Members Honky-Tonk Posted May 19, 2008 Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 How are the Fender 69 pups? All the consumer reviews say they are great but I want to know more! How do they compare to Rio Grande pups? Would you recommend them over Fender noiseless pups? Go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TimCz Posted May 19, 2008 Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 Id reccomend them over the noiseless - never tried the rios...Im looking at gettin a set of 69's for my strat build as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Honky-Tonk Posted May 19, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WakeTheDead Posted May 20, 2008 Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 I put a set of Custom Shop 69 pups in my Standard Strat and I love em but they do hum a little.... I have the SC noiseless pups in my American Deluxe Strat and I don't like them at all. They are weak and just don't scream through a tube amp like they should. I recommend the 69 pups if you can live with a little noise (hum). The only time you will really hear it is when you are in between songs.... in which case you just turn the volume knob down. Never played the Rio Grande pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rummy Posted May 20, 2008 Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 Anything is better than noiseless pickups, imo. I had the 69's in my last strat. They were great for that Hendrix sound, but I found them too spanky for my taste. I replaced them for Fralin Blues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Honky-Tonk Posted May 20, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 Don't mind the hum. Seems the consensus is that noiseless sucks. I don't mind them much, depending on what I'm running the guitar through, I can get decent tone. Rummy, tell me about the guitar with the Fralin Blues pups. What kind of wood, hardware, setup for your guitar? What type of music do you play? I'm interested in why you didn't like the 69s. $190 is a lot to spend on pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rummy Posted May 20, 2008 Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 Don't mind the hum. Seems the consensus is that noiseless sucks. I don't mind them much, depending on what I'm running the guitar through, I can get decent tone. Rummy, tell me about the guitar with the Fralin Blues pups. What kind of wood, hardware, setup for your guitar? What type of music do you play? I'm interested in why you didn't like the 69s. $190 is a lot to spend on pups. It's an american 62 reissue Strat. I'm in poppy/bluesy/rock band, and I run the Strat through a Fender Blue Jr, or a Laney GH50L. It's not so much that I didn't like the 69s. They were GREAT for that Hendrix sound. If I get another Strat, I wouldn't mind getting the 69s for it. I picked the Fralin Blues, 'cause they sound punchier, and handles over drive better. This is my 62 RI And, this is the 60s Classic Player that had stock CS69s (that I no longer own) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alecto Posted May 20, 2008 Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 If the Rio Grande Strat pickups are anything near as good as their humbuckers, I would recommend them wholeheartedly. I tried the '69's, they were a little weird. Too hot for Strat cleans but didn't handle distortion well, IMO. Overall, I was underwhelmed. I've talked with a couple of people who said the Fender Hot Noiseless set compares favourably with Kinmans (CSM being one of them). I love the Kinman Woodstocks in my Strat. Fralins make great Strat pickups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DenverDave Posted May 20, 2008 Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 I had a Strat with the Rio Grande Big Bottom strat pickups in it and I can safely say they were the best sounding Strat pickups I have ever heard. just amazing sounding pickups (at least to my ears...). I really like Rio Grande pups.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members buddastrat Posted May 20, 2008 Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 If the Rio Grande Strat pickups are anything near as good as their humbuckers, I would recommend them wholeheartedly. I tried the '69's, they were a little weird. Too hot for Strat cleans but didn't handle distortion well, IMO. Overall, I was underwhelmed.I've talked with a couple of people who said the Fender Hot Noiseless set compares favourably with Kinmans (CSM being one of them). I love the Kinman Woodstocks in my Strat.Fralins make great Strat pickups. ? The 69's are Fender's weakest pickups I believe. Not hot at all. I think they sound amazing with overdrive too because they're very tight, clear and articulate. If you like the opening sound of Sweet Home Alabama or Mark Knopfler's notched sound, you'll love them. Very sweet and chimey, especially in the notch positions. If you like a darker, or a little more compressed sound from a strat you won't like them. Maybe the Fat 50's would be better. the 69's are very scooped sounding. No honky mids at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Honky-Tonk Posted May 20, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 It's an american 62 reissue Strat. I'm in poppy/bluesy/rock band, and I run the Strat through a Fender Blue Jr, or a Laney GH50L. It's not so much that I didn't like the 69s. They were GREAT for that Hendrix sound. If I get another Strat, I wouldn't mind getting the 69s for it. I picked the Fralin Blues, 'cause they sound punchier, and handles over drive better. This is my 62 RI And, this is the 60s Classic Player that had stock CS69s (that I no longer own) Nice!!! & Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Honky-Tonk Posted May 20, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 If the Rio Grande Strat pickups are anything near as good as their humbuckers, I would recommend them wholeheartedly. I tried the '69's, they were a little weird. Too hot for Strat cleans but didn't handle distortion well, IMO. Overall, I was underwhelmed.I've talked with a couple of people who said the Fender Hot Noiseless