2nd postion sound on HSS Legacy guitars

Hi,

I'm about to order my first USA Legacy, but am unable to try one out beforehand where I live.

I really like the sound of the 2nd and 4th positions on SSS models, but wondered if the 2nd position sounds the same on a HSS configuration, or whether I will lose something? Perhaps the tone will just be different, but if so, how different?

If there are any HSS and SSS Legacy owners who could give me their opinion, then it would be very insightful

Can't make a comment specific to Legacies, but as far as HSS shouldn't be much different than a Strat. IMO you'll still get a bit of 'quack' using a combined humbucker/single mid. But you'll get a somewhat more accurate tone if you wire for an 'auto-split' that combines the single with the humbucker coil of opposite polarity; that way you're still in effect combining two 'singles' - and you would have hum canceling in that position as well.

Can't make a comment specific to Legacies, but as far as HSS shouldn't be much different than a Strat. IMO you'll still get a bit of 'quack' using a combined humbucker/single mid. But you'll get a somewhat more accurate tone if you wire for an 'auto-split' that combines the single with the humbucker coil of opposite polarity; that way you're still in effect combining two 'singles' - and you would have hum canceling in that position as well.

Thank you for taking the time to reply and being so informative and insightful

I’ve got an HSS Legacacy, and I’m also a big fan of the typical 2nd position Strat/Legacy tone. Personally, I do not find the 2nd position tone on my HSS quite as authentic as I’d like...I was somewhat disappointed by that. You do get the ‘quack’, but the overall tone isn’t quite right. And to my surprise, I find the tone works better for me when the coils are NOT split. I didn’t expect that, but the tone is really thin when the coil is split...too thin. I will say the 2nd position tone is passable when the bridge pickup is in humbucker mode...at least in my opinion...but if you want the authentic tone, you may still want an SSS configuration. In my case, I’ve got two Legacies...one HSS and one SSS.

I’ve got an HSS Legacacy, and I’m also a big fan of the typical 2nd position Strat/Legacy tone. Personally, I do not find the 2nd position tone on my HSS quite as authentic as I’d like...I was somewhat disappointed by that. You do get the ‘quack’, but the overall tone isn’t quite right. And to my surprise, I find the tone works better for me when the coils are NOT split. I didn’t expect that, but the tone is really thin when the coil is split...too thin. I will say the 2nd position tone is passable when the bridge pickup is in humbucker mode...at least in my opinion...but if you want the authentic tone, you may still want an SSS configuration. In my case, I’ve got two Legacies...one HSS and one SSS.

Thanks for the reply!

I think I will probably go with SSS for my first Legacy!

I'm in large part a single coil purist so I think that's a great decision Then again- when I am in the mood for humbuckers I seldom prefer them in the neck position, so I find HSS a good compromise. But if your playing is clean/surf all the way, a bridge single is what you probably want. Or your can try something like a Duncan Stag Mag pickup, which has genuine Alnico pole coils (like a single) that split quite well. I even like the 'full' tone of that pickup, but it isn't really a typical humbucker tone; more like a Fender Wide Range pickup.

I've experimented with a few split humbuckers in combination with a middle pickup; while it's true not all pickups split well, I had good results with both higher output & lower output pickups across the whole range. My stock American Deluxe pick guard was wired HSS- I still got a pretty decent split tone out of the stock Fender humbucker, a fairly low output A2 thing at like 8k DCR. Height settings also impact the sound. Higher output pickups (like a Duncan Distortion) actually split quite well too.

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I’ve got an HSS Legacacy, and I’m also a big fan of the typical 2nd position Strat/Legacy tone. Personally, I do not find the 2nd position tone on my HSS quite as authentic as I’d like...I was somewhat disappointed by that. You do get the ‘quack’, but the overall tone isn’t quite right. And to my surprise, I find the tone works better for me when the coils are NOT split. I didn’t expect that, but the tone is really thin when the coil is split...too thin. I will say the 2nd position tone is passable when the bridge pickup is in humbucker mode...at least in my opinion...but if you want the authentic tone, you may still want an SSS configuration. In my case, I’ve got two Legacies...one HSS and one SSS.

Great to know! Thanks again