How do You Wire Your SSH

I liked having one master tone and one master volume on my old Strat, oh wait.... humbucker in the bridge on my Strat!

 

It depends on how fancy you want to get.

I've had:
-Normal 5-way with toggle to split bridge
-Superswitch that auto-splits bridge when combined
-Normal 5-way with no split

Personally, as I realized I never use positions 2 and 4, I stopped using a coil split. YMMV but you asked.

 

Humbucker in the bridge is H/S/S
S/S/H is humbucker in the neck

Use a superswitch.

 

I have a mini toggle to split the bridge humbucker at any time. I might move to autosplit on the next guitar after some experiments.

 

Either a push pull or switch for the bridge, stock Fender Yosemite SSH with push pull bridge 7 way switching.

 

My Schecter HSS has a push pull split (tone knob) for the HB, providing seven-way switching.

 

Rear, only thing I changed since the original photo is the push pull in reverse so when it's pulled up it's humbucker, down single coil. It comes opposite.

 

On the Performer Strats, the pull pot on the 2nd tone control turns on the neck pickup when the 5 way is on the bridge or bridge and middle positions, and it splits the HB on the HSS Performer Strat, so the HSS Performer doesn't have the option for 7 pickup combinations like the SSS Performer has.

 

.

If forced to play a HSS then it's best to have a split humbucker-middle #2 wiring method.

However, I gave up all HSS Strats as clumsy attempts at classic SSS tones. Do you have any other guitars with HH? Then you need the Strat in classic SSS performance to avoid blatant redundancies. Mod from there if you want other fun. I put all HSS and HSH Strats back to SSS and then I wire them with an Armstrong Blender to spin up from the classic SSS tones into hot Super Strat HSH -- but that's only on an as-needed or alternative tone basis. The Strat performs as a standard SSS. I have other H and HH models in the fleet.

Fender/Squier 2021 Contemporary Stratocaster Special has picked up the Robbie Robertson method of pushing the middle pickup back against the bridge and giving it a unique wiring system (something I have considered building several times). The RR was a basic Strat 5-way with a push/pull tone pot to give it bridge-middle series humbucker. This one wires the 5-way:

"Position:
5. Neck
4. Bridge, Middle and Neck,
3. Middle and Neck (Parallel),
2. Middle,
1. Bridge and Middle (Series, Hum-Cancelling),
"



.

 

I didn't play a sss but the ssh is regular 5 way with a push pull second tone making it 7 pick up combinations. Adding straight humbucker and single humbucker.

 

Well yes, it is technically 7, because the HB can be HB or single coil when in the bridge or bridge and middle positions, but it doesn't allow the bridge and neck combination, or all 3 pickups together, like the SSS Performer does.

 

Lol well that settles it, now I have to go play it.

I like the sss within the ssh switching I hear the bridge single coil is excellent also have to play it.

 

My Strat came with #2 position, middle and split bridge. I went to master tone then jumped from the bridge tap to the unused tone pot for an adjustable bridge coil tap. Very versatile

 

I haven't really studied the wiring on this recent acquisition but the controls are master volume and tone and the switch either adds a boost or takes away power somehow. There is no battery under the hood. I only know what it does, not how it does it.

 

Middle and bridge(parallel).
Not a H/S/S but same concept.

 

Just did a tap test of mine. With the toggle up it's business as usual. With the toggle down I get bridge and neck pickups in position 1, all three pickups in position 2, position 3/4 is middle and neck, and position 5 is neck only. I find this very versatile.

 

First off let me say that by far my favorite strat wiring scheme is vintage stock with tone on the bridge, with or without tone to middle(EJ). I don't want or require esoteric wiring schemes...so on my only HSS strat I want simple and effective.

I find this better than most coil taps I have heard/tried. You don't get doinky bridge sounds because you're always using both coils. You can vary the quack factor in #2 as well; lower knob settings equal more quackaliciousness. So you're not losing anything.

What are you gaining? A couple things: You can have single coil sounds that are hum cancelling. Noisy beer neon? You're not stuck between HB and quack all night. But the best part to me is that you can use ant humbucker you want. Let me say that again. ANY humbucker.

It's a really simple concept if you think a minute. So you've got a favorite bucker but it's oh, 14k or so. It'll be waay loud when you switch it in, which is a good thing to have sometimes, but not always. And it isn't so great split. The one that's the right volume level won't growl like the 14k one, and the one that splits best you like least in HB mode. So you compromise, pick the lesser of evils. With this setup that's unnecessary. You're gradually varying the output of both coils simultaneously. As the output goes down there is a natural lessoning of bass and mids: ABRACADABRA single coil sparkle.

Even old b*stards like me have an old high output humbucker that maybe you liked before amps had gain stages? Or went through (or are still in) an Eddie phase? 80's hair? You might be as pleasantly surprised as I was to find they sound pretty good just toned down a bit. I still have an original Dimarzio Super Distortion sitting around here somewhere....Hmmm....