Strat Ultra pickups

[Natman]

Hey guys, this is a little long. Hope you can read it all and give some advice. I'm no newb, tried MANY pickups over 20 years:

I had me a sweet 96 Strat Ultra which I bought new. It was great but not stratty enough due to the Lace Sensor Blue/Gold/Red-Red.

I swapped them out for Duncan Custom SSl-5 staggered. (That's right -I ordered 4 pickups with RWRP in the middle and the lefty stagger for the bridge!). It was cool but too beefy and I wanted a slightly more traditional strat sound.

I replaced those with Van Zandt Blues set (only 3 pickups this time with regular pickguard). They fit the bill until I needed money and sold the giutar a few years later.

In the meantime I treid a couple more Lace Sensor guitars and really dug the Hot Golds. The only niggle is that they have weak 2 & 4 tones; too smooth I guess. That alnico attack is spikey and hard to replicate with fridge magnets...

Now recently I put together a strat with the Ultra setup using 4 Gold Sensors (actually Visionarys with the cute see-thru covers). I figured I was heading closer towards a "traditional" strat sound by choosing Golds instead of Hot Golds. Great, the axe is awesome extremely versatile and toneful, especially with gain. HOWEVER as many of you know Sensors do not pull off the genuine strat sound, it's like 90% there but something IS missing.

So knowing that I probably can't have my cake and eat it too, what is your recommendation?

My priority is keeping the noise down but most noiseless pickups sound like pooh.
I am seriously considering Wilde Microcoils for the low noise and intelligent design but of course not really sure what they'll sound like. The Lawrece 280/200/298 set I had 10 years ago was fine but a bit clinical.

I am open to trying different Lace Sensors as I haven't tried any of the Burgundy, Emerald, Light Blue etc.
Dimarzio Areas get some strong reviews. Of course Duncan Stacks will probably come up and I know the design was improved a number of years ago. Kinmans are out of the quesstion, too pricey!

I don't expect 100% authentic strat tone, but I do want to keep the 4 pickup layout (NOT HSS using a regular humbucker!).

Fire away and thanks!

 

[IMENATOR]

Re: Strat Ultra pickups

Try ISP's Decimator pedals, I am surprised who well it keeps my true single coil middle pickup silent in my crunch channel. If you stay with a fix gain setting the simpler "Decimator" may be enough, if you switch from clean to crunch channels in the amp then "Decimator G-String" is the one. Don't forget all the necessary efforts for as silent rig too: good cables, proper grounding, etc. Check this video on the "Decimator" with no channel switching in the amp.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Strat Ultra pickups

As a fan of noiseless pickups, some are better than others. I really like the Classic Stack Plus, which is like 90% a real single coil (the other 10% is the hum). I can't think in any instance where I'd rather have the hum there. I use lots of reverbs and delays, so the hum builds quickly.

 

[IMENATOR]

Re: Strat Ultra pickups

Also, I have read some great reviews if the Sexcoil pickups. The duncans are good enough for me so far.

 

[Natman]

Re: Strat Ultra pickups

Thanks guys -I just ordered Emerald and Silver Sensors to try since they were a good price. I donèt want to get into the higher output pickups, you usually lose the single coil flavor! Emerald will go in neck position, silver in middle or bridge?

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Strat Ultra pickups

if you want a really rich strat tone you need true singles vintage wound (or thereabouts). Hotter pickups, Laces and noiseless just don't cut it.
Good news is this: there are a ton of killer true single sets out there that will sound killer from ssl1s to surfers, to fralins, lollar and the list goes on.
If you want to kill the hum, get one of the ilitch/suhr noise cancelling trem spring (backplate) covers. You screw it in, wire it in and tune it in to the particular pickup set you chose and you are done. Now you have the pickup set you want, with a switchable noise cancelling system.
The other advantage of the backplate system is that you need to have all 3 pickups with the same polarity (no rwrp) which will address the "weak 2&4) sounds. I've always found that non rwrp gives me a fuller sound in those positions, so with the backplate system you win on all fronts.
Yep its expensive, but hey.
https://www.fralinpickups.com/product/noise-cancelling-backplate-system-for-strat/

 

[darthphineas]

Re: Strat Ultra pickups

I just ordered Emerald and Silver Sensors to try since they were a good price.

tried the Lace Sensors back around '90. a bit of a disappointment. maybe they've made improvements in the past 25 years. please keep us updated.

