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Post by funkyjazz82 on Dec 28, 2006 11:06:25 GMT -7
Just wondering what would be the best pick ups for an american stratocaster, particularly a 50th anniversary standard strat....what im looking for in sound is lots of good sustain in the distortion, warm sounding...what i have is a BB preamp Xotic pedal with Dr Z Maz 38 Sr and Mesa Boogie Rectoverb....of course I want them to be noiseless, but what are the best pick ups all around for price and tone?
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Post by LeftyLang on Dec 28, 2006 11:14:08 GMT -7
I put Fender SCN pups in my 50th anny Strat. I also think Kinman Blues would be a good pup as well, but they cost a lot more.
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Post by skydog958 on Dec 28, 2006 11:14:21 GMT -7
That's a toughie. Pickups are so subjetive. But since you mentioned noiseless, good with distortion, and warm, I'd probably vote for Kinmans. Not sure on what model though.
Just a thought, that as long as the pickups are all the same wind direction (i.e. not hum cancelling on pickup selection 2 and 4), you can use the Suhr noiseless system using regular, old fashioned style single coils.
Other good makers: Fralin Lollar Amalfitano Voodoo Bare Knuckle
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Post by funkyjazz82 on Dec 28, 2006 11:16:03 GMT -7
Yeah, I have SCN in my American Deluxe, the ones that came with it, those are amazing i think, not a lot of people like them here though, they sound great through my Z and Mesa....and the Xotic pedal definiltey gives it a lot of light....still though, im going to purchase a 50th ann strat standard and i have to get better pick ups than the factory ones for the style i play....i may go with your advice....by the way LeftyLang, love your blue guitars, absolutely beautiful, you have a great set up as well with the Z's. Do you gig frequently?
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Post by nitehawk55 on Dec 28, 2006 11:21:33 GMT -7
I like the SCN's in my 50th . I've been going through the same thing trying new pups and it's a tough call on what you will decide on. You'll get lot's of good suggestions on here but in the end you'll have to pull the trigger . Good luck with your quest .
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Post by LeftyLang on Dec 28, 2006 11:32:19 GMT -7
Yeah, I have SCN in my American Deluxe, the ones that came with it, those are amazing i think, not a lot of people like them here though, they sound great through my Z and Mesa....and the Xotic pedal definiltey gives it a lot of light....still though, im going to purchase a 50th ann strat standard and i have to get better pick ups than the factory ones for the style i play....i may go with your advice....by the way LeftyLang, love your blue guitars, absolutely beautiful, you have a great set up as well with the Z's. Do you gig frequently? Thanks...the Daphne blue strat is a 50th anny standard refinished & the neck is tinted in vintage amber. Not much gigging lately...I am putting together a new Blues band, but it is taking far too long!! I would love to try out that new Suhr system.
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Post by tele1962 on Dec 28, 2006 14:11:22 GMT -7
To me personally, an American made Stratocaster, especially from the 50's and 60's, always sounded great with Fender PU's. In later years of course, Custom Shop has come along to make decent Fender guitars ( some even worth buying) and the results to me are pretty much the same. The CS PU's they do now sound fine. No one's forcing anyone to buy second rate Fender gear. The "good stuff" still lives!
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wilzgt
Full Member
I plumb for Z-Tone !
Posts: 151
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Post by wilzgt on Dec 28, 2006 21:03:50 GMT -7
I find the stock pickups on American Strats are good enough. Here's why. Since I picked up my Dr Z and Victoria amp, it sounds good as is. I also roll of my TONE knob to 7 to take off the high's on my bridge pickup.
I love warm and driving distortion too. I just push my amp harder with an OD pedal or distortion pedal and my strat's low output pickups scream. However, the warmest tone will be from the neck pickup. A Stat's a Strat! If that's not warm enough, switch to your PRS. I switch to my Les Paul.
I tried Fralin Blues before and they are great pickups. However, you Strat will sound like a Strat---just a bit meatier.
Good luck.
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Post by tele1962 on Dec 28, 2006 22:29:57 GMT -7
That's a great point. Stock Fender PU's are just fine. There's a craze on about two things right now...one is PU's and the other is " what brand of NOS tube should I get for my amp?"
