Members Jkater Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 Sorry for reformulating this question. My other thread got no response. Which pups should I be looking for when choosing a strat so as to get the "classic" strat sound? (whatever this may mean to you) Some may say that pups are easily changed but that doesn't appeal to me on a new guitar. I am looking at buying a strat but I am a real nOOb. Playability is also very important. I read that the new standard strat has "rounded" edges and med. Jumbo frets. I like that. The CP50 has many attractive features but the "soft V" neck is a question mark and I wonder about the quality consistency of the MIM strats. Give me your thoughts and share your experience. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kelly Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 They have clips at www.acmeguitarworks.com. All of them are pretty classic, except the Texas Specials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonPhillips Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 Seymour Duncan SSL-1. About as classic Strat-ty as they come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Noise... Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 IMO, the stock MIM Strat pups nail the "classic" strat sound. I've yet to change them out, and I probably never will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ESchmidt Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 I think that most of them will get you close. My fovorites are Texas Specials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 Fender Custom Shop '69 pups. They come stock in the MIM Classic '60s Player. A lot of people seem to think they have the definitive Strat tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 I played a new '08 amstd strat recently, in fact I played a bunch. I found the pups to be bleh. I like texas specials in my srv strat, but I wouldn't call them a classic strat sound. However, the SRV is the first stock strat I've played where I wouldn't consider changing the pups. I suggest you check out the hwy 1 series of strats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hondro Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 I would go for custom shop or boutique if I wanted "that one nice be all end all strat" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 I played a new '08 amstd strat recently, in fact I played a bunch. I found the pups to be bleh. I concur that they are pretty generic sounding but they still sound Stratty. Much more so than the stock MIM pups for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonPhillips Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 IMO, the stock MIM Strat pups nail the "classic" strat sound. I've yet to change them out, and I probably never will.What year MIM Strat are you talking about? In my current build project, the original MIM pickups (1995 vintage), were the weediest, most nasally, horrible sounding things I've ever heard. I was going to sell them, but I think I couldn't inflict them on some poor unsuspecting soul prepared to pay cash for them. I'll probably just burn them, in the interests of good taste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MojoFilter Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 I don't care for MIM Strat pickups at all...they sound anemic, harsh and brittle to my ears, and they're virtually unusable in the 1, 3 and 5 positions with even moderate amounts of overdrive. If you're looking for a Fender-made product, a lot of people like the 57/62's. I hate 60 cycle hum with a passion, and the "Strattiest" sounding noiseless pickups I've ever tried are the Bill Lawrence L-200's...they get amazingly close to what I would consider the quintessential "Strat" tone, they're relatively inexpensive, and they're much quieter than a humbucker...let alone a stock Single Coil.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rock-lobster Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 vintage noiseless IMO have the ultimate classic strat chimey-belly-quackiness to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jkater Posted May 18, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 I played a new '08 amstd strat recently, in fact I played a bunch. I found the pups to be bleh.Now, you have me worried a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother_Budro Posted May 18, 2008 Members Share Posted May 18, 2008 i really like my 57/62s but i really want to try bg-pups 60s single coils Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wagdog Posted May 19, 2008 Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 JKater: You may like them. I didn't. I've been spoiled by my recent installation of bg-pups v60's in my 74 strat - these pickups are incredible. Brother_Budro: You won't be sorry. The v60's are very, very nice sounding. Wonderful cleans, deep and ballsy but not muddy at all on the neck pup. The 2/4 positions are chimy and shimmering. The bridge is nice, not brittle at all and wired to a tone control very usable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Beckman Posted May 19, 2008 Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 i really like my 57/62s Way better than the pu's in the mim standard strat I had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metallica_00 Posted May 19, 2008 Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 What year MIM Strat are you talking about? In my current build project, the original MIM pickups (1995 vintage), were the weediest, most nasally, horrible sounding things I've ever heard. I was going to sell them, but I think I couldn't inflict them on some poor unsuspecting soul prepared to pay cash for them. I'll probably just burn them, in the interests of good taste Agree, having played both the old generation and the updated MIM Strat pickups, they're totally lifeless and require immediate replacement!There's a certain quintessential "Strat", and some Strats sound "strattier" than others if that makes sense. A lot of it is in the amp. A blackface-style Fender amp, for example, I find really accentuates the tonal characteristics that make a Strat.Most of Fender's offerings besides the noiseless pickups and the Texas Specials/Mexes are pretty traditional, and even then, none of them are THAT far away like say a Hot Rail would be. I think the absolute best Strat pickups I have heard are Lollar blackfaces. Those things have such a beautiful sparkle and bell-like roundness. If I were to get a mid-range Strat (upper MIM or MIA Standard) I'd swap some of those in ASAP! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Alecto Posted May 19, 2008 Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 i really like my 57/62s but i really want to try bg-pups 60s single coils Those come standard in the CP50's Strat. There is absolutely nothing wrong with those pickups, they nail the classic Strat tone. If you wanted to go all-out you could grab a set of Fralins, Lollars, Seymour Duncan Antiquities or BG pickups, but you should have absolutely no trouble getting a good tone out of the 57/62's.The "soft 50's" neck on the CP50 is a lot like the Eric Clapton sig model. It's a nice neck; I'm more used to the SRV style but I could get used to the CP50 . . . especially if it was in Shoreline Gold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members docjeffrey Posted May 19, 2008 Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 I've said this before, and I keep repeating myself so sorry. Just about any decent quality pickup is going to make a strat sound like a strat. The sound is in the design and materials of the guitar, not the pickups. If you don't believe me, try playing a Fender Jaguar. The Jag pickups are pretty much identical to strat pickups, but you would never mistake the sound of a Jaguar for the sound of a strat. So if you have a decent set of timbers and good hardware to start with, all of those different aftermarket pickups are only going to have a subtle effect on the tone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jhall Posted May 19, 2008 Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 This clip is with CS/54s in a 50th anniv American series Strat:http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=977615&T=8796 Pretty vintage Stratty I'd say I also used a Champion 600 into an SM-57 (had to use a noise gate to get rid of the hum post recording ;-) )as the amp on all guitars in this clip. (All that same Strat by the way) Just controlled the "grit" with the volume knob, kept the guitar in the #2 position). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jkater Posted May 19, 2008 Author Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 This clip is with CS/54s in a 50th anniv American series Strat: http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=977615&T=8796Nice chops, jh ! What pups are actually in the new amstd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RaVenCAD Posted May 19, 2008 Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 Fender Custom Shop '69 pups. They come stock in the MIM Classic '60s Player. A lot of people seem to think they have the definitive Strat tone. I'll agree.. I played one of those last week and it was yummy.. Matter of fact, I can see it coming home with me in the future.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Doctor Morbius Posted May 19, 2008 Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 I'll agree.. I played one of those last week and it was yummy.. Matter of fact, I can see it coming home with me in the future..Look in the Hot Deals thread. There's one I posted for $500. Go getchya some! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JC777 Posted May 19, 2008 Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 This clip is with CS/54s in a 50th anniv American series Strat: http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?PID=977615&T=8796Pretty vintage Stratty I'd say I also used a Champion 600 into an SM-57 (had to use a noise gate to get rid of the hum post recording ;-) )as the amp on all guitars in this clip. (All that same Strat by the way) Just controlled the "grit" with the volume knob, kept the guitar in the #2 position). Agreed.I was just about to post this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JAFH Posted May 19, 2008 Members Share Posted May 19, 2008 I have the MIM Player's Deluxe with the Vintage Noiseless pups, and they are really just that, Vintage-y and Noiseless. As far as MIM quality, I have gigged with this thing for @ a year as my main guitar (2-4 gigs a month) and it has been fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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