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Post by jeremygillespie on Feb 12, 2022 13:09:34 GMT -6
Okay - hit me with what you guys like. I’ve had a Strat body laying around forever. I used the neck for a coodercaster build that I did a few years ago and I do love the way that neck feels on that guitar so I’m going to leave it. Gonna order up a new neck from fender and some new pickups but there are so many damn options out there. What do we all like?
Looking for early to mid 60’s thing. Probably flat pole pieces.
Go!
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Post by dmo on Feb 12, 2022 14:06:16 GMT -6
I'm very happy with my Suhr Classic (SSS) - it's got V70s and has great tone without the noise. John also makes a V60 and V60LP that may be better if looking for earlier style tone. I know there are multiple other options and first to admit I rarely swap out pick-ups so limited first hand experience other than I waited a while to get a Suhr because I couldn't find any current strats that I really enjoyed. I also have an older Tom Anderson drop top HSS configuration and although it's a very comfortable neck I'm not as impressed with the single coils in it.
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Post by srb on Feb 12, 2022 17:03:23 GMT -6
If you're looking for good "quack" in 2 and 4, the Custom Shop '69 set is the best I've heard.
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Post by nick8801 on Feb 13, 2022 8:01:43 GMT -6
If you're looking for good "quack" in 2 and 4, the Custom Shop '69 set is the best I've heard. Agree with that 100%…the bridge pickup in that set can get pretty bright, but I like that thing. But if you want an almost exaggerated strat sound, the 69’s in neck and middle are incredible. I have some hand wound fat 50’s in mine and I love those too. You can go crazy with all the options out there, but I think fender make some really great pickups. |
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Post by svart on Feb 14, 2022 15:32:55 GMT -6
Custom shop 54's in mine. Sounds like a strat.
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Post by wiz on Feb 14, 2022 18:58:29 GMT -6
I have gold lace sensors in one Strat, and hand wound fat 50s in the other...
Pickup height matters a great deal on the fat 50s, I found down close to the pick guard worked best for me on those...
cheers
Wiz
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Post by hadaja on Feb 14, 2022 22:55:50 GMT -6
This might sound a bit far out there, but i have an older friend who has worled for Fender, gibson for like 30 x years. He has an original 50’s strat, and original 61 strat and a few early basses.
He started making his own guitars a few years and now done over 150 of them now. He models his pickups off the original strats he owns. I got him to custom make me 2 x hand marvin style strats with his own pickups. He use original alnico magnets and the original gauge wire. Now imade a slight modification to my 2 x strats in the pots to change the impedence value just a bit too change the tone just ever so slightly.
There are some good pickup makers in australia. David Orpheus, Mick Brieley, and even DRW and Dave Leddin make some very good authentic vintAge strat pickups.
It all depends what sound you are going after, but you might need to play a few different models of Strats to pin point what sound you like.
Cheers
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Post by askomiko on Feb 16, 2022 9:10:23 GMT -6
I had Lace sensors way back, the guitar improved a lot when changing them into Kinmans. I don't like noise, and most noiseless pickups are dull, but Kinmans sound good while being noiseless. Another option for noiseless is to have all the pickups wound in the same direction, and install a Suhr/Ilyitch or whatever is is, that noise canceling thing. Basically all normal pickups are reverse wound/reverse polarity for the middle pickup, so you get noiseless 2/4 positions, but then it doesn't work with that Ilyitch back plate thing.
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Post by srb on Feb 16, 2022 10:48:14 GMT -6
Had two Strat Pluses over the years, and never really took to the Lace Sensors. Seemed flat...one dimensional.
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Post by wiz on Feb 16, 2022 18:44:16 GMT -6
Had two Strat Pluses over the years, and never really took to the Lace Sensors. Seemed flat...one dimensional. I have been playing mine since 89 when I bought it new…..I have kinda grown up as a player with it. It’s done thousands of gigs,,,,still on original frets…..I play it into a fender Princeton and have always gotten a great clean sound out of it…..it’s pretty much in showroom condition…. I do know what you mean they don’t sound a lot like other strat pickups Geeze I been playing it for 35 years…!….you would think I would be better lol |
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Post by srb on Feb 16, 2022 20:13:29 GMT -6
Had two Strat Pluses over the years, and never really took to the Lace Sensors. Seemed flat...one dimensional. I have been playing mine since 89 when I bought it new…..I have kinda grown up as a player with it. It’s done thousands of gigs,,,,still on original frets…..I play it into a fender Princeton and have always gotten a great clean sound out of it…..it’s pretty much in showroom condition…. I do know what you mean they don’t sound a lot like other strat pickups Geeze I been playing it for 35 years…!….you would think I would be better lol Got my first one around '85, I think. Christmas gift from the (now ex-) wife. First Strat I ever owned. It played well. And I played it a lot. I've become more of a 'traditionalist' over time with guitars (especially Strats), amps, approach, et cetera. Second one was a pawn shop prize in the early 90's. Traded it for a '75 Jazz bass. It's long gone, too.  I'm with you on the "getting better" thing. I have, I think (I've been keeping good company), but I see some folks play, and I'm like, I just need to quit! |
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Post by nick8801 on Feb 17, 2022 10:49:05 GMT -6
The Dimarzio noiseless pickups are really fantastic as well.
