Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted October 28, 2006 Moderators Share Posted October 28, 2006 This is to all users of: Fat 50sCustom 69sCustom 54sTexas Specials Which one says Strat, but with big fat friendly letters?I've never heard any of these. Please......I'm well aware of van Zandt, Fralin, Kinman, Suhr, Vintage Vibes, Bareknuckles, and all of the fine names......but this one guitar has to be entirely Fender Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Forbidden Posted October 28, 2006 Members Share Posted October 28, 2006 I've got the TS and they sound fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted October 28, 2006 Author Moderators Share Posted October 28, 2006 Originally posted by Forbidden I've got the TS and they sound fantastic. I gotta admit, I think they're the ones I'm swingin to at the moment, although I've heard so many good things about the Fat 50s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kelly Posted October 28, 2006 Members Share Posted October 28, 2006 Texas Specials are good for blues at very loud volumes, but aren't very sweet sounding. I'd try the fat 50s if I was gonna stick with Fender. Personally I think my next PUPs will be Suhrs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RUExp? Posted October 28, 2006 Members Share Posted October 28, 2006 I think the 69s are a little darker sounding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AtomHeartMother Posted October 29, 2006 Members Share Posted October 29, 2006 Why anyone would buy Fender pickups is beyond me. They're decent pickups, but NOT at the prices they are at now. Fender jacked the prices WAY in the last few months; they're now almost as much as a set of Fralins. You could get a nice set of boutique pickups for cheaper. So in order to make it an all Fender guitar, you're OK with getting subpar pickups that cost more than a nice set of boutique ones? That sounds pretty silly to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kelly Posted October 29, 2006 Members Share Posted October 29, 2006 Fender Custom Shop pickups are far from subpar, but Zoom is trash. One big stomp and they're toast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paul44 Posted October 29, 2006 Members Share Posted October 29, 2006 Fat 50's are fantastic pickups! Fender vintage 57/62's are great,but the Fat 50's really sing. But,being such a subjective thing,you'd have to really hear them for yourself to decide which ones are best for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AtomHeartMother Posted October 29, 2006 Members Share Posted October 29, 2006 Originally posted by Kelly Fender Custom Shop pickups are far from subpar, but Zoom is trash. One big stomp and they're toast. So I could pay $220 for some fairly average, production Fender CS pickups (Fat 50's, Texas Specials, etc), or I could pay $220 for a set of Fralins. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitar/navigation?q=fender+strat+pickup+set http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/STRAT-PICKUP-SETS-C31.aspx Tough choice there. Or, for $20 more I could get Lollars: http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/STRAT-PICKUPS-C61.aspx Or, for $15 LESS, I could get Van Zandts: http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/STRAT-PICKUPS-C145.aspx Or, for $55 LESS, I could get some Rio Grande Vintage Tallboys: http://www.adirondackguitar.com/pickups/rio_grande/menu.htm All of which are FAR better than any average sounding pickups that Fender is pumping out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MojoFilter Posted October 29, 2006 Members Share Posted October 29, 2006 Originally posted by AtomHeartMother So I could pay $220 for some fairly average, production Fender CS pickups (Fat 50's, Texas Specials, etc), or I could pay $220 for a set of Fralins. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitar/navigation?q=fender+strat+pickup+sethttp://www.acmeguitarworks.com/STRAT-PICKUP-SETS-C31.aspx Tough choice there. Or, for $20 more I could get Lollars: http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/STRAT-PICKUPS-C61.aspx Or, for $15 LESS, I could get Van Zandts: http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/STRAT-PICKUPS-C145.aspx Or, for $55 LESS, I could get some Rio Grande Vintage Tallboys: http://www.adirondackguitar.com/pickups/rio_grande/menu.htm All of which are FAR better than any average sounding pickups that Fender is pumping out... Or, you could get a set of 3 Bill Lawrence Noiseless 