Luke 3 Advice Please: HH or HSS?

[Davus PG]

Hi there

My last post was a few months back to say that I had returned to the MM fold after buying a black Axis - which I still need to post pix of......sorry!

Unsurprisingly the Axis very quickly became my No. 1 and I'm now selling some of my guitars that have been gathering dust to fund a Luke 3. I've wanted one since they came out & like the Axis I will be going for a black one. I cannot wait to get my hands on that roasted birdseye maple neck.

I owned a Dargie Delight Luke 2 in the past and were it not for the EMGs I would still have it - for me the Luke neck shape is the best feeling of all those that I have tried - closely followed by the Axis

So onto my question. I have the option of either the HH or the HSS and wanted to know the thoughts of those that own them. I'm in a band that plays rock and indie music ranging from Kings of Leon to Oasis to Foo Fighters and even a bit of Velvet Revolver. Naturally my Axis handles all of that, but what would the HSS offer me? My temptation is to go for the HH as almost all my other guitars are HH with coil splitting on the pots (also had my Axis modded to do the same and works well) but if the Luke 3 and Axis are going to be my main squeezes then I feel a bit of diversity is a good thing.

I've watched all the videos of Luke himself demoing the guitars on YouTube, but of course he makes all of them sound incredible!

I guess what I'm asking is would I be missing out not going for the HH? Would the single coil in the neck of the HSS be too weak and would I have a volume drop if I swapped between the Axis and Luke 3 at a gig?

As always any replies greatly appreciated.

Cheers

David

 

[Magic Jason]

I own the HSS and I'm most satisfied with my choice.

I'll try to focus on single coils : whatever your final choice, the bridge pickup will be a humbucker.

The output is hotter than standard single coils but you can get excellent "strat -alike" tones AND handle heavy distortion. Which is not always the case with single coils. These pickups are NOT weak!

The middle pick up will offer the "out of phase" sounds often associated with Fender instruments. And I must say I love these too.

These two single coils work extremely well with the transition humbucker and the ridiculously effective preamp will allow you to match the respective outputs to your liking. Volume drops are history.

These pickups are lively, not as cold as the EMG. The neck profile is indeed the best ever!

According to me, bolt-on necks guitars, shaped after a strat, tend to look better in a HSS or SSS format. But...That's just my own private opinion!

A friend of mine who has owned more MM than he can remember will tell you that the LukeIII HH is the best ever and that the split humbuckers pickups are fab! And... he will be right too.

You absolutely CANNOT make a wrong choice. These guitars are both fantastic.

Finally : buy the HSS : it's more complementary to your Axis.
Or... buy the HH : you are used to this configuration.

Best advice ever : buy both!

 

[Bryan]

I went HH with mine that's on the way.

Basically because I already have a HSS guitar.

Plus on the Luke, I love the sound of the Transition pickups. And that Db boost is very useful.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Lou]

I don't usually like single coils but I love the Luke III HSS. Lots of tones on hand. I prefer a humbucker in the neck for distorted leads but clean, the singles are great.

 

[mystixboi1]

HH all the way for me. Love the tones. Nothing like the neck humbucker for liquid lead tone.

 

[BrickGlass]

If you have an Axis I'd go HSS for the versatility between the two guitars.

 

[Davus PG]

Thanks for all the replies. After reading them and looking at more youtube videos I'm leaning towards the HSS for that extra versatility.

I've always fancied an Al HH so perhaps that'll be my next HH purchase further down the line....

After all you can never have too many balls right?!

 

[mikeller]

That's a really personal choice. I have a Luke 3 HH (rosewood neck) and a Luke 3 SSH (roasted neck). For me, I slightly perfer the SSH. The pickups are wonderful and it is easy to balance with output of the HB with the output of the single-coils with trim pots.

You really can't go wrong either way, but, if you can, try to play each before you make a final decision.

 

[Samoht]

You have the HH bases covered with your Axis, so I'd go with the versatility of the HSS LIII.

 

[Magic Jason]

Thanks for all the replies. After reading them and looking at more youtube videos I'm leaning towards the HSS for that extra versatility.

I've always fancied an Al HH so perhaps that'll be my next HH purchase further down the line....

After all you can never have too many balls right?!

The Albert Lee HH is a KILLER GUITAR. THAT and the Luke III HSS is my "gig combo"

 

[GoKart Mozart]

I love my LIII in the HH config, but here lately I've been kind of wishing I had the SSH version for the extra Stratty-ness.
Of course, if I had the SSH version I'd probably be wishing for the HH version for the thick, juicy neck humbucker sounds.

What's that saying about the grass is always greener...?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[canuck6string]

Just poking my head back in for $0.02. The HH will offer you a backup if the Axis should go wonky and vice versa if the Luke quickly becomes your new #1.

If you don't require a backup then the HSS gives you some different and similar voicing for the music you play.

 

[ksandvik]

If you have HH guitars, the HSS is the obvious choice for more quacking. I don't know of the Transitions neck single coil pickups, but the EMG ones are really hot so they are good for Hendrix:y bluesy stuff.

 

[ScottO]

I have them both but prefer the HSS as I favor the Strat like single coil sound. I would try to give them both a go first before making the purchase. It's all personal preference. Either one rocks! Have fun with your Luke III hunt!

 

[Davus PG]

Thank you again guys for the responses.
I hadn't realised that the boost includes trim pots to balance the output between the humbucker and single coils - what a brilliant idea.

Swaying more and more towards the HSS to be honest. I use the bridge pickup and split neck pickup for the majority of covers we play so I'm sure the HSS will handle that brilliantly, but with a slightly different flavour to my Axis.

Really impressed with the boosted neck tones Luke gets on this video:

Obviously I won't ever be playing as well as that, but if it's any indication of the neck tones available, then that'll certainly cover my needs and I still get the brilliant Transition bridge pickup for the majority of what I play.

With so much versatility I can see it coming down to neck preference which determines which one becomes my go to guitar.

 

[Bryan]

Does the HSS have a roasted neck?

I thought only the LIII had that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Stratty316]

L3 can be ordered HSS or HH. So yes, it would have a roasted neck. Personally, I would go HH as its such a versatile guitar and the neck HB has such a great sound to it. It doesn't hurt that I have a HSS silo spec either

 

[jff]

I have hss and love it. I also have a Peavey Wolfgang hh, so the hss made sense for me. I've heard both the hh and hss and they are both killer axes. Whichever you choose, you can't go wrong.

 

[Bryan]

Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Davus PG]

Once again thank for all the replies guys, really helpful.

I'll be sure to put up a NGD post when I get it....Jury's still out on which one!