Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

[Lewguitar]

My buddy Charlie, who is a terrific guitarist and recording engineer who writes reviews for various audio mags, has a nice MIM Strat. He asked me to see what I could do to make it into a professional ax.

The guitar itself played OK (typical buzzes and some fretting-out on wide bends) and has a nice resonance. But the pickups were dreadful.

I pulled everything out, put the pickups and parts in a zip-lock, and started from scratch. I was surprised though that the pots were 500K mini pots.

So I installed my Ultimate Strat Kit: 250K CTS master volume and tone control, with .02 Sprague Orange Drop cap connected to the middle terminal of the volume pot and middle terminal of the tone pot (the "50's mod" seen in some 50's Les Pauls, to retain highs) and a Fralin Blender pot to allow blending the neck pickup and bridge pickup or get all three pickups on at the same time. And a new high quality 5 way switch.

I went with one of my favorite sets of pickups:
Duncan Twangbanger bridge
Duncan APS-2 flats for the neck and middle.

I've tried the Twangbanger with APS-1 (raised and staggered poles) and APS-2 (flat poles) and, IMO, the APS-2 is a better sounding pickup for this application. The APS-2 is not quite as bright but it's fuller sounding than the APS-1.

I did a little fret leveling and recrown and polish too. That makes such an improvement in almost any guitar and it made a HUGE improvement in this particular ax. A good set-up - makes all the diff in the world.

Anyways, Charlie flipped! The new pickups and wiring harness made this cheapie MIM Stat (he paid $75. used for it - a steal!) into a totally professional sounding ax.

It's both brighter and more vintage sounding than it was, while at the same time ballsier than a stock Strat like my '63.

To me, the Twangbanger doesn't really sound like a Tele bridge pickup - but it does have great mids and a nice plucky growl for soloing. However, it's not steely bright like most Tele pickups. It's not super twangy in that steely Tele kind of way at all.

Instead, it's warm, thick and plucky and pushes the amp beautifully for soloing.

And the APS-2 pickups have the highs you need for Hendrix and SRV type tones without sounding thin and overly glassy. They sound thicker than SSL-1's but still have enough glass to the treble to sound like vintage Strat pickups.

I'm very happy with the way Charlie's guitar turned out. And Charlie was practically doing back flips after trying out his "new" guitar!

 

[Diocletian]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

Nice report, very interesting. I just did up an old Marlin strat and, while I never went into it as much as you, I did put in new 250k pots, 0.47 cap (the one that comes with Blackouts whatever it is), string trees (which it lacked) and Fender USA strat pups. I never had a guitar with single coils before and I'm LOVING this thing now. I've been playing it non stop! It sounds gorgeous, just like your pals "new" axe does.

 

[JumpMarine]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

Got to love the Twangbanger!

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

Nice report, very interesting. I just did up an old Marlin strat and, while I never went into it as much as you, I did put in new 250k pots, 0.47 cap (the one that comes with Blackouts whatever it is), string trees (which it lacked) and Fender USA strat pups. I never had a guitar with single coils before and I'm LOVING this thing now. I've been playing it non stop! It sounds gorgeous, just like your pals "new" axe does.

Hey man, did you finally finish it?
Did you find a new trem arm and/or a new pickguard?

BTW, FWIW I think black with white pu-covers/knobs looks great with pink

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

Sounds like a great guitar, Lew. Have you ever tried a Twangbanger with a reverse angle pickguard?

Anyone?

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

Got to love the Twangbanger!

A big +1 for that!!

 

[Simon_F]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

To me, the Twangbanger doesn't really sound like a Tele bridge pickup - but it does have great mids and a nice plucky growl for soloing. However, it's not steely bright like most Tele pickups. It's not super twangy in that steely Tele kind of way at all.

Instead, it's warm, thick and plucky and pushes the amp beautifully for soloing.

