to get the Super 8 set from Guitar Madness. $250 vs. $20. Guess what? The Super 8's sounded fantastic !!!
 
squierTony

squierTony

Dr. Squier
Jul 4, 2012
8,633
MAUD Oklahoma
I just now got through installing an import rail in my strat and did a before and after recording to see the difference and the rail by far sounds better to me and its driving my amp pretty darn hard. I mean I literally finished up 10 minutes ago lol.
JK202 said:
Hello Eddie,

I guess I was inquiring about HR pups in general...

Are the GFS Hot Rail pups comparable to the Seymour Duncan ones, which seem way overpriced in my limited view).

I was watching a few vids and I do believe thats the sound I want for my Strat's bridge pickup.

Cheers!

JK
Click to expand...
 
jvin248

jvin248

Squier-Meister
Jan 10, 2014
238
Michigan
.

I've found many of the SDs I've tried or were installed in used guitars I bought as "upgraded pickups!" as too muddy. I usually need to mod the controls to take the wet blanket off but most often I just swap them out.

Are you using a classic SSS Strat? I get more satisfying results from using series switching mods. You can put your bridge and middle single coils in series and get into the hot humbucker tone range (push/pull pot is around $6) or my playing Strats I mod with the Armstrong Blender (second tone pot blends between SSS and HSH, only changing wiring) -- much more useful to me than hard switching of a fixed humbucker.


.
 
Eddie

Eddie

The Artist formerly known as Chug Berry.
Nov 5, 2016
27,128
New York
Upgrading pots is almost as important as changing the pickups. Match up what you need based on the tone you're looking for.

The dime sized pots which comes with the inexpensive Squiers aren't too good. Upgrading to CTS really makes as big a difference as changing the pickup. Do both.
 
DJGranite

DJGranite

Squier-holic
Feb 7, 2012
2,338
maine
Seymour Duncan is one of my go-to's.
I have a dozen or more of their pickups in my guitars and as stated above by Lonn, I too have in the past and still do like all of them.
I've has some of them for over 30 years.
I have a cool rails that is a really smooth distortion, but that's about it for the Blade type Seymours.
I tend to go more for the JB, JB jr, Jazz, 59 etc.
I have them all over :D
you might get lucky with some of the cheaper imports they can do a fine job , but there is a reason that brands like Seymour Duncan, and DiMarzio, and EMG etc sell so well. Known consistency and quality never go out of style.
So yeah, a thumbs up to S-D pickups here.
I also suggest looking at your pots and switches if you start doing upgrades too your guitar. They can be just about the most bang for your buck in cleaning up your signal.
Not to mention adjusting your pickup heights (distance from strings).
Absolutely free, takes mere minutes, and you might be surprised.
Hope this is helpful,
and good luck however you go.
 
JK202

JK202

Squier Talker
Jan 17, 2017
34
Arlington VA
DJGranite said:
Seymour Duncan is one of my go-to's.
I have a dozen or more of their pickups in my guitars and as stated above by Lonn, I too have in the past and still do like all of them.
I've has some of them for over 30 years.
I have a cool rails that is a really smooth distortion, but that's about it for the Blade type Seymours.
I tend to go more for the JB, JB jr, Jazz, 59 etc.
I have them all over :D
you might get lucky with some of the cheaper imports they can do a fine job , but there is a reason that brands like Seymour Duncan, and DiMarzio, and EMG etc sell so well. Known consistency and quality never go out of style.
So yeah, a thumbs up to S-D pickups here.
I also suggest looking at your pots and switches if you start doing upgrades too your guitar. They can be just about the most bang for your buck in cleaning up your signal.
Not to mention adjusting your pickup heights (distance from strings).
Absolutely free, takes mere minutes, and you might be surprised.
Hope this is helpful,
and good luck however you go.
Click to expand...

Thanks DJ et al - I appreciate the helpful info! W hile I did basic setup I've never delved underneath the pickguard. But I think I can appreciate that swapping out pots and switches should be considered if a pup is also switched - makes sense :). Thanks again everyone!
 
Armada50

Armada50

Squier Talker
Jan 26, 2019
63
Texas USA
I passed up, on the SD Hot Rail. At the time, I thought 16 K was way, way too high, for a single coil sized pickup & I didn't want way more mids than bass or treble. I would rather do a full humbucker conversion anyway because the Squier's are already cutout for them. Plus, I need a cover.

I went, with a DiMarzio Pro Track & it came, with a cover. It has the same 7.7 K resistance, as Kirk Hammet's 7.7 K Sentient but much better "balanced." I also went, with ceramic. LTD's Kirk Hammet's passive model uses a Sentient & it also has more bass & treble than mids.

Thus, I eventually found ceramic to be more efficient & super modern, better at everything. Chart: https://www.duramag.com/techtalk/tech-briefs/magnet-materials-comparison-guide/

Squier Bullet HHH Strat.jpg
Image 1. Fender Squier Bullet triple humbucker (HHH), with a DiMarzio Pro Track. Either Squier humbucker rips apart my dual rail. "The Squier's." January 27, 2019. ​
 
Last edited:
VMamp

VMamp

Squier-Meister
Jan 28, 2019
149
United Kingdom
I have a SD SHR1 in the bridge position (Strat with Alder body) wth Artec Hot rails in the Middle and Neck position. I am not a great fan of single coils and prefer the extra mid range and higher output of the humbucker. The SD has a high winding resistance (15K) and, having a ceramic magnet, the output is as you would expect - warm and gutsy but retains enough highs not to be dull. The Artec versions are excellent value and sound great, brighter tone with a lower DC resistance (12K) than the SD but available in both Alnico and ceramic versions. I have Artec Hotrails in my Agathis bodied strat, ceramic in the bridge and Middle positions and Alnico in the neck position.

I have all three coil tapped but, though useful, do not expect them to sound like a standard single coil pu.
 
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