Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

[JimmyO]

Hi folks,

I was lucky enough to get a Fender Japan FSR 54 Stratocaster recently. It's based on the 54 Strat specs, Ash body, fat V neck with vintage radius and frets. The stock Japanese Alnico pickups sound nice, but I prefer the Fat50s and 57/62s in my other two Strats. Anyone have any good recommendations for 54 style Strat pickups? Looking for non aged white pickup covers to be in keeping with the 54 style, so not looking for antiquities or aged yellow pickups for this guitar. Looking for true vintage 50s style pickups with stagger and regular output bridge, not overwound Texas style. Maybe SSL-1s or Fender Custom Shop 54s. What do you guys think? Will be played through Fender tweed amps for blues and rock n roll.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Whatever you get, you can probably keep your old covers, Fender Japan polepiece spacing is usually either spot-on or close enough that you don't need new covers. You can't lose with SSL-1s; I haven't played many of the re-issue Fender pickups so I can't comment on those.

I have to recommend Rose Mariposas if you want something true to the early Stratocaster equal-DC resistance/vintage output family; he'll wind RWRP middle or not, based on your preference, and they're priced well.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

A set of SSL-1s will be perfect in that guitar. These are the classic replicas of 1950s Strat pickups that we make. Really wonderful clear, open sound.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

My understanding is the first Strats were A3 ('54) then have been A5 since. They were Formvar until around mid '64, the switching to plain enamel. Effectively, a 1955 Strat pickup should be the same as an early 1964 pickup. I believe in the beginning the instruction was to simply fill the bobbin. As the years went the added turn counters and more precise ways to lay the wire on the bobbin. All that being said, there are a lot of different pickups that could be called 50's style!

The Fender offerings alone are:
The CS54s A5 at 5.9k/5.9k/6.5k; Formvar
Pure Vintage 56 are A3, all at 5.8k; Formvar
Pure Vintage 59 are A5, all at 5.9k; Formvar
Original 57/62 are A5; all at 5.6k; Formvar

They are all appropriate 50's style Strat pickups but with a little variance. Also note they are in the high 5k range rather than 6.5k like the SSL-1. I think the CS54 have the most "character", being Custom Shop pickups. I haven't tried the Pure Vintage, but they have gotten great reviews. SSL-1s being a little hotter seem a little more "60's" to me (and they are great pickups!) so they are a little hotter with more midrange than the CS54s. I think either (or any of the others above) make great sounding vintage style Strats.

Of course if you want something even closer, Klein and Bare Knuckle will give you replicas of exact pickups from a specific year. Of course this doesn't mean they will sound better, they will just sound more accurate to a specific pickup.

Have fun on your tonal journey!

 

[JimmyO]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Will be replacing the pickup covers, not sure why but they are beginning to turn a non-vintage shade of lemon yellow. Really weird. Thanks for the advice. Also considering Fralin True 54s with the Alnico iii magnets. Looking for beautiful clean and mildly overdriven (tubescreamer) tones.

 

[esandes]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

another vote for the SSL-1 set. you can even get a loaded pickguard complete with pots i think. i heard it's what john frusciante uses or had used for much of his RHCP work. his strat tones are just epic.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

I hate A3 pickups. I don't care if they were in 54's. Thin, weak, plinky tone.

EJ might like them but even he puts a hot bridge pickup in his 54 Strats.

For vintage accuracy, you could buy three neck model Duncan Surfers. Use the same pickup in all three positions.

I wouldn't do that though. I'm fine without a RW/RP middle pickup - that's part of the vintage sound.

But I have to have a hotter than vintage bridge pickup in a Strat or else I don't enjoy playing the guitar.

My faves are the Duncan SSL-5 and the Fralin Steel Pole 43.

But now we no longer have a vintage accurate set.

Truth be told, I've owned a few 50's and 60's Strats and although I loved the neck and middle pickups I always wanted a stronger bridge pickup.

 

[dotsdad]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

I would avoid Fender. They wont let you exchange the pickups if you don't like them.

Lindy Fralin and Seymour Duncan, on the other hand, actually care about customer satisfaction. They both let you swap the pickups for a different model if you are not 100% satisfied. Fralin Real 54s are closest to what you want. If you can't afford the Fralins, Duncan SSL-1 is a good pickup.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

ssl1s are just fantastic pickups period.
Only thing i would recommend (and this is purely personal) is to avoid getting an rwrp middle because i like the sound of the knotch positions without the hum cancelling. This might be a moot point though because 54 strats only had a 3 way switch.

 

[jeremy]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

for your money a trio of ssl1 is going to be hard to beat. no they are not period correct for an early 50's strat pup and are voiced more like an early 60's pup but they are great. i have a strat with a trio of antiquity II jaguar bridge pups (same wind, same polarity) and its a great sounding guitar. i did put a baseplate on the bridge pup after i played it for a while since it was a little too bright. i also have a tone on the bridge pup since i dont always want all that treble. that said, it is a fantastic sounding guitar. a trio of ssl1 with a tone control available on the bridge pup will get you tons of classic usable fender tones.

rw/rp middle does sound different to me but i dont know if i prefer one over the other.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Go with current Fender stuff.