set compares favourably with Kinmans (CSM being one of them). I love the Kinman Woodstocks in my Strat.Fralins make great Strat pickups. Back when I had a strat with Rios, around 2000, I was told that Rio buckers weren't all that great, but that their single coils were where it was at. So perhaps their humbuckers have been improved over the years. (humbuckers weren't great according to one person, but I hold that person's opinion in high regard) The main reason I want to change pups is because I want to get as close to late 60s sound as possible. I have locking tuners, LSR roller nut, and Fender deluxe locking trem; that's a lot of metal to brighten my tone, so I don't want to get pups that are too bright and spanky. I thought that the 69s might suit my guitar well for that reason. From what I have read the 69s are wound hot, so they won't have as much high end as earlier pups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Honky-Tonk Posted May 20, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 the 69's are very scooped sounding. No honky mids at all. My guitar is made of Ash, and has a lot of lower mids and high end. High end may be coming more from the pups, I really don't know because I have never tried different pups with my guitar. Maybe the scooped sound of the 69s might work with my setup, but I'm starting to lean towards some Rios. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members csm Posted May 20, 2008 Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 I've talked with a couple of people who said the Fender Hot Noiseless set compares favourably with Kinmans (CSM being one of them). I love the Kinman Woodstocks in my Strat. To be more precise -- I love both the Kinman AVn Blues in the MIM 50s Classic I recently sold AND the Fender Hot Noiseless set in my CS Jeff Beck sig. They're just different, is all. The Kinmans are more similar to the sharp, cut-through-anything PUs in my black 63 Strat, while the Hot Noiseless are more like the warmer, smoother, spreadier PUs that were in my long-ago-stolen *sob* OTHER (pink) 63. Both are fine, both sound pretty damned authentic -- it just depends what flavour of classic-Strat sound you happen to prefer. As for Fralins and Rio Grandes -- I know NOZZING. Except what people tell me. And BareKnuckle's Irish Tour set (non-noiseless and, unfortunately, non-cheap) are v. cool in a Rory G/SRV kinda way. I certainly prefer 'em to Texas Specials: I have one in the neck position of my MIM JD Tele and it be gawjus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wyatt Posted May 20, 2008 Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 ? The 69's are Fender's weakest pickups I believe. Not hot at all. I think they sound amazing with overdrive too because they're very tight, clear and articulate. If you like the opening sound of Sweet Home Alabama or Mark Knopfler's notched sound, you'll love them. Very sweet and chimey, especially in the notch positions.If you like a darker, or a little more compressed sound from a strat you won't like them. Maybe the Fat 50's would be better.the 69's are very scooped sounding. No honky mids at all. CS '54's are probably their weakest, but they are also my favs; real Buddy Holly-esque, excellent for Knopfler. But I agree the '69's aren't hot PU's, for them to sound "Too hot for Strat cleans" would imply to me that they were set too high. Rios aren't for me. The whole idea behind Rios is to get more rock or rock-blues tone by over-winding them (even the tall boys). To me it makes they too middy. Very different from the '69's. They aren't for me, but are very popular with others. I think if I were to go for "hot Strat" tones, the Blues Specials do it with more of an appealing vintage flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members g400man Posted May 20, 2008 Members Share Posted May 20, 2008 i have the '69s in my Strat (CP 60s) and it sounds great. the neck pickup with the tone rolled up sounds incredible with a Twin Reverb with low treble and bright switch on. and a hint of dirt, and it's the best blues tone imaginable. With a fuzz face, it screams (in a good way), doesn't seem to like my tonebender clone as much tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alecto Posted May 21, 2008 Members Share Posted May 21, 2008 Back when I had a strat with Rios, around 2000, I was told that Rio buckers weren't all that great, but that their single coils were where it was at. So perhaps their humbuckers have been improved over the years. (humbuckers weren't great according to one person, but I hold that person's opinion in high regard) I have the Rio Grande Texas/BBQ set in my Carvin and I couldn't be happier. I've even had sound dogs give me compliments on my sound when I'm playing that guitar. The Texas does a nice jazz tone when you roll off the tone control, and the BBQ is basically a darker JB: an overwound PAF. Unlike many hotrodded humbuckers however, the BBQ sounds awesome clean. I recently subbed a gig where I had to use a borrowed Marshall Valvestate (the usual guitarist's amp). The bandleader called for 'Tush,' I started the intro and everyone's head in the club just whipped around. It was awesome. The reviews I've heard about Rio Grande Strat pickups is that they have a bit more juice than standard pickups, but they never leave the Fender state line, even the Muy Grandes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JC777 Posted May 21, 2008 Members Share Posted May 21, 2008 Try the Rio Grandes. I bought a set for my Tele and have heard a few Strats with them.I loved everything I've heard. They have become my new fav pup builder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bassopotamus Posted May 21, 2008 Members Share Posted May 21, 2008 I had a Strat with the Rio Grande Big Bottom strat pickups in it and I can safely say they were the best sounding Strat pickups I have ever heard. just amazing sounding pickups (at least to my ears...). I really like Rio Grande pups.... That's the set in mine. Just about perfectly balanced for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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