Recommended by Sound House! Humbuckers for the Stratocaster

Fender’s classic the Stratocaster is on par with the Telecaster. It’s attractive due to its three single coil pickups and is able to create a wide range of tones, but in order to play a more powerful sound and avoid noise which is a disadvantage of the single coil, a humbucker is often installed in the rear position. In fact, Fender has released a number of SSH Strats.

So this time, the guitar team at Sound House selected some of their favorite humbuckers for the Stratocaster!
I’m going to introduce some full size humbuckers and a couple of single coil sized humbuckers that can be installed without major processing!

■Full Size Humbuckers

SEYMOUR DUNCAN / SH-11 Custom Custom

The Superstrat is an electric guitar design in which a humbucker is mounted on a Stratocaster and was often seen in the heavy metal scene back in the 80’s, but it can be said that Eddie Van Halen was the first to play on this style of electric guitar. The SH-11 (or the pickup customized based on the SH-11) was supposedly installed on the Kramer 5150 that Eddie played on.
Changing the magnet to an Alnico 2 based on the SH-5 Custom can get a sweeter and thicker sound, so this is said to be one of the best humbuckers that tends to give the Strat a brighter sound.

Lindy Fralin / Unbucker

The Unbucker is one of the best-selling humbuckers made by Lindy Fralin. Its greatest feature is the combination of coils with different numbers of turns. Thanks to this feature, you can get a smooth and rich sound with this humbucker. Also, if you coil split (coil tap) it to switch to a single coil, you can get a clear sound with the suppressed midrange.
Like the Unbucker, there are surprisingly many pickups designed when taking the coil split sound into consideration. SEYMOUR DUNCAN/SH-3 and Freedom Custom Guitar/Hybrid Humbucker are items with this concept.

SUHR / Thornbucker

Session musician and YouTuber reviewer Pete Thorn’s signature humbucker is the Thornbucker. Pete, who is involved in various work as a backup musician, was frustrated with existing humbuckers and said, “Good distortion but clean or semi-dirty are no good.” “When I switch mid-gig to a guitar with single coils, I always have to adjust the amp and the effects.” A touch based on the vintage PAF was added to this pickup to solve these frustrations.
With an Alnico 4 magnet, brightness and warmth are well-balanced, and the sound fits SSH guitars.

■Single Sized Humbuckers

DIMARZIO / DP188 Pro Track

Among the many DIMARZIO single sized humbuckers, the DP188 Pro Track aims for a vintage PAF-like sound. With a very balanced sound, it’s a versatile pickup that’s recommended for all positions, clean or distorted.
By the way, personal impressions of DIMARZIO single sized humbuckers by a person in charge of pickups are sorted as follows.

*Models based on the full sized humbuckers along with the signature models have been omitted

SEYMOUR DUNCAN / Red Devil

The Red Devil is the single coil sized model of the Pearly Gates that is one of the most popular vintage Duncan pickups. The original Pearly Gates is a model that replicates the pickup mounted on the vintage Les Paul that was owned by Billy Gibbons (ZZ TOP).
Compared to the same vintage style single sized hum Little ’59, the output is slightly higher, and the sound seems to have the peak shifted to the mid-high range. The Red Devil is recommended for distortion. Another feature is that this is the only humbucker model with an Alnico 5 magnet amongst the Duncan single sized hums (as of March 2021).

BILL LAWRENCE / L-250

BILL LAWRENCE is famous for the L-500 with a bar type pole piece. The L-500 is also well known for being used by Nuno Bettencourt and Dimebag Darrell. This L-250 is a stacked humbucker with the same bar type pole piece that is used in the L-500.
The single coil size makes the sound more cohesive while retaining the characteristics of the L-500, the mid-range peak with the overtones. The sound has a very distinct character, but it can be said that a lot of other guitarists can’t live without this pickup if this is something that you’re looking for.

That’s it for the 6 recommended humbuckers for a Strat!
If you’re looking for a humbucker sound without changing its look, I recommend trying out a single sized humbucker, and if your Strat has a large counterbore, I recommend the full size humbucker.
In addition, replacement pickguards for SSH Stratocasters are available from many manufacturers. This is a must when you replace the rear pickup with a full size humbucker, so come check them out!

■ List of Humbuckers
■ List of Single Sized Humbuckers
■ Pickguard for SSH Strat by SCUD
■ Pickguard for SSH Strat by ALLPARTS