Need Strat (SSS) pick up suggestions.

SirJackdeFuzz II

New member
I apologies in advance if this turns out to sound like a 12yo kiddie question.
I have a Strat with awful super-super hot ceramic (with metal base plates) pick ups.
I want something a lot more vintage'y.
Use this youtube clip (below) as a base, for what i want the Strat to sound / behave like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAe1vatPpzA&t=44s

What is in the SD range, that can get as close to this sound as possible ?

Thanks to all.
 
I think any vintage-wound pickups can nail that tone...but decide if you need hum-cancelling or not. I love hum-cancelling pickups more than I need absolute vintage period-correctness, so my answer might be different than other people's. So SSL-2, Surfers, Five Twos, or Classic Stacks can get there.
 
Best real Strat tones I have gotten are with my 94 Washburn Silverado and a set of Antiquities Surfer II's and an Erick Johnson tone set up. Just vintage glassy Strat tones for days!
 
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I think any vintage-wound pickups can nail that tone...but decide if you need hum-cancelling or not. I love hum-cancelling pickups more than I need absolute vintage period-correctness, so my answer might be different than other people's. So SSL-2, Surfers, Five Twos, or Classic Stacks can get there.

Thank you very much.
Will look into all of them, asap.
 
I'd go with a standard SSL-1 set, they are vintagey, glassy but not piercing, it's easy to find them in the second hand market and easy to sell in case you don't like their sound, they are 3 dimensional, inspiring and a bit on the hot side still being vintage so the leap from yours is not that big, I always used this set and when I changed I always came back, except for the bridge (I put a DMZ FS-1, but it's a matter of taste)
 
i agree the ssl1 is a great pup, its hotter than most vintage fender pups, but not a world different than a hot '62 strat pup. still sounds like a strat and plenty of people used to hotter pups will say its weak. not everyone loves a vintage pup in the bridge, especially without a tone control on there, but thats the classic strat sound
 
I’m a strong supporter of Bootstrap Pickups
theyre cheap, so not much to lose trying them out
I cannot recommend the strat ‘54 Sparkle Set enough!
 
Any vintage wound Strat pickup and a deluxe reverb, or similar amp turned up to the edge of breakup in my opinion should get you there.
 
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