Your Strat pickup opinions ..

[ab3640au]

I guess this is a bit off-topic, however I guess this is what being "by the BBQ" is all about. I've got my first 18watter "buyer" (kinda) - we're doing a deal - I get a custom built strat (and this guy is GOOD - no hack!) and he gets a TMB. His stepson (a good player and very fussy about his equipment) played my 18watter on the weekend and ordered one afterwards (this is my number two buyer!) - absolutely LOVED the tone and trem (best he's ever heard). All he wants me to do is add Jason's PI mod (to give a little more headroom at 5-6 volume). Anyway .. now I'm trying to figure what pickups to put in my new strat (I can have whatever I like - as well as woods and all fittings). His stepson was playing through his custom strat - alder one piece body, quilted maple neck with Dimarzio Blue Velvet in neck/middle positions and Dimarzio Red Velvet in the bridge. Sounded GREAT - very 50's/60's classic with lots of quack. The only thing was the bridge pup was a bit ear piercing. I liked them but I'm kinda curious about Fralin 54's - they sound pretty awesome .. but more importantly .. I'm sure many of you guys have strats (haven't we all got at least one!). Tell me about your favourite pups and why they are so GREAT. Again .. tone is so subjective, I'm after more of a classic strat tone, with maybe a little more sizzle (but not too much). What do you recommend?

Barry M

[servant]

Hi Barry,

I've got a '96 Tex-Mex Strat which supposedly has hotter-than-normal pickups. I am not saying this to recommend my pups (I'm sure there are much better available) but to answer your "I'm sure you've got a Strat" comment!

While I have never heard them, I have heard great things about some Aussie pickups from a guy named Kinman. Do you know these? They've got various models so there might be some to meet your needs and wishes. They might also be more cost-effective to you vs. U.S. imports but I don't know that for sure. Check them out.

Dean

[ampkits]

Hi Barry,

I use Fralin 54 Blues Specials (I think that;s what the model is, I got em in '99, so...)

They're real good, I must say. I miss 'em immediately when I play a Strat with stock pickups (incl American Standards).

The only thing about em is that I think they're pretty low output. If I recall, it is after these that they come with the Hots.


Thanks!

Nik

[ab3640au]

Dean .. Funny you mention the Kinmans .. my existing strat has a set of Kinman Woodstocks. It has a custom USA alder body and 80's Fender (Japan) maple neck with rosewood board. I'm very happy with this guitar, but want to do something different in this new strat. Before the Kinman's, I had a set of Seymour Duncan Alnico Pro II's, which were also excellent - kinda smooth, sweet & rounded. But there are so many pups out there and I don't want to limit my choice to what I know.

Nik .. If you've got Fralin 54's, then there the one's I'm interested in. They're supposed to have Alnico III magnets (I've heard of Alnico II & V, but not III before!) and are slightly hotter than "stock" type pups.

But having said all that .. there's so much more out there. As I said previously, the Dimarzio Blue Velvets sounded real nice in the neck/middle, but the bridge pup is always the difficult one to get right with strats.

Thanks for your feedback (so far), guys ..

Barry M

[Plexi]

My older Am Standard has stock pickups,i think there is a difference in some of the early ones to the later than 99 models. Mines a late 80s.
Everyone who plays it thinks they are some special pickup. And i never changed them. But i got it used,so they could have been changed,but i doubt they were. I Had one strat i built that had Dimarzio 2 HS-2 neck and middle and HS-3 in the bridge. And i've loaded alot of gutar pickups in peoples guitar. I did like the Rio Grande and Texas Specials. I've only heard a couple strats that had the Fralins..And they were also very nice.
Alot to choose from. I liked the Rio Grandes probably the best for me,but everyone likes different things.

Richie

[ampkits]

Hi,

True that Richie.

I got '96 Am Std, and used to have a '92 or '93. Pretty different pickups.

