I love the Donahue in my Tele - what should I put in my Strat?

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Recently got an 80's Jap Squier in payment for some tech work. It's a great guitar but it needs new pickups.

I absolutely love the Donahue in my Tele - it's thick, tight, clear, and has a great 'give' to the pick attack that makes it really dynamic and fun to play but it still sounds like a Tele at the end of the day.

I want more or less the same thing for this Strat - something tight and relatively ballsy but still sounds like a Strat. What should I be looking into? Note that I'm not at all opposed to going the DiMarzio or Suhr route but would prefer to keep it out of the Bare Knuckle price range.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Re: I love the Donahue in my Tele - what should I put in my Strat?

Sounds like you want a Twang Banger in the bridge.

 

[Virtual Kevorkian]

Re: I love the Donahue in my Tele - what should I put in my Strat?

Not sure you've misunderstood my post or only read the headline; I don't want the guitar to sound like a Tele - I want it to sound like the Strat version of my Tele.

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: I love the Donahue in my Tele - what should I put in my Strat?

Jeff, the Twangbanger adds a 'Teleness' to the tone, but it does not make a Strat sound like a Tele. It's a great Strat pickup and I'm toying with putting one back in my Legacy. I had one in there before I switched to the Everything Axe set. With a pair of Surfers or SSL-1's in the middle/neck it gives a really nice set of classic Strat tones with extra girth in the bridge without being overpowering.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: I love the Donahue in my Tele - what should I put in my Strat?

+1 for the Twangbanger. Through an overdriven valve amplifier, it manages to offer a mixture of Strat, Tele and P90 tones.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Re: I love the Donahue in my Tele - what should I put in my Strat?

^^ There you are. And I did read your post correctly . The TB is still a Strat pu at heart; plus it has A2, like the JD, so you what to expect.

The TB's name is probably a little misleading, just like the Screamin' Demon.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: I love the Donahue in my Tele - what should I put in my Strat?

Why don't you put a Jerry Donahue in your Strat? If your guitar is routed for a bridge humbucker you might only need a new pickguard. The Strat in my profile pic has a Tele bridge pickup. Sounds like a Strat though.

BTW, besides the Twangbanger, there's the alnico 2 Antiquity Texas Hot Custom bridge pickup. Mine is wound to almost 10K.

 

[Jeffrec]

Re: I love the Donahue in my Tele - what should I put in my Strat?

I like Lew's suggestions. I would also suggest the SSL-3. I'm using one in my Strat. It's full sounding, has great harmonics, and still stays within the Strat range.