I agree that the Twangbanger doesn't really sound like a Tele bridge pickup. It's a fantastic Strat bridge pickup. It adds mids and just the right amount of output. Takes away that shrillness and makes the bridge position usable. I love the Twangbanger in my MIJ '62 RI Strat!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

I agree that the Twangbanger doesn't really sound like a Tele bridge pickup. It's a fantastic Strat bridge pickup. It adds mids and just the right amount of output. Takes away that shrillness and makes the bridge position usable. I love the Twangbanger in my MIJ '62 RI Strat!

Yep. It's my favorite of the Duncans non-custom shop Strat bridge pickups.

It's also alnico 2.

I've been thinking a bit about how to describe the sound of alnico 2 single coils - especially the APS-2/Twangbanger combo.

To me, they give the guitar a thicker smokier chewier pluckier character as opposed to the typical bright and glassy tone of SSL-1's or typical vintage wound Strat pickups.

Don't get me wrong - I use alnico 5 neck and middle pickups in my on Strats and love 'em.

But alnico 2 APS-2's, the Twangbanger, and Duncan's Antiquity Texas Hots actually have more of the the recorded tone of SRV, Mark Knopfler and others.

Those guys used alnico 5 - but by the time SRV's guitar reaches my stereo speakers it's been processed through a Dumble Amp, studio microphones, the room it was recorded in, a great recording board, etc.

And, IMO, alnico 2 single coils get a lot that sound - the warmer thicker tone of SRV's RECORDED guitar tone.

I like 'em!

 

[Heavy]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

Alnico pro II's? Man, I had them in quite a few Hamer Daytonas as they came stock. I didn't like those, too warm and compressed. Didn't work for the SRV or normal chimey type because theyd didn't have any edge or bigness, and when you dig in they didn't bite back or get big, they stayed more or less the same to a degree. Maybe it's those magnets.

 

[Iron Horse]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

It's all about your particular guitar, cables, amp(s), pedals, strings, and touch.

 

[Buckeyedog]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

Lew, would the twang banger also work with the SSL-2's?? I've got a SRV strat and I'm just struggling on what to try in there. I play pop/classic and some hard rock. Tone wizard seems to suggest SSL-2's for the mid/neck.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

ive had the aps2/aps2/twangbanger setup in a hamer daytona since the twangbanger came out. still one of my favorite sets!! played it last night actually.

the tb will work fine with ssl2's, lew and others use a surfer/surfer/texas hot setup, the ssl2/tb setup would be fairly similar

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

Alnico pro II's? Man, I had them in quite a few Hamer Daytonas as they came stock. I didn't like those, too warm and compressed. Didn't work for the SRV or normal chimey type because theyd didn't have any edge or bigness, and when you dig in they didn't bite back or get big, they stayed more or less the same to a degree. Maybe it's those magnets.

I had the APS-1/Twangbanger combo in my Hamer. Mine was a heavy guitar. Some of those Hamer "Strats" are relatively heavy in weight. It was brighter than the APS-2/Twangbanger combo I've tried in several other Strats.

I didn't really ever feel comfortable with that guitar. The bright quality of the APS-1's in that Hamer was not as appealing to me as the bright I hear from SSL-1 or Ant Surfers.

If you listen to SRV, his recorded tone is not very bright. Although he used pickups similar to the SSL-1's, his tone is warmer. Big strings and tuning to E flat are a big part of that - but it's also his amps and the way he plays and way he's recorded.

Personally, I use alnico 5 and prefer the alnico 5 neck and middle Surfers to any other Strat pickups I've owned. But in terms of capturing the tone of the SRV's recorded guitar tone, the alnico 2 APS-2's get a lot of that tone - whereas the SSL-1's and Surfers are brighter than SRV's recorded tone.

Lew

 

[Heavy]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

yes a lot of those Hamers are real heavy, like the old 70's strats. I had an alder Daytona that was a brick. Huge bottom end punch tho'. I had a medium weight ash one too. I just found those pickups a little mellow for aggressive playing.

