Got my first strat a few days ago, need some advice with pickups!

[milkcow]

Hello!

I bought an AVRI 57 Strat a few days ago, my first strat. The former owner has changed the pickups to a dimarzio cruiser in the bridge and neck and a dimarzio area 61 in the middle.
I am looking for a "true" single coil sound in the middle and neck positions, and a humbucker sound in the bridge. Since it is a 57 reissue it is not routed for a humbucker in the bridge, and i am not planning to route it myself right now either.

I felt like the cruiser in the bridge sounded a little too bright for my taste. I would like something with a little bit more output and "bassier" sound.
And for neck and middle positions I already own a set of Bare Knuckle Mothers Milk, that i really like.

I dont know the exactly output on the BKs but they sound pretty vintage, around 5.7kOHM according to their website.

So.. I am looking for a bridge humbucker in a singlecoil sized format. I would like if it could match the BKs without crazy volume/output differences. It has to bassier than the dimarzio cruiser.

What would you suggest to me?

Thanks.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Got my first strat a few days ago, need some advice with pickups!

I'd almost go a stack myself. If you get a hotter stack you remove the hum and get the higher output, but as they tonally sit between a humbucker and s/c, you won't find the massive tonal shift switching between.

 

[milkcow]

Re: Got my first strat a few days ago, need some advice with pickups!

Do you mean the Hot Stack Bridge from duncan?

 

[Masta' C]

Re: Got my first strat a few days ago, need some advice with pickups!

If it were me, I'd stick with the Area 61 you already have in the middle, swap the neck to an Area 67 and put something like a Super Distortion S (link) in the bridge...

The Area series are as close as you can get to a "true" single coil sound in a noiseless design and the 67/61/SuperDistortion S would be a nicely balanced combo that doesn't get too bright.

P.S. - Alternatively, an Area 58 in the neck will warm it up a bit over the 67 I mentioned above, if you prefer a little rounder, bluesier single coil tone.

 

[BluesGuyJ]

Re: Got my first strat a few days ago, need some advice with pickups!

I'd throw the 61 in the neck and keep the 67 in the middle, as it is brighter and pairs with buckers in the bridge very well. I've paired a 67 with an At1 and a Norton in a couple super strats and it has done very well. A beefier SSS setup I've used is Injector bridge, 67 middle and Heavy Blues II in the neck. Covers a lot of ground and leans more towards rock and funk, as well as more contemporary blues and the like.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Got my first strat a few days ago, need some advice with pickups!

try the mothers milk in the neck and middle and put the 2nd tone control on the bridge pup. switching to the real single coils in the neck and middle while change things from what you have now and you might find the cruiser works well with them especially with a tone control. if you do want to swap pups then a lil 59 or cool rails bridge are fine choices that wont totally overpower the neck and middle if you adjust the heights

 

[Mincer]

Re: Got my first strat a few days ago, need some advice with pickups!

For the bridge, I agree- the Lil 59 is silent and sounds like a vintage humbucker. For the neck and the middle, I like the Antiquity II Surfers or the Five Twos. Both have a great, true 1960s era single coil sound that would complement the Lil 59.

 

[Rand-O-Monium]

Re: Got my first strat a few days ago, need some advice with pickups!

Pics,man,pics!!!

 

[AlexR]

Re: Got my first strat a few days ago, need some advice with pickups!

Do you mean the Hot Stack Bridge from duncan?

Something like that. It all depends on what you are trying to get out of the bridge tonally, and what tones you want out of the singles. There is not a noiseless pickup made that sounds like a real singlecoil. So if you want the pure s/c tone then the MM neck and middle are required.
The issue then comes with how much tonal shift you are prepared to deal with when switching between positions. Often just putting in a humbucker next to singles results in such a volume jump and tonal shift that its hard to balance, and its aurally jarring switching between them. The stack might give you the extra oomph needed for rock tones without sounding like you'd suddenly 'switched guitars mid song'.