What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

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slayest

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It seems that the following two Antiquity strat bridge pickups have exactly the same specs.

Antiquity II Custom Bridge:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/vintage-output/1102409_08_10_a/

Antiquity Texas Hot Custom Bridge:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/vintage-output/1102401_custom/

So what's the difference? Maybe different staggered heights? Or simply typos on the website?:34:
Which one is more suitable for Jimi Hendrix's tone, or Deep Purple Machine head (studio, not live) tone?
Thanks!:beerchug:
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

Big difference. The Texas Hot is alnico 2 and the Antiquity II is alnico 5.

The alnico 2 version has more midrange and a sweeter, smoother tone than the Antiquity II.

For soloing on the bridge pickup, especially with an overdriven tone, I like the Texas Hot best.

But the pickups in Jimi's Strats were all alnico 5 and they were not over wound like the Antiquity Custom bridge pickups are. But they should have been. Thanks to Seymour for inventing what Leo Fender could have invented but didn't get around to.

I don't know which Jimi would have preferred. I like them both.
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

The magnets are the only real difference in terms of tone...

That said keep in mind Jimi never used anyalnico II pickups and never had overwound pickups either...

If you want the best Jimi tone on the market right now look at the Fneder Custom Shop 69's...

Those also do a GREAT early Ritchie Blackmore/Strat as well just keep in mind Blackmore used an ES-335 OFTEN in the studio...
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

The magnetic polarity and/or coil winding direction may also be different.

Regarding the "Leo Fender could have invented" comment, yes, he could have done but, no, he never would have bothered. Initially, Leo was targeting Country and Western Swing musicians. The Stratocaster was meant to sound bright with Medium gauge strings. The fuzzed out, high gain Rock styles that emerged in the mid to late Sixties were completely off Leo's radar.
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

Thanks!
Does it mean that I can change a Antiquity II Custom Bridge into a Texas Hot simply with a magnet-swapping?
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

slayest said:
Thanks!
Does it mean that I can change a Antiquity II Custom Bridge into a Texas Hot simply with a magnet-swapping?
Click to expand...

You can't magnet swap single coils...they use rod magnets and the minute you try and push them out of the coil you'll short the coil.
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

If you are going for that later woodsstock+ era tone (and Blackmore's early strat sound) the CS69s are definitely money as Christian mentioned. I had a set previously. I suspect all of Jimi's early stuff would have been those very low wind early CBS pups circa 65-66? I handled a 65RI with r/w board and handwound abby pups that really did have that early hendrix vibe going on.

I've also played the TEX ants that a former local guitar shop salesguy had in his MIJ strat- VERY nice- very open and musical. They sounded more "bluesy" like my Fralins. SRV, Clapton, Rory-ish.
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

Thank you all!
I don't have to nail Jimi' tone. Just want to see what else can I do with the Antiquities other than the tone described in the website. So let's limit the question to:
Between the Antiquity II custom bridge and the Texas Hot custom bridge, which one is relatively closer to the tone of Jimi and early Deep Purple?
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

slayest said:
Thank you all!
I don't have to nail Jimi' tone. Just want to see what else can I do with the Antiquities other than the tone described in the website. So let's limit the question to:
Between the Antiquity II custom bridge and the Texas Hot custom bridge, which one is relatively closer to the tone of Jimi and early Deep Purple?
Click to expand...

The Ant II's are alnico 5 and will belcose to vintage Strat pickups since no vintage Fenders ever came with alnico II (which is whats in the Texas Hots)...that said the Surfer Custom Bridge is also like 9.7k and no vintage Fender Strat pickups ever that hot...so, neither are really gonna give you a vintage Fender sound but the Surfer will be closer, but still off by miles and miles...

If you got a set of Surfers w/o the Custom Bridge that'd be even closer since the output won't be jacked up...I mean the Custom Bridges are like a 50% overwind...that really reduces the top end and boosts the mids in a big way...not a vintage Fender sound at all...
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

C, howdy?

:)

Bro, don't forget that Surfer Custom and Ant Custom are not wound with #42 wire. I guess it even might be #44 ... Am not too sure though!

So the comparison of DC is not that fair actually.

Sure, they are not ~6K a5 pickups... Yet, the surfer bridge is quite a "strat" pickup... Ant I is too soft, so I kinda agree with you. But the surfer bridge is definitely the best strat bridge pickup I have ever used. Including Fralins, van Zandts, Fender CS's (including 69s), and some others I am forgetting... The surfer is a bit thicker, but to me it is not insanely hot. I am pairing mine with Fralin VH %5 underwound middle, 5.75K that is. And the results are wonderful! Gives me that to die for tone of Making Movies, Dire Straits... Through the clean channel of my D clone...

;)

Best,

B
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

It is a good pickup but it's hardly a vintage tone...thats been my issues with hot pickups...tried the Ant Custom bridges, SSL-5 and even 2 different CS pickups...once you get away from vintage specs you get away from vintage tone.
 
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Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

slayest said:
It seems that the following two Antiquity strat bridge pickups have exactly the same specs.

Antiquity II Custom Bridge:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/vintage-output/1102409_08_10_a/

Antiquity Texas Hot Custom Bridge:
http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/electric/stratocaster/vintage-output/1102401_custom/

So what's the difference? Maybe different staggered heights? Or simply typos on the website?:34:
Which one is more suitable for Jimi Hendrix's tone, or Deep Purple Machine head (studio, not live) tone?
Thanks!:beerchug:
Click to expand...

Neither of those artists ever used overwound bridge pickups.
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

I have a complete set of Surfers in one of my Strats & I have the Texas hots in another. Both of these guitars do a very good job of Vintage tones. Depends on what you want. Neither of theses picks suck by any means. These are the best vintage sounding guitars(Strats) I have. They do the job quite well.
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

I'm still sold on the Surfer/Surfer/Twangbanger in my blue strat...I'm very fussy but have stayed with this setup..
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

I am also in this end 70ies bluesrock thing and one of my friends own a beginning 70ies strat. This grey bottom pickups have a certain sound that hard to copy with 'vintage 50 or beginning 60' winds and A2 pickups. Fender changed at the mid of the 60ies from handguided winding to automatic winding machines (the wire is guided automatically from one side of the bobbin to the other side. This yields a somewhat linear winding pattern.)
Some of these boutique winders recognized that too and tried copies of those pups. I would look into these special offers.
Like: http://www.leosounds.de/EN/strat_redhouse_en.html
or http://www.leosounds.de/EN/strat_vp_fireball_en.html (in the German version on this pickup he delivers a great explanation, sorry the englich version is on 'coming soon'. Mabey you google translate it.
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

After searching for the perfect Blackmore vintage tone for years, I have finally found it with Fender cs 69s in the neck & middle (even though Blackmore never uses the middle pickup) and a Van Zandt Rock pickup in the bridge. You have to run it through a Treble booster (I use analogman Beano Boost) and a slight bit of distortion (I use an Analogman moded Boss overdrive with the silver mod, used as a clean boost). Running a fuzz face through the treble booster, will also give you the vintage Hendrix tone. You have to run the whole thing through a Marshall with volume about 7 ( I have a true master volume added to my Marshall done by my amp tech).
 
Re: What's the difference between Antiquity strat bridges?

I had no problem getting hendrix tones out of my surfer custom bridge, reverse slant!

Though I have become a fan of bridge pickups that are NOT purposely hotter than their neck counterpart. I actually think that identical pickups 'match' better than 'calibrated sets'.
 
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