Re: Strat bridge pickup: for those that have tried many, which one did yousettle on?
I have a Strat bridge sound in my head that is a vintage-ish classic Strat bridge pickup sound. From Ritchie Blackmore and Hendrix to Mark Knopfler. They all used stock pickups.
I also play Strat's since the early 80's and IMHO/IME, obtaining a good tone from a Strat bridge pickup is totally possible with stock PU's but...
-it requires a specific signal chain with some band aid: various treble boosters for Blackmore (I use a Rangemaster clone for such sounds), Orange compressor for Knopfler, DS1 for Gary Moore, a whole Cornish pedalboard with custom designed filters for Gilmour ... I love an EHX "Linear Power Booster" with a Strat: it's not "linear" at all and gives a fat tone;
-paradoxically, a good tone with stock bridge Strat PU's is easied by serious technical
flaws in the components involved: massive stray capacitance due to curly cables, resistive load of non true bypass wah's...
For years, I use a "cable capacitance emulator" with my Strats: this passive switchable box mimics the capacitive load of very long cables, in the Hendrix / SRV fashion. It gives me the warm tone with enhanced mids due to parasitic cap. If I didn't use it, my Marshall would split my ears once cranked up with my Strats... When I use it, the tone is perfect for me.
So, since I tweak my Strat tones thx to external parms and LRC filters, I've stopped to swap pickups and came back to regular specs SC's, with the same PU in each position if needed. I've even a CS69 in bridge position in a Strat, BTW: it's supposed to sound "weak" but once paired with the basic (and cheap) RC filtering that I use, it sounds as fat as Uli Jon made it sound in his 1973 white Strat (with
stock PU's). YMMV.
Now : since resonant peaks are defined by stray capacitance AND inductance, Strat pickups able to mimic the effect of high stray capacitance (without a long cable nor added caps) AND with more beef would/should logically be those with a high inductance, IOW all those overwound... DiMarzio FS1 comes to my mind (as used by Knopfler in various positions in his red Strat).
BTW, the main effect of a metal plate added under a Strat PU is to boost the inductance.
Out of Duncan pickups that I still love as they are (SSL1's being my oldest beloved Duncan SC's) and beside other models already mentioned, I have also a good experience with...
Onamac single coils,
Van Zandt PU's,
Kinman stacks.
Last but not least, I find interesting something like the "Tall Texan set" wound by Dave Stephens around a taller bobbin than typical Strat PU's...
Good luck in your quest, rze99!