280/290's for exactly $120...which will give any Strat pickup a run for their money, regardless of price. If it's gotta be a Fender Pickup, seriously check out the SCN's, too...you may be surprised at them. If noiseless isn't in your future, I'd lean towards the 57/62's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wyatt Posted October 29, 2006 Members Share Posted October 29, 2006 The CS '54's are by far my favorite Strat pickups. They ring clean and pure as a bell; "bell-like" tone is a cliche when describing Strat PU's, but this is the one case where it is true. Lollar, Fralin, etc. -- none get the same pure, unbroken ring in their tone. Abd since they are low output, they have a extremely prominent "quack" in positions 2 and 4. *However*, they are bell-like and clean, not fat or rawk. I would call then Buddy Holly in a box, great for cleanish tones, but they have a real problem pushing an amp without a boost. THey work great for Knopfler, poor for SRV. Since I clean my Strats clean and shimmering, I llike that, but I would recommend stepping up to the Fat '50's, at least, for fatter tones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wyatt Posted October 29, 2006 Members Share Posted October 29, 2006 Originally posted by AtomHeartMother Why anyone would buy Fender pickups is beyond me. They're decent pickups, but NOT at the prices they are at now. Fender jacked the prices WAY in the last few months; they're now almost as much as a set of Fralins. You could get a nice set of boutique pickups for cheaper.So in order to make it an all Fender guitar, you're OK with getting subpar pickups that cost more than a nice set of boutique ones?That sounds pretty silly to me. I noticed the price increase too, but someone pointed out that MSRP pretty much stayed the same, it is the street price that raised. You can still find Fender CS pickups fro about $129 a set if you look around at various dealers. But I find the pickups far from subpar, I haven't heard a boutique PU yet that gives me the same clean ring of a CS '54. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted October 29, 2006 Author Moderators Share Posted October 29, 2006 Originally posted by AtomHeartMother So I could pay $220 for some fairly average, production Fender CS pickups (Fat 50's, Texas Specials, etc), or I could pay $220 for a set of Fralins. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/guitar/navigation?q=fender+strat+pickup+sethttp://www.acmeguitarworks.com/STRAT-PICKUP-SETS-C31.aspx Tough choice there. I don't intend paying anywhere near $220 dollars for anything. You just don't listen do you.....you just have to post to make yourself seem a tad brighter than you really are. I expressed a particular wish....you ignored it. I can get all the Custom Shop pups and SCN and Noiseless series for less than $120. If I wanted boutique I'd go back to Pete Biltoft, who'll do a complete pre-wired set that better than any of your choices for less than their pickups. Tough choice there And as for subpar? :D Never heard any I take it? Still I suppose a company that been making Strat pickups for over 50 years won't have much clue will they? So please, do run along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted October 29, 2006 Author Moderators Share Posted October 29, 2006 Originally posted by MojoFilter Or, you could get a set of 3 Bill Lawrence Noiseless 280/290's for exactly $120...which will give any Strat pickup a run for their money, regardless of price. If it's gotta be a Fender Pickup, seriously check out the SCN's, too...you may be surprised at them. If noiseless isn't in your future, I'd lean towards the 57/62's. Mojo dude, my Noiseless guitar is going to be taken care of by the Jeff Beck guitar I'm sticking together, which will have the Hot Noiseless. These pups will go in a more vintage style guitar with a six screw vibrato, for that more trad type of guitar:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted October 29, 2006 Author Moderators Share Posted October 29, 2006 Originally posted by Wyatt The CS '54's are by far my favorite Strat pickups. They ring clean and pure as a bell; "bell-like" tone is a cliche when describing Strat PU's, but this is the one case where it is true. Lollar, Fralin, etc. -- none get the same pure, unbroken ring in their tone. Abd since they are low output, they have a extremely prominent "quack" in positions 2 and 4. *However*, they are bell-like and clean, not fat or rawk. I would call then Buddy Holly in a box, great for cleanish