TB-11 (Custom Custom) for a strat?

[Visual Anonymous]

Aloha peeps,

I have an (swamp) ash strat, maple neck, in dire need for a new pickup, and decided to go for a humbucker pup. But ... I have no idea which one to buy :15:
I guess the guitar is somewhat on the brighter side due to the woods used. The sound I'm looking for a tight rock tone. I'm playing in a Rise Against cover band, and looking for such a kind of tone. I'm aware they all use Les Pauls, and that the tone isn't going to be the same using a good ol' strat.
My bandmate recommended me a JB, but quite frankly I'm more interested in the Custom Custom. Never heard it in a strat though. Any input, or other suggestions/brands would be appreciated :1:


Over and out!!

VA

 

[UberMetalDood]

Re: TB-11 (Custom Custom) for a strat?

The Custom Custom would be an excellent pickup for an ash strat, but it's not necessarily a "tight rock tone." It's more of a brown sound/EVH kind of thing. The JB would be too icepicky in an ash strat as far as I'm concerned. An Alt8 might be a good choice, but it has a lot of output. The PATB-3 Blues Saraceno might be a good choice. It's not a high-gain pickup, but it has a thick warm tone that would mesh well with an ash strat. I had one recently that I got in a trade and ended up trading it off after a couple of weeks for a pedal, but I've been thinking about it a lot since. The spec sheet shows it to be mid-scooped, but it's the kind of mid-scoop that you don't feel like you're missing any mids. It's not a "tight" pickup, necessarily, but it feels looser than it sounds. Then there's the Seth Lover. I have one in an ash G&L strat and it's amazing.

Those are some options, but I'd probably say the Seth Lover is best. It's a vintage PAF for sure, but it's real tight. In a way it's kind of dry, but not so much that frustrates you. Well dry isn't the term, more like airy. It handles distortion pretty well up to the point of playing stuff like Metallica, but not a good choice for ultra saturated stuff. It has an A2 magnet like the Custom Custom, so it's warm with a lot of nice upper mids. It's not as hot as the Custom Custom, but SEEMS hotter than the typical Gibson PAFs I have. The thing about the Seth Lover is that it has a real dimension to it and never sounds flat. It's warm, with a little thickness. Better, tighter low end than the Custom Custom in my opinion.

I haven't tried an UOA5 in my Seth Lover yet, but I've been wanting to. I'd recommend getting the Seth Lover and if it's not perfect stock, then swap the A2 for a UOA5 (easy to do, no worries, and lots of support on this forum).

 

[joshuas5150]

Re: TB-11 (Custom Custom) for a strat?

I have a TB-11 Custom Custom in one of my Stratocasters and I think it works extremely well - very warm yet hot sound - I really like it.
I have another with a TB-14 Custom 5 in it - much tighter bottom end, and a thicker sound all round. Btw, TB-14 replaced a TB-5 Custom that I felt was too bright and had too much sizzle for my Stratocasters.