Hell, if there really was a "best" PU for a Strat, every single person owning a Strat would have them wouldn't they? I mean, you wouldn't want your Stratocaster to have " second best" PU's now, would you?
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Post by mward on Dec 29, 2006 5:28:37 GMT -7
Boy that's the truth! NOS tubes don't have as big of an effect as their price warrants, IMHO. Pickups do make quite a difference but only on lower end guitars. I bought a mexican strat (oh the horror! I can hear the gear snobs snickering) but I can do a fret job on it (level and polish) which took care of the horrid mexicali finish on the frets and eliminated odd buzzes and replaced the pickups with tonerider classic blues models and it sound friggin awesome. However, they're not noiseless so completely unsuitable for your application. I just play in position 2/4 all the time anyhow so it's not an issue. I think the toneriders sound better than stock american pickups but I could be crazy too. Everything sounds good through my route 66, even the cheap mexican pickups sounded pretty good! I say do whatever you like, as long as you're playing. Edit: changed sniggering to snickering...
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Post by tjstrat on Dec 29, 2006 6:35:02 GMT -7
I bought a mexican strat (oh the horror! I can hear the gear snobs sAfro-Americaning) but I can do a fret job on it Yow... THERE was a reach for the PC Gendarmes... Perhaps "snickering" would have been a better choice. Then again, the cops would probably have replaced it with "sEnglishwomens underwearing"
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Post by nitehawk55 on Dec 29, 2006 8:17:00 GMT -7
I only recently switched pups in a Am Tele and Strat Deluxe with SCN's and a Heritage H-535. Up to this point I had never ventured into the world of aftermarket pups but I will say I did find what I feel were improvements or at least a different sound that I like . I was happy with the SCN's in the Deluxe but I have 2 others with these so I felt it would be interesting to try something different in that guitar and as for the Am Std Tele.....sterile but still acceptable sound from the stock pups as well as the Schaller HB's in the H-535 . I , as funkyjazz82 has done here asked for opinions and suggestions on what might be suitable replacements in the Tele and Strat . The response was great and appreciated but at the same time kind of overwhelming and confusing because each player has their own opinion on what is good due to what they have tried in their quest for a different pup . In the end I think most stock pups are usually OK but if you are out gigging and find your guitar is really sounding lifeless compared to the other players then that might be your Que to investigate other options . Also keep in mind it may be other factors too that are effecting your sound so in some cases just changing you pups may not be all you are hoping it will be . I was happy with the outcome of my choices for my 3 guitars but I still have to wonder too if the $700+ I put out was worth it .
Just some mindless babbling here but I guess what I'm trying to say is it's darn difficult to make a choice or decision on what pickup will work best for you . My choice that worked for me were Mike Turk's in the Tele and Strat and SD Seth Lover 50th Anv. HB's in the H-535 . Good luck !! ;D
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Post by iggs on Dec 29, 2006 22:22:05 GMT -7
I've just replaced all three pups in my American Strat and I'm very pleased with my choice. Wanted all noiseless and more crunch for the bridge but without losing that single coil sound. DiMarzio Virtual Vintage Solo - bridge, Area 58 - middle and Area 61 - neck. They sound fantastic and are very quiet!