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Post by robschnapf on Feb 18, 2022 13:03:08 GMT -6
Zhangbucker, Don Mare, Cavalier, Fralin
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Post by geoff738 on Feb 18, 2022 22:32:10 GMT -6
Zhangbucker, Don Mare, Cavalier, Fralin Yeah the Zhangbuckers fly under the radar. I don’t have a Strat set, but have a pair in a Tele. The neck humbucker is unreal. I do have a Don Mare set in a Strat. They’re good, maybe a bit bright and snappy in that guitar. His website is horrible. Cheers, Geoff |
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Post by robschnapf on Feb 18, 2022 23:06:11 GMT -6
Zhangbucker, Don Mare, Cavalier, Fralin Yeah the Zhangbuckers fly under the radar. I don’t have a Strat set, but have a pair in a Tele. The neck humbucker is unreal. I do have a Don Mare set in a Strat. They’re good, maybe a bit bright and snappy in that guitar. His website is horrible. Cheers, Geoff hes better at winding then website building |
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Post by geoff738 on Feb 18, 2022 23:14:18 GMT -6
Yeah the Zhangbuckers fly under the radar. I don’t have a Strat set, but have a pair in a Tele. The neck humbucker is unreal. I do have a Don Mare set in a Strat. They’re good, maybe a bit bright and snappy in that guitar. His website is horrible. Cheers, Geoff hes better at winding then website building Lordy yes. Just realized the guitar in my avatar photo has the Zhangbuckers. Cheers, Geoff |
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Post by robschnapf on Feb 19, 2022 8:48:38 GMT -6
Nice, I have a few Zhangbucker tarpapers in a couple of guitars and a fantastic underwound neck humbucker.
Matches real nicely with a tele bridge.
I put a set of BigBirds in a Heritage hollow body and they sound really cool as well.
Firebird ish.
Zhangbucker makes cool shit.
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Post by thehightenor on Feb 19, 2022 12:50:30 GMT -6
Nothing too hot - nothing too modern - it's a strat!
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Post by geoff738 on Feb 20, 2022 23:06:45 GMT -6
Nice, I have a few Zhangbucker tarpapers in a couple of guitars and a fantastic underwound neck humbucker. Matches real nicely with a tele bridge. I put a set of BigBirds in a Heritage hollow body and they sound really cool as well. Firebird ish. Zhangbucker makes cool shit. My Zhangbucker humbucker is a pure hand wound. It’s in a Tele and indeed pairs nicely with the bridge. I don’t know how much difference the pure hand wound makes, but Holey moley it’s a great pickup. Cheers, Geoff |
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Post by Ward on Feb 25, 2022 11:44:33 GMT -6
I have rhe Fender N4 noiseless pickups in a couple of Teles and a Strat. Absolutely awesome.
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Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 28, 2022 1:04:39 GMT -6
Lollar makes a great Strat set. Also another vote got Suhr.
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Post by mattbroiler on Mar 3, 2022 20:01:32 GMT -6
I still go for Seymour Duncan for strat and other pickups probably because I always have
still have my early 80s SD strat single coils going strong
and more recently I put some YJM stack humbuckers in a more modern MIM strat - excellent playing sensitivity with those pickups
the Fender noiseless HSS set are also quite excellent I threw those into a Warmoth 7/8 strat build when I got the YJMs
so many good choices these days but it still can be hard to figure what things might sound like before making a purchase
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Post by askomiko on Mar 16, 2022 12:12:51 GMT -6
Just updated a mexican strat with Callaham bridge and Kinman pickups last week. (and jumbo frets). Yea! Big upgrade in tone.
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Post by ragan on Mar 16, 2022 12:34:49 GMT -6
I’ve got an older (‘82) Strat that I got all jazzed up about putting SD Antiquity something or others in. After years of fighting with those SDs, I finally swapped the original pickups back in and man did it sound way better. I can’t remember what my complaint about the original pickups was.
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Post by jeremygillespie on Mar 16, 2022 15:06:30 GMT -6
I’ve got an older (‘82) Strat that I got all jazzed up about putting SD Antiquity something or others in. After years of fighting with those SDs, I finally swapped the original pickups back in and man did it sound way better. I can’t remember what my complaint about the original pickups was. Before I chopped it up and made it into a Coodercaster, I had SD Antiquity Texas Hot pickups in another Strat. I just never got on with the sound and I’m no SRV so I never gelled with the guitar. Probably why I did the Cooder thing with it in the first place. Definitely looking for some slightly under wound clear tone from what I get. I’m a little slammed so I’ve not been able to move on anything yet. Soon! |
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