Most authentic vintage-sounding pickups for a '62 RI Strat?

crumble

Joined: Sep 09, 2008
Posts: 3158
Guildford England
United Kingdom

Posted on Jun 14 2009 11:00 AM

Ruhar
For what its worth, I'm very happy with the '57/'62 pickups. Once I got the height of the pickups dialed in, the sound greatly improved (fattened up and became more tough sensitive).

I use fender rubber tubing instead of pickup springs, by the time i've tweeked them up so they fit snug there is not a lot of room for height adjustment. I'd guess using the old tubing method providing you don't squash them flat by over tightening automaticlly dials in the correct height or there abouts.

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zak

Joined: Sep 24, 2007
Posts: 2728
1 Link Pin

Posted on Jun 14 2009 11:21 AM

This post has been removed by the author.

Last edited: Sep 24, 2009 00:03:04

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Ruhar

Joined: Jun 21, 2007
Posts: 3909
San Diego, CA
United States

Posted on Jun 14 2009 03:27 PM

zak
when I had Strats I always found they worked much better with a cranked amp and a lot more bass in the EQ than I would use with a Jazzmaster or Jaguar. The Jaguar and Jazzmaster didn't require as much amp volume to 'come to life' and got farty with excessive bass EQ on the amp, the Strats sounded icepicky unless the amp was saturating a bit and working harder. YMMV.

I very much agree with this. My JM sounds great when the amp is at low/medium volume. Very full/fat sound. When too loud, the ice pick rips my ears apart. Which kinda sucks for me because I like to play in the very high registers of a guitar. At low volumes, my strat can sound a bit on the thin side. However, when the amp is opened up a bit the strat goes into multiple personality mode and becomes a completely different instrument. Super touch sensitive and very expressive.

—

Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook

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Doctor_Morbius

Joined: Oct 26, 2008
Posts: 608
This Planet Earth
1 Download Pin

Posted on Jun 14 2009 05:08 PM

Audiodrome, may I suggest you also try a wiring mod that will combine the neck and bridge pickups? If you like the tone of the Jaguar, the N&B on a Strat will be pleasing.

I've been doing a blender pot mod to all of my wiring harnesses with pickup upgrades and the neck and bridge combined has become one of my favorite positions. In fact, on the next one I do I plan to put the RW mid pickup in the neck position to make it hum canceling.

Here is a PDF with that wiring mod...
http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/pdf/WiringDiagram_Strat_Blender.pdf

—

Cats 'n' Strats, 'cause that's how I roll - I eat reverb for breakfast!

Fenderus Collecticus
Strat Blender Pot Modification HERE

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SURFmole

Joined: Nov 22, 2007
Posts: 901
Portland, OR
United States

Posted on Jun 14 2009 08:13 PM

If you want to try some cheap mods without spending $$ on new pickups do what Doctor_Morbius suggested and add a switch (or a push-pull tone pot) to combine the bridge and neck pickups...if I was playing Surf with my Strat that combo is the one I'd probably use the most for rhythm playing. Also, move the tone pot from the middle pickup to the bridge...that way you can tame some of the icepick if needed. Lastly, for $10 you can get a steel baseplate and add it to the bridge pickup for a slight bit more grind and sustain out of your existing pickup...and experiment with pickup heights.

After saying all that though...I've personally found Strats to be one of the most consistently good playing guitars (in terms of setup, action, etc) while being one of the most inconsistently good sounding guitars. In other words 2 out of 10 might be really great sounding instruments. If yours isn't one of the 2 then you might look at upgrading the body for a more toneful piece of lumber....if you can paint and finish a body yourself it would cost you slightly more than a set of boutique Strat pickups and possibly improve your tone much more.

Ruhar
I very much agree with this. My JM sounds great when the amp is at low/medium volume. Very full/fat sound. When too loud, the ice pick rips my ears apart. Which kinda sucks for me because I like to play in the very high registers of a guitar. At low volumes, my strat can sound a bit on the thin side. However, when the amp is opened up a bit the strat goes into multiple personality mode and becomes a completely different instrument. Super touch sensitive and very expressive.

I wonder how much the 1M pots on the Jazzmaster vs the 250K in the Strat play into the equation? I'm thinking that I might be starting to discover a dislike for 1M pots and the way they react with the input of the tube amps I play through... something I might experiment with in the future is swapping out the JMs 1M for 500K or 250K.

