Members Yer Blues Posted April 12, 2013 Members Share Posted April 12, 2013 I have a Jimmie Vaughan Strat with Tex Mex single coils. It sounds like a Strat, but when I've made pickup upgrades in the past I have always noticed an improved sound. Would something like Dimarzio's Area set be an upgrade? There are so many great Strat type sounds from a variety of musicians. Current Strat guys I like a lot are Eric Gales, Andy Timmons, Eric Johnson, Carl Verheyen, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Herring (although he has humbuckers in his Strats). Of course, these guys sound great playing anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PrawnHeed Posted April 12, 2013 Members Share Posted April 12, 2013 White ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Flatspotter Posted April 12, 2013 Members Share Posted April 12, 2013 Kinmans in both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xrleroyx Posted April 12, 2013 Members Share Posted April 12, 2013 My first guitar was a USA strat, and is my main guitar still. Popped the 'guard off when I was 15 and found out that the pickups are these: http://www.vanzandtpu.com/pickups.html As for which ones? I'm thinking the vintage plus or blues. I'm not sure honestly as I don't really play blues and run my guitar either really clean with delay or under walls of fuzz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted April 12, 2013 Members Share Posted April 12, 2013 Fender Texas Specials (full set in one, neck and middle in another), Duncan JB Jr (in the bridge of my partscaster), Fender 57/62 set (stock in my 60th Anniversary Commemorative Strat), and a stock Squier humbucker in my Bullet. I like them all and would never dream of changing them! Even the Squier! I used to have an MIM Standard Strat with GFS Premium Vintage Alnicos in there. They were quite nice - the same vibe as the 57/62, but not as glassy. I traded the guitar to fund another Gibson, since it got no play time next to my USA Strats.Had a s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Strung_Out Posted April 12, 2013 Members Share Posted April 12, 2013 Klein Jazzycats, they sound exactly how I picture a strat sounding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitzilla Posted April 12, 2013 Members Share Posted April 12, 2013 I know a lot of people hate on them, but I love EMGs running on 18volt in a Strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nuke_diver Posted April 13, 2013 Members Share Posted April 13, 2013 BG V60's in a MIM strat. They made me fall in love with the middle position (compared to the stock ones) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Special J Posted April 13, 2013 Members Share Posted April 13, 2013 Whatever came stock in an 86 AVRI. 57/62 or the equivalent back then. I tried a bunch of others and ended up coming back to the stock ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fischman26 Posted April 13, 2013 Members Share Posted April 13, 2013 Standard pups in my MIM and lace sensors in my Buddy Guy USA. I am too lazy to try different ones. Oh, and both sound pretty good. If I wany a different tone I can grab my Tele or LP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BeanoBoy Posted April 13, 2013 Members Share Posted April 13, 2013 I have the stock pickups in my Hendrix VooDoo Strat. They sound cool but I had a set of Texas Specials in a Strat Plus ( I've since sold) that I liked a lot. I'm probably too lazy to change them in my VooDoo as I'm more of a 'bucker guy these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bro Blue Posted April 13, 2013 Members Share Posted April 13, 2013 Texas Specials, Tex Mex, Fralin Vintage, and the stock pickups in both the Squier CV50s and CV60s. I like the CV50s pickups a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaleH Posted April 13, 2013 Members Share Posted April 13, 2013 CS69, Lipstick, Tex Mex, Alnico III vintage set and looking for a set of SD alnico II pro flat APS2 for another strat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted April 13, 2013 Members Share Posted April 13, 2013 Kinman Woostock + Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jkater Posted April 13, 2013 Members Share Posted April 13, 2013 Four (yes, 4) single coil alnico 5 Yamaha pups made in Japan. The bridge double pup is no humbucker but two singles put into a humbucker size ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted April 13, 2013 Author Members Share Posted April 13, 2013 Thanks for the replies. I'm kind of on the fence about paying extra for something like Kinmans, Fralins, or Lollars vs. Duncans or Dimarzios. I really only have experience with Duncan's and have been very happy with them. I really want to stay true to a Strat sound though, i.e. no humbuckers.I do like the guitar alot and it is very comfortable to play, so it may be worth investing in it. I will talk to the bass player tomorrow at band practice and see if he is interested in swapping them out/showing me how to do it. Nice guy and in passing he said he would do it. I'm pretty sure he could swap out all the pots and stuff like that, too. He recently got a 6 string bass with active pickups and preamps that he swapped out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted April 13, 2013 Members Share Posted April 13, 2013 Based on how good Fender, Duncan, and even GFS Strat pickups have been for me, I would be hesitant to spend double the money for the boutique guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bro Blue Posted April 13, 2013 Members Share Posted April 13, 2013 Agreed. My Fralins sound great, but the stock pickups on my CV50s sound almost as good. I like the Tex Mex pickups, but only if the bridge is wired for tone control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted April 13, 2013 Members Share Posted April 13, 2013 I always wire the bridge to a tone. I leave the neck pickup without a tone, as I never use one there. It's useful on the other two pickups, though. If I had to have pickups share a tone, the neck and middle would be paired, and the bridge dedicated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted April 15, 2013 Moderators Share Posted April 15, 2013 There's a company called Fender who make pretty good Strat pickups. If you can't get a good sound from either CS54s, CS69s or 57/62s then, buy a Les Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kayd_mon Posted April 15, 2013 Members Share Posted April 15, 2013 @Ratae I completely agree with you. My 57/62 set sounds (to me) like what a Strat is "supposed" to sound like. @Yer Blues Hope they're everything you're looking for! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted April 15, 2013 Members Share Posted April 15, 2013 BG Phattys rBenson "Texas Style" handwoundsGFS Lil'KillersFender Tex-Mex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Rover Posted April 15, 2013 Members Share Posted April 15, 2013 In my black parts-o-caster I have a set of Fender Hot Noiseless. I got them because I thought that's what Jeff Beck uses, it turns out he doesn't, but I still like them. They've got a nice fat, even tone with a bit of a compressed sound. Kinda like EMGs but more dymanic. They can do clean, jangly stuff well, high gain, and everthing in between. They don't have a lot of quack and don't sound much like traditional Strat pups, but thats why I like them. They've got their own sound and I dig it.My blue USA Strat has the Lollar Blackface set which were installed when I bought the guitar. These are the best Strat pickups in the world. No seriously, theyre the best Strat pups I have ever personally played by far. Glorious, I love them. I also installed a Fralin plate under the bridge position and it really works! I highly recommend these for anyone who thinks their bridge pup sounds too bright by itself. Best bridge-only Strat sound Ive ever played. Sounds fat and raunchy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PRS_JRW Posted April 15, 2013 Members Share Posted April 15, 2013 I have a Seymour Duncan JB Jr in the bridge, SD Vintage Rails in the middle and a DiMarzio in the Neck. I also have an L.R. Baggs X Bridge for acoustic sound. I also dropped in locking tuners. I kept the original hardware, though a 2000 Am Std isn't going to fetch all that much more or less with the changes that I have made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thom Posted April 15, 2013 Members Share Posted April 15, 2013 Relevant to my interests:)Another pickup brand/type with every post, all pretty much doing the same thing in it's own little way. I'm in the market for a new strat, and I don't even know what to look for. If I have to go by what I know, I could probably settle for any somewhat vintage correct strat with a set of seymour duncan SSL-1 pu's.I might go with a cheapish upgrade platform, not sure yet.I don't suppose anyone already knows if these come with different pu's than the same generic 'okay' ones in the regular classic series 60s strats? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.