Vintage Strat on a budget...?

[Stratosphere]

I thinking about putting a set of the Duncan SSL-1, Fender Fat 50s, or Fender 57/62 pickups in my Mexican Strat. After researching reviews opinions, and clips, etc. I think the Antiquity II Surfers or Fralin Vintage Hots would be what I would be going for but they are just out of the budget, so I have narrowed it down to the first three. Do think these would be comparable aternatives to the Surfers?

Also, what are some good hotter bridges to put with the SSL-1s? Can you put a Ant. II Surfer Custom Bridge with them? Or a SSL-7 Quarter Pounder or a Dimarzio FS-1 (just throwing out some overwound ones)?

This will be my first pickup change, so I trying to explore all possibilities...

 

[nepalnt21]

Re: Vintage Strat on a budget...?

ive never tried them, but a lot of guys reccomend along with the ssl- 1 neck and mid, a twangbanger bridge.

i HAVE tried the antiquity II neck and mod with the antiquity texas hot custom bridge and i would definitely say that they are VERY worth it. and i imagine the fralins are too.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Vintage Strat on a budget...?

I had the Fender CS 57/62's in my 62 RI and they were great for a chimey, bubbly traditional strat tone. If playing mostly clean, I would go with a set without thinking twice.

 

[dani]

Re: Vintage Strat on a budget...?

specs wise, the slightly hotter ssl-5/6 custom seems like a good mate for the ssl-1s although i haven't tried it. an even hotter bridge pickup will be the ssl-3 hot. you can order both pickups in a tapped version to switch between full output or a more vintage-y output.

if you decide on the surfer custom bridge, i suggest going all surfers or surfers with a texas hot custom bridge.

alternatively, fralin has a base plate to increase output and mids. perfect for vintage style single coils in the bridge position.

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: Vintage Strat on a budget...?

The SSL-1's are excellent value for money for that vintage sound. I guess your choice of bridge pup would depend on how much grunt you're looking for. The Twangbanger does it for me.

 

[thor666]

Re: Vintage Strat on a budget...?

The SSL-5 is a great pup, have it on my MIM strat. Only thing is - it isn't really vintage - there's a lot of output on the pup!

so yea, agree with dani, a ssl1 might pair well with a ssl5.

 

[Curly]

Re: Vintage Strat on a budget...?

if your budget is a concern, then the California 50s set - a calibrated set of SSL-1s - is a heck of a deal

for a hotter bridge, I like the SSL-3, but I haven't tried the -5.

I'd also recommend wiring the bridge pickup for tone.

 

[Stratosphere]

Re: Vintage Strat on a budget...?

Yes the price is appealling for sure. Here's what I've seen for complete sets:

57/62 $110
Fat 50's $130
SSL-1 $135

The Surfers are about $220 so a big jump in price...

What's the deal with the SSL-2s? Is having staggered pickups with an unwound G going to be that much of a big deal? I'm assuming no, since everyone seems to like the Surfers which are staggered.

I play mostly semi-clean through an overdriven VOX AC30, sometimes adding a boost or OD pedal. I never use the bridge pickup alone - it's too shrill and harsh to my ears, but I use the middle/bridge postiion a lot.

The one thing making me hesitant on the 57/62s is the middle pickup not being RWRP, but the price makes it tempting...though the SSL-1s are only $25 more I could get a set of thoose and try out an SSL-5 in the bridge at some later date.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Vintage Strat on a budget...?

The mid pickup on my 62's is RW/RP. I don't know about the newer sets.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Vintage Strat on a budget...?

I've tried and owned all of those!

The neck and middle Surfers, Vintage Hots and SSL-1's are very similar.

The Surfers, if you go for the Surfer Custom Bridge pickup, has the strongest and, IMO, best sounding bridge pickup.

The Surfers are my favorites.

The SSL-1's are kind of like a production version of the Surfers, but the bridge pickup in the SSL-1 set is not as hot as the Surfer Custom Bridge and overall tone of the whole set is not quite a vibey and throaty as the Surfers.

The Fralins are very classy and beautiful sounding and the highs are chimey and bell like and smoother than in either set mentioned. Mark Knopfler uses them and I have them in one of my Strats. But the Vintage Hot bridge pickup is not quite hot enough for me and I replaced it with a Fralin SP43 which sounds like a P90.

When all is said and done, I prefer the Surfers over any Strat pickups I have ever used, with the Fralin Vintage Hots coming in a close second.

Also consider the new Classic Stack Plus noiseless pickups from Duncan. Very similar to the Surfers but humcancelling. My very, VERY favorite noiseless Strat pickups I have ever owned. They should be...I had a small hand in the development of the Classic Stack Plus and Evan sent me prototypes to critique and to compare to the old pickups in my '63 Strat, the Antiquitys in my other Strats and to the Fralins in my other Strat.

Lew

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Vintage Strat on a budget...?

Since the title of this thread is Vintage Strat on a Budget, you might want to go for the SSL-1's.

The Calibrated SSL-1 set goes for $259 retail and MAP on them is $179.95.

The Fralins go for $220 per set.

The Ant Surfers go for $240 per set.

Lew

 

[Curly]

Re: Vintage Strat on a budget...?

Since the title of this thread is Vintage Strat on a Budget, you might want to go for the SSL-1's.

The Calibrated SSL-1 set goes for $259 retail and MAP on them is $179.95.

Lew

Lew,
that may be the price if you buy individual pickups

the going price for a "California 50s" packaged set of calibrated SSL-1s is about $136