tones, but they have a real problem pushing an amp without a boost. THey work great for Knopfler, poor for SRV. Since I clean my Strats clean and shimmering, I llike that, but I would recommend stepping up to the Fat '50's, at least, for fatter tones. Wyatt, this pretty much echoes what few people have told me.....I may just see what pops up first but overall and from all the reviews I think the Fat 50s will fit the bill best of all. Cheers to everyone.....except the Great Tit in The Sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gris Posted October 29, 2006 Members Share Posted October 29, 2006 all except the '54s. BTW, i paid $20 for a 57/62 off Ebay, $35 for '69 CS (w/ baseplate) and $35 for a Fat '50s neck. Anyway, i do NOT like my TS at least on the rosewood strat they're on, like another said, they are not "sweet." I like the fat 50, the 57/62 and the 69 though. Interestingly, all three (fat 50s neck) register 6.1-6.2K on my multimeter, tho spec is like 5.9, 5.6 and 5.8... anyway, i think the 57/62 gives me the clearest, brightest highs. but the fat 50s seems made to order for what you describe. Fat 50s is what Fender puts in the $4,000 '56 relic guitar, that's what mine came out of. check out all the part-out sellers on ebay. you can get single PUs for $40 or less, get one of each an swap em around. just make sure you only buy a fat 50s neck (others are too harsh), 57/62 and CS '69 are all same. i prfere to use a lower output w/ baseplate in bridge. BTW, i have heard good things about GFS greybottoms too, but ya can't buy just one of those. i bought a couple of their (GFS) vintage SCs (neck and RW mid) but they were too bright for my guitar. they read 5.1K neck and 5.25K mid... they sounded good though and were only $15 each. maybe a GFS vintage bridge PU (5.5K?) would be good in neck or mid. i have found there is a sweet spot of windings/inductance (5.6K - 6.2K) that is not too bright as the low inductance PUs but still retains the necessary clarity. hope this helps... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AtomHeartMother Posted October 29, 2006 Members Share Posted October 29, 2006 Originally posted by Ratae Coritanorum I don't intend paying anywhere near $220 dollars for anything. You just don't listen do you.....you just have to post to make yourself seem a tad brighter than you really are. I expressed a particular wish....you ignored it. I can get all the Custom Shop pups and SCN and Noiseless series for less than $120. If I wanted boutique I'd go back to Pete Biltoft, who'll do a complete pre-wired set that better than any of your choices for less than their pickups. Tough choice there And as for subpar? :D Never heard any I take it? Still I suppose a company that been making Strat pickups for over 50 years won't have much clue will they? So please, do run along. Where are you getting any of these sets for under $120? I've owned plenty of Fender pickups, including CS 54's. The pickups are decent pickups, but not for their current prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted October 29, 2006 Author Moderators Share Posted October 29, 2006 Originally posted by AtomHeartMother Where are you getting any of these sets for under $120? I'm getting them through a colleague, but even just a quick Google will get them for $160 http://www.aampselectricguitarstore.com/fender_pickups/fender_custom_shop_fat50s.html or the best place for Fender stuff for $140, although he sold his last set two days ago, new stock in about 3 weeks http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/pickups_stratfat50.htm You need to do a bit of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted October 29, 2006 Author Moderators Share Posted October 29, 2006 Originally posted by Gris all except the '54s. BTW, i paid $20 for a 57/62 off Ebay, $35 for '69 CS (w/ baseplate) and $35 for a Fat '50s neck. Anyway, i do NOT like my TS at least on the rosewood strat they're on, like another said, they are not "sweet." I like the fat 50, the 57/62 and the 69 though. Interestingly, all three (fat 50s neck) register 6.1-6.2K on my multimeter, tho spec is like 5.9, 5.6 and 5.8... anyway, i think the 57/62 gives me the clearest, brightest highs. but the fat 50s seems made to order for what you describe. Fat 50s is what Fender puts in the $4,000 '56 relic guitar, that's what mine came out of. check out all the part-out sellers on ebay. you can get single PUs for $40 or less, get one of each an swap em around. just make sure you only buy a fat 50s neck (others