Members EJD Posted January 4, 2010 Members Share Posted January 4, 2010 So, I'm lookin' for some single coil pups. On the neck and middle, I'd like that good old vintage Strat tone... think: [YOUTUBE]vQxxBGb2uSE[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]gjJzlIedCuo[/YOUTUBE] And, on the bridge, I need high output... power... great hard sound with distortion/heavy overdrive: [YOUTUBE]qb8JKV88Z2s[/YOUTUBE] [YOUTUBE]OqQOaA2LPRo[/YOUTUBE] But, here's the thing. I don't like unconventional-looking pickups, at least not on Strats. Hot Rails, or the Little '59 for example. I like the classic six-polepiece thing... and, I really dig the way the solid cover no-polepiece Lace Sensor looks: So, in a nutshell. On the middle and neck positions, I'd like a real vintage sound, that Dire Straits/SRV tone. And on the bridge, I need a high-output single coil that sounds beefy and heavy with distortion. The tone Jeff Beck gets in the first few strums of What Mama Said, in the video just up there, is godlike. And the pickups have gotta be either six-polepiece or solid cover. Yeh, I'm picky, but I'm a perfectionist... any help would be appreciated! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Ratae Corieltauvorum Posted January 4, 2010 Moderators Share Posted January 4, 2010 Buy a set of BG pups and tell Bryan what you want. Sounds like you're leaning to the Texas style set sorta 9-10k at the bridge and ~6k in the middle You also could think about using a steel pole P90 style Strat sized pickup in the bridge. I have built a few with that config Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members johanneswiberg Posted January 4, 2010 Members Share Posted January 4, 2010 The look of the pup shouldn't have to hold you back, you can buy plastic covers to put on top afterwards, I did that to mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted January 4, 2010 Members Share Posted January 4, 2010 Tonerider at the neck or middle. More specifically I like a Tonerider pure vintage at the neck. You might like a Lace Gold at the middle position. Mixes in great ways with the other pickups at that position...and a great pickup for single coil tone without the noise played alone. At the bridge you really want a humbucker. No single coil is going to match that for what you are describing. You might try a Seymour Duncan Hot Rails there if you don't like the idea of altering the guitar for the humbucker. And they look quite a bit like a Lace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mdintx Posted January 4, 2010 Members Share Posted January 4, 2010 If you like the Lace pickups, how about the Hot Gold set with the Hot Bridge: http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Lace-?sku=305415 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EJD Posted January 4, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 4, 2010 The look of the pup shouldn't have to hold you back, you can buy plastic covers to put on top afterwards, I did that to mine. I know, it's really stupid. But I just couldn't stand having an odd looking (to me) pickup. But - could I put a Lace style solid cover on a Hot Rails? Anyone? If I could have a Hot Rails, but with a Lace style cover, I'm so there... I know... you're all probably going to think I'm an idiot for this, but I looked on YouTube for the Hot Rails and it sounded really good. But I just could not live with the way it looks... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted January 4, 2010 Members Share Posted January 4, 2010 Some suggestions I'll toss at you: White vinyl tape, believe it or not, if you cover the top of the pickup and trim the edges at the corners with an X-acto knife can look pretty clean. Another option you might want to try is opaque white shrink plastic. They sell it in hobby stores that sell RC airplanes. The way the stuff works is that you cover something like a wing of a plane with the stuff and then go over it with a clothes iron. It sticks to the item and simultaneously tightens drum tight. The problem is that the stuff is like $15 a roll and you only need a little bit so kind of a waste for such a small project. But both of these options are probably more practical than covering a pickup cover with another pickup cover. I don't think that would work in terms of space and size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EJD Posted January 4, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 4, 2010 Wouldn't those bloody rails poke up through it if I used shrinking plastic type stuff? It wouldn't be the most attractive of things. Idea. Tell me - are the covers on Hot Rails removable? If they are, I could probably whip up a custom cover or something to my specs. That would be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mudder1310 Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 BG Pickups Rio Grande tallboysWilde 290 set (Bill Lawrence new shop) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EJD Posted January 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 Coil splits are often wrongly referred to as a "coil tap". Coil taps are more commonly found on single coil pickups, and involve an extra hook-up wire being included during the manufacture of the pickup so the guitarist can choose to have all the windings of the pickup included in the circuit, for a fatter, higher output sound; or some of the windings in use and some "tapped off" for a brighter, lower output, cleaner sound. So I'm thinking... I could have a heavily