What's your opinion of these Strat pickup upgrades for humbucker type tone ?

[RockPianoman]

These pickups give a definite humbucker tone, but if that's what you're after, what do you think of the tone of them ? (The third link is a demo)

 

Solderless installation....you strip the ground wires and wires from the input jack about a quarter inch and twist them and insert them into a connector and tighten a screw down on each....super easy ....also, rail pickups don't have dead spots like pickups with poles (when you're doing string bending).....all the electronics are top notch, something you don't always get when replacing only the pickups.....also, you don't run into problems with the wrong ohm switches and pots which can really paint a poor picture of how good pickups can actually sound.....everything is perfectly matched here......

 

I like pickups that give good quality clean tone.....I can get distortion through effects or my amp.....these are super quiet.....I would still shield everything inside including the back of the pickguard as good as possible before attaching the pickguard......

 

If you bought a cheap Strat with a nice neck and nice tuners and added this, you'd really have something special.....if you bought a more expensive Strat and added this, you'd have something exceptional......

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that there are a lot of expensive big name pickups that leave you disappointed after they are installed......I think these sound really good and full and warm.....and super quiet.....

 

http://www.dimarzio.com/pickups/pre-wired

 

DiMarzio Fast Track Pre-Wired Strat Guitar Pickguard

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/acces...uards&index=21

 

 

Demos:

 

 

 

 

Information about how the pickguard is wired:

 

 

I like the one above better as the demo below shows too much distortion.....I can get that separately but I need to be able to play clean.....

 

DiMarzio Billy Corgan Prewired Pickguard Black

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/acces...%20%20&index=3

 

DiMarzio Billy Corgan Prewired Pickguard Black

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKFNOZoZbLI

[RockPianoman]

I'm definitely getting the first pickguard that the first two demos are demonstrating for my Mexican Strat....I have several other Strats that I will set up differently......

[billybilly]

Average

[RockPianoman]

What would be another way to go because I'd like to get a complete loaded pickguard for my Strat focusing on clean and totally quiet

[badpenguin]

If I am going to have a strat with humbuckers, I am going to have humbuckers in it to start with. I don't want humbuckers "like" tone, I want humbuckers dammit!

[RockPianoman]

It seems to me that in order to have the most versatile effects through a multi-effects unit, the pickups should give you rich sound without coloring the sound a certain way.....the effects unit does that.....that's what I kinda hear on the first two demos.....nice tone but you would be able to make it what you need it to be

 

It does sound like humbuckers to me because it is.....I was just trying to describe the tone I was shooting for here with the title of the post

 

Another way to go is to get a high distortion pickup so you can switch tones with your pickup selector but usually pickups with distortion are way louder

 

One thing I don't like is usually with Strats the pickups sound too much alike.....if you have three, it seems to me they should sound different

[sammyreynolds01]

When people buy a strat they want it to sound like a strat.....funny how that works. if i want a humbucker, will buy a guitar a humbucker.

[RockPianoman]

I don't really like the Strat sound much but I like the way they play much more than a Les Paul.... have a Mexcian Strat (rosewood fingerboard) that I like as much as any American Strat I've ever played.....I put Sperzel locking tuners, a ball bearing nut, had it re-fretted with the largest frets, and I put on graphtech saddlles.....the three single coils sound really good but are very noisy

 

Another thing is if a Strat has 3 single coils it may not be hollowed out enough to take full sized humbuckers...I'd prefer not to lose any more wood than it has already

[Radar-Love]

I've played several guitars over the years that have had hotrail type humbucker Strat drop-in pickups (from various manufacturers) installed and most have sounded harsh to varying degrees. My immediate suspicion was the harsh or harsher sounding hotrail pickups probably employed a ceramic magnet. Some were likely just overwound with 43 or 44 gauge magnet wire -- which is thinner than most pickup wire -- just to be able to squeeze in as many windings as possible on those tiny hotrail humbucker bobbins.

 

 

[1001gear]

The actual Hot rails is pretty much a distortion pickup. Seems to work like no booster can. Starts out at automatic crunch with creamy single notes and leads. IMO bridge only - people use 'em anywhere regardless. OP might look into Lil 59s for "humbucker" tone. I think the main difference though is the Strat sound buckers are parallel out of phase or some variation thereof and the Humbuckers are regular in series.

 

Carvin has cheap rail types and GFS might be worth a look as well as Bill Lawrence (the original).

[phaeton]

 

Another thing is if a Strat has 3 single coils it may not be hollowed out enough to take full sized humbuckers...I'd prefer not to lose any more wood than it has already[/font][/color]

 

I don't think the difference in the amount of wood will be noticeable. Besides, if you pull the screws on one side of your pickguard and lift it up to take a look you just might find that it's already routed H-S-H. IIRC a lot of modern strats are, so that one implementation can fit any pickup combination.

[thatsbunk]

These look to have good reviews;

 

[sammyreynolds01]

I don't really like the Strat sound much but I like the way they play much more than a Les Paul.... have a Mexcian Strat (rosewood fingerboard) that I like as much as any American Strat I've ever played.....I put Sperzel locking tuners, a ball bearing nut, had it re-fretted with the largest frets, and I put on graphtech saddlles.....the three single coils sound really good but are very noisy

 

Another thing is if a Strat has 3 single coils it may not be hollowed out enough to take full sized humbuckers...I'd prefer not to lose any more wood than it has already

 

I thought most modern day strats had swimming pool routes which you could put anything in them. If you want single coil sound but less noise, Dimarzio, Fender among others make noiseless passive picks. I put a set of EMG SA"s in my peavey strat and love it.

[Midlife Rocker]

I've had a SD Hot Rail in the bridge for about 6 years. I enjoy the "fatter" sound I get, but it is not a HB sound.

 

[RockPianoman]

I wasn't aware that they carved so much out of all the newer Strats.....that kinda sucks as Strats have a lot less body mass than a Les Paul to begin with......