Pickup Questions

[DominoTree]

I'm not very knowledgable with a lot of guitar-related things so bear with me on this -
I have my Charvel Mutt (Pretty much like a Fusion Custom) and I also have a Squier Strat that I hardly ever touch. Using the Squier feels like using a hammer, and the Charvel feels like a scalpel. Everything about this guitar I love... except the tone.

This guitar has an HSS configuration, and somewhere along the way an passive EMG Humbucker got added (which sounds great when I want that sort of thing) but the neck and middle pickups (which I believe are stock) are the dual-rail style dual coil pickups that fit in single coil slots. Anyways here's the dilemma -

I really like how the Squier sounds (yeah its single coils hum to all hell) - but it's very clean sounding. On the Charvel, when I use the neck or middle pickup, mainly the G and D strings sound kinda muddy and not well defined. It seems like they're all "mids", and when I go to high E or B, they sound tinny and without much mid at all... Anyways, I'm using 009s on the Charvel and some relatively thick strings on the Squier, and I'm sure that plays into it as well, but would I be well served putting on a couple true single coils on the Charvel? Should I just rip the Squier open and move two of its pickups over? Should I be more concerned about the gauge of the strings?

I've been interested in the EMG S1 and S2 single coil pickups, as they would match my humbucker nicely, but I've not been able to find any audio samples of them (which doesn't surprise me) - does anyone have any experience with them?

Anyways, if anyone could help point me in the right direction or share any insight, I'd love to hear it!

[Sunbane]

It's easier to fiddle with string guages, so maybe start there?

However, I think it's a matter of finding the right pickup for the right guitar. I don't have any experience with either the dual-rail Jackson pups, or the passive EMGs, but I believe that quality aftermarket pickups will make a notable difference in this case.

Also bear in mind that the Squier will have a bit crispier, more "bell like" sound due to its longer scale length. The Fusion is a short scale guitar, and may slightly less "articulate" due to that.

[MartinBarre]

Since you like the Squier single coils but never play that guitar, just take them out and put them in your Charvel.

[DonP]

I like the J200R rails a lot, but I play metal and singles don't do much for me.

I say move one single over so that you can see how you like it. You might like it that way, might want to move the other single over, or might want to got back to the J200R.

[DominoTree]

Took a bit of sanding on the pickup, but I moved one of the single coils over to the mid position on the Charvel. I kinda feel dirty using a cheap pickup on the guitar, but it sounds great!

The rail that was in that position was only wired up with one coil anyways...

Trying to decide whether to do the neck pickup too or not... I might just buy these EMGs now that I know the Squier ones work, and put them where they came from.

[DominoTree]

I just realized when I was cleaning up some wiring, my volume knob is also a push-pull pot with nothing wired to it... Ended up putting the jackson rails on there and using the push-pull to bypass one coil of each one... Now I have the best of both worlds!