My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)

Ah ok....now I just need to figure out who of the stores that has one of those around here

I'll gladly purchase it for you and send it you if you like buddy? I'm sure Lew has them in stock...Maybe Lew could do the same for you? Lew? Let me know if I can help...I know stuff is cheaper for you folks to buy from us...I Just sent 2 pedals over to the UK...

John

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)

Hi Guys,

I just "spoke" with Rid. Yes, I do have the Twangbangers in stock.

So John, what's your final take on the Surfers? And what's your feelings about mixing the alnico 2 Twangbanger with the Alnico 5 Surfers?

I'm still loving the Surfers myself...those and the Fralin Vintage Hots remain my favorite Strat pickups I've ever used.

Lew

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)


Thanks Lew and John.
The 5-2 also looks fun..mixing magnets, what a nice simple cool idea really.
Anyone who has tried them?

 

[Artie]

Re: My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)

Hey John; at the risk of sounding patronizing, it is precisely these long, detailed posts, by you, and Lew, and Curly, and Jeff, and Darryl, et al., about what you did, and what you didn't do, and what you broke, and what you fixed . . . that makes the most valuable content of this forum.

Forum comraderie is in a very close second, but this is the foundation.

I believe I could assemble a world-class Strat or Tele now, without having ever actually heard the p'ups that I'd use to do such with.

Thanks for taking the time to share this with us. (And keep doing so.)

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)

Hi Guys,

I just "spoke" with Rid. Yes, I do have the Twangbangers in stock.

So John, what's your final take on the Surfers? And what's your feelings about mixing the alnico 2 Twangbanger with the Alnico 5 Surfers?

I'm still loving the Surfers myself...those and the Fralin Vintage Hots remain my favorite Strat pickups I've ever used.

Lew

The Surfers are really great in the middle and neck positions...Crisp,clean,and articulate with a perfect balance between the highs.mids,and lows...These pickups also sound very good with gain and retain their articulate character...The Surfer bridge(Which I've kept) is a bit too bright for my tastes..Not weak,but too toppy...

The Twangbanger is great...Does have that cool Tele snap on the notes when you pick hard,cuts well,and seems stronger in it's overall tone than the Surfer bridge...The 4th position tones are my only weak link...They are fine but maybe the mix of the A5 and A2 takes a bit of that honky snap out of that position? I'm able to adjust things around though thanks to the tone control and your blender pot ideas Lew...I'm actually very happy now with the TB/Surfer/Surfer in my blue strat..I'm always seem to favor an A2 pickup in the bridge..It's either a feel thing or something different that adds to my bridge position tones? The A5 tends to feel too tight and in my face alot...

John

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)

Hey John; at the risk of sounding patronizing, it is precisely these long, detailed posts, by you, and Lew, and Curly, and Jeff, and Darryl, et al., about what you did, and what you didn't do, and what you broke, and what you fixed . . . that makes the most valuable content of this forum.

Forum comraderie is in a very close second, but this is the foundation.

I believe I could assemble a world-class Strat or Tele now, without having ever actually heard the p'ups that I'd use to do such with.

Thanks for taking the time to share this with us. (And keep doing so.)

Thanks Artie...Appreciate the nice compliments...I'm sure Lew,and Curly and everyone else will enjoy reading them also..I have all this useless knowledge in my head and since my wife and kids won't hear it,I have to share it with you all on the forums.. :13: Back at ya Artie because you're good people...

John

 

[jim in texas]

Re: My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)

What if you put a Fralin or Callaham base plate on the Surfer bridge? Would that smooth it out?

I'm asking because I've got a set on order that I'm going to put in my '62 ri with a big fat Allparts maple/rosewood neck.

I put a Callaham plate on the bridge of the stock '57/62's and it calmed that ice-picky rascal down nicely.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)

Artie, you, John, Curly, Kent S., 59Paul, Dr. Barlo, and a small handful of others are the guys who's post I always look for, read and appreciate and feel a special connection with. Darrin too, tho he doesn't post much these days. So a Big Thanks...it's nice to be appreciated by those I appreciate.

