Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

[Dr.J4ckal]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

I have a Fender Japan reissue '54 that came stock with fender CS 54 pickups, they sound fine and I don't think I'm going to replace them anytime soon. Clear sounding with nice quack in-between positions.
I also had another reissue '54 that I used to try numerous pickups : fralin blues specials, suhr ML classic & standards, wilde micro coils, fender fat 50s, lollar vintage blondes.
In the end I wasn't 100% happy with the tone and decided to sell the guitar.
If I have to choose a favorite it might be the lollar blondes, although I wish I had bought the lollar tweeds instead.
As for Duncan pickups, I prefer the APS over the SSL-1 pickups, they're supposed to sound spongier but I don't hear that (?), the APS sound more "greasy" and touch sensitive. YMMV

 

[JimmyO]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat




Here's some photos of the guitar and pickups. Is there any way to tell what the pickups are? It is a 2013 Fender Japan FSR model with a limited number distributed to US.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

nice looking guitar. they are alnico magnet pups but thats about all i can tell from the pic

 

[Mincer]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Pretty guitar! I love the wood grain there!

 

[dotsdad]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Do you know the dc resistance of the stock pickups? Is the middle one rwrp? What color wire is wrapped around the bibbins!

 

[dotsdad]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Ps...are tou the original owner of the guitar? It looks like the pickups have already been upgraded. The extra long pickup wires look like a homemade job-the factory usually rrims them to size. Also the cloth covered output wires look upgraded too-fender usually uses cheep pvc wire.

 

[JimmyO]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Ps...are tou the original owner of the guitar? It looks like the pickups have already been upgraded. The extra long pickup wires look like a homemade job-the factory usually rrims them to size. Also the cloth covered output wires look upgraded too-fender usually uses cheep pvc wire.

Good questions. I bought the guitar used last December, and this model was built in 2013 so there has been at least one other owner. I posted the picture because of the stock Japanese mini pots and 5 way switch mixed with cloth covered wires on the vintage style pickups made me wonder if the pickups are stock or upgraded. The info from fender when I sent them the serial number just says Japanese Custom Alnico pickups........if these are the stock pickups. The middle pickup is not RWRP and there is no hum cancelling. I'll have to check the coils when I next change my strings, and probably need to invest in a multimeter at some point. There are no colored dots under the bridge or neck like the Fat 50s and a Texas Specials have. They are pretty low output but have a sweet tone. I found I need to have them pretty low, the neck almost flush with pickguard on the bass side, otherwise the magnetic pull dulls the G string if set at Fender recommended height. The poles are bevelled and have vintage stagger.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Setting strat pickups at almost pickguard height is normal for those experienced with strats.

Thankfully that G string has forced you to set them at a position where you're most likely to get the best tone from them.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Been playing Strats for almost 50 years.

The correct height of the pickups relative to the strings has nothing to do with the pickguard.

For me, the starting point is to hold the low E down at the highest fret and then adjust the pickups to about 1/8" from the underside of the low E string.

Then I hold the high E down at the highest fret and adjust the pickups to about 1/16" from the underside of the high E string.

I'm very aware of the out of tune/false harmonics created when the pickups are too close to the wound strings. If I hear it I'll back the neck & middle pickups further away until I don't hear it. Or until it's so minimal that I can live with it.

The effect is cumulative. All three pickups pull the strings out of tune but the bridge pickup can be closer than the neck and middle pickups.

I have never had to adjust the pickups on a Strat so far away that they were lower than the pickguard or even with the pickguard.

It's not about getting the pickups even with pickguard anyway.

It's about getting the pickups close enough to the strings that the guitar sounds good but far enough away that the magnetic pull doesn't pull the wound strings out of tune when they are fretted at the higher frets.

Alnico 3 seems to the weakest alnico of them all. Weaker than alnico 2, which has less string pull than alnico 4 or 5.

Maybe that's why some guys like it: less string pull.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

I thought alnico numbers were a direct relation to magnet strength, but I could def. be wrong; was always my impression though.


I should add that using thinner strings allows the pickup to be set higher than it could otherwise. Use giant strings and you'll have to set the pickups VERY far down. I find a need to adjust the bass side of the pickup much lower than the treble side; some guitars/pickups cause this height to be almost low to the pickguard to avoid string pull issues, but usually the treble side can wind up pretty close to the string using my usual 9s.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Been playing Strats for almost 50 years.

The correct height of the pickups relative to the strings has nothing to do with the pickguard.

For me, the starting point is to hold the low E down at the highest fret and then adjust the pickups to about 1/8" from the underside of the low E string.

Then I hold the high E down at the highest fret and adjust the pickups to about 1/16" from the underside of the high E string.

I'm very aware of the out of tune/false harmonics created when the pickups are too close to the wound strings. If I hear it I'll back the neck & middle pickups further away until I don't hear it. Or until it's so minimal that I can live with it.

The effect is cumulative. All three pickups pull the strings out of tune but the bridge pickup can be closer than the neck and middle pickups.

I have never had to adjust the pickups on a Strat so far away that they were lower than the pickguard or even with the pickguard.

It's not about getting the pickups even with pickguard anyway.

It's about getting the pickups close enough to the strings that the guitar sounds good but far enough away that the magnetic pull doesn't pull the wound strings out of tune when they are fretted at the higher frets.

Alnico 3 seems to the weakest alnico of them all. Weaker than alnico 2, which has less string pull than alnico 4 or 5.

Maybe that's why some guys like it: less string pull.

This is exactly how I do it, although I adjust the middle pickup a little lower, since it gets in the way of the pick and my fingers (hybrid picking).

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

This is exactly how I do it, although I adjust the middle pickup a little lower, since it gets in the way of the pick and my fingers (hybrid picking).

Me too. One of my Strats doesn't even have a middle pickup. But of the ones that do, the middle pickup is a bit further from the strings than the neck pickup is.

 

[daenius]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Personally I highly recommend the Dimarzio Virtual Vintage 54 Pros! They are dead quiet while fully retaining that classic single coil mojo: bright and chimey with a lot of clarity, but a great sweet treble that doesn't get brittle nor shrill. You also can't go wrong with the Area 58.