Can anyone recommend a pickup set that is like the pickups found In a 63 strat ( nice and articulate fat sounding and can do some nice Lenny styles cleans and the can take gain well when doing stuff like Philip sayce). Not sure if they used alnico V on all strat pickups in 63 but I know bare knuckle pickups take on a 63 uses alnico V.
Single coils 1963 replica set
- Thread starter dsguitar1
- Start date
all fender stuff was alnico 5 for many, many years. the antiquity ii surfer is, to me, every thing i want in an early 60's strat pup. to be traditional, youd get three neck pups since fender didnt do rw/rp or hotter bridge models till much later. so three 6.2k, #42 formvar, staggered a5 rod pups is what you might get in a 1963 fender strat. many dont like that and want something a little beefier in the bridge, but i have a few strats set up with three similar pups and they sound great. though i do move the 2nd tone control to the bridge pup so i can roll off high end if i want.
the surfer set, with rw/rp middle, and slightly hotter bridge is a great set that most people looking for a '63 strat tone, would like a lot if they arent really going for the vintage bridge pup tone. which is bright and thin
the surfer set, with rw/rp middle, and slightly hotter bridge is a great set that most people looking for a '63 strat tone, would like a lot if they arent really going for the vintage bridge pup tone. which is bright and thin
freefrog
Well-known member
Contemporary A5 is not necessarily the same than the supposed "A5" of yesteryears... To me, there's much more consistency and efficience in the magnets of nowadays. I'vestill to find a modern replica with the same kind of erratic measured magnetism and inductive influence than the rod mags in the few vintage pickups that I've been lucky to measure...
Furthermore, a guitar from a given year can host pickups built previously, with inconsistent specs. The 1962 L Series Strat that i have in maintenance once a year hosts three transducers with different Gaussing, DCR, inductance and measured resonant peaks.
That being said, among Duncan products, I'd easily choose a simple set of SSL1's for a 1963 "style" tone: IMHO and IME, they are "close enough" (to the mid pickup of the L series Strat that I mentioned above, for instance, with its 6k and 2.6H. The last set of SSL's that I've mounted had the same inductance, even if its DCR and Gaussing were a bit higher).
FWIW. YMMV.
Furthermore, a guitar from a given year can host pickups built previously, with inconsistent specs. The 1962 L Series Strat that i have in maintenance once a year hosts three transducers with different Gaussing, DCR, inductance and measured resonant peaks.
That being said, among Duncan products, I'd easily choose a simple set of SSL1's for a 1963 "style" tone: IMHO and IME, they are "close enough" (to the mid pickup of the L series Strat that I mentioned above, for instance, with its 6k and 2.6H. The last set of SSL's that I've mounted had the same inductance, even if its DCR and Gaussing were a bit higher).
FWIW. YMMV.
eclecticsynergy
Well-known member
For modern production I'd say the Surfers are a darn good approximation.
SSL-1s too, for a more affordable option. Iconic Strat tone in spades.
I might suggest SSL-2s, though - same wind as SSL-1s, but not staggered.
So there's no problem with the G string being too loud.
(original stagger was for a wound G string.)
SSL-1s too, for a more affordable option. Iconic Strat tone in spades.
I might suggest SSL-2s, though - same wind as SSL-1s, but not staggered.
So there's no problem with the G string being too loud.
(original stagger was for a wound G string.)
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I always thought the ssl1 set was based on 50s spec given the name of the set?
Are suffers close to fender fat 60s?
The strat tone on this is great, obviously way more going on then just pickups we all know the wood, amp, hands, mic, mic placement etc etc has a lot to do with it but just posting as an idea. He gets real great clean up too.
Are suffers close to fender fat 60s?
The strat tone on this is great, obviously way more going on then just pickups we all know the wood, amp, hands, mic, mic placement etc etc has a lot to do with it but just posting as an idea. He gets real great clean up too.
surfers will nail that tone. the ssl1/2 pups are great too and usually found for very fair prices. fender didnt really change the recipe for strat pups much, but the early 60s pups, on average, seem to have a few more turns than earlier strat pups. the ssl1 is a great strat pup
freefrog
Well-known member
Anyone really wanting to nail it can read the comparative chart done by Seymour back in the days...
https://fenderkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/44.jpeg
... but that's averaged data. None of the PU's in the 62 Strat that I mentioned measures "6.22k".
SSL1's have more DCR than any vintage PU listed by Seymour but what counts IMHO/IME is their inductance, not their DCR, and SSL1's got it right for 60's style SC's (to me. YMMV). 0.5k of difference is negligible and in a counterintuitive way, it probably makes a SSL1 closer to a vintage PU by taming resistively a wee bit the slightly more efficient magnetism of modern rods (even degaussed)...
After that, there's the full "vintage correct" line from Klein, with models year by year... https://www.kleinpickups.com/c-2-stratocaster-pickups.aspx
...but once again, they rely on averaged data and their "1961" set doesn't match the PU's in the L series that I evoked for reference.
indifferent side note about SSL1's: maybe it's nostalgia but they remain one of my two favorite Duncan models. It's always a pleasure to play those that I've mounted 40 years ago in a Strat clone sold to a friend - and which are ironically twice more "vintage" now than 1963 Strat PU's were comparatively to my first set of SSL's when I've bought it.
https://fenderkitchen.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/44.jpeg
... but that's averaged data. None of the PU's in the 62 Strat that I mentioned measures "6.22k".
SSL1's have more DCR than any vintage PU listed by Seymour but what counts IMHO/IME is their inductance, not their DCR, and SSL1's got it right for 60's style SC's (to me. YMMV). 0.5k of difference is negligible and in a counterintuitive way, it probably makes a SSL1 closer to a vintage PU by taming resistively a wee bit the slightly more efficient magnetism of modern rods (even degaussed)...
After that, there's the full "vintage correct" line from Klein, with models year by year... https://www.kleinpickups.com/c-2-stratocaster-pickups.aspx
...but once again, they rely on averaged data and their "1961" set doesn't match the PU's in the L series that I evoked for reference.
indifferent side note about SSL1's: maybe it's nostalgia but they remain one of my two favorite Duncan models. It's always a pleasure to play those that I've mounted 40 years ago in a Strat clone sold to a friend - and which are ironically twice more "vintage" now than 1963 Strat PU's were comparatively to my first set of SSL's when I've bought it.
larryguitar
Active member
Just for the record, I'd never heard of Philip Sayce, and am now digging his stuff on YT and elsewhere. Thanks for that.
Larry
Hes great guitar playing obviously has a lot of SRV/Hendrix vibe but more with a modern heavier twist. His voice reminds me of Lenny Kravitz. He was in Jeff Healey's band and Melissa Etheridge band. Check out his albums 'Peace Machine' and 'Innerevolution'.