—

www.apollo4.com

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tiki101

Joined: Mar 22, 2009
Posts: 101
pgh, where the zombies live

Posted on Jun 14 2009 09:11 PM

actually, i just did this with my knock-off project strat. works great, sounds great. the leads were long enough to switch the positions of the neck and middle p/u's. now the first 3 positions are like a tele, 4th is the same, last is mid-only.
the only thing you lose is that bridge/mid position which i hate anyway...

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DannySnyder

Joined: Mar 02, 2006
Posts: 11076
Berkeley, CA
United States

Posted on Jun 14 2009 09:37 PM

Ruhar
When too loud, the ice pick rips my ears apart. Which kinda sucks for me because I like to play in the very high registers of a guitar.

Funny I have the opposite experience. My Jag is ice-picky but my JM stays pretty dark up there. Maybe the SD Ant II's I have helped. Also the blackface amp seem to promote more ice-picking than my brownface one.

Sorry to go off topic.

—

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I am now playing trumpet with Prince Buster tribute band 'Balzac'

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF

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morphball

Joined: Dec 23, 2008
Posts: 3324
Pittsboro, NC
United States

Posted on Jun 15 2009 01:01 PM

Doctor_Morbius
Audiodrome, may I suggest you also try a wiring mod that will combine the neck and bridge pickups? If you like the tone of the Jaguar, the N&B on a Strat will be pleasing.

I can vouch for this mod too, it sounds really great... I have no idea why this isn't offered as an option at least. To me it's even better for most applications than the middle position. (In my opinion of course.)

—

Mike
http://www.youtube.com/morphballio

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audiodrome

Joined: Oct 12, 2008
Posts: 29
Boston

Posted on Jun 15 2009 09:08 PM

Lots of great ideas guys - thanks! I don't have the extra $250 for the SD Antiquity set right now anyway so I might try a few other things in the meantime...

—

Paul

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Woodsurfer

Joined: Feb 07, 2009
Posts: 310
Bel Air, MD USA

Posted on Jun 16 2009 05:45 AM

The neck-on mod not only rocks, it's cheap (like me!). The push-pull pot (genuine Fender) cost me about $15 at the local dealer. The mod took about half and hour.

-- Woody

—

It takes a lot of mussel memory to avoid clams.