I think I prefer alnico V too. For me, more open and a little more chime. For that SRV type tone I have this '66 strat that is real thick and powerful and a lot of that is the wood because it has that tone even acoustically.

but that twangbanger sounds pretty interesting. How's it compare to a Fralin SP43?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

yes a lot of those Hamers are real heavy, like the old 70's strats. I had an alder Daytona that was a brick. Huge bottom end punch tho'. I had a medium weight ash one too. I just found those pickups a little mellow for aggressive playing.

I think I prefer alnico V too. For me, more open and a little more chime. For that SRV type tone I have this '66 strat that is real thick and powerful and a lot of that is the wood because it has that tone even acoustically.

but that twangbanger sounds pretty interesting. How's it compare to a Fralin SP43?

I'm a big fan of the Fralin SP-43. I used to use it in my own Strats.

I'm still a big fan of the SP-43 and when my buddy AJ wanted to upgrade his Jimmie Vaughn Strat I put a pair of Duncan SSL-1's and a Fralin SP-43 in his guitar.

I'm always blown away by the tone of that particular guitar.

I'd say that the SP-43 is a little brighter than the Twangbanger and maybe not quite as much output...but it's been a long time since I compared the two side by side. I need to refresh my memory!

Lew

 

[jeremy]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

Mine was a heavy guitar. Some of those Hamer "Strats" are relatively heavy in weight.

yes a lot of those Hamers are real heavy, like the old 70's strats. I had an alder Daytona that was a brick. Huge bottom end punch tho'. I had a medium weight ash one too. I just found those pickups a little mellow for aggressive playing.

see mine is fairly light, alder body, maple neck/board. the ash ones i tried were rosewood boards and some were les paul heavy and i didnt like the aps1's in those guitars either. kinda plinky and uninspiring

 

[_Guitarzan_]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

I've done the Twangbanger and two Dimarzio Class of 55's in the neck amd middle. I also got the "E' switch from Stu Mac so I could get the Bridge and Neck going at the same time with the switch in the middle position. I put these into a Tokai strat copy and it's killer! Love the A2 in the strat pickups!

 

[Diocletian]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

Hey man, did you finally finish it?
Did you find a new trem arm and/or a new pickguard?

BTW, FWIW I think black with white pu-covers/knobs looks great with pink

I've almost finished it - tried a whole new trem unit for it (a vintage type) but it was too small, left gaps in the body and looked ridiculous, so I've given up on replacing the trem unit. However, the arm almost fitted - it at least goes into the hole! So I've ordered a similar trem arm and I'll just put it in with some PTFE tape - it's more for the look as I think a strat without a trem arm looks incomplete.
I'm not paying for a custom scratchplate, and when I think of how much I've already spent on the thing I don't really want to pay for Krylon paint to make the scratchplate white. So it'll stay as it is. It plays really well and the pickups sound brilliant, so I'm happy overall with what I've done at a first attempt.
And I've currently got the white knobs etc on there! :fest7:

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

see mine is fairly light, alder body, maple neck/board. the ash ones i tried were rosewood boards and some were les paul heavy and i didnt like the aps1's in those guitars either. kinda plinky and uninspiring

Exactly.

 

[KeeperOS]

Re: Just put some new Duncans in a Strat!

I've almost finished it - tried a whole new trem unit for it (a vintage type) but it was too small, left gaps in the body and looked ridiculous, so I've given up on replacing the trem unit. However, the arm almost fitted - it at least goes into the hole! So I've ordered a similar trem arm and I'll just put it in with some PTFE tape - it's more for the look as I think a strat without a trem arm looks incomplete.
I'm not paying for a custom scratchplate, and when I think of how much I've already spent on the thing I don't really want to pay for Krylon paint to make the scratchplate white. So it'll stay as it is. It plays really well and the pickups sound brilliant, so I'm happy overall with what I've done at a first attempt.
And I've currently got the white knobs etc on there! :fest7:

That sounds good man.
Actually I did the same thing with my Strat.
I replaced the vintage trem with a new Wilkinson VSV400 which I absolutely LOVE but the trem-arm was too short and low for my tastes so I tried the stock one and it fit with some play. Duct tape on it an voila, done!