The sound of a single coil pickup in a Stratocaster is iconic. It helped to shape the tone of blues, psychedelic rock, hard rock and even neoclassical metal. And yet as playing styles progressed and amplifier designs evolved, it became apparent that the characteristic hum of single coil pickups was not always welcome. Some players will always love everything about true single coils – including the hum. But others just don’t want any of it. That’s why the humbucker was invented, of course, but the tone of a humbucker is different to a single coil by its very nature. So if you crave a single coil tone but you wish to use a lot of gain, or you would simply prefer your clean tone to be all guitar and no hum, the Stack Plus series is for you. 
V.P. Engineering and New Product Development Kevin Beller came up with the idea of using two very different size coils in a single coil housing. The top coil has similar geometry to a vintage Stratocaster pickup, and is surrounded by a partial shield. This attracts the hum and injects it into the bottom coil.

The first iteration of the Stack Plus concept was the STK-S4 Classic Stack Plus. As the name would lead you to believe it’s designed to give you that classic Stratocaster tone, without the hum. Try a trio of these for a noiseless version of the classic 50s Strat sound. Or if you need something with a little more kick, the STK-S7 Vintage Hot Stack Plus takes the traditional Stratocaster tone and beefs it up with extra output for a more even match with the a Classic Stack Plus in the middle position and another Vintage Hot Stack in the neck position. Think of it as an overwound vintage tone, slightly hotter than the Classic Stack Plus.

The STK-S6 Custom Stack Plus provides a voice similar to the SSL-5 Custom Staggered, a high-output single coil which is perfect for Texas blues rock, classic rock and heavy rock. It offers higher output, more sustain and great harmonics, and when used in the bridge position it makes a great combination with the Classic Stack Plus in the middle and a Vintage Hot Stack Plus in the neck position for a punchier version of the traditional Strat tone. Or put one in the neck position with a Hot Stack Plus in the bridge for the ultimate rock Strat.

The STK-S9b Hot Stack Plus cranks out higher output than the Classic Stack Plus, and is recommended for country, pop, blues, classic rock and heavy rock. It’s especially happy when used in conjunction with a pair of Classic Stack Plusses in the middle and neck positions, and it loves to be blasted through a hot distortion pedal.

Whichever Stack Plus models you choose, each comes with three-conductor cable which means you can even run it in true single coil mode if you wish. When three Stack Plus pickups are all split, the middle pickup is reverse wind/reverse polarity (RW/RP), which gives you hum-cancellation in the ‘2’ and ‘4’ pickup selector settings – the classic ‘Strat quack.’