I donèt want to get into the higher output pickups, you usually lose the single coil flavor!

not always.

If you want to kill the hum, get one of the ilitch/suhr noise cancelling trem spring (backplate) covers. You screw it in, wire it in and tune it in to the particular pickup set you chose and you are done. Now you have the pickup set you want, with a switchable noise cancelling system.

talked to Suhr about that a few months back. they led me to believe that backplate system was pretty much only available on their guitars.

it's interesting to see Fralin offer that system in backplates and in pickguards. very cool.

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Strat Ultra pickups

I'm finding the trouble with the Lace Sensors I currently have fitted in my Legacy is that the low end doesn't sound right to my ears. I'm not hearing that lovely, rounded, plummy low end. The notch positions are ok, and actually a lot better than when I tried the original Sensors in a Clapton Strat. Mine are a Burgundy bridge, Silver middle and Light Blue neck. I am thinking of swapping them out for something else, more than likely have to be noiseless as I have a mid-boost fitted.

 

[Mincer]

Re: Strat Ultra pickups

I like Laces (I only tried original gold, blue and red) work better for effects heavy tone, or long cable runs...I always preferred the Classic Stacks to the Laces in any guitar I've tried them in.

 

[dotsdad]

Re: Strat Ultra pickups

That Strat looks cool. Put some Fralin Splt Blades in to conplete the look (and sound good too)

 

[Natman]

Re: Strat Ultra pickups

Thought I would resurrect a zombie thread to inform whoever wants to know: I did buy a set of Wilde Ancio Microcoils and they are everything I was looking for. I put them in the above pictured strat then moved the whole pickguard to a different strat. There isn't a whole lot of info out there so I hope this might help:

The output is a little higher than normal singles and the overall bandwidth is a bit wider too, which translates to more highs. I am using normal 250k pots and have a couple of wiring tricks (JV, blend pot & passive mid). The Microcoils sound closer to real singles than ANY noiseless pickup I have tried yet, though I haven't tried them all (especially Duncan/Dimarzo, Kinman). I find that the top end is more detailed so the tone knob on 8 sounds very much like regular singles. The noise floor is downright minimal, FAR better than Lace Sensors. So much so that I will never again consider Sensors. There's no point when you can get a truer single tone and significantly less hum!

As far as actual tone goes, I do not think the Microcoils will compete with the best boutique single coils out there. They have their own voice/eq curve and I have heard more juicy singles. They definitely sound great however; musical and responsive. I would approximate the tone to American Standard alnicos: very good authentic single coil sound that works well for most things without leaning to any distinct era (I know one pro player in town whose favorite pickups are American Standard). If you really prefer more specific character like fat, thin, overwound, 3rd week of July 1968 tone, they might not be for you. They are slightly microphonic, and that might bother some people.

Before installing them, you notice how light and flimsy they look. That's because the coil is very thin/shallow compared to a normal single. You might get the impression they are cheaply made because of this, but playing them it's clear that they are like an evolution in pickup design. The principle remains the same but the effective part of the coil closest to the strings does all the work and the lower part where the pickup is catching a bunch of RF gets removed. IMO they surpass Leo Fender's design.

I get the ictus that only alnico rod magnets can give and the quack is back. I can rock more gain on every position due to strong output and the added highs are on tap for darker amps (I just leave the tone knob on 8 most of the time). And having the passive midrange on board is the most useful mod to get a scoop or hump, but that's not a testament to the pickups. I'm really impressed after owning them for a year. There should be more interest in these seriously.

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Strat Ultra pickups

Well, if I could be allowed to advertise something I'm currently selling at the Trading Post (forgive me for my poor manners) I got an EMG David Gilmour pickguard with EMG SA's and a few active tone controls. They are, similar to how you described Lace Sensor Golds, are about 90% Strat. They come with basically a smiley face eq knob and a frowney face eq knob, and that can get you pretty close to whatever strat tone you need.

It doesn't have the 4 pickup layout and doesn't match the colors on your guitar, but I'd suggest getting something similar. Maybe get either some EMG SA's for a more modern tone or go back to the LS Gold's if you want it more vintage. But I'd definitely consider looking into active eq controls if you can stand a battery. They make guitars a lot more "workable" when it comes to tone adjustments.