Best P,U, for Blues ???

Bluesman

Bluesman

New member
I have an American Fender Strat. Highway 1 with a Lil 59 on bridge and noiseless P.U. at mid and neck. I love blues and I wonder if the tex-mex or texas special
P.U's sound more bluesy. What are your suggestions? I play a Hot rod Deluxe amp. and I'm well serve with the pedals I have. I would like my guitar to sound the bluesiest it could.
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

What is wrong with your current setup? What are you not getting that you desire?
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

Right now, I think I have an average Strat. sound and when you hear Scott Henderson or Larry Mc Cray, you can hear and feel a tone that is made for blues.
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

To be honest the hotraills on my strat it some how great for the blues,I played for a fellow musician and he (and alot more people to add) closed his eyes like "wow man" than he saw it was a hotraills and was surprised a "metal" PU was good for blues.
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

Texas Specials and Fat 50s rock. I like the Texas Specials for the bite.

I also love the Dimarzio Virtual Vintage if you like noise cancelling. If you want something a little thinner, try the kinmans.
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

i really like the fat 50's fender pup, dont like the texas specials.

for blues the antiquity texas hots or surfers are great. most prefer the surfers for a classic tone but i think the texas hots are fantastic!!
id keep the lil 59 in the bridge but replace the two noiseless.
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

Jeremy, where can I see or hear the fat 50's fender P.U.? I checked on the Fender site but can't see it. Your idea pleases me.
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

Texas Hots are the ticket. A friend of mine has them in his '57 (stock pickups have broken leads) and they sound great, especially the Custom bridge unit.

If you don't want to spend a lot, get a pair of APS-1's for the neck and mid and a Twangbanger for the bridge. The APS's will be a great, warm strat sound while the TB is more of a pushed tele lead sound. They sound great with OD or clean.
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

Basically they live up to their name

FAT 50s sound fat and warm, not as much bite - hey all single coils will bite, but the TX SPECIALS will be more focused and cut thru and growl more when spanked.

I frankly like both.

MAY I ALSO RECOMMEND KINMANS. Though I am much more keen on the Dimarzio Virtual Vintage Strat models, I was verrrry impressed.

BTW most people I know will tell you the FRALINS are the best strat pickup around. WOODY is the thing I hear most often.
I will say I have a love of the ALNICO 2 strat pickups, but for blues I prefer a Raunchy bite and growl, esp when spanking the guitar.
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

For Duncans, is all about the SS......Surfers and Seths!

I also am a huge fan of Fat 50's. The neck pickup may be my favorite neck single coil. Some may think the bridge is a tad bright, like most Fender singles, but I like the Fat 50 bridge with the tone rolled back to 8, and the neck wide open. The problem with Fender pickups is that they don't jive with Duncans, phase-wise. If you keep a Duncan bridge pickup, it's best to stay with Duncan neck/middle. Surfers!!!

My very favorite single coil pickups are handwound by Mike Gray of Chubtone Custom Pickups. I came up with his #1 best selling strat set.....the El Gordo bridge w/63 neck and middle. It's kinda like a Surfer set with Surfer Custom bridge. 3 days ago, I dialed in my tele with the new Chubtone III/V set, which is like Antiquites with Alnico 3 on the wound strings and Alnico 5 on the plain strings. I cranked my tele on the Bogner plexi channel tonight, and it was ballsy twang to the bone!
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

Yeah, you would put it on our faces that you get to sample everything thru a Bogner Ecstasy. Fine then, well just for that you don't get to play thru my Crate PowerBlock - sooo ummm uhh there take that!
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

Thanks for all your answers guys. I think I'll try the Fat 50's that seems to have the tone I'm looking for. I just hope that they'll be no trouble to match with my Lil59. Is there any trouble to connect a S.D. Pickup with the fender pickup?
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

Bluesman said:
I have an American Fender Strat. Highway 1 with a Lil 59 on bridge and noiseless P.U. at mid and neck. I love blues and I wonder if the tex-mex or texas special P.U's sound more bluesy. What are your suggestions? I play a Hot rod Deluxe amp. and I'm well serve with the pedals I have. I would like my guitar to sound the bluesiest it could.
Click to expand...

Depends on guitar, amps, etc. I'd say use tone wizard and read the descriptions and recommended styles of varous pickups.
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

Hendrix and SRV played average Strats (although SRV's was more of a mutt in the end). There was nothing totally special about them in all reality. It's all in the hands and how you use the tools you have. Blues doesn't come from the pickups or guitar or amp, it comes from you. BB King plays a Gibby dual humbucker, Albert King played a Gibby Flying V, Billy Gibbons plays whatever he wants....lol. Hendrix used Marshalls, SRV used Fenders and Marshalls, just a few examples here.

So you see, it doesn't matter what you use. The Blues will sound like the Blues no matter what you use because it will be coming from within.

I love playing the blues as well and I left my Strat with a Little 59 in the bridge and stock middle and neck. The mid and neck will eventually get replaced with some APS-1's or SSL-1's though. But, I'll play blues with my LP too. It just sounds different.
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

Overwound Fat 50's. I got bored last night and added about 630 turns to the neck pickup so it now measures 7.1k. Have the original lead as a tap so it goes from vintage airy to SRV-rude with the pull of a pot. Tweaking is fun...
 
Re: Best P,U, for Blues ???

OlinMusic said:
Yeah, you would put it on our faces that you get to sample everything thru a Bogner Ecstasy. Fine then, well just for that you don't get to play thru my Crate PowerBlock - sooo ummm uhh there take that!
Click to expand...

I got a better idea.....let's plug the Bogner's line out into the Crate Powerblock, and feed about 4 4-12's! Then, it won't matter what single coils you got....the house is COMIN DOWN!!! :laugh2: :beerchug:
 
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