Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

jazzems5150

jazzems5150

New member
Hey guys, what's the thought around about the Fender Texas Specials? I'm not looking to exactly nail SRV's tone, but I think his tone his something I would use as a guide to explain how I want my strat to sound. I've been reading a lot of mixed reviews about the tone, but I've mostly read people recommending other sets over the TS set. I've read people loving them, saying they sound great, get lot's of twang, and have plenty of quack. On the other side, I've read the exact opposite. I'm open to other suggestions, but I'm on a tight budget right now, so Lollars, Bare Knuckles, Fralins, or Antiquities really aren't an option at the moment.

I recently made a thread asking for some suggestions,(thanks to those who replied!), but after doing some tweaking I've discovered it's not the frequencies I don't like, I just want a different tone.(thread here: https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?253513-My-Strat-needs-more-Low-End

I'm playing a 2012 USA Std. Strat with a maple fret board, weighing in at about 7.2 pounds. I replaced the Fat 50s with 2 SSL-1s and an SSL-5(I'd drop the Fat 50s back in, but they're currently going to North Carolina) And I have a Peavey Valveking 212.
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

I like the texas specials quite a bit, but I wouldn't replace the SSL-1s/SSL-5 with them. They are both great, just different flavors.
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

I like them too. They don't sound like the pickups in my '63 Strat though - they sound a little stronger and thicker. Not as much sparkle. But do I like the tone alot. Mark Knopfler was using them. Might still be. That should tell you something.

I think Antiquity Surfers and SSL-1's actually sound more like vintage early 60's Strat pickups.
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?



Sound amazing clean and sound equally as good with lots of gain.

I found them paradoxically to be quite textured and pleasing even though they seemed to also be just as aggressive and rude.
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

Strongly dislike!

I don't hate 'em and think they do have their place but to me they always lacked the sparkle and chime of a good Strat and sound sort of hard...
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

Love in the neck and middle, hate in the bridge.

To me they have a lot of vintage character with a bit more bite. Too shrill in the bridge position though.
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

Some of my favorite single-coils right there. Had a set for a while that went between a few Strats. I'm more of a humbucker guy but I enjoyed them while I had them.
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

I happen to love them in the neck and middle in my Am Deluxe Ash Strat, maple board. I've got a hummer in the bridge. No complaints at all. They do everything I want them to do from sparkley cleans to rich and warm to distorted/overdriven.
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

I tried them and couldn't get the 'stratitis' out of my strat. Even after lowering them down right through the faceplate and then they were too weak. They've been on my shelf for three years.

Kinman Blues fixed the problem.
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

ratherdashing said:
Love in the neck and middle, hate in the bridge.

To me they have a lot of vintage character with a bit more bite. Too shrill in the bridge position though.
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I have to go with what you got Bro. I purchased a bridge TS, brand new, in the box. Installed it, but found it to be ear piercing. They claim it to be over wound, but by appearance it was no more over wound than the stock Fender PU that came with my Strat back in 83'. Plus I was expecting the bridges ohms to be around 9.0. Not the case. The TS bridge is only about 6.5 ohms. Fender claims more of a mid range chirp out of these PU also. Not the case IMHO. I guess I'm just not made for them. But they might want to forget about saying they are over wound.
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

^I think you ended up with a middle or neck pickup....bridge should be 7.7k or thereabouts.
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

house said:
I have to go with what you got Bro. I purchased a bridge TS, brand new, in the box. Installed it, but found it to be ear piercing. They claim it to be over wound, but by appearance it was no more over wound than the stock Fender PU that came with my Strat back in 83'. Plus I was expecting the bridges ohms to be around 9.0. Not the case. The TS bridge is only about 6.5 ohms. Fender claims more of a mid range chirp out of these PU also. Not the case IMHO. I guess I'm just not made for them. But they might want to forget about saying they are over wound.
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They're only slightly more ohms than a vintage Strat pickup. The difference is more of an EQ thing than an output thing.

6.5K is pretty low. The bridge should be in the 7 - 8k range, definitely not 9k though. Like AlexR said, you might have a neck pickup. You can tell by looking at the paint dot on the bottom.

blue dot = neck
no dot = RWRP middle
red dot = bridge
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

STRATDELUXER97 said:
I don't hate them,but I use and prefer the Fat 50s over them.
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Those are excellent pickups. The Texas Specials have a very particular tone, but I've never heard anyone say they dislike the Fat 50's. That's probably why Fender's made them the stock pups on all the new American Standards :)
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

Hate them. The only positive was they don't fall apart at high volume.
 
Re: Texas Specials - Love or Hate?

Nope. It came in the package brand new from Fender, marked bridge PU. Fender points that the bridge PU will have a red dot on the bottom, and that's the way it came. The rating Fender has on their web site, as well as the box, puts the bridge PU at around 6.7 ohms, give or take a decimal point. They are moderately wound, and thin. That Texas Special sound synonymous, by popular belief, with SRV's tone can not be achieved with just the PU's. You have to have his total set up; amps and all. I guess that is what I was looking for. I put that bridge PU in the neck, and it kicks ass. I'll just have to dump a humbucker in the bridge to get that sound I'm looking for. I think I'll start with a 59' and see whats to come.

This site page from Fender has the stats on the Texas Specials.
http://www.fender.com/accessories/pick-ups/custom-shop-texas-special-stratocaster-bridge-pickup/
 
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