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Post by mrholmes on Jun 6, 2015 11:05:27 GMT -6
I feel like a real morron.....  25 long years I played with the stock pick ups in my Stratocaster. 12 years long I was about to replace those by Texas Specials but I always thought that the diffrence would not be worth the money. In the last two weeks one after the next PU died and I replaced them with Texas Specials. I just say one word WOW...... well done Fender..... The Strat sings and interacts with the amp like never before, there are many many diffrent tone colors depending on the choosed PU, and the way you pick the strings..... I never had this range with the old Stock PU - which claimed to be something like 1954 build. But hej learning never stops. I thought the main part would be the wood, and the construction?  SIGH...... |
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Post by NoFilterChuck on Jun 6, 2015 11:23:32 GMT -6
I know there are hundreds of arguments out there about how the wood doesn't affect the sound being picked up by the pickups, since they're just detecting the magnetic field disturbance caused by the strings, and hundreds of other arguments going the other way. I'd probably stick in the middle and say the wood affects how the strings vibrate by absorbing or dampening their ability to vibrate, and that's what you're hearing when you say the wood or construction affects the tone. but I don't play guitar, so what do I know. If a guitar has no strings on it, then the pickups won't pick up anything if you hit the body, right?
(obviously this is only for solid body guitars like strats and les pauls. not for instruments that have hollow chambers in them, like acoustic guitars)
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Post by tonycamphd on Jun 6, 2015 11:58:14 GMT -6
I know there are hundreds of arguments out there about how the wood doesn't affect the sound being picked up by the pickups, since they're just detecting the magnetic field disturbance caused by the strings, and hundreds of other arguments going the other way. I'd probably stick in the middle and say the wood affects how the strings vibrate by absorbing or dampening their ability to vibrate, and that's what you're hearing when you say the wood or construction affects the tone. but I don't play guitar, so what do I know. If a guitar has no strings on it, then the pickups won't pick up anything if you hit the body, right? (obviously this is only for solid body guitars like strats and les pauls. not for instruments that have hollow chambers in them, like acoustic guitars) Hundreds of stupid arguments....? 2 absolutes in electric guitars(any guitar!), wood and weight matter big time, so do pickups(dat's tree 8/ Anyone claiming different is not a real guitar player, and probably has an anomalous placement of their lips where their butthole should be? lol I'm justin kiddin...... kinda 8) |
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Post by kcatthedog on Jun 6, 2015 13:07:48 GMT -6
well remember that back in the day the tolerances at the original fender factory were very human, so SRV's stock strat pickups are probably now considered over wound as are the the TS; more signal off the string picking up the different tones form the 3-5 strat positions and it just gets increased in the amp.
I got some TS used and am also very impressed!
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Post by mrholmes on Jun 6, 2015 13:46:05 GMT -6
My expectation was that it makes little, to no diffrence but its like night and day.
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Post by Ward on Jun 11, 2015 9:57:30 GMT -6
I have Strat Texas specials in 3 of my Teles in front and middle positions. One has the bridge tele Texas SPecial pup also. GREAT pickups!!
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Post by jimwilliams on Jun 12, 2015 9:47:57 GMT -6
Maybe I'm an odd duck, but I don't like any of the overwound Fender pickups. That reduces the pickup's bandwidth and places the resonant peak further down into the midrange where it can sound ice-picky.
I prefer vintage wound pickups with the full, bell-like tone Fender became famous for. Output levels are not important here, all my guitars are active and can do line level, if needed.
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Post by Ward on Jun 12, 2015 11:44:14 GMT -6
You might like the Duncan Vintage Broadcaster pickup that Fender puts in the custom shop Esquires. I have two of these hand-made beauties and the pickups are divine!
P.S. Some Custom Shop Esquires had the 'Twisted Tele' pickup.
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Post by svart on Jun 12, 2015 12:49:54 GMT -6
Interesting. I was just looking at getting some tex-mex pups for the studio MIM strat.
