What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

[jeremy]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

if you want the hendrix thing then the custom shop 69s, pure 65, psychedelic set or the new hendrix pups will get you in that ballpark. fewer turns, machine wound, and pe wire. its a fun sound but i usually end up prefering the early 60's flavor of the surfers

 

[AlexR]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

We don't know what the sample size was from which these averages were derived. That number is curiously omitted from the table. It might have been two pickups, it might have been a dozen. But we can make believe that it was a large, representative pool of data, if it's convenient to the point we're trying to make.

Well, this depends on what personality type you have.

The skeptic is able to look at data and its source and use a degree of intelligence and balance in forming any conclusion. Whilst the raw data is not included the author has mentioned a possible total, which indeed would be statistically significant. As the author and the original source (Seymour) are providing this article for informative reasons the reasonable person will conclude there is no lie, nor any reason to corrupt the figures.

The cynic on the other hand will have a set agenda, and will immediately disbelieve anything that doesn't fit the way they want to see things.

 

[thanaton]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

What was the sample size for each year from which the averages were derived? Don't know? Don't believe it's important?

 

[C-Martin]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

i like the antiquity texas hots but i dont think they sound like a vintage fender strat pup, the surfers on the other hand sound very much like a strong set of vintage fender pups, they have a grey bottom but its just flatwork and doesnt effect the tone at all. the vintage correct thing would be to get three neck pups (same wind, same polarity) but people dont always like that setup since the bridge can be thin/bright. the surfer set with rw/rp middle and hotter bridge is a really good set of strat pups that would make most people who are looking for a good sounding set of strat pups in a vintage vein happy.

if you really want to get pups as close as possible to a 1959 strat then call the custom shop and they will wind you something, again they should be all the same polarity and wind. fender makes a set called the pure '59 but ive never heard them. the fat 50's are a fine set of pups too and my favorite of the modern fender pups ive spent time with

I missed this message. What would be the difference between Surfers and Fat 50s? Fat 50s come up often as the a favorite current production Fender pickup. I rarely hear bad things about it, kind of like the Surfers.

Surfers so far have been my favorite single coils, and since I've had them in my other Strat i stopped swapping pickups. Just trying to figure out if i get something different to have a different vibe on each guitar, or if i just go with the tried and true ones i already love.

 

[AlexR]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

What was the sample size for each year from which the averages were derived? Don't know? Don't believe it's important?

Of course its important.

But when Seymour is happy to give out information to someone collecting info on that subject that he feels is statistically significant, I believe that he would have done the due diligence being someone who understands these things.

Thats where the intelligence and reason comes into it.

 

[RogerMexiko]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

Don't know much about vintage stuff but Duncan's Jimi Hendrix set should be about the most accurate representatives of that time period. Rationale is that was what Seymour Duncan must have been listing to the most, early 60 to mid 60s Stratocasters and his notes should be a document of the best of the best if that is what he gave to Jimi Hendrix. Probably out in left field again but if it was me trying to build a period Stratocaster that is the way I would go.

 

[jeremy]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

early 60s and mid 60s strat pups are kinda different. hand wound with formvar vs machine wound with pe, both can sound great though

 

[thanaton]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

Seymour was just starting out when he met Hendrix. I would doubt that he had accumulated extensive notes by that point, since his coming across a lot of broken Strat pickups was a result of his having built up a reputation as a good pickup repair guy.

I also doubt that making a prototypical 60's stock Strat pickup was a design goal for the pickups he offered Hendrix. It would not make a lot of sense to offer Jimi a set of pickups that were designed to sound like the stock pickups that were already in his guitar. It makes me wonder what exactly his design goals were for the set he offered Hendrix.

 

[thanaton]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

early 60s and mid 60s strat pups are kinda different. hand wound with formvar vs machine wound with pe, both can sound great though

The survey did show a distinct drop in turn count and DC resistance when CBS took over '65, which is good info to have. Maybe they even switched magnet suppliers in their effort to cut every corner possible. That sort of thing would be harder to detect from looking at pickup samples.

 

[RogerMexiko]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

Seymour was just starting out when he met Hendrix. I would doubt that he had accumulated extensive notes by that point, since his coming across a lot of broken Strat pickups was a result of his having built up a reputation as a good pickup repair guy.

I also doubt that making a prototypical 60's stock Strat pickup was a design goal for the pickups he offered Hendrix. It would not make a lot of sense to offer Jimi a set of pickups that were designed to sound like the stock pickups that were already in his guitar. It makes me wonder what exactly his design goals were for the set he offered Hendrix.

What it says - "On a chilly evening in March of 1968, Jimi Hendrix asked a young Seymour W. Duncan to walk his guitar up onstage. That Strat was loaded with pickups Seymour had wound just for Jimi, and that unforgettable night would set in motion Seymour’s future – and his legacy almost five decades later. Now you can be a bit closer to Jimi’s world with our Jimi Hendrix™ Signature Strat Set.

Like Jimi’s music, the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set pickups have their roots in the traditional but with an eye on the future. Each is custom wound for a richer, melodic tone. The bridge model has an aggressive attack that cuts through while staying true to his iconic lead tone. The neck pickup sounds thick and full and is great for chord work, bluesy melodies, double-stops and Jimi’s signature hybrid chord/melody style. And in the in-between positions there’s plenty of that classic Strat ‘quack.’"