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Post by tele1962 on Dec 30, 2006 10:51:34 GMT -7
...and so on it goes...there's nothing conclusvie, see? Now Mward has something to say. He might not be popular for saying it, but it's the truth nontheless. Here's his claim, and it happens to be something people should be listening to: NOS tubes are not doing what the dollars you pay for them say they should be doing. True. The tubes of yesterday were inconsistent. A friend of mine ordered up a pair of Mullards not so long ago and paid stupid money for them. Didn't even work. Took the hit and was too embarrassed to talk about it. Ordered some JJ's because a few guys on another forum wre ranitng. Supposed to be matched, weren't. Talked to my favortie amp tech who does hundreds of amps every year and builds them as well...same theory from him. The NEW Sovteks, GT's etc, are more reliable, and sound every bit as good as the old GE's, Sylvannias, Westinghouse ( yes, I remember those, and used them years ago) RCA's, etc. The Phillp's were outright horrible. Are NOS tubes bad? No...but.... There is a whole industry built around NOS tubes right now, and that's why this whole thing about NOS superiority has not just taken flight, but lived this long. I have a storage of old tubes, name what you like I have them...even re-labeled post war Military spec Mullards of various sizes. Even some for shortwave radios! They're better than some of the Chinese tubes, but not all of them. No better than ANY GT, and not near as good as most Sovteks. That's benched ...run through new and vintage tube testers, and played through everything from high gain Soldanos, 50's tweed amps, and 60's Fender blackface amps, and a couple of Z's, even The Groove Tubes ( EL -84's, and 12AX7's) that Mike put into a Maz for example performed BETTER than really GOOD RCA NOS that I had on hand. The GZ34 rec tubes he'd chosen in two cases were Sovteks, and in another a NOS RCA blackbottom. The RCA sounded great, but NO better than the Sovteks, which were awesome in tone and reliability. Mward is onto a dark secret here. PU's. : Again he is right. I'm a retired guitar tech, and still do a little work on side for friends and such, or vintage stuff guys are afraid of touching! That may not give me credibility, but it does give 35 years expereince with Pu's. Here's the news! ALL these new companies that make after market PU's are GREAT! Lindy Fralin, this Kinmann guy out of Australia?, Seymour Duncan out of California... and so many more ...all awesome guys ( have chatted with a few of them) and build nice stuff. Nice little old lady in Corona , California named Abigail Ybarra...she winds awesome Pu's too. I install her stuff a lot into very expensive old guitars sometimes, and they shine! Install what you like. they're all good. But please let's get off this " what's the best???" It's dumb. Totally subjective most of the time, and ears all hear differently, and people look for different sounds! So it's silly...let's stop! And yes, a lot of Mexican stuff is a horror. I have to fix the horror. They used to come to me in waves. " I just bought this Strat and got an inceredible DEAL on it" Now they invested whatever into it, and can't stand the thing. PU's are changed, electronics are changed, pots, caps, controls, strap buttons and jacks, necks are adjusted, frets are monkeyed with. I charge the livng crap out of anyone like that. $80 and hour, and if I buys good parts I take at least 40% on the parts. I want them to go away. Guess waht??? THEY DON'T stop coming! Some one, two weeks ago, brought me a 1961 Stratocaster for small neck adjustment. No charge. Why? Because I'm a jerk? Probably , but that guitar is EASY to adjust...it reacted so sweetly. The cheap stuff is always a fight. That's why! So again, thanks mward for spilling the beans. Secret's out. Buy good stuff. pay the money or go home. Who here paid bargain money for a Z? Called Mike Zaite and " ground him down"? Hassled his dealer into a half price sale on a Stangray? No one? Why? Because we didn't care. Let's treat guitars with that same respect. It's what we plug into that expensvie amp that counts too
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Post by iggs on Dec 30, 2006 11:59:24 GMT -7
Not to hijack the thread completely regarding NOS tubes but ... I'm not an amp tech or a tube expert so I will not make claims regarding construction quality and reliability but only comment on what I experienced regarding sound. Two amps, Bümbox Lead 50 and Dr. Z Route 66.
Recto's tested: no-name Chinese, Sovtek, JJ, NOS Phillips, NOS Valvo, all 5AR4/GZ34. The NOS made both amps sound noticably better, richer, tighter bass, more power, clarity and definition overall.
EL34's in Lead 50 tested: JJ, SED, NOS Tesla. Tesla's were a big improvement in sound, just richer and well, better sounding clean and cranked.
6SL7 in Lead 50 as phase inverter: Sovtek, Tung-Sol, NOS RCA, NOS Rogers. Again the NOS stuff just sounded so much better ... TO MY EARS and IMHO.
12AX7 as phase inverter in Route 66: Sovtek, JJ, Tung-Sol, NOS RCA ... same findings as before, NOS won hands down, also made the amp noticably quieter.
EF86 in Route 66: I only tried the NOS Miniwatt and GEC, they were both nice but GEC was a little nicer ... just had "more of everything".
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Post by nitehawk55 on Dec 30, 2006 12:27:46 GMT -7
I do agree on your thoughts about the pickups tele1962 but there is a difference in most NOS tubes although the modern ones are getting better and will no doubt be as good some day .