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crumble Joined: Sep 09, 2008 Posts: 3158 Guildford England	Posted on Jun 14 2009 11:00 AM Ruhar For what its worth, I'm very happy with the '57/'62 pickups. Once I got the height of the pickups dialed in, the sound greatly improved (fattened up and became more tough sensitive). I use fender rubber tubing instead of pickup springs, by the time i've tweeked them up so they fit snug there is not a lot of room for height adjustment. I'd guess using the old tubing method providing you don't squash them flat by over tightening automaticlly dials in the correct height or there abouts. Top
zak Joined: Sep 24, 2007 Posts: 2728	Posted on Jun 14 2009 11:21 AM This post has been removed by the author. Last edited: Sep 24, 2009 00:03:04 Top
Ruhar Joined: Jun 21, 2007 Posts: 3909 San Diego, CA	Posted on Jun 14 2009 03:27 PM zak when I had Strats I always found they worked much better with a cranked amp and a lot more bass in the EQ than I would use with a Jazzmaster or Jaguar. The Jaguar and Jazzmaster didn't require as much amp volume to 'come to life' and got farty with excessive bass EQ on the amp, the Strats sounded icepicky unless the amp was saturating a bit and working harder. YMMV. I very much agree with this. My JM sounds great when the amp is at low/medium volume. Very full/fat sound. When too loud, the ice pick rips my ears apart. Which kinda sucks for me because I like to play in the very high registers of a guitar. At low volumes, my strat can sound a bit on the thin side. However, when the amp is opened up a bit the strat goes into multiple personality mode and becomes a completely different instrument. Super touch sensitive and very expressive. — Ryan The Secret Samurai Website The Secret Samurai on Facebook Top
Doctor_Morbius Joined: Oct 26, 2008 Posts: 608 This Planet Earth	Posted on Jun 14 2009 05:08 PM Audiodrome, may I suggest you also try a wiring mod that will combine the neck and bridge pickups? If you like the tone of the Jaguar, the N&B on a Strat will be pleasing. I've been doing a blender pot mod to all of my wiring harnesses with pickup upgrades and the neck and bridge combined has become one of my favorite positions. In fact, on the next one I do I plan to put the RW mid pickup in the neck position to make it hum canceling. Here is a PDF with that wiring mod... http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/pdf/WiringDiagram_Strat_Blender.pdf — Cats 'n' Strats, 'cause that's how I roll - I eat reverb for breakfast! Fenderus Collecticus Strat Blender Pot Modification HERE Top
SURFmole Joined: Nov 22, 2007 Posts: 901 Portland, OR	Posted on Jun 14 2009 08:13 PM If you want to try some cheap mods without spending $$ on new pickups do what Doctor_Morbius suggested and add a switch (or a push-pull tone pot) to combine the bridge and neck pickups...if I was playing Surf with my Strat that combo is the one I'd probably use the most for rhythm playing. Also, move the tone pot from the middle pickup to the bridge...that way you can tame some of the icepick if needed. Lastly, for $10 you can get a steel baseplate and add it to the bridge pickup for a slight bit more grind and sustain out of your existing pickup...and experiment with pickup heights. After saying all that though...I've personally found Strats to be one of the most consistently good playing guitars (in terms of setup, action, etc) while being one of the most inconsistently good sounding guitars. In other words 2 out of 10 might be really great sounding instruments. If yours isn't one of the 2 then you might look at upgrading the body for a more toneful piece of lumber....if you can paint and finish a body yourself it would cost you slightly more than a set of boutique Strat pickups and possibly improve your tone much more. Ruhar I very much agree with this. My JM sounds great when the amp is at low/medium volume. Very full/fat sound. When too loud, the ice pick rips my ears apart. Which kinda sucks for me because I like to play in the very high registers of a guitar. At low volumes, my strat can sound a bit on the thin side. However, when the amp is opened up a bit the strat goes into multiple personality mode and becomes a completely different instrument. Super touch sensitive and very expressive. I wonder how much the 1M pots on the Jazzmaster vs the 250K in the Strat play into the equation? I'm thinking that I might be starting to discover a dislike for 1M pots and the way they react with the input of the tube amps I play through... something I might experiment with in the future is swapping out the JMs 1M for 500K or 250K. — www.apollo4.com Top
tiki101 Joined: Mar 22, 2009 Posts: 101 pgh, where the zombies live	Posted on Jun 14 2009 09:11 PM actually, i just did this with my knock-off project strat. works great, sounds great. the leads were long enough to switch the positions of the neck and middle p/u's. now the first 3 positions are like a tele, 4th is the same, last is mid-only. the only thing you lose is that bridge/mid position which i hate anyway... Top
DannySnyder Joined: Mar 02, 2006 Posts: 11076 Berkeley, CA	Posted on Jun 14 2009 09:37 PM Ruhar When too loud, the ice pick rips my ears apart. Which kinda sucks for me because I like to play in the very high registers of a guitar. Funny I have the opposite experience. My Jag is ice-picky but my JM stays pretty dark up there. Maybe the SD Ant II's I have helped. Also the blackface amp seem to promote more ice-picking than my brownface one. Sorry to go off topic. — Danny Snyder "With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo I am now playing trumpet with Prince Buster tribute band 'Balzac' Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF Top
morphball Joined: Dec 23, 2008 Posts: 3324 Pittsboro, NC	Posted on Jun 15 2009 01:01 PM Doctor_Morbius Audiodrome, may I suggest you also try a wiring mod that will combine the neck and bridge pickups? If you like the tone of the Jaguar, the N&B on a Strat will be pleasing. I can vouch for this mod too, it sounds really great... I have no idea why this isn't offered as an option at least. To me it's even better for most applications than the middle position. (In my opinion of course.) — Mike http://www.youtube.com/morphballio Top
audiodrome Joined: Oct 12, 2008 Posts: 29 Boston	Posted on Jun 15 2009 09:08 PM Lots of great ideas guys - thanks! I don't have the extra $250 for the SD Antiquity set right now anyway so I might try a few other things in the meantime... — Paul Top
Woodsurfer Joined: Feb 07, 2009 Posts: 310 Bel Air, MD USA	Posted on Jun 16 2009 05:45 AM The neck-on mod not only rocks, it's cheap (like me!). The push-pull pot (genuine Fender) cost me about $15 at the local dealer. The mod took about half and hour. -- Woody — It takes a lot of mussel memory to avoid clams. Top

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Most authentic vintage-sounding pickups for a '62 RI Strat?