Question SBMM Luke HSS (?)

[dave1812]

I currently find myself in a situation where i'd really like to get a Luke, mainly because of the HSS Pickups. But i can't really spend 3k€ on a new Guitar right now.
I know back in the OLP Days they had a Luke with HSS Pickups, but since SBMM launched they always went with HH for all iterations of the L100 Model.
I've got one of the original OLP Petrucci's and it's... okay... so getting a used OLP Luke might be an option, even though i never played one.
Guess i was just wondering why they went with Dual Humbuckers instead of HSS when most of their SBMM Lineup already has HH Pickups.
What are you guys thinking? How is the playability of the SBMM Luke compared to a Luke 3?
Haven't tried any of the Sterling Guitars yet, only the original Luke 3 when it came out.

 

[ksandvik]

I don't know how practical or economical it is to purchase guitars from USA but you could from time to time get good deals on used Luke II and III models here.

 

[peterd79]

I've spoke with Eddie and Sooj at length at NAMM last January about an HSS Luke... They're not opposed to it; however, there needs to be a demand for them to invest into that build. So far there's only been a few of us asking for it so until that picks up were probably left wanting.

the Lk100 and the L3 are very very very close in feel. The pickups on the LK100 are a bit on the brighter side in positions 2 & 4. they sound incredible in 1 3 5 but the split just doesn't feel right to me. I've replaced the pickups in my Lk100 to the transition pickups and it's flawless in performance. My buddy didn't realize it was a Sterling until 10-15 minutes later when he swapped to his LIII HH and was blown away...

 

[kingdoublecut]

As an option you might consider...I have converted my two SBMM Albert Lee models and a LK100D to HSH configuration and these are amazing sounding guitars now with tremendous versatility.