Replacement Strat Pickups

Streetsleeper

Streetsleeper

New member
Hi guys,

After a few years of being purely a Les Paul guy I finally got round to getting a strat. It's a new 2011 US Standard in black with a maple neck. It plays really nicely but the pickups aren't doing it for me. They can't handle much gain and they are really f'kin noisy!

So I'm after a replacement set. I love the typical strat clean tones so the new ones will have to be able to do the single coil Hendrix vibe, some Stevie Ray blues and also be able to handle some gain too. I don't play metal but musically its kind of similar to bands like Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, Led Zep.

The strat needs to be able to clearly cut through and be heard. I'm playing though a blue Marshall 6100 and matching 4x12.

There are so many pickups to chose between so any suggestions would be great!!

Thanks

Jonny
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

Greetings from west Wales.

I agree that those Fender Am Std single coils with the plastic bobbins are no great shakes. Presumably, you are looking to get 3 x single coil sized noise-cancelling pickups?

I'm going into leftfield to suggest Lace Sensors. Specifically, Emerald (n), Emerald (c), Light Blue (b).
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

Hi there, It's been while since I was in Wales, should go more often really as my mum is from Gwent originally.......

I was surprised to hear Lace mentioned as for some reason i thought they had a bad reputation. Anyway, looking at the website they look like they could work. The emeralds spec looks about right but I'd maybe consider the burgundy rather than light blue for bridge. Unfortunately it doesn't look like they have demos of either on their website!
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

I have the older Lace Golds in my '89 Strat Plus, and despite what they say they're good pups. Unfortunately Lace have changed construction methods in recent years, and IMO it has changed the tone too, for the worst. I agree the stock Alnico V Am Std pups can be very noisy in certain situations. I have DiMarzios in my '08 Am Std Strat. VV Blues/Area 58/Area 58, B/M/N. They really are the best Noiseless pups I've tried, and I've had various Fenders, SD's, and Lace. The Areas are very Strat like with zero noise. The Virtual Vintage Blues is more of a fat Strat sound, and excellent in the bridge position. Can't recommend them highly enough!
 
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Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

Greetings from Glamorgan !!!

For your taste I'd suggest the Kinman Marvin set. ( seriously )
They are fantastic for heavy blues and rock.
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

I don't live in the British Isles, but I do have some English heritage. LOL

Anywho, first thing I thought of when I read your post was the DiMarzio Area series. Specifically I'd go for a 61 in the bridge and 67s in the middle and neck. That'll give you a very Hendrix-y vibe with no noise. If you want a little more warmth in the middle and neck put some 58s there.
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

Another vote for the Areas. They sound great, reject noise incredibly well, keep traditional appearance, and are reasonably priced.
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

Agreed. I sold all my 'real' single coil Duncans, Fralins, Lollars, etc, when I found the Areas. They compromised nothing in tone or feel, and were dead quiet to boot.
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

RayBarbeeMusic said:
Agreed. I sold all my 'real' single coil Duncans, Fralins, Lollars, etc, when I found the Areas. They compromised nothing in tone or feel, and were dead quiet to boot.
Click to expand...

A Purist, and Strat afficanado such as myself would disagree. There is quite a bit 'extra' to be had above and beyond what a noiseless can give you. There wont ever be a point at which this gap is closed.
Besides, Seymour Duncan winds just about the truest to vintage stock strat pickup made in the SSL-1/2 and Antiquities Surfers.
Dimarzios sound great, but the sound is more eq'd for a modern artificial tone, and they just don't get the cool old Strat tone down like Duncans do.
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

A Purist, and Strat afficanado such as myself would disagree. There is quite a bit 'extra' to be had above and beyond what a noiseless can give you. There wont ever be a point at which this gap is closed.
Click to expand...

Only if you stick your fingers in your ears and go "LALALALALALALA" to ignore it. The only extra now is the noise. I really liked my SSL flats, had them for years, but I don't miss anything about them since switching to Area '67s.
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

I use the Klein S-7 set. The whole set is a bit on the warmer side of strat pickups and when combined with the slightly overwound bridge, I feel like I get good midrange for a strat (mine's Ash, I need mids!) and the bridge pickup is definitely distortion friendly.

No icepick. That's the best part. I'm certainly a fan of scatterwound single coils now.

But yeah, SSL-1s also have a great upper midrange edge that I find a bit harsh when playing alone, but when recording or playing with friends, it cuts through very well. Especially in alder with a maple neck.

SSL-1s will get you hendrix-y and SRV-like just fine, so long as you have the chops. I actually feel like MOST low-output true single coils will do that well, it just comes down to minor amp setting changes after that. That said, just look for pickups that balance your axe out i.e. If you have a really bright strat, get warmer pickups. After that, be confident that you can get a good sound for that type of music with whatever you chose, as long as it's a high quality pickup.
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

My tech has come up with an interesting solution.

My main problem was the bridge pickup but the neck & middle were the classic strat tones that I liked. The suggestion was to replace the bridge pickup with a Lil 59 but with a coil tap option.

That way I have the stratty tones that I like from the middle and neck but when I want it I have the extra grunt from the bridge humbucker, but also keep the option of going single coil in the bridge with the coil tap.

Also he's putting in a nice custom wiring option which will allow me to mix the neck pickup with the bridge using the 2nd tone control as a blend.

I'll let you know how it sounds!!
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

I hated the lil '59 and coil tapped its weak as hell.
The lil JB was much better, if you're going that route.
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

If you want more beef, but keeping it all single coil w/Strat vibe, go w/SSL-5 (Gilmour's bridge pup of choice). I was under the impression that you wanted all noiseless, which make the Area 67 neck & mid w/Area 61 bridge a great combo. You may also think about other beefier Dimarzio bridge pups as well. The Injector bridge may be a good choice. To me, Dimarzio makes some of the best sounding single coils stacked humbuckers. I love the HS-3s for neck & bridge.
 
Re: Replacement Strat Pickups

I recommend the Lil '59. I put that in my Strat (brige and neck) and could not be happier. My goal was hum cancelling, as well as getting a thicker and warmer tone similar to a Les Paul, but I still can get some "twang" out of the guitar by cranking up the tone knob. This pickup is designed to have an old Les Paul type sound. The pickup has excellent cleans, and overdriven can rock as hard as any Les Paul you've probably played. Of course, they are quiet with no hum or buzz at all. I too grew very tired of the noise from the stock single coils in my strat. I play a wide variety of music and this pickup gave me the most versatility out of the guitar.
 
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