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

Hmmmm then i guess what I'm looking would be something in the "low output" 6k- range, like the surfers, because i like that tone. Something very responsive to pick attack and volume knob, i also play with the tone knob quite a bit. Maybe have RWRP middle, because i like to go pretty high gain sometimes but don't want to go noiseless. I already have a Strat that has a nice classic sound with the surfers, but doesn't quite do the Hendrix "Experience" tones quite how i want. Granted it's not a vintage styled Strat, so maybe I can look for that tone with this particular guitar. Maybe the Psychedelic set or CS69? I'm still intrigued by these "new" 56/59/65 set Fender came out with though, mainly because they seem to be easily found in the 120$ for a full set range.

I've read good things about the 56/59/65 sets, they seem to have distilled the essence of the pre-CBS/early CBS era into three non-CS pickups. A slightly lower output A3 Formvar set, a mid output A5 Formvar set and a mid output A5 Enamel set, all pretty affordable.

My personal vintage style Strats are loaded with CS69s, a set of Big Dippers (underwound Texas Specials), and a set of A2P/SSL-1/SSL-1. (Used to be SSL-1/SSL-1/SSL-5. Other Strats are Dimarzio Injectors and Lace Red/Silver/Blue)

The CS69s are a great compliment to the APS/SSL loaded Strat. I'd still like to try out the Lollar Blondes to see how they compare to the APS/SSL set. No matter what I'd go with something in the 5.8k - 6k range just to get a different flavor from your Surfer set.

Good luck on your Strat tone journey and don't be afraid to try a few sets!

 

[thanaton]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

What it says - "On a chilly evening in March of 1968, Jimi Hendrix asked a young Seymour W. Duncan to walk his guitar up onstage. That Strat was loaded with pickups Seymour had wound just for Jimi, and that unforgettable night would set in motion Seymour’s future – and his legacy almost five decades later. Now you can be a bit closer to Jimi’s world with our Jimi Hendrix™ Signature Strat Set.

Like Jimi’s music, the Jimi Hendrix Signature Strat Set pickups have their roots in the traditional but with an eye on the future. Each is custom wound for a richer, melodic tone. The bridge model has an aggressive attack that cuts through while staying true to his iconic lead tone. The neck pickup sounds thick and full and is great for chord work, bluesy melodies, double-stops and Jimi’s signature hybrid chord/melody style. And in the in-between positions there’s plenty of that classic Strat ‘quack.’"

I'm just not so sure that 2017 marketting copy constitutes an accurate historical account. "attack that cuts through" wasn't really a thing in 1968.

 

[RogerMexiko]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

I'm just not so sure that 2017 marketting copy constitutes an accurate historical account. "attack that cuts through" wasn't really a thing in 1968.

The point is "That Strat was loaded with pickups Seymour had wound just for Jimi." What would he have wound except the best of what he had heard and worked on which would have been mostly early to mid 60s Stratocasters. Sometimes you have to cut through the 2017 marketing copy. The story is of course much longer and documented elsewhere. But then I don't know and am not trying to make a period correct guitar so really it is the OPs difficult task to find his own way with some guidance from the best that this forum has to offer.

 

[freefrog]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

Hmmmm then i guess what I'm looking would be something in the "low output" 6k- range, like the surfers, because i like that tone. Something very responsive to pick attack and volume knob, i also play with the tone knob quite a bit. Maybe have RWRP middle, because i like to go pretty high gain sometimes but don't want to go noiseless. I already have a Strat that has a nice classic sound with the surfers, but doesn't quite do the Hendrix "Experience" tones quite how i want. Granted it's not a vintage styled Strat, so maybe I can look for that tone with this particular guitar. Maybe the Psychedelic set or CS69? I'm still intrigued by these "new" 56/59/65 set Fender came out with though, mainly because they seem to be easily found in the 120$ for a full set range.

If price is important, it might be interesting to check out a "small" boutique winder like Onamac Windery on eBay. The man sells his hand wound pickups for a relatively low price and IME/IMHO, they are good enough to be recommended here. Furthermore, he's open to specific orders.

A few more thoughts:
-yes, the randomness of "specs" is obvious with vintage Strat pickups and a Strat from a given year might contain PU's wound during a previous year... Despite of these ideas, there's certainly some changes from year to year (due to differences from batch to batch of wire spools or rod magnets, for example).
Each player will decide for himself if these nuances are important or not...
But if "someone" like Seymour Duncan, who has probably rewound more than a couple of Strat PU's, did publish in a chronological table the data that he kept about it, this chart is most likely meaningful statistically - IMHO.
-IME, anyway, the most important thing is to find a set of pickups able to suit the host guitar, with its specific resonance. One of my Strats has hosted a set of recent Amer Std, some Duncan SSL1, SSL5, APS1, Fender CS54 and CS69, Kinman Blues, Onamac... the last set tried will stay in it, not because it's inherently "better" but because it's the right choice for this axe (and closer to real vintage PU's than current Fender machine wound pickups if you ask me... but that's just my worthless experience).

Bonus to watch from 5:53 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nswcAPvH0P8

...And another vid, possibly interesting : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkXZK4n0-qE

 

[Mincer]

Re: What pickups for a 1960 Stratocaster project

If you are after exact replicas of those pickups, the Seymour Duncan Custom Shop has analyzed them many times and can build you a set.