This post is a question and observation about these two pickups.
Wanting to put the last missing piece of the puzzle in my project Strat I did the search for that "Desert Island" pickup that has the best of all worlds for vintage Strat tone. Authentic chime, tight focused warm low end, shimmering highs with a touch of air/glass but smooth at the top end of the spectrum, and enough mids to round out the picture.
I have not actually heard or played either but after reading several reviews, talking to people who have played both, and searching archival material, the two pickups that stood out after the dust settled are the Duncan "Surfers" and the Fralin "Blues Specials."
In researching the specs it seems they are both very close and, at least on paper, should sound very similar. First, they are both excellent pickups with craftsmanship assembly. They both have A5 magnets, they both use 42 SPN wire as far as I know. The Ohm readings on the neck & middle (rw/rp) are 6.2 on the Fralins, 7.2 on the bridge. For the Duncans its 6.3 on neck & middle (rw/rp), 9.7 on the custom bridge.
I found it interesting that the Duncans named "Surfers" should in theory actually sound a little more "bluesy" based on specs than the Fralins which have the "Blues" designation. Anyway, that's marketing stuff and they need to label product with some name. Another forum poster thought the "Surfers" should just be called "Masterwounds." Can't argue with that.
I know a lot of posters here use the "Texas Hots", or a least a combination of the two, but I'm a serious chime guy and have found its a little easier to use the tone control on a pickup that leans slightly to the bright side to fatten it up rather than dialing in shimmer on a pickup that is inherently darker. All things being relative, I've gotten some great tone and punch on a Fender CS69 bridge pickup which only specs out around 5.9K, so a "Surfer" custom bridge at 9.7 should be the bomb!
I found a post here from 2006 that asked if anyone had compared these two pickups but the answer was no. Maybe I've missed a thread that has the comparison since then but if not, has anyone compared the two and your thoughts?
Thanks!
Wanting to put the last missing piece of the puzzle in my project Strat I did the search for that "Desert Island" pickup that has the best of all worlds for vintage Strat tone. Authentic chime, tight focused warm low end, shimmering highs with a touch of air/glass but smooth at the top end of the spectrum, and enough mids to round out the picture.
I have not actually heard or played either but after reading several reviews, talking to people who have played both, and searching archival material, the two pickups that stood out after the dust settled are the Duncan "Surfers" and the Fralin "Blues Specials."
In researching the specs it seems they are both very close and, at least on paper, should sound very similar. First, they are both excellent pickups with craftsmanship assembly. They both have A5 magnets, they both use 42 SPN wire as far as I know. The Ohm readings on the neck & middle (rw/rp) are 6.2 on the Fralins, 7.2 on the bridge. For the Duncans its 6.3 on neck & middle (rw/rp), 9.7 on the custom bridge.
I found it interesting that the Duncans named "Surfers" should in theory actually sound a little more "bluesy" based on specs than the Fralins which have the "Blues" designation. Anyway, that's marketing stuff and they need to label product with some name. Another forum poster thought the "Surfers" should just be called "Masterwounds." Can't argue with that.
I know a lot of posters here use the "Texas Hots", or a least a combination of the two, but I'm a serious chime guy and have found its a little easier to use the tone control on a pickup that leans slightly to the bright side to fatten it up rather than dialing in shimmer on a pickup that is inherently darker. All things being relative, I've gotten some great tone and punch on a Fender CS69 bridge pickup which only specs out around 5.9K, so a "Surfer" custom bridge at 9.7 should be the bomb!
I found a post here from 2006 that asked if anyone had compared these two pickups but the answer was no. Maybe I've missed a thread that has the comparison since then but if not, has anyone compared the two and your thoughts?
Thanks!
