Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

[STRATDELUXER97]

Hey buddy...Warmoth is going to make me a white pearl lefty guard for this blue strat in a s/s/s configuration....I really like the mint green guard and the pickups currently in this guitar now,but I thought it would be cool to save up some cash for a set of those other Antiquities? Maybe a set of the Surfer IIs or the Surfers in the neck and middle and something like the Fralin again in the bridge? Seems the surfer set would be the ticket though...I'd then send you my pickguard and let you install the pickups and put the blender pot mod on it for me...That way I could switch back and forth pickguards and pickups when the mood strikes me or have an extra loaded guard for a future project etc? I do need to put some money aside for the pickups because they aren't cheap! :32: :smack: :wink:

John

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

Hi John,

I think you should go for a full set of the Antiquity II Surfers...I love the Surfer Custom bridge pickup.

Master volume & master tone.

.02 Hovland...just for the heck of it. LOL! And because I did and my guitar sounds killer. I'd also put the cap between the volume pot and tone pot, Les Paul style...for the same reason as above. And I connected it to the middle lug (the wiper) of the volume pot like a 50's Les Paul. Same way I wire my Teles.

Fralin Blender pot.

I think you'll love the sound.

Lew

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

Hi John,

I think you should go for a full set of the Antiquity II Surfers...I love the Surfer Custom bridge pickup.

Master volume & master tone.

.02 Hovland...just for the heck of it. LOL! And because I did and my guitar sounds killer. I'd also put the cap between the volume pot and tone pot, Les Paul style...for the same reason as above. And I connected it to the middle lug (the wiper) of the volume pot like a 50's Les Paul. Same way I wire my Teles.

Fralin Blender pot.

I think you'll love the sound.

Lew

ok....Consider it done then....I'll send you the guard and have you do the guard as if it were for your own strat...Do the 50s wiring,blender pot,cap mods etc..I'll just put it all on my credit card and say the heck with it! We'll go with the whole set of Surfers like you recommend... :dance:

Thanks buddy....

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

ok....Consider it done then....I'll send you the guard and have you do the guard as if it were for your own strat...Do the 50s wiring,blender pot,cap mods etc..I'll just put it all on my credit card and say the heck with it! We'll go with the whole set of Surfers like you recommend... :dance:

Thanks buddy....

AWESOME! I just want someone else to try these killer pickups and get the word out. I have three sets on order. One's yours. Should have them very shortly... I'll PM you.

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

AWESOME! I just want someone else to try these killer pickups and get the word out. I have three sets on order. One's yours. Should have them very shortly... I'll PM you.

Yep.....I always trust your ears Lew and you've been 100% right on the mark everytime with my requests...If you say I'll like the surfers,then I'll like them! Please do put one set aside for me...I'll pay for the pickups whenever you like....Not sure when I'll have the guard from Warmoth though? Hopefully it won't take forever? :newangel: Sounds like a cool plan Lew...This Highway 1 body sounds so resonant and acts like an ash body...Snappy and percussive with a great balance between the highs and lows...The body vibrates against my chest when playing it..All for $150...I'm happy as h$ll......John :dance:

 

[flank]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

lew i may soon be getting a Ant Surfer neck pickup, so you better be right!!! lol

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

lew i may soon be getting a Ant Surfer neck pickup, so you better be right!!! lol

LOL!

Here's what I honestly think:

If a guy loves vintage style Strat pickups and is already comfortable with the bright "Sultans of Swing" and "Riviera Paradise" highs of real vintage Strat pickups, then I'd feel comfortable saying the Ant II Surfers are the best I've ever heard at doing the "even better than vintage" thing.

If a guy likes Strats but isn't comfortable with the glassy highs of vintage pickups, then I'd say go for the Ant I Texas Hots...they have more mids and more quack and would be a better choice for those who prefer a warmer, quackier tone with more mids from thier Strat.

Lew

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

LOL!

Here's what I honestly think:

If a guy loves vintage style Strat pickups and is already comfortable with the bright "Sultans of Swing" and "Riviera Paradise" highs of real vintage Strat pickups, then I'd feel comfortable saying the Ant II Surfers are the best I've ever heard at doing the "even better than vintage" thing.

If a guy likes Strats but isn't comfortable with the glassy highs of vintage pickups, then I'd say go for the Ant I Texas Hots...they have more mids and more quack and would be a better choice for those who prefer a warmer, quackier tone with more mids from thier Strat.

