banner

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Advice needed: Which pickups for my Strat?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Advice needed: Which pickups for my Strat?

    Hello everyone,

    I'm buying a Highway 1 Strat soon and will more than likely replace the pickups. Just for reference... Alder body, maple neck with rosewood fretboard, 6 point vintage style tremolo that I always "bottom out" so the tuning is more stable.

    Anyway, I want a humbucker in the bridge and singles in the mid and neck. The style is sort of jazzy / bluesy / rock and hardrock, quite a variety.

    For the neck and middle single coils I want something warm and clear for jazzy stuff and good bluesy solos. Preferably with the really single coil look.

    For the bridge I want something mainly for the rock / hard rock. Good cleans and push under distortion, but with output that'll work well with whatever single coils go in the neck and mid. I have a JB Jr in my Peavey "Strat" that I like but it has way too much output compared to single coils. I was thinking along the lines of the Pearly Gates or Blues Trembucker, but I'm open to and welcome other options.

    Amp is a Mesa Rectoverb so gain really isn't a problem...

    Thanks,
    Nathan
    Formerly "Raven LP"

    Mesa/Boogie Rect-O-Verb Combo
    Splawn 212 Vertical Cab with Eminence Governors
    Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue
    '95 Gibson LP Standard (Custom Shop S-Deco-5 11.5k / Jazz)
    PRS Swamp Ash Special (?? / ?? / ??)
    '04 Fender American Fat Strat (stock, for now...)

  • #2
    Re: Advice needed: Which pickups for my Strat?

    Well, I use Duncan SSl-1's in the neck and middle on my Strats, and an SSL-3 in the Bridge. This gives me a very Bluesy Guitar, with Vintage early Strat Vibe. The Antiquities are also VERY popular. Sounds like you may want something smoother in the Bridge......maybe a LiL 59 ??? I'm sure some other folks will post some advice as well. There are some Super options out there. Good Luck !!!
    Last edited by 59paul; 04-20-2004, 09:41 PM.
    Only The Strong Survive











    ________________________
    *Spina Pedal Mods Endorsee*

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Advice needed: Which pickups for my Strat?

      If it were me I'd go with one of the lower output PAF flavored pickups. I had a bit of a balance problem in my strat with a Lil Demon and Duckbuckers (and Texas Specials).

      59'
      APH II
      PG

      All will do great under high gain, and will do nicely clean and in blusey overdrive.
      My Sound Clips

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Advice needed: Which pickups for my Strat?

        CC or PG.

        CC sounds great in strats. Lots of mids with smooth highs and loose bass.

        PG is bright but articulate.
        PRS Singlecuts
        Epiphone Sheraton II
        Vintage acoustics

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Advice needed: Which pickups for my Strat?

          i think a C5 or '59 would be great in the bridge of your strat for the style that you are going for.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Advice needed: Which pickups for my Strat?

            You might wanna give that Strat its day in court before you replace the stock pups. The styles of music you describe sound like a perfect match for the stock Fender pups.

            I think the Atomic II humbucker is the same as their DH-1. It is a little bright sounding but has a nice, fat, versatile tone. And while those singles won't be noiseless, they should give a nice vintage, bluesy sound.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Advice needed: Which pickups for my Strat?

              I have been playing Fender Strats since the late 80's when I got my first real guitar and for a bridge humbucker....there is no better sounding pickup in a Fender Strat than a TB-11 Custom Custom and I have tried all these in the bridge....Dimarzio Super Distortion, Dimarzio Tone Zone, JB, Screamin Demon, Pearly Gates (not the plus), TB-5 Custom, Schaller Golden ? and a Rio Grande BBQ. The Custom Custom is at the least the holy grail of tone for me in a my strats. My musical style varies such as CCR, ZZ Top, Van Halen, AC/DC, 80's Metal, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, Skynyrd, Grunge, etc. At least in my opinion here are the best pickups I have found for strats in order.....1) Custom Custom 2) Custom 3) Schaller Golden

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Advice needed: Which pickups for my Strat?

                Texas Hots for single coils & CC for bridge gets my vote.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Advice needed: Which pickups for my Strat?

                  Thanks everyone, overwhelmed to get so many responses so quickly!

                  It seems the CC is a very popular choice. My only worry is that it will overpower the single coils (i.e. switching from single coil to bridge humbucker in mid song). But, after looking at the tone chart it doesn't seem to have THAT much output for a 14k humbucker... I may just go with the CC unless it's going to be overpowering. With my Vintage Rails and JBJr, I get a huge volume boost switching between them, and it's a little annoying. Some volume difference is expected.

                  I'm kinda undecided between the SSL-1 and Texas Hots for the singles coils, though I've heard they are fairly close in tone. I'm going to play with the stock singles at least for a while and see if they float my boat, otherwise I will just replace them.

                  Thanks again, more opinions and advice is very welcome

                  Nathan
                  Formerly "Raven LP"

                  Mesa/Boogie Rect-O-Verb Combo
                  Splawn 212 Vertical Cab with Eminence Governors
                  Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb Reissue
                  '95 Gibson LP Standard (Custom Shop S-Deco-5 11.5k / Jazz)
                  PRS Swamp Ash Special (?? / ?? / ??)
                  '04 Fender American Fat Strat (stock, for now...)

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Advice needed: Which pickups for my Strat?

                    If that humbucker in your Strat really is a DH-1 then it has a DC resistance of 16.4k. So on paper anyway, you'd actually be replacing it with a less powerful humbucker. So assuming all your pups are already somewhat "balanced" in sound I don't think you'd have to be concerned with most any SD replacement pups being "overpowering."

                    Comment

                    Working...
                    X