Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

[Falstaff]

I am thinking about picking up a set of Ant II for a Strat and was wondering what you guys are thinking about them after having them a while. As Doc and I discussed at the end of this thread https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=15984&page=3&pp=20 I am looking for a really, really good bridge/middle tone (as well as nice other tones as well, of course). Should I get the regular set or the hotter custom bridge? I will probably do a blender pot mod.

Thanks!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

I think the Surfers and the Fralin Vintage Hots are the best Strat pickups I have ever owned...including all the vintage sets I've owned in my '54, '57 and '63 Strats.

Compared to the Fralins, the Surfers have tighter bass. The Fralins are a little less glassy on top and slightly bigger and looser in the bass.

I have a full set of Surfers with the Surfer 10K Custom Bridge pickup in my white '57 RI Strat and neck and middle Surfers with the Texas Hot 10K Custom Bridge in my '57 RI Sunburst Strat. Alder body for both.

I like the Texas Hot Custom bridge pickup with the Surfer neck and middle alot...it's a little pluckier, middier, chewier less glassy tone that's nice for soloing.

I like the full set of Surfers just as much, and the lead pickup is brighter and glassier than the Texas Hot Custom bridge pickup and blends with the middle pickup in a slightly chimier more classic way.

I think they're just fabulous and have not grown tired of them in the least bit.

Lew

 

[Lee_M.]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Hey Lew ~

Why the Surfers over the Ant I's in the neck and middle? I'm doing a bit more rock and blues, so am I shooting myself in the foot by going with the Ant I's?

I like the glassy SRV tone, so let me know what will work best.

 

[Lee_M.]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Matt,

You are going down the same road as me! I finally caved in and had to buy a pair of Ant's! God bless Seymour Duncan.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Hey Lew ~

Why the Surfers over the Ant I's in the neck and middle? I'm doing a bit more rock and blues, so am I shooting myself in the foot by going with the Ant I's?

I like the glassy SRV tone, so let me know what will work best.

I like the glassier, bubblier Hendrix type tone of the alnico 5 Surfers for chords and R&B style rythym, and the pluckier, less glassy and more touch sensitive tone of the alnico 2 Texas Hot Custom bridge pickup for soloing.

John (STRATDELUXER97) prefers the full set of Texas Hot pickups in his Strat though. In a way, the Texas Hots get more of the tone SRV got by using huge strings and detuning to E flat with guitars that are strung with normal strings and tuned to E.

Lew

 

[Lee_M.]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Thanks, Lew. I'll stick with the Ant I's for my purchase - I want the SRV type vibe for now.

You know ~ I can always have you do another pre-made pickguard with the Fralin's. If I can learn to solder, I'll have an easy swap between the two sets of pickups.

Matt ~ Sorry for hijacking your thread!

 

[Falstaff]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Matt,

You are going down the same road as me! I finally caved in and had to buy a pair of Ant's! God bless Seymour Duncan.

Yeah! All of the posts about the Ant II's really make me think they have what I am looking for. I like the strat/tele thing I have but when I switch to the bridge PU there is a bit of a 'disconnect' or multiple personality thing there and I think I'll do something else with that tele.

Lew, so if having the most classic sounding bridge/middle position is my thing, the standard set will do the trick? I think with a blender pot I should be able to get some use out of the bridge, and just a bit of low-string twang and the bridge/middle sound are more important to me than the benefits that a hotter bridge PU could offer. I think. :laugh2:


Lee, it ain't my thread, it's the Forum's thread!

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Lew, so if having the most classic sounding bridge/middle position is my thing, the standard set will do the trick? I think with a blender pot I should be able to get some use out of the bridge, and just a bit of low-string twang and the bridge/middle sound are more important to me than the benefits that a hotter bridge PU could offer. I think. :laugh2:

Actually, both the Ant I Custom Bridge and Ant II Custom bridge are hot pickups. Both come in at about 9.5K or hotter...the neck and middel come in at around 6.6K or so.

A full set of Surfers sounds like the right set for you.

And you know, there's always that 21 day exchange if you need to use it.

Couldn't imagine needing to use it on a set of Antquitys though...they're just so good.

Lew

 

[jeremy]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

the antiquitys are killer!!!
im not sure the 21 day policy covers antiquitys, i think just the regular line.

i have a strat with a set of surfers that ive been playing alot lately. killer cleans and great stratty dirty tones, really getting into the sound of them.
i have the custom bridge and while i think the non-custom bridge might get a more traditional pos 4 tone i think the tone i get is great

 

[Falstaff]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Thanks, Lew. Big Star and Magic Sam are looming closer on my horizon. Except for the talent part.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Thanks, Lew. Big Star and Magic Sam are looming closer on my horizon. Except for the talent part.

Magic Sam...cool! Great early Buddy Guy and Hendrix tones too, from the Surfers.

Who's Big Star?

Lew

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

the antiquitys are killer!!!
im not sure the 21 day policy covers antiquitys, i think just the regular line.

i have a strat with a set of surfers that ive been playing alot lately. killer cleans and great stratty dirty tones, really getting into the sound of them.
i have the custom bridge and while i think the non-custom bridge might get a more traditional pos 4 tone i think the tone i get is great

I agree. I love the Ant I and Ant II Custom bridge pickups. The #4 tones are just awesome. I don't think there's any real compromise there compared to the #4 position in my original '63 Strat with three matched original '63 pickups. In fact, I prefer the Antiquitys with the hotter Custom bridge to the original set in my '63. Lew

 

[Falstaff]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Magic Sam...cool! Great early Buddy Guy and Hendrix tones too, from the Surfers.