Lew

Lew....I Love the Texas Hots as you know(Wouldn't trade em for the world)...I Know you gave a real good comparison and review on the surfers...Now that you've had more time with the surfers,give myself and Flank another tonal update and comparison between the Texas Hots and the Surfers...I'll also do a search under your name under your original post...I want to make sure I get the right pickups knowing how much the Texas Hots do it for me...As you know I'm a fan of the A2 magnet...I Like both the SSL1 and the APS pickups,so it's really a matter for me of matching the pickup to the characteristics and tonality of the guitar as a whole...The pickup and the magnet isn't important to me if the combination works...Thanks Lew...You're the best!

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

let me know how well the surfers do in your custom pickguard.
I might consider getting them. Thanks Lew. what would you recommend in the bridge for extra kick with surfers in?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

I had the Texas Hots in this exact same guitar.

I loved them, but I wouldn't say I ever thought they were better than the Fralin Vintage Hots and True Vintage sets in two of my other Strats. Nor did I think they were better than the pickups in my old '63 Strat, which are the original 1963 pickups the guitar came with.

About equal but differant.

I always felt the Fralin Vintage Hots and True Vintage pickups and the pickups in the '63 were a little brighter, clearer and bouncier than the Texas Hots.

But that the Texas Hots have an amazing tone and vibe of thier own. Very attractive and hard to put down. Just an instantly comfortable and bluesy, rootsy tone and vibe. And that feeling like you're playing something super high quality and well made and well voiced.

But I'll come right out and say that the Antiquity II Surfers seem to be better than any Strat pickups I've ever owned...they're certainly my favorite of any I've ever had in this guitar.

The highs are bright and chimey like those in my '63 Strat...not harsh or ice picky at all, but very present.

And they have a very bouncey, twangy tone with alot of pop and pluck.

Plenty of bass and mids and a nice full tone...they have a quality to the mids that really brings out the resonance of the wood, IMO, and keeps them from sounding to crisp or annoyingly bright.

The #2 and #4 settings with the middle pickup combined with the neck or bridge pickup are extraordinary. Really lively and chunky with that chunky/glassy tone like on Sultans of Swing or Layla or Bell Bottem Blues but fatter and chunkier...not thin at all.

Finally, the 10K bridge pickup is even ballsier than the ant I Texas Hot Custom, which up until now was my favorite "vintage style" Strat bridge pickup. It seems to have more bass and highs than the Texas Hot Custom Bridge, and a bigger tone.

Alnico 5 gives a bigger tone than alnico 2, IMO, and these seem to be wound about the same with the big diff being the diff in the magnet type. I don't know if Seymour and MJ wind them differantly than the Texas Hots or not, but both the Tex Hots and the Surfers measure about the same DC resistance.

The Surfers are not an exact recreation of a vintage Strat pickup. They're alnico 5 like most vintage Strat pickups but the Surfers are wound a little stronger and the bridge pickup is wound alot stronger.

The Fralins sound alot like the pickups in my '63 Strat and are actually a more accurate sounding recreation of the vintage 50's and 60's Strat pickups I've owned.

But when I compare them to the Surfers the Surfers make the pickups in my '63 Strat sound weak and underpowered...and that's been my #1 Strat for 30 years. :smack:

How's that?

Lew

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

I had the Texas Hots in this exact same guitar.

I loved them, but I wouldn't say I ever thought they were better than the Fralin Vintage Hots and True Vintage sets in two of my other Strats. Nor did I think they were better than the pickups in my old '63 Strat, which are the original 1963 pickups the guitar came with.

About equal but differant.

I always felt the Fralin Vintage Hots and True Vintage pickups and the pickups in the '63 were a little brighter, clearer and bouncier than the Texas Hots.

But that the Texas Hots have an amazing tone and vibe of thier own. Very attractive and hard to put down. Just an instantly comfortable and bluesy, rootsy tone and vibe. And that feeling like you're playing something super high quality and well made and well voiced.

But I'll come right out and say that the Antiquity II Surfers seem to be better than any Strat pickups I've ever owned...they're certainly my favorite of any I've ever had in this guitar.

The highs are bright and chimey like those in my '63 Strat...not harsh or ice picky at all, but very present.

