I have acquired a 50's reissue strat built in '82 that has been through the ringer. Before I got my hands on the guitar it set in the case in storage for years. When I got it I opened it up and sure enough everything needed replacement but I left the original pick ups despite all the corrosion and rust everywhere. After putting new pots, toggle switch, cap, jack and new wiring in the guitar still breaks up and is much more distorted than when I was in my teens (I grew up playing this guitar and then it went away for a while). Since the only thing that hasn't been replaced are the pick ups so I want to give it another face lift.
I would like to make this guitar my dedicated clean/twinkly machine but wouldn't mind it having some bite when needed. What would you all suggest sticking in this thing? Hopefully something that doesn't break the bank!
I'm the least vintage mojo guy there is (probably). I really like the Dimarzio Area pickups. To me, they sound like typical single coils and can do that great position 2 and 4 sound, but they are totally hum-free. And a lot cheaper than whatever whiz-bag winder is the new hot stuff.
I like the Texas specials. They sound close to original with a little bit of a bite also. Timbo winds pickups to order also, you may talk to him.
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Quote from: jimilee on April 09, 2018, 06:07:40 PM
I like the Texas specials. They sound close to original with a little bit of a bite also. Timbo winds pickups to order also, you may talk to him.
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I'm fairly new here and do not know this Timbo. Hey Timbo, I need some assistance!
I've got two Strats, one with Fralin Vintage Hot and the other with Lace Sensor B/S/R. Like you'd expect, the Fralin's are pretty vintage sounding. The Lace are all around great, not too vintage sounding, but well balanced for lots of styles of music. If I only could have one I'd actually go with the Lace Sensor...but that's also because I've been playing that set for a couple of decades and I am really used to the sound. I'd like to try the Texas Specials someday, too.
Whatever the case, I put in a toggle switch on all my Strats to put the neck and bridge in parallel for psuedo-Tele sounds. Can't live without it.
I like the way my strat sounded with Dimarzio Fast Track (Neck) and Tone Zone(Mid) with Treble Bleed Mod. I can get the bass/treble from fast track for neck position and twangy between half-neck position.
TBX Tone control in my 1976 Japanese Contemporary (which has a Shaller split HB bridge pup) makes for great twinkiness.
If you can do the TBX.
Quote from: culturejam on April 09, 2018, 05:50:30 PM
I'm the least vintage mojo guy there is (probably). I really like the Dimarzio Area pickups. To me, they sound like typical single coils and can do that great position 2 and 4 sound, but they are totally hum-free. And a lot cheaper than whatever whiz-bag winder is the new hot stuff.
I'm in the same boat as CJ. I do like a vintage vibe, but the output can be anemic compared to modern standards of play. The Dimarzio Area pickups are amazing to me. They have the sound, but the output is better, and best of all to me, they are hum canceling. I hate 60 cycle, and I've tried as many of the hum canceling options I can. These are the best available that've tried of 6 different sets.
Jacob
I'm the wrong person to ask. I have a Duncan SSL-5 in the neck and a Dimarzio Super Distortion in the bridge...
A set wound by a Guy in New York named John Benson won the spot in my "strat." I tried seven sets in it, including some expensive and budget sets. They're alnico III, modern stagger. They're fairly aggressive sounding, a bit higher output than the pickups in my tele (broadcasters), and they stand out in a band like champs. It's my favorite guitar live but second to my tele for recording.
Or get Timbo to wind you something; I'm pretty sure he'd do you right.
Quote from: jkokura on April 09, 2018, 08:30:46 PM
The Dimarzio Area pickups are amazing to me. They have the sound, but the output is better, and best of all to me, they are hum canceling.
And I believe they are wired so that you can actually cut out the dummy coil and just have the top coil on. You know, if you have been missing the hum. :D
So funny. I own exactly the same pickups as the bean: Fralin vintage hots and blue/silver/red Lace sensors. Right now I'm using the Fralins. The Fralins sound vintage-y. I love them in neck and middle. Bridge...not so much. But you can't have it all, now can you?
