NGD a long term project finally finished

[mojosman]

A while back Ibought the Cradle Rock Strat set, however I didn’t have a Strat that needed a pickup upgrade. So initially I bought this Jimmie Vaughan Strat that was cheap and used but unplayed. I really don’t care for the Texas Specials in my SRV Strat so I figured that the Tex Mex in the Jimmie Strat wouldn’t be up my alley either, boy was I wrong. They actually have a very cool vintage vibe and have this chime to them. So that guitar was not altered, and the hunt continued. I should mention that my Les Paul has the Skinnerburst SD custom shop set, and they are fantastic which made me think I’d like this new set also. So, I’m on Reverb and I found a blonde Eric Johnson Strat that was kinda dinged up, it had the wrong case, and the case had a broken latch, but it was cheap. I have an EJ Strat already so taking out these pickups out because I had them in another guitar. When the guitar arrived it played great, had almost no fret wear, and the neck is amazing. I’ve got the Cradle Rock set in and they are hot, but retain the vintage tone. They push my tube amp but you can roll the volume back and they clean up. All three pickups are the same in terms of winding and polarity, thus no RW/RP in the middle pickup. So I ended up with a killer Strat that sounds very differently than my others. This whole adventure cost me a few bucks, but it was well worth it. I also found the correct latch for the case on eBay and fixed the case for under ten bucks.

 

[jeremy]

sounds like a great guitar! i love rory and thought about getting a set but also love my strats the way they are. ive never cared for the texas specials either, but plenty of people love em. the dc resistance wouldnt suggest these arent that hot, kinda mid spec early 60s strat, which is lovely. you find them hotter than say the texmex pups?

 

[mojosman]

Jeremy you are correct, I guess “hot” is relative to vintage Strat pups, you are correct that much hotter ones are out there. I have played both these and the Tex Mex back to back and yes these do push the amp more. It’s good they have their own flavor, there’s no point in all ones Strats sounding the same. The crew keeps growing.

 

[Mincer]

Honestly, I haven't even heard of the Cradle Rock set!

 

[Fender_Punk]

Sounds like a good guitar Safari! Congrats on the new axe and pickups!

Post sounds clips!

 

[mojosman]

Mincer, here’s the video that started it all.

 

[Mincer]

Mincer, here’s the video that started it all.

There was like 20 seconds at the end where I could hear them. They sound like a good Strat set to me, but I'd need more time with them to see how they compare to production models.