are too harsh), 57/62 and CS '69 are all same. i prfere to use a lower output w/ baseplate in bridge. BTW, i have heard good things about GFS greybottoms too, but ya can't buy just one of those. i bought a couple of their (GFS) vintage SCs (neck and RW mid) but they were too bright for my guitar. they read 5.1K neck and 5.25K mid... they sounded good though and were only $15 each. maybe a GFS vintage bridge PU (5.5K?) would be good in neck or mid. i have found there is a sweet spot of windings/inductance (5.6K - 6.2K) that is not too bright as the low inductance PUs but still retains the necessary clarity. hope this helps... Helps Gris? This is gem standard information. Very much appreciated. I'm a big fan of GFS greybottoms, and part of me just says use them again, but I'm just dead set on seeing what the company who's been making these things fro so long sound like....even if I can just say that the GFS pups are really as good as them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MojoFilter Posted October 30, 2006 Members Share Posted October 30, 2006 So, what's the story?...what have you tried, and what are you throwing in there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrockbridge Posted October 30, 2006 Members Share Posted October 30, 2006 Originally posted by Ratae Coritanorum This is to all users of: Fat 50sCustom 69sCustom 54sTexas SpecialsWhich one says Strat, but with big fat friendly letters?I've never heard any of these.Please......I'm well aware of van Zandt, Fralin, Kinman, Suhr, Vintage Vibes, Bareknuckles, and all of the fine names......but this one guitar has to be entirely Fender You can actually listen to them here: http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/webpage.aspx?webpage_id=1 Many people rave about the 69s, but the fact that they do NOT have a reverse wound middle pup was enough to make me stay away from them. Anyway, I listened to those sound clips and thought that the Fralin Vintage Hot and the Fat 50s sounded very close with just a touch more sparkle from the Fralins. I almost ordered the Fat 50s, but at the time I ordered, the deal on a prewired Fralin set was so good that I just decided to pay a bit extra for the Fralins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlackHatHunter Posted October 30, 2006 Members Share Posted October 30, 2006 I am very, very fond of the CS 69 pickups. I use them in a Strat Deluxe body, and they have that "ring like a bell" quality that screams strat to me. The next ones in my list would be the Fat 50s. I also have a set of TSs in my SRV strat. I love them in that strat, but would not want them in another strat... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thredlok Posted October 30, 2006 Members Share Posted October 30, 2006 off that list I have only used the texas specials, they are pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gris Posted October 30, 2006 Members Share Posted October 30, 2006 personally, i dont put too much stock in em. gotta try em in your own guitar through your own amp. IMO there is no substitute for trial and error in your own rig. E.g., the CS TS in my rosewood strat sound great cranked through my tweed deluxe, but sound "bitter" low vol tweed or any volume through my BF Super. OTOH, the CS Fat 50s, CS '69 and 57/62 sound best in my maple clone through the Super, but all are good in tweed. the GFS low output were too bright in the maple strat, but MIGHT sound great in the rosewood through the Super, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted October 30, 2006 Author Moderators Share Posted October 30, 2006 Originally posted by jrockbridge You can actually listen to them here: http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/webpage.aspx?webpage_id=1Many people rave about the 69s, but the fact that they do NOT have a reverse wound middle pup was enough to make me stay away from them.Anyway, I listened to those sound clips and thought that the Fralin Vintage Hot and the Fat 50s sounded very close with just a touch more sparkle from the Fralins. I almost ordered the Fat 50s, but at the time I ordered, the deal on a prewired Fralin set was so good that I just decided to pay a bit extra for the Fralins. OK, this is not unexpected but I've just gone thru pretty much all of those clips and they all sound the same:confused: Apart from the CS 54s which seemed to be a tad "glassier", but it's real ear of faith type stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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