wound single coil, and, with the coil tap, I could bring it back down to a "normal" output level for vintage sound. Possible, or not possible? I'm so bummed he doesn't offer this... it would be perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mosiddiqi Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 Kinman Woodstock Plus set....very versatile. The bridge pickup is wound extra loud and fat..almost P90 territory...and the neck and middle sound very sweet. The added bonus being that they're completely quiet. They're also very responsive to the volume control changes..so you can easily go from clean (1,3) to filth (5,7) to outright filth (8,10) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 Wouldn't those bloody rails poke up through it if I used shrinking plastic type stuff? It wouldn't be the most attractive of things.Idea. Tell me - are the covers on Hot Rails removable? If they are, I could probably whip up a custom cover or something to my specs. That would be good. Well It would shrink and conform around them and sort of look like they were painted white. But yea at that point I think you might have OCD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EJD Posted January 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 Well It would shrink and conform around them and sort of look like they were painted white. But yea at that point I think you might have OCD. Well, I do, man. Nothing extreme like Monk though Anyway... yeah, I think BG pickups are the way I'm going, despite that he won't do taps. No disrespect to him, or anything... but, does anyone know if an existing single coil can be modified so I could tap it? Or does it have to be built like that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 I literally just got an email back from BG. He can do what I want... that is, vintage in the neck and middle, and highly wound and heavy at the bridge. He said he also might even be able to order in some solid white covers like I want. He's certainly the best option I've found so far, and the prices are nice. But, I asked him about coil taps, and he says he doesn't do his pickups with them I'm not talking about humbucker coil "tapping"... the correct name for that is actually splitting, since you're literally splitting it. What I want is a tap. So I'm thinking... I could have a heavily wound single coil, and, with the coil tap, I could bring it back down to a "normal" output level for vintage sound. Possible, or not possible? I'm so bummed he doesn't offer this... it would be perfect. Why exactly do you want the ability to 'tap' the coils? You want to to sound the same, but be lower in output? Have you thought about having a master volume, a master tone and a volume knob with a treble bleed on the bridge pickup only? I've played like 4 guitars in my entire life that were literally 'coil tapped' (not split) and for the life of me, I'm still unsure as to why anyone would 'need' the desire to do it via a switch. Have you played a tapped guitar before? What about the feature makes you long for it to the point of excluding many great pickup in order to get it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EJD Posted January 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 Why exactly do you want the ability to 'tap' the coils? You want to to sound the same, but be lower in output? Have you thought about having a master volume, a master tone and a volume knob with a treble bleed on the bridge pickup only? I've played like 4 guitars in my entire life that were literally 'coil tapped' (not split) and for the life of me, I'm still unsure as to why anyone would 'need' the desire to do it via a switch. Have you played a tapped guitar before? What about the feature makes you long for it to the point of excluding many great pickup in order to get it? Okay... I'm a total pickup noob I realize that a single coil can't match the heavy tone of a humbucker. But, I thought that the higher a single coil might be wound, the more humbucker-like it would get - i.e. fat, round, relatively muffled on clean. I love the sound it gives in distortion, but I hate that sound clean, so I thought maybe a coil tap could bring the pickup back down from a heavily wound round tone to a clear, trebly vintage bridge sound for some Dick Dale-ery on clean. Basically, the best of both worlds. But, as I said, I'm a noob. Overwound pickups give a great hard tone, and "normally-wounds" give the clear vintage tone. I thought a coil tap could allow me to switch between them. I apologize for any damage to your face caused by your palm... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Invader.CC Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 If i can throw my two cents in here check out the John Suhr V60's it sounds exactly like what you are looking for..These pups are pure magic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 I hear ya... and I'm not trying to give you a hard time, just help you narrow down what it is that you are actually after. Usually with traditional single coils, the hotter you wind the pickup, the more highs you lose and the more bottom end and mids you get. And of course, the more output you get. If you want a guitar that looks fairly traditional but is capable of sounding very vintage (in all positions) and very modern (esp, in the bridge position) I feel your best bet is to get two fairly traditional pickups for the neck and middle and a single coil-sized HB for the bridge that is reasonably hot, that