John, I agree with your comments.

As for me, I prefer the bright bubbley tone of alnico 5 neck and middle single coils compared to alnico 2...but I really appreciate the strong quacky mids of an alnico 2 single coil bridge pickup. The a2 lets me compress, squeeze and shape the note with my pick and hands more easily than the harder, glassier tone of a5 does...tho I prefer a5 when it comes to the neck and middle pickups for chords and double stop soul guitar. You know: Little Wing, Riviera Paradise, Memphis Soul Stew type stuff.

IMO, you're right about the #4 middle/bridge when I combine a2 and a5: it's just not as bubbley and chimey as two a5 pickups.

With the Surfers, the #2 and #4 switch settings are among the best I've ever heard. Even better than the original pickups in my '63, which is STILL a great guitar.

Lew

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)

You guys are always a nice wealth of info, and I guess I pretty much like the same kind of sounds you guys dig.....

 

[STRATDELUXER97]

Re: My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)

Artie, you, John, Curly, Kent S., 59Paul, Dr. Barlo, and a small handful of others are the guys who's post I always look for, read and appreciate and feel a special connection with. Darrin too, tho he doesn't post much these days. So a Big Thanks...it's nice to be appreciated by those I appreciate.

John, I agree with your comments.

As for me, I prefer the bright bubbley tone of alnico 5 neck and middle single coils compared to alnico 2...but I really appreciate the strong quacky mids of an alnico 2 single coil bridge pickup. The a2 lets me compress, squeeze and shape the note with my pick and hands more easily than the harder, glassier tone of a5 does...tho I prefer a5 when it comes to the neck and middle pickups for chords and double stop soul guitar. You know: Little Wing, Riviera Paradise, Memphis Soul Stew type stuff.

IMO, you're right about the #4 middle/bridge when I combine a2 and a5: it's just not as bubbley and chimey as two a5 pickups.

With the Surfers, the #2 and #4 switch settings are among the best I've ever heard. Even better than the original pickups in my '63, which is STILL a great guitar.

Lew

Thanks Lew....I read most of the folk's posts you mention also,out of respect,and because so many of the names mentioned(and alot that aren't)post great stuff to the forums...I guess it's the squish and the softer feel and the mids I Like with the A2s then Lew....Great posts..

John

 

[Curly]

Re: My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)

Artie,
I appreciate being named on your list, but what most of what I know about pickups is what I've learned here!
when I got here, I knew I had a set of Duncans in my #1 strat - that was about it. I've learned a good deal from others, and real world application.

I would definitely add Robert S., jeremy, and Scott_F to that list, too.

I try to keep my comments to stuff I've tried, which is a handful of the vintage strat and telel pickups, and a few of the PAF type humbuckers.
There are a whole lot of pickups I know nothing about.

I agree that some of the longer posts, like the "Ultimate Tele Tone!" thread have been really helpful in pooling our knowledge, and comparing similar pickups.

I feel there's still that "X Factor" question, though - of wood types, hardware, frets, etc ... that makes the tone search both interesting, challenging, and just a bit elusive.

 

[Curly]

Re: My Strat With The Surfers Part 3 (LEW)

I should add ...
when I first got here, I was convinced that strat pickups should be A5 magnets, like the old ones Leo used

I kept reading through the specs and descriptions, though, and got the impression that Seymour really likes A2 magnets - the descriptions of A2 as the "musical magnet" were a little intriguing, and also the fact that they have less pull, and more sustain made me want to try them. Now the strat APS-2s and the Antiquities are some of my favorite pickups - very fun and addicting to play.

I feel that Seymour might know more about A2 magnets and how to use them than others know.

I still have kind of mixed feelings about mixing magnets in a set. I have this feeling that magnets of the same type have a similar 'timbre" - that's about the best way I can describe it. In my APS strat, for instance, the SSL-3 Hot is a cool pickup, but when I switch to it, it's almost like I was playing a different guitar, or turned on a pedal. I get some cool sounds, but I prefer to have a balanced response across the different positions, like in an Antiquity set.