I also played a newer (2000 or 2001) Strat. Got real smooth sound..I kinda liked it, but thought it did lack something. It's too refined, for lack of better words.

I think 70s Strat pickups also sound great. I have been keeping tabs on prices of these since 99...man they do go up much now...but deals still can be found I think.

Nik

[toyota_tim]

The only thing was the bridge pup was a bit ear piercing.

That is why all my strats have a humbucker at the bridge. My main strat has TXspecials and a pearly gates+.

[Bloozcat]

Barry,

I think a good starting point would be to try to define what sound you're looking to get from your new Strat. Not only will this influence your choice of pickups, but also your choice of body wood and body weight, neck thickness and fingerboard wood (and even the neck wood itself, since it's a custom guitar), and such things as bridge style and type. If you choose the non-noisless type pickups, I'd definitely speak to your guitar builder about shielding the guitar against the dreaded 60 cycle hum. If he's a custom Strat guitar builder, he'll be well aware of shielding techniques.

Here's a good link for information on custom Strat type guitars. There's a forum on this site where the DIY'ers hang out. Like here, you'll find lots of great information.

http://www.usacustomguitars.com/usacg/

Here's a link to a guy who winds top quality pickups at very reasonable prices:

http://vintagevibeguitars.com/pickups.htm

Cheers

[kinmike]

I've got Fralin's and Van Zandt's. Haven't made a direct comparison yet due to one strat being maple neck with blocked trem and one with rosewood with floating trem. I'd need to switch the guts someday for comparison. However, I can say that I like the Van Zandt's the best in the floater. It sounds exactly like the strat in Sweet Home Alabama. The Van Zandt's are also cheaper. I've installed Fralin's baseplate on both.

Mike

[AlNico]

Why not visit the pickup maker's forum at
www.firebottle.com/fireforum/fireBB.cgi?...

this will give you a better idea about pickups. There are guys there who can hand-wind a Strat set taylor made for your requirements including things like a Strat bridge single coil at 10 KOhms D.C. resistance which will be easily comparable to a humbucker in power but without the tinny top end. It will however still retain the Strat tone even in position 2.

[noodle_world]

the seymore duncan antiquities are very nice. kent armstrong also makes nice pickups.

[ab3640au]

Thanks muchly guys .. lots to think about there. I'm pretty clear about the type of sound I want .. in fact, Mike's description of his Van Zandts sounding EXACTLY like "Sweet Home Alabama", pretty much nails the tone that I'm after. I'd probably consider their Vintage plus model in neck/middle and Blues model in the neck.
I'll also take on board the comment about shielding; in fact I did this previously on my current strat when it had single coils (Duncans) in it. Also installed a star ground. The change DID make a big difference in reducing noise. I've got plenty of time yet to look at this so I'll take all your ideas on board and keep researching ..

Many Thanks

Barry M

[ColinM]

Barry
Its Kinmans (Kinmen?) all the way for me, and if you can't afford them, Bill Lawrence 280's. Seymour D makes a good range of p'ups, but from my own experience, I have reason to question the build quality/reliability of his units.
Kent Armstrong is always worth a look. Good prices, too .
Our Stateside cousins are always gushing about Fralin and Van Zandt pickups, but to my knowledge, the've not appeared over here yet, What ever happened to Mighty Mite? I had a good one once upon a time...
Di Marzio, in my experience, had a tendency to sacrifice tone for sheer output. Is that still the case? We don't see so many of these units in the UK these days.
Don't forget Fender - I really like their Texas Specials and Noiseless models. Don Lace's stuff may be an acquired taste, but one of the 'quackiest' strats I ever had was fitted with his pickups - sorry, sensors .

Best wishes, Colin

[javacody]

As a big Jimi afficianado, I had to have the Fender Custom Shop 69's. They nail Jimi, David Gilmour, and SRV pretty well.

I built a USA Custom Guitars Strat with these pickups, a Callaham bridge, Earvana compensated nut, and Sperzel locking tuners. It's an amazing guitar!