Strat Pickup Suggestions for Upcoming Build

[treyhaislip]

After building several Teles, I'm missing a Strat so that will be my next build. Strat will have a chambered Mahogany body with a Spruce Top, neck will be a 1 piece Roasted Quartersawn Maple neck with SS frets and the bridge will have Steel saddles (still debating between a tremolo or fixed bridge.) Right now I play through a Fender Bassbreaker and a Yamaha THR100HD.

Looking for something similar to the Fender Fat 50s but a little more chimey/bell-like on the cleans and not as bright/shrill on the bridge (a great suggestion from a forum member worked well, putting a Tele style base plate on the bridge–so I'm leaning towards doing that with another set of Fender Fat 50s.)

Should I just stick with the Fat 50s since they are the ball park of what I'm looking for or is there another set I should consider? Thanks!

 

[Mincer]

I think a Five Two set would also work well. You get a fatter sound from the treble strings, and the grand piano-like thwack of the bass strings.

 

[jeremy]

callaham bridges arent cheap, but they are damn good

as far as pups... the antiquity ii set is fantastic. the neck is a perfect early 60s strat tone. the custom bridge model isnt much hotter but it does smooth out the top end just right while still sounding like a strat

 

[DonP]

After building several Teles, I'm missing a Strat so that will be my next build. Strat will have a chambered Mahogany body with a Spruce Top, neck will be a 1 piece Roasted Quartersawn Maple neck with SS frets and the bridge will have Steel saddles (still debating between a tremolo or fixed bridge.) Right now I play through a Fender Bassbreaker and a Yamaha THR100HD.

Looking for something similar to the Fender Fat 50s but a little more chimey/bell-like on the cleans and not as bright/shrill on the bridge (a great suggestion from a forum member worked well, putting a Tele style base plate on the bridge–so I'm leaning towards doing that with another set of Fender Fat 50s.)

Should I just stick with the Fat 50s since they are the ball park of what I'm looking for or is there another set I should consider? Thanks!

Your build is such an oddball I'm not sure.

I just did a build with Bootstrap '54 Vintage Pros in a 2008 MIM alder/rosewood. They have great chime and sound great. I like metal/rock stuff, so I didn't know if a weak bridge could do it, but it does. I've asked what pickups the '54 V-Pros sound like (SSL-1, CS69, ?) but haven't got a reply.

 

[zionstrat]

Great design! We've done a number of mahogany body Maple necks and it's a wonderful combination. 25.5 Maple snap but with warmer thicker mids and more sustain.

I'm not going to recommend a specific pickup but will mention that all of our builds were somewhat brighter than I had imagined on paper. So I would aim for whatever strat sound you desire but go with slightly warmer pups than you would have otherwise imagined.

 

[Demanic]

Lace Alumitones.

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[treyhaislip]

callaham bridges arent cheap, but they are damn good

as far as pups... the antiquity ii set is fantastic. the neck is a perfect early 60s strat tone. the custom bridge model isnt much hotter but it does smooth out the top end just right while still sounding like a strat

I've only heard great things about Callaham–I usually go with Gotoh but will definitely check them out!

I'm pretty ignorant of the tone by decades but it seems like the early 60s is the type of tone I'm after--Fender Fat 50s just hits very close. Thank you for the suggestion!

 

[treyhaislip]

Lace Alumitones.

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I've never tried these pickups but they just look too darn cool to me!

 

[treyhaislip]

Great design! We've done a number of mahogany body Maple necks and it's a wonderful combination. 25.5 Maple snap but with warmer thicker mids and more sustain.

I'm not going to recommend a specific pickup but will mention that all of our builds were somewhat brighter than I had imagined on paper. So I would aim for whatever strat sound you desire but go with slightly warmer pups than you would have otherwise imagined.

Thank you! I've built quite a few Mahogany+Spruce guitars–usually have a Maple+Ebony/Rosewood neck so this would be the first with an all Maple neck. Thank you for the advice on it being brighter than presumed!

 

[treyhaislip]

Your build is such an oddball I'm not sure.

I just did a build with Bootstrap '54 Vintage Pros in a 2008 MIM alder/rosewood. They have great chime and sound great. I like metal/rock stuff, so I didn't know if a weak bridge could do it, but it does. I've asked what pickups the '54 V-Pros sound like (SSL-1, CS69, ?) but haven't got a reply.

Might be an oddball but not for me–I've built quite a few Chambered, Hollow, Semi-Hollow Mahogany bodied Spruce Top Strat and Teles over the years–really dig the combo aesthetically.

I've never heard of Bootstrap pickups–will give them a look and listen!

 

[treyhaislip]

I think a Five Two set would also work well. You get a fatter sound from the treble strings, and the grand piano-like thwack of the bass strings.

That is a set I have not tried yet–just never seemed to jive with A2 magnets so the mix of A2 and A5 intrigues me!

Also, I used to know how to quote multiple people in one response...apologies in advance for the multiple replies!

 

[jeremy]

i like the 5/2 in the bridge and middle, i prefer an a5 strat pup in the neck unless im going all a2 across the board like an aps2 or texas hots.

 

[GuitarStv]

SSL-2 neck and middle are great! Depending on the output you want from the bridge - twangbanger (low output, most stratty) or SSL-6 (still stratty, but with lots more mids).

 

[Demanic]

I've never tried these pickups but they just look too darn cool to me!

If they are anything like the Deathbucker, then they are very flat and clear with no hum.
If I hadn't gotten a good deal on some vintage style A3's from idsnowdog, I would have put a set in my strat.

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