New to the forum, some single coil questions

[Gm76]

Sorry if this has been covered before, I am new to the forum. I have a 2006 Am Std Strat and favor the neck Pickup. I rarely use the middle pickup alone, I really like Danelectros and lipstick tubes and wonder if I'd like an SLS-1 there. I do currently like my stockneck-middle combo, wasn't sure how much it would've affected by a substitution.
I do use the stock bridge position, but have thought about experimenting with a twangbanger for some tele tones. Also curious where his would leave the mid-bridge position if I put the lipstick pup in the middle as well.
So I guess I'm thinking about trying to fit a smorgasbord of single coil sounds in a single Strat, if this combo makes sense tonally, and do the outputs balance well enough? Thanks.

 

[AlexR]

Re: New to the forum, some single coil questions

The twangbanger doesn't really sound like a tele, what it does do well is give a lot of beef to the bridge pickup. I quite liked it in the guitar it was in.

 

[Gm76]

Re: New to the forum, some single coil questions

Very late follow-up: I tried this and currently have Neck: stock Fender, Middle: SD sls-1 lipstick, Bridge: SD Twangbanger. I saw that Joe Gore had the Tonefiend Mongrel Strat post with this configuration and didn't like it - I agree. Positions 1-3-5 sound cool and different on their own but the in-between 2 & 4 are dull, not quacky w/ a huge volume drop compared w/ 1-3-5. I really like the Twangbanger and want to keep it. I agree not a 100% Tele tone but gets me there partially, also just great in its own right. The lipstick is cool in the Strat but I think I'm better off going back to a traditional Strat middle, in particular to get that neck-middle combo back. For lipstick tubes I'll stick to my Danelectro reissue, maybe upgrade those stock lipstick pickups.
So I'm debating putting my stock Fender Am Std middle pickup in vs. changing out both the neck and middle pickups. My goal is vintage Strat tone - classic rock/soul/funk. My understanding is that the Fender Am Std pickups are considered a little more modern/middy sounding. Based on the Seymour Duncan website I am considering the SSL-2's (I have a rosewood fingerboard, not vintage radius), which are described as pairing well w/ the Twangbanger. But I am also curious about the Antiquity II Surfers - are they that much of an upgrade? Would they balance well w/ the Twangbanger?

 

[SJ318]

Re: New to the forum, some single coil questions

Antiquity surfers get so much love here it is remarkable.
I use Fender 57/62 and Fender Custom Shop '69's. I believe from what I have read is that the Ant. Surf. are closest to '69's.
The 57/62 are great low output very clean and quacky with other 57/62's, and the '69's are quite high end, low output, extremely chimy pickups. I have not tried the A. Surfers, thought this would be good background for your search,
SJ

 

[DreX]

Re: New to the forum, some single coil questions

Surfers ate not at all like 69s. The 69s are scooped and bright, very hendrixy. The surfers are darker, mellow pickups that still somehow retain a rich strat tone where other such pickups tend to either overheat and lose clarity, or sag and lose dynamics. I think surfers are popular, because among other things, they're forgiving pickups that make a person's playing and gear sound a little better than it should.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: New to the forum, some single coil questions

I have SD Ant II Surfers in a Fender AVRI '62 Stratocaster. To me, they sound right. I especially like the dynamic, touch sensitive response.

The Fender 57/62 pickups sound bright and "hard". Your quintessential vintage Stratocaster sound. A sound that you might sometimes wish were a tad fatter in the midrange.

FINGERBOARD RADIUS CONSIDERATIONS
The above-named vintage style pickups are constructed with similar "staggered" rod magnet lengths to the original Fender product. They are intended to be installed on guitars with the vintage 7.25 inch fingerboard radius and with a wound G string.

Using such pickups with a plain G string compromises the relative volume from string to string.

Using such pickups on a guitar with a modern 9.5 (or flatter) inch fingerboard radius compromises the string to string volume balance to a degree that most guitarist find unacceptable.

Hence, for an American Standard Stratocaster, the stock middle pickup - with its equal length rod magnets - will be a wiser choice than the Antiquity II.

 

[SJ318]

Re: New to the forum, some single coil questions

DreX-
Thanks for the correction. The reason I said that was because about 6 months or so there was another (very long) thread about Surf's, Fenders, some other brands and someone said that the Fender '69 sounded like the Surf's and that stuck with me. So I apologize for passing on incorrect information.
Yes, the Fender 69's are very mid scooped and Hendrixy, I have 1 HSS Strat with a double white bobbin SH-2 Jazz Neck in the BRIDGE, a 57/62 in the middle, and a 69 in the neck. Even in the neck, the 69 is has more high end than the 57/62 in middle, that is how different they are. For the record, the lower output Jazz neck makes a great pairing as a lead bridge model when using SC's with lots of highs. Easier to switch around and stay in the same ballpark, tone and volume wise, at least when it comes to HSS Strats.
Funkfingers-
I would have to politely disagree with your take on 57/62's. They sound rather round on top, also I take advantage of my large pup route and flip my SC middle and neck pups around, Hendrix style, so the E,B,G,D, can all be adjusted to have equal volume balance. This leaves the now much lower "E&A" slugs under my fairly thick low strings, so they pick up volume quite well and match the other strings way better now! I use 9,11,15,24,36,48.
I know most of you have way more experience than I do with SCoils. But I needed speak my piece, as they use to say. On AVRI 62, I guess VRI must mean Vintage re-issue, but I can't figure the A, what's it mean? American Vintage Re-Issue? Sounds wrong to me somehow.
Thanks you guys.
SJ

 

[Gm76]

Re: New to the forum, some single coil questions

Thanks to everybody for their input: Funkfingers: "Hence, for an American Standard Stratocaster, the stock middle pickup - with its equal length rod magnets - will be a wiser choice than the Antiquity II." This makes sense to me, with my flatter radius board. Has anyone compared SSL-2's to Fender Am Std pickups (both with equal length rod magnets)? I have a Twangbanger in my bridge and am trying to figure out what to do with the neck/middle.