OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

[UberMetalDood]

I played a Nash strat with Lollar pickups recently and fell in love with their lush 3D sound. Since then, I have done some comparisons. Surprisingly, Texas Specials hold their own very well against expensive boutique brands. The Texas Specials have a nice quack and a little of the 3D thing, but they seem to get a little harsher with more gain. I will be using these pickups with a fair amount of gain because I'm kind of a Satch meets Maiden guy so the pickups will have to hold up well. I'm going true single coil though. Kinmans and all those are great, but they just don't have the same 3D chime and bell-like lows that real single coils do.

I haven't had great success with Duncan single-coils either. They do sound great, but I don't get that authentic vintage 3D vibe that I get with the Lollars or Custom Shop Texas Specials. Then again, I'm not much on single-coils so maybe I missed something in the Duncan line.

Anyway, thus far the Lollars are about the best I've played, but there aren't any Bareknuckles, Suhr, or other boutique stuff around. I want something sweet and 3D with nice mids like the Lollars, but hotter. What would you guys recommend?

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

I recommend the Dallens. I really think you'll either love the Dovers(Eric Johnson) or Echoes(David Gilmour) sets.

[UberMetalDood]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

I recommend the Dallens. I really think you'll either love the Dovers(Eric Johnson) or Echoes(David Gilmour) sets.

I looked at those but the Gilmour set sounds like it will not be as hot as I'd like, and if the Dovers are anything like EJ's Fender model, they may be a bit too compressed and polite. I'm kind of basing my ideas, thus far, off of the Lollar and Texas Specials.

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

I looked at those but the Gilmour set sounds like it will not be as hot as I'd like, and if the Dovers are anything like EJ's Fender model, they may be a bit too compressed and polite. I'm kind of basing my ideas, thus far, off of the Lollar and Texas Specials.

The Echoes set's bridge is basically a scatterwound version of the ssl-5. Sure the neck and middle are similar to the 69 but that bridge might actually be TOO hot, and you can tap it. You can also look at the Austin Blues or new Texas Floods they have. Also the Fury set has an 8k bridge and 6.5k middle.

[Diminished Triad]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

Zephs...and if out of the price range then SSL-1s and/or Psychedelic/69's - or even Antiquities.
Good luck!

[synzzzer]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

I have always loved the Dimarzio Blue Velvets. I have a Strat that has one next to a Texas Special and they are very close. Unfortunately, Dimarzio doesn't make them anymore. But I hear the new True Velvets are dang close. I've picked up used Blue Velvets for as little as $25 on Ebay, so that won't hurt you too much price-wise. Either way, it's something to think about. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

[LReese]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

I'd go Antiquity and if you want noise free, get an Ilitch pick guard or the routed in system. With the routed in system, you should be able to really crank up gain without adding a lot of noise. Ilitch has told me the pickguard is just as effective.

If you want a little smoother/fatter pickup, then probably Suhr ML Classics. Or regular ML, but haven't tried those.

[Farkus]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

If you can find a set of Chubtone 63's with El Gordo bridge that would be my suggestion. They are very chimey but hold up to lots of gain very well. The only issue is that he doesn't make them anymore so you'll have to source through E-bay or buy used.

[DreX]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

I played a Nash strat with Lollar pickups recently and fell in love with their lush 3D sound. Since then, I have done some comparisons. Surprisingly, Texas Specials hold their own very well against expensive boutique brands. The Texas Specials have a nice quack and a little of the 3D thing, but they seem to get a little harsher with more gain...
Anyway, thus far the Lollars are about the best I've played, but there aren't any Bareknuckles, Suhr, or other boutique stuff around. I want something sweet and 3D with nice mids like the Lollars, but hotter. What would you guys recommend?

From the sound of it, I'm looking for the exact same thing as you. I've ordered more hot winds that I haven't yet tried, so I can better answer this question in the near future, including flat poled Irish Tours, Texas oriented D Allens, and DiMarzio True Velvets.