Who's Big Star?

Lew

They were a Memphis band from the early 70's. Alex Chilton, who sang for the Box Tops when he was a kid, was one of the singer/guitarists. They never made a dime but influenced a ton of bands like REM and the Replacements. They have reunited a couple times with guys from a pretty decent band called the Posies who have a big Big Star influence, but the first two records are such flamingly good masterpieces that the reunions pale in comparison. At any rate, IMHO some of the best Strat tones (at least in a non-blues or pop context) ever recorded were on their second album "Radio City." There are a couple of snippets at the end of the thread below.

Sorry for the preachy rant! When someone starts a Church of the Big Star, I will be Pope! :laugh2:
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=15984&page=3&pp=20

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

They were a Memphis band from the early 70's. Alex Chilton, who sang for the Box Tops when he was a kid, was one of the singer/guitarists. They never made a dime but influenced a ton of bands like REM and the Replacements. They have reunited a couple times with guys from a pretty decent band called the Posies who have a big Big Star influence, but the first two records are such flamingly good masterpieces that the reunions pale in comparison. At any rate, IMHO some of the best Strat tones (at least in a non-blues or pop context) ever recorded were on their second album "Radio City." There are a couple of snippets at the end of the thread below.

Sorry for the preachy rant! When someone starts a Church of the Big Star, I will be Pope! :laugh2:
https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=15984&page=3&pp=20

Always liked that guy's voice in the Box Tops but never knew his name. Cool info! Thanks, Lew

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Hi Matt,

I wasn't around lately, sorry for the late reply.

Here is what I posted last month into Lew's ultimate strat thread:

------------------------

Friends,

The surfer bridge is EXCELLENT. Hands down, the best strat bridge pickup I have ever used. It is beefy, not a vintage strat pickup, but who cares. The vintage ones are wimpy anyway! Honestly still I love my van zandt blues that I use in the bridge, but the surfer can do a very good job in getting close to the vintage tones, and also do beefy strat bridge tone.

The neck, it is to die for! GREAT GREAT GREAT!

BUT the second position doesn't have the highs I need to have. The tone I get is great, don't get me wrong, but it looks like I need more highs there.

I ain't gonna touch the bridge or the neck (BTW when both are active, they sound superb). But I might get to replace the middle pickup with something that is brighter. I ran out of good strat single coils, have 2 fender tx specials (I somehow doubt they would be the solution to my situation), and some stock fender american series pickups.

BTW maybe I am too much accustomed to quite bright single coils. I dunno. Maybe I shouldn't touch it. Give the middle more time.

Any feedback?

B
-----------------------

My perception did not change. I love the neck, I love the neck and middle, I love the bridge and the bridge with the neck. BUT the bridge middle position is simply too polite, too round for me. In fact, that's why I am considering to install another pickup into the middle position, even tho I feel that it has something to do with the bridge.

The van zandt set simply kills the surfer set in the bridge/middle position, and I am kinda indifferent between the neck positions, even tho I love the surfer bridge by itself way more than the van zandt blues bridge (more icepicky, but I guess that's what's making the bridge/middle position great).

I guess it's just like the case with timbuckers, the bridge pickup is somewhat bright, somewhat thin with the tone full on. But that makes the middle position to die for. Don't you agree?

Best of luck to you.

B

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

So it's the bridge and middle position the Dr. feels could be improved on? All five positions sound awesome in my guitar with the full Surfer set. Must be because that Surfer bridge is almost 10K and the middle pickup is around 6.5K or so and the bridge pickup is dominating the middle pickup somewhat in Dr. Barlo's Strat? I've never heard that complaint about the Surfers before but I can see how it might have some merit. Still: in my Strat all five positions sound superb, including the bridge and middle combined #4 switch position. Lew

 

[dr.barlo]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Cool.

For me #2 is bridge/middle position.

As I said above it may very well be that I am sort of too accustomed to a5 ~6.00K birdge middle sound, thus, what the surfers deliver is different. My middle is 6.30K and the bridge is 9.80K. The bridge is not necessarily overpowering the middle, in fact, I got the middle quite low and that increased the quack from the second position.

I guess that's what you've been calling glass versus silk crunched glass. no? I just need more of that edgey second position, e.g. Rory Gallagher, Clapton's Brownie (think of I looked away) ...

B

 

[Falstaff]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Thanks guys! I think when the time comes I'll try the regular Surfer set with a blender pot. I appreciate all of your help!

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

I really love the Surfers! The name Surf might scare some people into thinking the Ant I's have a more texas tone, but really, you've just got to decide whether you like A-5 or A-2 strat pickups. I prefer A-5's, which is the sound I hear when I listen to most classic strat tones from Hendrix, SRV, Gilmour, etc. I had originally put the Surfer neck and middle with an Ant I Custom, but soon realized I didn't like the bridge tone I was getting. Luckily, my neck has a lower impedence than my middle, which struck me as strange, but maybe it's why I'm not experiencing the same dark 4th position like Doc Barlo. Since I sold the Ant I Custom to Puckboy, I put the Surfers with a tremspaced C-5, so my strat would be everything between Gilmour and VH.
Surprisingly, I really like my 2nd pos sound, even though the C-5 is hotter than the Surfers. All in all, I'd say the best strat offering Duncan has is the Surfer neck and middle with the A-5 Ant II Custom bridge, which I may use from now on in any strat I buy. From SRV to Hendrix to U2 to Gilmour.....the Surfers have the tone.

 

[Falstaff]

Re: Surfer Updates? Lew, Doc, Joneser?

Great, thanks!