Can I do the impossible?

[Hot _Grits]

Okay, here's a toughie:

I have a preference for Maple neck, lightweight alder bodied strats and teles. My main gigging strat is a 57ri with Alnico 2 pros, for example.

I also have a '76 strat with a maple neck and a very lightweight ash body. Now, as you might expect, this guitar has a bit more upper midrange twang to it's inherent acoustic tone. I have an Ant texas hot in the bridge which sounds incredible, but I've tried alnico pros and texas specials in the neck slot and nothing quite sounds right for clean chordal playing. After a while, the neck pickup tone can become a bit fatiguing compared to my alder guitars.

Now, I love the feel and non-neck pickup sounds of my 76, and would really like to press it into service.

So, the question is this:

Is there a strat pickup out there that can somehow make my guitar sound more like it had an alder body?

Is this something the custom shop could have a crack at?

Or am I dreaming?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Can I do the impossible?

Fender CS Fat 50's and Surfers. The Fat 50's have great character and are similar to the Surfers, but a little bit fatter and ruder. The Fat 50 neck pickup gives the SRV tone better than anything I've tried, and it has a little more sponginess in it's attack than the Surfer neck. I love'em both. With Surfers, think Hendrix. With Fat 50's, think SRV. IMO, they'll make an ash strat sound less hard.