Maybe my favorite Strat Pickup set yet!

[dr.barlo]

Re: Maybe my favorite Strat Pickup set yet!

Hi Doc, I'm with you on the tortoise pickguard. I'm ordering one like yours from WD.

The beauty of the 6.6K output on the Tapped Tele Hot is that's it blends so beautifully with the neck or middle pickups for those chimey rythym tones. Any hotter would lose some of the chime, IMO.

For example, the Twangbanger is hotter than the 6.6K output of the Tapped Tele Hot and when I combine the Twangbanger with the neck or middle pickup of a Strat, the tone is very good, but it's thicker than usual and not quite as clear, sparkley and chimey as the classic #2 and #4 switch positions of a vintage Strat.

The 6.6K output does retain alot of that clean chime of a vintage Strat bridge pickup. It's a little thicker than a Strat bridge pickup, but it still works well.



Lew

As usual you are right. On my hard ash tele I have a 7.80K JD in the bridge and 6.30K fender texas special in the middle. Somehow those fit quite well, and the quacky bridge/middle tone is to my satisfaction. But then again that might be due to the steel bridge and the hard ash body / maple neck combination. Dunno!

What I mean to say is that in my case 7.80K JD and the 6.30K fender tx special do the bridge/middle tone very well. I gotta admit that when I tried the same pickups in my teleOstrat the bridge/middle tone was not that good. It was as you said. There the fralin blues sp and 6.00K van zandt true vintage in the middle did the trick.

That whole matching the pickup to the guitar deal is fun but tiresome huh? Why doesn't a single pickup create miracles in every guitar! :smack:

B

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Maybe my favorite Strat Pickup set yet!

That whole matching the pickup to the guitar deal is fun but tiresome huh? Why doesn't a single pickup create miracles in every guitar! :smack:

B

:laugh2: I've found that a great pickup ( such as the Antiquity Surfer or Fralin Vintage Hot or this CS Tapped Tele Hot or______.) usually does work miracles in a genuinely great and resonant guitar.

This MIJ '88 Strat is one such guitar. It's alder and maple and lively, deep and resonant.

It's only the guitars that we know are NOT exceptional and that we're trying to correct some deficiency in that give us trouble and that require us trying a jillion differant pickups and upgrades in just find a tone we can live with.

I don't own any guitars like that. I get rid of those guitars fast! :laugh2:

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Maybe my favorite Strat Pickup set yet!

:cool3:

B

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Maybe my favorite Strat Pickup set yet!

When you go through a lot of guitars, it seems like the ones that look, play, and sound the best are rare gems. You usually have a guitar that looks and plays great, but doesn't resonate beautifully, OR a guitar that sounds great unplugged, but the look or neck isn't your style. For some reason, the ones that rise to the top are the ones that have already become classics....ie, sunburst LP Std, alder/rosewood strat, ash/maple tele. You find a lot more gems among the tried and true guitars IMO.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Maybe my favorite Strat Pickup set yet!

I agree. And sometimes magical guitars are not expensive! This '88 MIJ Strat I've been bragging up in this thread is a MIJ SQUIRE! Doesn't matter. It's one of the best Strats I've ever owned...never owned a better one. I've had it for over 10 years and it's been a favorite that whole time. Found it in a pawn shop. Bought it for $180. I just knew as soon as I strummed it that it was a good one. Bought about 5 more 80's MIJ Squires trying to find another like it. Found one....my Strat with the single '59 trembucker. Lew

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Maybe my favorite Strat Pickup set yet!

Lew,

Can you put a 62 reissue trem on your MIJ Squires?