Strat pickups..

Dave_Mcpherson

Dave_Mcpherson

New member
Alright folks, i'm trying to find three single-coils, not SD's simply because i can't afford them for quite some time. And i'm not too fussed on that "professional" sound at the moment, i have my SG for that. Anyhow...I need three decent strat pickups for a grungey tone, not that much bite, capable of a bit of crunch, nothing over the top..with lots of harmonics. Is this possible? I really can't afford SD's, and have no idea where to start with single coils! Suggestions would be great..and have any of you ever tried Diesel pups????

Alex
 
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Re: Strat pickups..

you could go for a cheap duncan set - eg everything axe set or california set,
they're sometimes available for less than 130eur for the complete set.
this is a very challenging price/value ratio and hard to beat.

i never heard bad things about mighty mite - and a complete wired guard
from mm is about 60eur. there's not much in between imo. but at sd you
have a huge tone selection.

alternative you could take a look on www.rockinger.de - they have really
very good own pickups.

if you don't want to spend the money for a nice duncan set, and mm isn't
good enough, you'll maybe have a hard time to find what you're looking for.
mind that even duncan's are not expensive.
i wasted a lot of money for buying things 4times. if you don't wanna pay
that fee, i can only recommend you to check the pickup check cd and save
money for the right duncans.
everything less maybe a waste of money and time.
 
Re: Strat pickups..

Don't waste your time and money as I have in the past. Get by with what you have until you can afford Duncans. Pretty much everything else is crap.
 
Re: Strat pickups..

Well, in respone to "Noremorse" i believe your wrong...other pickups sound fantastic, like the Fender Jaguar originals, but it's a matter of opinion. Anyhow..When i say i can't afford it, i literally mean like..over £50 is TOO much. I'm really pretty "poor" at the moment, and will be for quite some time. I'm prepared to part with £40-50 on pickups, if it sounds better than the crap i have now. Honestly, anything is better than "Stagg" pickups!!! No sustain, no harmonics, no nothing...And cheers for your help, i'll check out that link you gave me :-).

Alex

P.s. Anyone ever tried GFS pups? If so, what are they like???
 
Re: Strat pickups..

I think Wilkinson makes pickups on the cheap. Might want to look into those. I have no idea how they are but at your price range, you shouldn't expect the world.
 
Re: Strat pickups..

lol I'm not expecting the world :-). But there has to be some gems out there for a reasonable price...I'll check out Wilkinson :-).
 
Re: Strat pickups..

Dave,
if money really matters that much, it's the worse idea to try out
some cheopo pups!
You can change much experimenting around with string height and string
gauge.
You're definately right, that other pups sound good too - but most of the
good sounding pups are really expensive. i'm a seymour duncan fan, because
the have a great price value ratio.
i'm still shocked, that you don't like migthy mite pups - i'm afraid gfs won't
be better, but i may be wrong. i'm interested in the gfs lipsticks myself,
but i don't wanna spend 70 euros for three pickups with really zero recommendations

cheers
martin
 
Re: Strat pickups..

Honestly, check eBay. You might get lucky and find an Alnico II Pro Staggered set from someone who gutted a Lite Ash Stratocaster. I saw one on there once, they were used pickups but they weren't asking much for them, and that would be a nice set to own. Just check, you never know what you might find :D
 
Re: Strat pickups..

Look on eBay UK for Wilkinson or Kent Armstrong, both companies produce pretty good pickups for the money.
 
Re: Strat pickups..

www.stewmac.com has their own line of low budget pickups called Golden Age. Can't vouch for them because I never tried them. Don't know if they ship outside the USA or not though.
 
Re: Strat pickups..

the stewmacs arent bad but they are almost the price of a duncan ssl1 which are much nicer
 
Re: Strat pickups..

I have a homemade strat with a loaded pickguard with Wilkinsons : 2 single coils and a humbucker. The humbucker sounds really good for the money, a bit dark but good sustain..The sc's are ok!
 
Re: Strat pickups..

Sets of three Alnico II Pro for Strat go for around $70 on ebay. Sometimes the SSL-1s do, too.
 
Re: Strat pickups..

If you're on a budget, just go for used Duncans.

And if you're seriously on a budget, only change the pickup(s) you use most.
 
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Re: Strat pickups..

Dave_Mcpherson said:
Alright folks, i'm trying to find three single-coils, not SD's simply because i can't afford them for quite some time. And i'm not too fussed on that "professional" sound at the moment, i have my SG for that. Anyhow...I need three decent strat pickups for a grungey tone, not that much bite, capable of a bit of crunch, nothing over the top..with lots of harmonics. Is this possible? I really can't afford SD's, and have no idea where to start with single coils! Suggestions would be great..and have any of you ever tried Diesel pups????

Alex
Click to expand...

Buy SD from one of the forum brothers over the water. Even with duty they will be tons cheaper than buying in the UK as the $ exchange rate is fantastic at the moment at $2.05. I'm about to buy some mini hums, they are the same price in $ as they are in £ - so its a bit like buy one get one free:)

Or buy s/hand from someone on the trading post postage will only be $5 and if they mark it as a gift no duty!
 
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Re: Strat pickups..

Speaking of which, i found the pickguard wired set that I had "robbed" of two Alnico II Pro Staggered. This means I have a complete pickguard and controls with one bridge Alnico II Pro Staggered sitting here. Make me a fair offer and it's yours :D
 
Re: Strat pickups..

just keep trawling ebay UK dude, you can pick up a trio of like SSL1s or something for about 60-70 quid.. they might look a bit battered, so use your existing covers :P
 
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