Give It To Me Straight

Im putting together a strat. American Standard neck, USA Custom body is all I know so far. I like the Callaham trem bridge and it seems to get good reviews. Now, on to pick ups - what the heck is going on..so confusing..Perhaps some background - Im a visual artist not a guitarist. I love my 5E3 for its minimalism and it sounds good too. Ive been playing a few years and getting better slowly. I tend to lean toward things of quality and things that folks actually say they sound good. My Boomerang III is a good example. Every other Boss loop review said 'tone loss', more or less. Not that way with the Boomerang

Now, do you think I will like the sound of Fender's pick ups at $160 to $190 or does putting $300 down on Lollar's or Frawlin's really do anything?

I know the obvious answer is 'has more to do with your playing'..... But we are talking equipment here.....

Unless you can tell the difference between a Tubescreamer with a fresh battery and a Tubescreamer with a nearly dead battery, Fender pickups are really good bang for the buck.

I've played all the high dollar boot-eek pickups (actually, I haven't because there's way too many out there to possibly play them all) and found that Fender's Custom Shop pickups are right up there with the others - except for maybe their noiseless pickups, where I think there are some better alternatives.

You owe it to yourself to check out Guitar Fetish pickups. www.guitarfetish.com

Very affordable and surprisingly good sounding. I've been through a LOT of pickups in various guitars. Expensive does not always mean it's the best.

Oh no.... I think I can tell the difference in a TS with a weak battery..

3 to a set, Frauleins can get expensive.

I really, really like Fender's CS '54's for a low output, clean, clear pickup.

They sound what I think a strat should sound like.

+1 for the Fender CS '54s, I have a sett of CS '69s that I realy like with a Lolar Blond in the Bridge, the No 2 setting (Bridge and Mid) is so good I don't want to change it. This is on an Alder body and Rosewood Neck Strat. On the Evil Bay You can get these for a realy good bargain and IMHO there is no better Neck pu then the CS '69 great highs and lows. For a Maple neck and Ash body Strat I would go for the CS '54s. If money is no isue there are the Abygail pu's from the beginning of this Milenium, expect to pay top Dollar for this unequeld sett!! :odie:

the build is underway as rosewood neck, alder body. I have been looked at a few reviews on both the CS '54 and CS '69. Since the amp is a 5E3 tweed deluxe there is not much in the way of clean going on so Im leaning toward the '69. But its does seem these days have been enjoying the clean thing on the 5E3...I do favor the neck pick up on my American Deluxe on those noiseless p/u. Well money is an issue to a point - Im gonna be stuck with it to some degree so it may as well be as nice as possible.. Comments?

one additional thought. Being a novice at most of this, my american deluxe has the SCNs in it. I think they sound fine, when I go to the shop and play other strats Im never strongly taken by their tone. I am shocked at how noisy they are. Now my tele is a HWY 1 and it's not noisy at the house (couch player here). Its never an issue, only when static builds up in the pick guard do I get frustrated. SO, are strats noisier as a rule>?

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Originally Posted by KYChucky

SO, are strats noisier as a rule>?

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That has not been my experience.

When it comes to trying out pickups, I recommend buying used so you can try them and flip them if you don't like them.

I like the Fralin Vintage Hot set in my Strat. They sounded much better to me than Fender Texas Specials and Fat '50s. Since buying them many years ago I have unwound them (they're about 5.8k in the neck and middle and about 6k in the bridge).

If I was going to buy a set of Strat pickups today, I would take Kap'n's advice and try out the Fender CS '54s.

I went with the Fralin vintage hot - very nice !!!! just finished the build last night,

the "in between" sounds are not as quackishly stratty sounding if you know what I mean. But man, each pick up by its self...wow. The neck pick up, mmmm, the middle pick up, oooo, I got the plate on the bridge pick up. I cant focus on work today...

I'd say get the Fenders. Heck, they designed 'em.

On a side note. I can't hear the difference between the batteries in a tube screamer, but I do hate the sound of RW/RP.

could you describe the sonic contrast of RW/RP and non RW/RP please? Not haveing time to try stuff (2 kids, wife, job..) and no experiance I listened to sound clips on Acme's site and like the Fralins better.

Very subtle loss of "thickness" of the in-between positions. by reversing them, there is still phase cancellation, though not as drastic as with just plain RP.
But maybe I'm high and it's in the realm of battery changes.

I'd have to compare to sets of pickups that were exactly the same otherwise. Some guys say they can hear a difference, others, like Lindy Fralin (I believe), say they can't.

I'm thinking that I can't hear the difference. The pickups in my son's Strat, which has three identical pickups, sound sweeter in positons 2 & 4 than my Strat which has a Fralin Vintage hot set with a RW/RP middle pickup.

Maybe it's the RW/RP, maybe it's just a different set of pickups.

i personally don't like the RW/RP middle pup. i learned about this with my friend alan who i used to apprentice with. he, on occasion when specified would not reverse wind the middle pup. then again, i also like flat pole pups. now could i pick them out just by listening to someone else play them? probably not. do i like the sound/feel of them when i play them? yes.

For me, it's always been a total crapshoot. I've had SD JD's in all my Teles and some guitars they worked on, others not. I've even take a "known great" pickup that worked in one guitar and put it in another that and got "meh", where it wasn't as good as the stock pickup in that particular guitar.

And then one pickup might work great with my amp and not so good with yours.

Some work better with nickel strings, others work better with steel...

So I now have a new system:

When looking at guitars, I only buy them if I like them just as I found them. I don't buy a guitar with the mindset of I'll fix it later.

I've found this approach also saves me a ton of money. And honestly, since doing so I ended up a a few guitars that I really like and don't really feel the need for another...

unless I find a really sweet goldtop with P90s that is.

Having played several Strats over the years with both types, I believe (if errantly) that I can hear the difference. My ears hear it just like Wilko--less thickness. I think a Strat with non RW/RP in the '2' or '4' positions packs as much punch as the other three positions.

But... I also don't care that much. I use those positions so infrequently on a Strat that in a live situation the difference is minimal.

And FWIW, since these days I almost only play a Strat or Tele with "noiseful" pickups at gigs, there are a couple AC/neon horror-show clubs where it's helpful having the ability to have no buzzing hum for a guitar-only intro to one song or another.

i put the RW PU in the neck on my Strat - that way i have a hum cancel cluck position and an 'open' cluck pos as well...

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Originally Posted by pc

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And FWIW, since these days I almost only play a Strat or Tele with "noiseful" pickups at gigs, there are a couple AC/neon horror-show clubs where it's helpful having the ability to have no buzzing hum for a guitar-only intro to one song or another.

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Yet another reason for the modeling system.... noise gate!

I went with Fralin's vintage hot with base plate on the bridge pick up. A bit more scooped sounding that the my SCN pick ups. Im very happy. I am also shocked at how much the guitar vibrates in your hands. Must be my super thin finish work ;)

Zhangliqun vintage winds........trust me.