They are on top of their game these days with pickups.

The earliest 54's did use alnico III but I think that for 99.9% of us alnico V is what we hear when we think Stratocaster.

I actually use a set of Fender CS 1960 pickups in my Strat and they are long out of production and hard to find but I've been happy with almost every set of CS Fender pickups I've tried in the past 10 years

 

[AlexR]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

The ssl 1's and ant are certainly nice pickups.....however my feeling as they are voiced toward the more punchy thicker end of the spectrum.

Having had both Ant sets I feel they lose some of the 'hollowness' or 'depth' that you get with the Fender offerings. I'm not trying to badmouth any pickup, but even the Fat 50's seem to give me more of the openness that I had come to want from singles.

As to A3 sounding plinky.......maybe it depends on the wind, or how you have your amp set up. I mean any strat pickup will sound thin if a humbucker is what your amp is set for. I have strat, Tele, p90's and humbuckers all with A3 and none of these would match descriptors like thin, weak or plinky. The BKP Apache set is superb and well worth a look

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

The ssl 1's and ant are certainly nice pickups.....however my feeling as they are voiced toward the more punchy thicker end of the spectrum.

Having had both Ant sets I feel they lose some of the 'hollowness' or 'depth' that you get with the Fender offerings. I'm not trying to badmouth any pickup, but even the Fat 50's seem to give me more of the openness that I had come to want from singles.

As to A3 sounding plinky.......maybe it depends on the wind, or how you have your amp set up. I mean any strat pickup will sound thin if a humbucker is what your amp is set for. I have strat, Tele, p90's and humbuckers all with A3 and none of these would match descriptors like thin, weak or plinky. The BKP Apache set is superb and well worth a look

A3 is weaker than A2. And A2 is weaker than A5.

I guess I'm an A5 guy because I prefer it in both single coils and humbuckers.

I do have some Duncan Custom Shop A2 Jerry Donahue and Hot For Tele bridge pickups MJ wound for me that I still use. But I use them with A5 neck single coils.

My amp gets set for whatever guitar I'm playing.

 

[JimmyO]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

The SSL-1s seem to be a popular choice. I've never tried anything but Fender pickups so it would be nice to give them a go. I'm not set in trying to match 54 pickup specs completely with the Alnico iii magnets and polystyrene covers etc, but certainly want to keep things in the 50s ballpark vs late 60s etc. I really like the Fat 50s set in my US standard Strat. A great all round set. It makes me think the SSL-1s could be a good choice as they have a little more output like the Fat50s and they have been around for a long time, makes me think Seymour may have gotten it right first time with this set.

 

[AlexR]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Yes, and my guitar gets set for the pickups that are in it.

My guess is you've never had 'good' A3 pickups. Maybe you just switched in A3s into something not wound for it. Many of the originals came with A3.......the use of that magnet stretches even to the time of humbuckers.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

The SSL-1s seem to be a popular choice. I've never tried anything but Fender pickups so it would be nice to give them a go. I'm not set in trying to match 54 pickup specs completely with the Alnico iii magnets and polystyrene covers etc, but certainly want to keep things in the 50s ballpark vs late 60s etc. I really like the Fat 50s set in my US standard Strat. A great all round set. It makes me think the SSL-1s could be a good choice as they have a little more output like the Fat50s and they have been around for a long time, makes me think Seymour may have gotten it right first time with this set.

SSL-1s are great pickups. IMO Duncan took the common complaints abiut pre-CBS pickups in the 70's and made the set. They're at the upper range of DCR compared to vintage pickups, all consistently wound (on a true vintage instrument any one of the pickups could have been louder or quieter) and did the RWRP thing. I've still got two in my 62RI.

The good thing is that literally every pickup recommended here will give you a great sounding Strat. It's just up to your preference on exactly what you want it to sound like.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Yes, and my guitar gets set for the pickups that are in it.

My guess is you've never had 'good' A3 pickups. Maybe you just switched in A3s into something not wound for it. Many of the originals came with A3.......the use of that magnet stretches even to the time of humbuckers.

I've had the A3 pickups in my Fender Nocaster, the A3 pickups in four Eric Johnson Strats, and the A3 magnets I've put in various humbuckers including a set of Custom Shop Pearly Gates.

I know what A3 sounds like and it isn't for me.

I don't see the appeal.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

I tried original A3 Strat pickups in a prototype Strat from late '53. They sounded terrible (and the guitar was terrible, too). SSL-1s are an improvement on that early 50s sound.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

I tried original A3 Strat pickups in a prototype Strat from late '53. They sounded terrible (and the guitar was terrible, too). SSL-1s are an improvement on that early 50s sound.

To me too. And I owned a real '54 back around 1970. Owned a real '57 too...a hardtail.

I always prefered the sound of my real '63.

I think Seymour does too because the Antiquity Surfer is based on a 1962 Strat pickup...not a 54.

 

[Silence Kid]

Re: Recommendations for 54 Reissue Strat

Funny, I'd like to try some A3s after hearing this. Then again, APS-2s aren't my favorite either. I seem to gravitate toward alnico 5 without trying.