can be split to get more vintage tones. But... that SC-sized HB might have rails on it. Seriously, they don't look that bad. But they are physically made different than traditional single coils with Alnico pole pieces. If you're willing to pay, maybe get a set of EMG SAs and the EMG controls that make them sound similar to HBs... more mids and a big bottom end. The trouble with that is while they sound quite a bit like single coils, if you put them up against truly exceptional single coil pickups, they pale in comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EJD Posted January 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 If you're willing to pay, maybe get a set of EMG SAs and the EMG controls that make them sound similar to HBs... more mids and a big bottom end. The trouble with that is while they sound quite a bit like single coils, if you put them up against truly exceptional single coil pickups, they pale in comparison. A bit pricey for me, yeah... Cheers for your help, guys, I really appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 Have you considered maybe a P-90 at the bridge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bsman Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 I'm surprised nobody's suggested the fender CS "Texas Specials", since these are supposedly wound specifically to nail the SRV tone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EJD Posted January 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 Have you considered maybe a P-90 at the bridge? A tempting proposition. The tone of P90s are great, and I'd love to have a P90 equipped guitar one day. But it doesn't really fit with this project. You see, the whole aim of this guitar is to be a hot-rod. On the exterior, I'd like it to remain fairly vintage. Surf Green in colour, white pickguard, vintage hardware. But, under the hood, I'd like it to be something really special, while being fairly normal on the outside. A sleeper guitar I'm thinking a Callaham trem, a special neck fitting kit that's supposed to increase sustain, and of course the now infamous pickups. I'm talking with BG about it right now - I'm inquiring about having maybe a Little 59 type thing, but with the solid Lace style cover to match the others (don't really like the look of a stock Little 59 either) and can be coil-splitted for single coil tone. That seems to be pretty much what I want... but, it all hangs on whether he can build a Little 59/Hot Rails type thing, that is coil splittable, and has the solid cover (it's just gotta match the others on the looks front) But I do have a backup plan... he recommended me some pickups of his that he can do (and I might even be able to have the solid covers on) and they sound like great pups. I just won't get the coil tap/split/whatever. So that's pretty much my backup plan. I just want this guitar to be really special, yet understated on the outside. I want people to look at it, and say... "well, that seems like a pretty vintage Strat... but it's got 22 frets and solid pickup covers. Something's up". Know what I mean? And a honking great P90 would blow its cover. I would love some P90s one day though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 I'm surprised nobody's suggested the fender CS "Texas Specials", since these are supposedly wound specifically to nail the SRV tone... But they don't sound remotely at all like vintage singles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members _pete_ Posted January 5, 2010 Members Share Posted January 5, 2010 I'll throw in another suggestion just to muddy the waters up a bit. EMG SA's with an SPC (mid boost) control. They have a killer Strat tone with no noise. The SPC fattens them up and takes them into humbucker territory. These are very, very, good sounding pups. http://www.emginc.com/products/index/81/7/1 http://www.emginc.com/products/category/144/4 http://www.emginc.com/products/category/11/1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EJD Posted January 6, 2010 Author Members Share Posted January 6, 2010 I'll throw in another suggestion just to muddy the waters up a bit. EMG SA's with an SPC (mid boost) control. They have a killer Strat tone with no noise. The SPC fattens them up and takes them into humbucker territory. These are very, very, good sounding pups. http://www.emginc.com/products/index/81/7/1http://www.emginc.com/products/category/144/4http://www.emginc.com/products/category/11/1 Sounds good... solid covers, too. But I don't like the idea of batteries. At all. Whenever I pick up my camera/tuner and the batteries are dead, I just say... oh noes, these batteries are dead, I can't use my camera/tuner. But I need my guitar on tap 24/7, and that can't happen Plus real men use soldering Cheers though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mister Zero Posted January 6, 2010 Members Share Posted January 6, 2010 Sounds good... solid covers, too. But I don't like the idea of batteries. At all. Whenever I pick up my camera/tuner and the batteries are dead, I just say... oh noes, these batteries are dead, I can't use my camera/tuner. But I need my guitar on tap 24/7, and that can't happen Plus real men use soldering Cheers though If you unplug the lead from your guitar when you're finished playing, you can get a year or more on a single 9v alkaline battery. The DG-20 set is a phenomenal sounding & very versatile setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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