I like the Lace sensors a lot, except for the blue, which IMO sounds muddy. I hated it from the start, and the bad feelings never really went away. It doesn't do the sweet neck p/u strat sound like the Fralin. It does warm and gooey. But warm and gooey is not an approved Strat tone! Such are my feelings. But I love the silver and the red. The red with the TBX was an especially great setup if you want to get distortion out of a strat, and the silver has a nice clarity to it that I loved. They also seem to play really well with pedals, probably because of the higher output.
Good luck with your investigation!
Just to add a bit: the second position on the Lace (bridge and middle) are freaking magic in my guitar. I originally had the gold Lace and it doesn't even compare.
Anyway, I don't want to advocate too much for the Lace because they are an acquired taste. There are so many options out there for traditional pickups it's mind boggling.
I'm going to be the lame person that says it sort of depends on your preferences and the particular guitar and the amp(s) you're going to use. I have Fralins, Van Zandts, Fender Custom Shop, G&L, EMGs, Duncans, etc. I like them all in the right application, but I have tried the same pickups in different guitars and liked them in one and not quite as much in another. While they weren't totally different sounding, there were differences.
If you want a dedicated twinkly machine, I'd probably look at something more vintage. Beyond that, do you want something lower output or something higher output that's going to push the front of your amp? I find I prefer different style pickups into a vintage Marshall JMP 50 than I do into a Mesa Tremoverb or MkV.
KINMAN Woodstock plus based on the 1969's and silent.
Mich P.
Quote from: trailer on April 09, 2018, 06:12:44 PM
I'm fairly new here and do not know this Timbo. Hey Timbo, I need some assistance!
He's a member here and he makes great pickups:
http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=26527.0 (http://www.madbeanpedals.com/forum/index.php?topic=26527.0)
I agree with madbean about the red/silver lace combo. Sounds really good. I love those two pickups, just not the blue.
But it's true that pickup choice depends radically based on the particular situation. My strat sounds better with brighter pickups than most others. And I like bright sounds. And I use bright amps (deluxe reverb, homemade matchless style 15W). So I use bright pickups. It works for me.
In the end, I think we make too much of pickup choice. They make a difference, but it's not huge. If you're looking to change your sound, pickups are probably toward the end of the list of things you would look to change. Effects, speakers, cabinet, amp circuit, guitar choice, playing technique all make so much more of a difference. Pickups are somewhere around pick brand and tube rolling in terms of magnitude of importance.
It reminds me of a Kevin Shields interview I read years ago. He said something along the lines of: "Yeah, I got all obsessive about pickups for a while and tried everything, but in the end I just went back to the original stock units." There are better places to focus your time, money and attention. If I could go back in time, I'd probably save the $150 and use it something else.
Quote from: ahiddentableau on April 10, 2018, 02:18:16 PM
I agree with madbean about the red/silver lace combo. Sounds really good. I love those two pickups, just not the blue.
But it's true that pickup choice depends radically based on the particular situation. My strat sounds better with brighter pickups than most others. And I like bright sounds. And I use bright amps (deluxe reverb, homemade matchless style 15W). So I use bright pickups. It works for me.
In the end, I think we make too much of pickup choice. They make a difference, but it's not huge. If you're looking to change your sound, pickups are probably toward the end of the list of things you would look to change. Effects, speakers, cabinet, amp circuit, guitar choice, playing technique all make so much more of a difference. Pickups are somewhere around pick brand and tube rolling in terms of magnitude of importance.
It reminds me of a Kevin Shields interview I read years ago. He said something along the lines of: "Yeah, I got all obsessive about pickups for a while and tried everything, but in the end I just went back to the original stock units." There are better places to focus your time, money and attention. If I could go back in time, I'd probably save the $150 and use it something else.
Yeah, but mine are covered in rust and oxidation, haha.
Lol, yeah, rust and oxidation probably goes beyond the 'relic' look. Of course I'm not saying don't replace your pickups. I'm saying I don't think it's worth getting bent out of shape over it, or obsessing over it, or, most especially, spending a ton of $$$ on it. Just my 2 bits.
At the risk of thread-jacking, has anyone tried the Dimarzio Area Tele pickups? I'm sold on their ability to do vintage sounds despite their shreddy reputation; I have the 36th Anniversary PAFs in my 335-type guitar, and I love them. So I'd definitely consider it...
