What pickups for a Strat?

[Corbic]

Even though the stock pickups in my 50s Strat reissue are good and all, I figure I'm eventually going to switch them out to improve my tone...after I get my amp of course. But I've been wondering which pickups would be recommended to replace them.

I play stuff ranging from jazz to blues to classic rock to hard rock to some classic metal. I currently have the stock Alnico 5 pickups in there, they sound good, but when I compared the pickups to something like the Eric Johnson in the store they sounded a little less...alive I guess (I realize the Eric Johnson is basicly a custom shop model for production prices, but I stand by the belief that my Strat was made in the custom shop and misprinted as a Classic series so it would get in my hands ). So of course I've been looking into the Antiquities and Antiquity IIs.

The kinda tones I really want are tones that are kinda like the following:

CLEAN:
The twangy Sultans of Swing tone
The chimy tone from Little Wing and Castles Made of Sand by Jimi.

DISTORTED:
The tone from Dolly Dagger
A mock-Zeppelin tone, I'm able to get that with my current bridge pickup, so I guess with one of the overwound one it'll sound better.
The bridge/middle tone from I Looked Away and Layla.

My main worries would be losing the twangy, quacky sound of the bridge/middle position because of the overwound bridge of the Antiquities. Anyway, any suggestions or help in deciding would be very much appreciated!

-Corbic

 

[jony]

Re: What pickups for a Strat?

Antiquity texas hots sound like something you'll like.

SSL-5's too.

Maybe a SSL-1 in the middle. To retain some classic strat sounds.

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: What pickups for a Strat?

Go for the full Surfer set. That beautiful tone Knopfler gets can only be acheived with staggered alnico V pickups. On the plus side, the Surfers should get close enough to the other sounds with the right amp.

 

[stevie_bees]

Re: What pickups for a Strat?

Twangbanger/SSL-1/SSL-1, covers pretty much all you want.

 

[ponch]

Re: What pickups for a Strat?

I would have to say a dave gilmour set from EMG. They can do clean very well & they can mock a humbucker. :banana: :banana:

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: What pickups for a Strat?

You can't get all those tones out of one guitar.

But I'd recommend SSL-1's or Antiquity Surfers for the neck and middle (for accurate Dire Straits tone) and something hotter for the bridge pickup so you can get a more overdriven rock tone when you switch to the bridge pickup for soloing.

Maybe a JB JR or Hot Rails or Twangbanger.

 

[david kornblatt]

Re: What pickups for a Strat?

i like the strat sound ilike the early 1958-model paul sound i like an early tele sound im not much of a tele lover but who cares anyway most people say i cant play so there

 

[Corbic]

Re: What pickups for a Strat?

You can't get all those tones out of one guitar.

But I'd recommend SSL-1's or Antiquity Surfers for the neck and middle (for accurate Dire Straits tone) and something hotter for the bridge pickup so you can get a more overdriven rock tone when you switch to the bridge pickup for soloing.

Maybe a JB JR or Hot Rails or Twangbanger.

How about the Antiquity Texas Hot Bridge or the Surfer bridge? They're both overwound a bit more then the Twangbanger, but I've heard great things about both. My main concern is losing the tone of the bridge/middle position, it's my most used position at the moment.

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: What pickups for a Strat?

I use the Texas Hot Custom and love it! Love the Surfer Custom too. You could use either without losing the bridge/middle combined tone.

For soloing, I like the extra mids of the THC better than the bright glassy chime of the Surfer Custom...but the Surfer gets that classic bridge/middle combined tone a little better than the THC.

Lew

How about the Antiquity Texas Hot Bridge or the Surfer bridge? They're both overwound a bit more then the Twangbanger, but I've heard great things about both. My main concern is losing the tone of the bridge/middle position, it's my most used position at the moment.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: What pickups for a Strat?

Twangbanger/Surfer/Surfer