Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

L

LAXMAN

New member
Used to play an LP but I picked up my strat a few years ago and I am LOVING her! She's my baby!

I really dig pickup position 4 (middle/bridge right?) and am looking for the perfect combination of S/S get the sweetest tone (bending is my forte). I'm just getting really sick of these EMG's (they feel so precise! almost too accurrate)

Since I saw SD list Alnico II magnets as the most "musical" magnets I assume that there are some pickups that are sweeter/more musical than others, despite the subjectivity of each individual player.

The five adjectives (in order of importance) to describe the sound I'm going for are: [Sweet, "Musical", Singing, Creamy, Pants] in the style of Dave Gilmour/Jimmy Herring/Slash

Anybody have any suggetions? Who else loves their strat?!

Groove On!
Steve
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

i love my strats, im using, all mini humbuckers with mine(with the exception of my full shred bridge) and i love the sound
particularly lve the quacky single coil type sound i get from the duckbucker i have, lovely pickup.
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

Naw......2's where it's at!
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

I have a set of Texas Hot Antiquity's w/ Custom/bridge of one my Strats, and with the middle s.c. being RWRP it cancels out any noise in the #2 and #4 pos. I can get some nice Gilmour-ish tones, and I'm of the opinion that the Antiquity Custom is possibly the best bridge s.c. Seymour or M.J. personally puts out (hand-wound by the masters themselves).
I use a SSL-5 in the bridge of a 60's RI model I also have, along with a SSL-1/n and APS-1 RWRP/m which gives me similar results in the 4 pos., only a little hotter.
I also use a tone-blender pot in both axes in the bottom tone-pot cavity that mixes the bridge pickup with the other pups when desired. It makes things a little more interesting for me. All master tone control is wired thru the middle pots.
Those Antiquity Texas Hot single coils might be the ticket for you. I hope others will chime in with their thoughts as well.
Good luck
...Bob
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

I'm with you, LAX. I just loves that quack! The neck position is my next favorite, but you gotta love those notches.

I have a set of Classic Stacks in my strat and I love them. They replaced a set of single coil stag mags. I loves that quack, but I doesn't love that hum.
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

Skarekrough said:
Naw......2's where it's at!
Click to expand...

Yep im with you dude!

I get the most awesome strat tone from position 2 (and thats the mix of the bridge and middle for those of you who do those positions backwards ;) ) by using a high powered single coil in the bridge and a lower powered single in the middle. So much more quack than position 4 (neck/middle).

The bridge is a dimarzio virtual vintage solo and the middle and neck are dimarzio virtual vintage blues.
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

I use the notch positions almost exclusively and if forced to say, i'll go with the blended neck and middle. My strat has aps1's in neck and mid (reverse pol) while the bridge is a coil split lil 59 and that too is very sweet, and tonally very different to the other notch (due to the 59)

I'd say, if you were to put all APS1 pups, you'd have strat quack n chime joy aplenty.
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

I Like a Texas Hot in the bridge and a Surfer in the middle for the bridge/middle tones..A surfer in the middle and bridge is the ultimate vintage strat tone if you want the "Sultans Of Swing" Tone though..

John
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

Yup . . . I could replace the 5-way on my Strat with a toggle, that just did #2 and #4, and be perfectly happy. ;)
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

I've been combining various singles and single sized humbuckers that use alnico and ceramic magnets to achieve a harmonious hybrid blend for positions 2 and 4.
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

I think alnico 5 SSL-1 or Antiquity Surfers get the classic #2 and #4 tones best.

Fender never used alnico 2 in thier Strat pickups as far as I know. A2 Strat pickups get a cool tone with smoother highs and chunkier, chewier mids than alnico 5. I guess you could call it "sweeter" cuz it's not as bright and glassy, but it's not the vintage tone you hear from Hendrix or SRV or Mark Knopfler: they used alnico 5 pickups similar to the SSL-1.

The California 50's set is a set of three, calibrated SSL-1's with a RW/RP middle. Recommended!

Lew
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

Thanks for tips, let's see if I can narrow it down a bit...

I've got a Floyd Rose Locking trem strat with S/S/S configuration.
I'm still going for the "sweet" tone, but I also forgot SD makes stacked humbuckers...

If I drop a stacked hum in the bridge, can I still get "Ultra Quack" with position 2? If so, with which pickups? Can I get "Super Sweet" AND "Ultra Quack" with a S/H in position 2??

Groove On!
Steve
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

LAXMAN said:
Thanks for tips, let's see if I can narrow it down a bit...

I've got a Floyd Rose Locking trem strat with S/S/S configuration.
I'm still going for the "sweet" tone, but I also forgot SD makes stacked humbuckers...

If I drop a stacked hum in the bridge, can I still get "Ultra Quack" with position 2? If so, with which pickups? Can I get "Super Sweet" AND "Ultra Quack" with a S/H in position 2??

Groove On!
Steve
Click to expand...

Anything else that you try to do will be a compromise unless you use true vintage style single coils...

John
 
Re: Absolute SWEETEST tone for strat position 4?

If you put a stacked hum in the bridge, make sure it's RWRP with the center single. Then split so that you only use the top coil. Then you're still humbucking in pos2, plus you get true single coil sound. I do this with my center stack and it works well.
 
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