Here's a non-conventional choice for you. I recently modded a MIM strat body to accommodate a pickguard loaded with full size Burns Brian May Trisonics. They are fanstastic pickups and sound hotter with a mid-range bite (like p-90s) as compared to normal strat pickups. Yet, in the neck-middle and middle-bridge switch positions, they retain the clarity and bell-like sound you'd expect from a strat, except with a little more beef.
I should note that the pickup is constructed like a p-90, except that is has no metal pole pieces (the holes in the pickup cover are just for show). Also, if you decide to go for these, you can get them in slightly smaller size so you don't have to do any modifications to the pickup routs. I have to enlarge mine slightly to fit the full size Trisonics.
(http://www.tdpri.com/attachments/img_3336-jpg.494266/)
I gotta plug Nordstrand pickups here. Disclaimer, I am friend... but I attribute that to the reason I discovered these pickups, not why I love them. Yeah they are expensive, but hands down the best pickups I've ever played. Vintage vibe with enough output and plays well with everything.
I have their strat NVS alnico 3 pickups 2 of my strats.
Quote from: sjaustin on April 11, 2018, 12:17:57 PM
At the risk of thread-jacking, has anyone tried the Dimarzio Area Tele pickups? I'm sold on their ability to do vintage sounds despite their shreddy reputation; I have the 36th Anniversary PAFs in my 335-type guitar, and I love them. So I'd definitely consider it...
I have, because of my experience with the Strat pickups. They sounded great to my ears. Still sounded like a tele, but without the hum. One thing I liked about my set is that the bridge pickup which, in most teles I've played/heard sounds shrill/bright/harsh, sounds smoother and a little more pleasant to my ears. I've don't mind bright pickups, but I don't like harsh. The Area tele pickups sounded great to me. I've owned and tried about 4 different tele noiseless combos, and these Areas were the ones I settled on.
Jacob
I use the Lace Sensor "Rainbow" pack, purple-silver rw & green...nice strat-ish tones AND can jump to Van halen. The middle middle/neck neck is really good
Quote from: Ralfg on April 11, 2018, 03:46:30 PM
I gotta plug Nordstrand pickups here. Disclaimer, I am friend... but I attribute that to the reason I discovered these pickups, not why I love them. Yeah they are expensive, but hands down the best pickups I've ever played. Vintage vibe with enough output and plays well with everything.
I have their strat NVS alnico 3 pickups 2 of my strats.
I got a friend down in boca that knows him too, swears by them.
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I got the DiMarzio Areas 67, 58 because they sounded strat, humless, and affordable
A nice departure from the vintage norm is a pair of regular Seymour Duncans in the neck and middle and a quarter pounder in the bridge. That pickup is just a thug wide open but retains the single coil sound with a bunch more beef and gives you a nice bit of range on the volume control.
Quote from: madbean on April 09, 2018, 06:29:01 PM
I've got two Strats, one with Fralin Vintage Hot and the other with Lace Sensor B/S/R. Like you'd expect, the Fralin's are pretty vintage sounding. The Lace are all around great, not too vintage sounding, but well balanced for lots of styles of music. If I only could have one I'd actually go with the Lace Sensor...but that's also because I've been playing that set for a couple of decades and I am really used to the sound. I'd like to try the Texas Specials someday, too.
Whatever the case, I put in a toggle switch on all my Strats to put the neck and bridge in parallel for psuedo-Tele sounds. Can't live without it.
Hi Brian, how do you wire that? Is it similar to the Gilmour signature strat?
My favourite strat pickups are the ones forum member Timbo wound for me for my 60s anniversary Am. Std. strat. I described the sounds I wanted from the pickups and their combinations and he wound me a set that did exactly that. Drop him a line :)
One of my other strats has Fralins, also very very happy with those as well.
PS: new 6-way strat pup selector switch for tele sounds!
https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/27178-mod-garage-breakthrough-electroswitchs-new-6-way-strat-switch?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PGN%20-%20042818&utm_term=PG%20Weekly (https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/27178-mod-garage-breakthrough-electroswitchs-new-6-way-strat-switch?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PGN%20-%20042818&utm_term=PG%20Weekly)