I understand and agree with most of your assessment aside form not knowing 100% what you mean by "3D sound", do you mean lots of upper harmonic activity, the sort that single coils have that humbuckers do not?

So far I haven't found a good pickup that does the Texas Special thing better than Texas Specials, but I'm hopeful one of my new arrivals will get closer still. To my ears, the Lollar Blackfaces and the Fralin Blues Specials are beautiful sounding pickups, but they're decidedly vintage in their voicing. They have lots of high end, but there are not as aggressive in tone as Texas Specials.

One thing I can tell you now from recent experience is that if you ordered staggered pickups from some boutique makers who offer the choice, including BNP and Lollar, they will have a lot more stagger than Texas Specials, and they will not have the same string balance, the G string will likely overpower unless you set them pretty low and leave them there.

[SixStringMamba]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

Did you consider Wilde (Bill and Becky Lawrence) pickups http://wildepickups.com? Seems like their microcoils are getting very good reviews.
I haven't tried them personally but I've got a pair of L500R/L500XL from them and they are very clean and balanced pickups.

[Orange]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

I can tell you this.
Bare Knuckle Irish Tours are the best strat pickups i have ever heard by far.
It's like hi-fi Texas Special. Vintage, gritty, versatile, balanced, fat, clear, punchy, hot, react well to volume and tone, they have it all.

For the "3D" sound i would go to lace, as their sensors give this hifi, balanced, sound.
I personally use the red/silver/burgundy because they're the best pickups i know when you use pedals, especially fuzz, chorus and overdrives.

If you're straight guitar to amp, Bare Knuckle knocks the competition out ! If you want clarity sustain and rely on pedals a lot, go Lace.

Lollars are in between to me, but do sound good from what i remember.

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

I can tell you this.
Bare Knuckle Irish Tours are the best strat pickups i have ever heard by far.
It's like hi-fi Texas Special. Vintage, gritty, versatile, balanced, fat, clear, punchy, hot, react well to volume and tone, they have it all.

For the "3D" sound i would go to lace, as their sensors give this hifi, balanced, sound.
I personally use the red/silver/burgundy because they're the best pickups i know when you use pedals, especially fuzz, chorus and overdrives.

If you're straight guitar to amp, Bare Knuckle knocks the competition out ! If you want clarity sustain and rely on pedals a lot, go Lace.

Lollars are in between to me, but do sound good from what i remember.

I switched away from lace because they DIDN'T have a 3d sound. Just sayin.

[DreX]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

I had to get new Texas Specials, the new ones are not as hot as my old ones, fewer winds on the new ones. I'm going to get flat pole Irish Tours in a few weeks. I'm happy to A B them and video the result since it's a common claim that Irish Tours are super awesome spectacular compared to Texas Specials. Given the similarity of their construction, I sense some hyperbole is at play.

[vinta9e]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

Given the similarity of their construction, I sense some hyperbole is at play.

Similar construction and specs mean next to nothing. Squiers and Custom Shop Fenders often look the same on paper but usually aren't close to being comparable. The devil is in the details. Just sayin.

[Lewguitar]

Re: OK, Decided To Go All Single Coil For New Build - Need Suggestions

Get the Lollars if the Lollars do it for you.

Your needs are so specific and so different from my own that I would recommend going with what you know works for you and your heavy style.

Me? I play through a Klon Klone most of the time these days and it lets me turn my guitar's volume control down to 5 or 6 to get clean tones.

My style is more blues, R&B and 50's/60's/70's rock based than yours and Duncan Antiquity Surfers fit my style perfectly.

I like them as well as or better than any boutique Strat pickups I've owned or worked with: D. Allen, Klein, Fralin, etc.

And I like the Surfers better than the Texas Specials...although I do like them. Always have. So does Mark Knopfler.

But I have the Surfers in one Strat and the Surfers with a Fralin SP43 in my other Strat.

Love that SP43. It's my favorite hot bridge pickup in a Strat.

My other Strat has a set of three neck model Surfers - just like a real '62 or '63 Strat would be.