Members burton4snow Posted September 1, 2015 Members Share Posted September 1, 2015 I put a Dimarzio Paul Gilbert set in my Squier CV 50s Strat and now I want to get back to the vintage strat tone. So I need help finding a set. I don't want to go over $100. I play blues, blues rock and classic rock. I want something to give good cleans as well as decent overdrive tones. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members papaschtroumpf Posted September 1, 2015 Members Share Posted September 1, 2015 Don't the original pickups that came with the start fit the bill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burton4snow Posted September 1, 2015 Author Members Share Posted September 1, 2015 I sold them. I had a problem with hum in the room i play in so i was getting all noiseless strat and tele pickups for my guitars. Since then I found sweet spot in my room were single coils sound quiet so I want to experience the real sounds of single coils. I don't think these noiseless cut it. None of them seem to have any character IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gdsmithtx Posted September 1, 2015 Members Share Posted September 1, 2015 The originals in the Classic Vibe 50s are the Tonerider Surfari set (the CV 60s have the Tonerider Classic Blues set). If you want the original sound, I'd use the ones that came out of it in the first place if you have them available. If you want a different sound, there are dozens of pickups sets you could go with. Fender Tex Mex (from the Jimmy Vaughan sig strat) are available new for around $80. Texas Specials will run $120 or so (here's an ebay set for $100). Ken at Rose Pickups winds some very, very good pickups for a steal. His Robustas, Mariposas and Buff Beauties are all excellent and all cheap ($65 a set right now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thatsbunk Posted September 1, 2015 Members Share Posted September 1, 2015 I got lucky & was able to get a loaded pickguard from a Fender Classic 50's series Strat off ebay about 6 months ago on the cheap (~$65 plus shipping). I put it in an older squier & the guitar sings. Not a RWRP p/u in the middle but quacky as all get out. I have good wiring at home and have no issues there, but in some other places I've played it tends to get a little noisy. If you want that classic tone though i'd be on the lookout for a set of the classic 50's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burton4snow Posted September 1, 2015 Author Members Share Posted September 1, 2015 That was probable my set Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted September 2, 2015 Members Share Posted September 2, 2015 I love these 60's Repros from GFS: http://www.guitarfetish.com/1960s-Repro-Premium-Alnico-Strat-Pickup-Set_p_11.html $66 for a set that sound as good as anything with braided wires. Real Strat tone and still not at all noisy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members burton4snow Posted September 2, 2015 Author Members Share Posted September 2, 2015 Somebody wrote this Do not skimp on Strat pickups. Low budget single coils sound like crap. One can get away with budget humbuckers because they have some meat to them, but a bad set of single coils stands out. Opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thatsbunk Posted September 2, 2015 Members Share Posted September 2, 2015 are you in GA? did you sell them with a mint greet pickguard? could be then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thatsbunk Posted September 2, 2015 Members Share Posted September 2, 2015 I've had good luck with GFS. Never purchased strat pickups from them but as far as single coils i did get a set of surf 90's which I like.I was originally gonna buy from them until I found the set I ultimately stumbled upon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members speakerjones Posted September 2, 2015 Members Share Posted September 2, 2015 I would buy a set of used Fender 57/62's. Great vintage tone. I think to say all budget single coils sound like crap is a pretty big generalization. I'm sure there are great budget pickups, but I tend to skip over the budget choices as opinions tend to be divided on them, and go with stuff I trust. If I'm swapping the original pickups out, I really just want to do it once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted September 2, 2015 Members Share Posted September 2, 2015 Somebody wrote this Do not skimp on Strat pickups. Low budget single coils sound like crap. One can get away with budget humbuckers because they have some meat to them, but a bad set of single coils stands out. Opinions? Well I went through the same kind of thing as you with noiseless, specifically lace. I was disappointed with them and thought they were a bit sterile sounding. I have four Strats and have everything from Pete Biltoft Vintage Vibe boutiques, to Dimarzio hs 2 & 3 (in single coil mode), to a custom wound ceramic, to GFS boutiques and 60's Repros. Trust me, those GFS pickups sound as good as anything in the vintage Strat market - lots of character and much better to my ears than the Lace Sensors. Personally, I've had better experience with cheap single coils than cheap humbuckers. I admit to not being too fond of the generic ceramic single coils found in many Squiers and Mexican Fenders, but as I say, the GFS alnicos are a good, cheap alternative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted September 2, 2015 Members Share Posted September 2, 2015 This is a little off topic but its an important item when it comes to pickups. Because of the simplicity of the pickup builds and the over saturated abundance of parts available for winding pickups, I think its actually harder to find bad ones then it is good ones today. There is a range of winds when it comes to vintage, modern and hot wound versions to choose from but the actual quality of builds really isn't that much different. You have copper wire, magnets and bobbins. Copper is copper. Unless the wire enamel is defective, theres nothing magical between one type of wire and another. Magnets can be charged to various strengths. Depending on the metal you can only magnetize them so much and no more. Like a battery that max out at a specific strength. Weaker magnets can give you vintage tones. Bobbins can be plastic or fiber. How much they actually effect tone is more about their thickness then it is about the materials. Magnetic flux passes through them. Fiber may absorb less vibration however being a stiffer material so most prefer the fiber because it resonates with the body vibrations and influences the sound a bit. Other then that, if a budget pickup has the same components and the same number and kind of winds as an expensive pickup, it should sound the same. I do believe Guitarists are more susceptible to Voodoo sales pitches by all these companies making parts these days. All of them claim to have some magical process that makes their gear superior to everyone else. Then when you purchase it, you don't want to admit you may have been suckered into buying snake oil and willingly participate in sustaining the myth the product is good. You may even think its great because you don't have allot of first hand experience trying all the different types out there. The problem doesn't come from the gear in most cases. and amp that's a bad match or lacking tone or power is more likely the culprit. A pickup cant fix that, and in many cases only makes things worse if a poor choice is made. As guitarists we often fool ourselves into thinking, If I only had this, or I only had that I'd sound great and be successful. We then act on that and for a short time we're inspired by the new gear to play more and get better but it doesn't last because it was never the problem in the first place. The problem is we become complacent in learning new things to play and looked to fixing that problem with short cuts. Can you imagine a carpenter changing a perfectly good saw blade as many times as musicians change their pickups? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wankdeplank Posted September 3, 2015 Members Share Posted September 3, 2015 Can you imagine a carpenter changing a perfectly good saw blade as many times as musicians change their pickups? I think you make an excellent point and pretty much what I've been saying for years. Only difference is your technical emphasis and in my case I've always noted the importance of the wood, hardware and tone-path considerations that I've always insisted have as much weight in the final tonal product as the pickups themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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