PickUp Dave Murray

[j.gabriel88]

Hi friends,
I'm going to buy a Fender Stratocaster Standard made in U.S.A., but I want to make with it a sound like Dave Murray (Iron Maiden), with his perfect Solos and the fantastic clean arpeggioes great power chords! What kind of PickUps can I put in my Strat? I saw in the wikipedia site he uses the Hot Rails, but what's the complete setup?:boggled:
Maybe I chose the complete Rails setup: Coil for Neck, Vintage for Middle and hot for Bridge... What do you think of this?:scratchch
Thank you!:thanks:

 

[ErikH]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

Welcome to the forum.

I don't remember when, but some years back he switch to a complete Hot Rails setup (neck, middle and bridge). If you want the classic Murray setup, go with a Super Distortion / PAF combo or dual Super Distortions.

 

[j.gabriel88]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

Well...
I like the look of the Strat with the hot rails like the Death on the Road Live... But I think 3 pickup all Hot Rails it's too heavy, I don't know if the arpeggioes and the clean effects can be perfect with this setup... Do you know that?
Maybe if I customize my guitar with Cool, Vintage and Hot I'll have a good and very versatile guitar but with solos sound like Dave... What do you think about this?

 

[barbarianbrute]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

yeah i think if you want classic murray sounds you need to go dimarzio. i think he used a paf in the bridge

 

[ErikH]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

I've used a Hot Rails neck before and it was nice sounding, not muddy. You just can't crank it up to the strings or it will get muddy.

For more versality, one of each of the rails (Hot, Cool, Vintage) would be nice. You'd definitely be able to get more tones out of your Strat with that setup. The cleans would be better with the Cool or Vintage rails for sure.

 

[Franco]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

Hi.
Dimarzio super distortion in the bridge! This is what he used.

I think he uses 3 hot-rails nowadays.

And it seems to me , he rolls the tone back... .but , not sure.

I had one vintage rails. It was good, but honestly, i prefer a stock-USA Strat single-coil for neck. More bit, more agressive, more clarity, and less compressed.
The intro of the song " Ghost of the navigator" sounds more true to the original with a single coil in the neck, rather than a vintage rails. That was the main reason i put my Strat stock again in the neck !!

Make a fine search for the tone you desire before buy anything..

With a Dimarzio a super distortion in the bridge... you can´t go wrong.
For Dave´s neck solos... well, you have to search for more information, but it looks like that in Rock in Rio 2000 DVD, he uses 3 Duncan Hot rails. If that´s what you want...

Cheers

 

[j.gabriel88]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

Ok... Franco, you convinced me... I like a lot the into of Ghost of the navigator, but listen... In the Neck the standard fender, in the bridge the dimarzio super distortion (Super Distortion S DP218 is good???) and... In the middle??? What brand and model you suggest?
Ps thank to all!

 

[ErikH]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

I've heard the Super Distortion S is a really good pickup, sounds very close to the full size version. I have the full size Super D in one of my Strats and love it.

FWIW, a friend of mine told me the other day that Adrian uses the Super D in the bridge with Texas Specials in the middle and neck.

You could just keep the stock Fender singles in there and then decide later on what you want to do.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

I thought I remember seeing one of those Guitar Geek style rigs in one of the rags that showed him using both a HR/HRn/HRn and a HR/CRn/CRn Strat. And of course, the classic '57 had the Super Distortion (both neck and bridge? I can't remember).

Any of those combos will make you happy, I think.

 

[j.gabriel88]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

What can you think about this? Fender Standard in the neck, Fender Texas Special for the middle and the super distortion s for the bridge...
Another little question: the measures of the neck and the middle pickup are the same?

 

[ErikH]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

Sounds like a good combo to me there. In practice, you want the middle a little hotter than the neck because there's less string vibration there. A Texas Special middle will be hotter than a current stock Fender neck pickup. The Texas Specials are also staggered pole pieces. I think current Fenders are staggered as well now. My '94 came with flat pole pieces.

 

[j.gabriel88]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

Can you explain staggered pole pieces, I'm Italian and it's the first time that i heard this words... Thank you!
And, sorry but for measure i mean the physics measure of the pickup, NEck and middle differentiate?

 

[ErikH]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

Let me also add again that if you want to get in to the classic Dave Murray tones, the Super Distortion will do the trick. If you want to get in to the more modern tones, 3 Hot Rails or Hot Rails and 2 Cool Rails will help get you there.

 

[ErikH]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

Can you explain staggered pole pieces, I'm Italian and it's the first time that i heard this words... Thank you!
And, sorry but for measure i mean the physics measure of the pickup, NEck and middle differentiate?

Staggered poles are just that, staggered, not flat or even.
This is an example of staggered poles... Click Here
This is an example of flat poles... Click Here

The physical dimensions between the neck and middle are the same. In fact, for single coils, all 3 positions have the same measurements. The only difference between them would be the number of windings and the overall output difference.

 

[j.gabriel88]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

It's better the flat ones or the staggered ones? (sorry my ignorance!)
And at last it's better (in your opinion) the solution duncan's HR, CR, CR, or the Standard, Texas Special, Super distortion s?

 

[j.gabriel88]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

In pratice in the staggered poles each pole it's different for height, il the flat ones are linear, right?

 

[ErikH]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

The flat poles are better for guitars with a 9.5" or flatter radius. The staggered poles are better for vintage radius like 7.25". Even though my American Strat has a 9.5" radius, I still use staggered pole singles in it. I just like the sound better. In my opinion, 9.5" is the flattest where you can go with either one. Any flatter than that, go with flat poles.

I like the Super Distortion and Texas Specials (I use them in different guitars though) so I would pick those. That doesn't mean you'd like that setup though. It depends on if you want the classic tone or the modern tone.

 

[j.gabriel88]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

Well... Listen to me a moment: I have a Yamaha RGX 520 FZ (with standard pickup) for nowaday, therefore all I chose will be better than now (more better). I want to buy a Fender strat standard sunburst with rosewood fingerboard, like the dave's on dance of death or Ulievi live... Now, i like the modern sound like the classic, but i think at the moment that I try the Rails, so, if I will have the money, I will buy another fender but 59's strat blue or white with marple fingerboard and I'll put the texas and the super distort...


Anyhow, this is my final chose:
Fender Stratocaster American Standard Sunburst,
Pickguard white pearl,
Tremolo Floyd Rose PRO Tremolo/Bridge
Now, for the PickUp chose you one of that solutions:

1- SHR-1b for the bridge, SCR-1n (cool) for the neck as the middle (both)...
2- Super distortion S DP218 for bridge, Seymour Duncan SHR-1n for the neck and SCR-1n for Middle, so I've a sound between the Classic and the modern
3- Other, describe in detail the Bridge, Middle and Neck Position with brands and models.

 

[idsnowdog]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

I would probably go with a H/S/H set with a Dimarzio Super Distortion Bridge, FS-1, and a Super II neck.

 

[Karmadog777]

Re: PickUp Dave Murray

Dave Murray used to be listed under the CC for artists using it