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Post by mrholmes on Jun 13, 2015 8:41:18 GMT -6
Maybe I'm an odd duck, but I don't like any of the overwound Fender pickups. That reduces the pickup's bandwidth and places the resonant peak further down into the midrange where it can sound ice-picky. I prefer vintage wound pickups with the full, bell-like tone Fender became famous for. Output levels are not important here, all my guitars are active and can do line level, if needed. People who like the TEX-S are in good company with SRV and with Knopfler.... and many others. Maybe just your taste is different. |
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Post by jimwilliams on Jun 13, 2015 9:49:57 GMT -6
Texas special pickups were not used in SRV or Knopfler's guitars. Those came out just a few years ago. They used stock Fender pickups as did Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Frank Zappa, David Gilmore, etc. I did build a Strat for Frank Zappa that had Bartolini 'strat' pickups but he didn't like it, he said it was "too clean".
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Post by mrholmes on Jun 13, 2015 10:51:20 GMT -6
Texas special pickups were not used in SRV or Knopfler's guitars. Those came out just a few years ago. They used stock Fender pickups as did Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Frank Zappa, David Gilmore, etc. I did build a Strat for Frank Zappa that had Bartolini 'strat' pickups but he didn't like it, he said it was "too clean". In this case Fender must have been stupid when doing the SRV Signature Strat? And my ears as a player tell me the same story…. |
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Post by jimwilliams on Jun 13, 2015 12:02:50 GMT -6
Fender will always re-invent any wheel that might sell. How many versions of strats do they make now? Similar yes, but not all the same. Original vintage wound strat pickups are heard on all those classic records, not modern overwound versions made in their "custom shop". One can measure and determine whether their Fender pickups are overwound, or not. Use a DVM on the ohms scale and vintage wound versions are between 5.5 and 6.5K ohms. Those offer a 8~10k hz frequency response.
I had some custom strat pickups wound by Seymour Duncan back in 1979 with a 2k ohms wind. That was before he started manufacturing pickups. They reside on my custom built birdseye maple 12 string Telecaster. Those have a 32k hz response,an electric-acoustic sound that is unique. Seymour also wound my P-bass pickups with a 1k wind per coil instead of the stock 6k ohms per coil, those also do 32k hz. He balked at those winding requests, but once I explained what I was after he wound them to my specs.
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Post by mrholmes on Jun 13, 2015 12:20:16 GMT -6
One can measure and determine whether their Fender pickups are overwound, or not. Use a DVM on the ohms scale and vintage wound versions are between 5.5 and 6.5K ohms. Specs Texas Special… and BTW Knopfler choosed them for his Signature Guitar as well… DC Resistance Neck: 6.2k ohms Middle: 6.5k ohms Bridge: 6.7k ohms Inductance Neck: 2.4 henries Middle: 2.6 henries Bridge: 3.58 henries |
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Post by Randge on Jun 15, 2015 10:44:53 GMT -6
You might like the Duncan Vintage Broadcaster pickup that Fender puts in the custom shop Esquires. I have two of these hand-made beauties and the pickups are divine! P.S. Some Custom Shop Esquires had the 'Twisted Tele' pickup. The Antiquity series are really great! |
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Post by stratboy on Jun 16, 2015 5:30:20 GMT -6
Is anybody here a fan of the great Bill Lawrence? I have his pickups in one of my Strats - yummy!
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Post by donr on Jun 16, 2015 21:47:55 GMT -6
Is anybody here a fan of the great Bill Lawrence? I have his pickups in one of my Strats - yummy! I am. I met Bill Lawrence in Nashville in the '80's. I used his blade humbucker pickups in my original white SG for years. They were still in it when I lost the guitar on the road in the 90's. When I'd go to NAMM in Anaheim, I'd always stop by and say hi to him and his daughter, who worked the booth with him. Those were the original 500XL blades, rectangular one piece hum buckers, not the newer ones with exposed discrete coil bobbins. |
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