And they have a very bouncey, twangy tone with alot of pop and pluck.

Plenty of bass and mids and a nice full tone...they have a quality to the mids that really brings out the resonance of the wood, IMO, and keeps them from sounding to crisp or annoyingly bright.

The #2 and #4 settings with the middle pickup combined with the neck or bridge pickup are extraordinary. Really lively and chunky with that chunky/glassy tone like on Sultans of Swing or Layla or Bell Bottem Blues but fatter and chunkier...not thin at all.

Finally, the 10K bridge pickup is even ballsier than the ant I Texas Hot Custom, which up until now was my favorite "vintage style" Strat bridge pickup. It seems to have more bass and highs than the Texas Hot Custom Bridge, and a bigger tone.

Alnico 5 gives a bigger tone than alnico 2, IMO, and these seem to be wound about the same with the big diff being the diff in the magnet type. I don't know if Seymour and MJ wind them differantly than the Texas Hots or not, but both the Tex Hots and the Surfers measure about the same DC resistance.

The Surfers are not an exact recreation of a vintage Strat pickup. They're alnico 5 like most vintage Strat pickups but the Surfers are wound a little stronger and the bridge pickup is wound alot stronger.

The Fralins sound alot like the pickups in my '63 Strat and are actually a more accurate sounding recreation of the vintage 50's and 60's Strat pickups I've owned.

But when I compare them to the Surfers the Surfers make the pickups in my '63 Strat sound weak and underpowered...and that's been my #1 Strat for 30 years. :smack:

How's that?

Lew

Ok Lew.....Put 1 set of Surfers aside for me my friend...Let me know when they arrive and when you'd like payment....Thanks again for always being there to help myself and others...Sure wish I could meet you and spend a bit of time with you and your's Lew....So far away we are from each other! :32:

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

let me know how well the surfers do in your custom pickguard.
I might consider getting them. Thanks Lew. what would you recommend in the bridge for extra kick with surfers in?

The Ant I Texas Hots and Ant II Surfers both have a Custom bridge pickup wound to almost 10K...plenty of kick. From what MJ tells me Seymour uses a 10K Tapped Tele lead pickup and I suspect that the Antiquity
Strat bridge pickups are wound to be similar, but in a Strat style and not tapped. I have one of those 10K Custom Shop Tapped Tele lead pickups on order from MJ and plan to put one in one of my three Teles. Only problem is fuguring out which one. After doing the Ultimate Tele shootout, the final pickups in all three of my Teles sound so good I don't really want to change any of them!

Lew

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

Ok it looks like I'll be making my final decision for the pickups.....Antiquity II Surfers! You've convinced me as well, but I have a couple of questions on wiring etc. I am going to do the job myself and set up a completely different pickgaurd from the one I have stock in my deluxe 50th ann strat. I will be following the http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php instructions to shield the guitar fully and star ground it. I just want to know if these guys know what they're talking about, and if the reduction in hum would be significant for the Surfers. Remember, I still need to use them for classic metal styles, just to achieve a lightly distortion glazed sound like the Iron Maiden leads of the early 80's. It's simply less grit and more transparency that I'm looking for, and the absence of monster mids on the Surfers really appealed to me. Just check out guitarnuts to see if they know what they're talking about. I'll be ordering off you next week when I get my paycheck, LOL. Thanks

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: Lew: Other Ideas For My New Blue Strat

Ok it looks like I'll be making my final decision for the pickups.....Antiquity II Surfers! You've convinced me as well, but I have a couple of questions on wiring etc. I am going to do the job myself and set up a completely different pickgaurd from the one I have stock in my deluxe 50th ann strat. I will be following the http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/shielding/shield3.php instructions to shield the guitar fully and star ground it. I just want to know if these guys know what they're talking about, and if the reduction in hum would be significant for the Surfers. Remember, I still need to use them for classic metal styles, just to achieve a lightly distortion glazed sound like the Iron Maiden leads of the early 80's. It's simply less grit and more transparency that I'm looking for, and the absence of monster mids on the Surfers really appealed to me. Just check out guitarnuts to see if they know what they're talking about. I'll be ordering off you next week when I get my paycheck, LOL. Thanks

Lew is the Man and will treat you like royalty... :dance: I say this unless Lew sells you my Surfers to you! :32: :laugh2:

John