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Post by skydog958 on Dec 30, 2006 13:21:35 GMT -7
Myles would say the same 'bout NOS tubes. The modern ones are far from original spec.
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Post by tele1962 on Dec 30, 2006 14:17:04 GMT -7
Like I said, I have a fist full of them myself ( NOS). Some of them are killer, some arent. Some of the difference is reality, yes...some of it , and what I'm seeing lately MOST of it, is in people's head. And that can include any amp guru you want to put a name to. We should be lamenting the loss of great transformers long before tubes. Where have the the good trannies gone?
Guys, I'm sorry for hijacking this as well! This is a guitar thread. But that brings up my last points on my previous post. The old Fender solid body guitars were no magic... in the broken down composition of parts. They were almost an accidental sum of the total parts. They sound bloody wonderful, and I can't make reason of it.
This is of concern. We kvetch and rub our hands together thinking about NOS tubes, and boutique amps, and " does that amp have the original mustard colored capacitors in it?"
Then we plug a guitar into that amp that was bought on budget. I don't understand how twisted we've become.
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Post by skydog958 on Dec 30, 2006 14:32:04 GMT -7
Danelectros are the same way...who knew two pieces of plywood taped together would sound good? ;D
What I more often is $1000+ guitars being plugged into less than quality amps. That bugs me!
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Post by nitehawk55 on Dec 30, 2006 15:48:35 GMT -7
Transformers ?? Hammond in Guelph Ontario Canada ;D The tranzformer in my Maz18 says made in Canada BTW
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Post by jwr on Dec 31, 2006 16:45:38 GMT -7
I've got Kinman AVN Blues Set and they sound big with gain, really nice clean as well. To be honest though, I'm gonna give the Suhr SSC System a try with my next 2 Warmoth guitars. Gonna put Lindy's in one and Lollar's in the other. Lot's of good choices out there right now, and with the Suhr SSC you can make anybodies pickups noiseless.
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Post by tele1962 on Jan 1, 2007 12:06:33 GMT -7
Transformers ?? Hammond in Guelph Ontario Canada ;D The tranzformer in my Maz18 says made in Canada BTW Yes, and that's because one amp mfg chose to seek out good parts. It likely cost him more to find and use these parts. And your Maz 18 was the winner, and so are you!
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Post by tele1962 on Jan 1, 2007 12:23:01 GMT -7
Danelectros are the same way...who knew two pieces of plywood taped together would sound good? ;D What I more often is $1000+ guitars being plugged into less than quality amps. That bugs me! Very true, Skydog...it can go both ways. But take note on this forum how many guys have Z amps...nearly ALL of us. And they weren't cheap. And then think about the hundreds and hundreds of threads you've read about guys trying desperately to piece together a body from this company and PU's from that guy, and pots from CTS or whatever, and then they are forced to brag about it like it was magic. Maybe if I took the the transformer out of a Matchless, the speakers and cabinet of a Maz 38, and the circuit of a Tophat Emplexidor, and a reverb tank out of a Victoria, I'd be a tone hero? Or just a superfulous geek...who knows?
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Post by skydog958 on Jan 1, 2007 12:40:50 GMT -7
Agreed, things are pretty skewed. But your average Joe is more likely going to do his own thing with a guitar than an amp, because it takes some knowhow to build a Franken-amp. But then again there are plenty without any knowhow about guitars who mess with 'em!
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Post by tele1962 on Jan 1, 2007 21:17:11 GMT -7
"But your average Joe is more likely going to do his own thing with a guitar than an amp, because it takes some knowhow to build a Franken-amp." Yep, and I wonder why. I sure don't miss the business anymore. A steady stream of butchered guitars, cheap copies, bad retro-fitting, homespun solutions and Frankensteins so unbalanced and pretencious you'd have thrown up. I prayed for decent ones to walk in the door. A nice old Telecaster or a good Custom Shop Fender Straocaster...a Gibson that was straight and clean, a Gretch Country Gentleman with some build quality. A Tom Anderson that needed some small job...anything but these budget purchased things that kept appearing. Guys, you have no idea how depressing this gets! Bad wiring, white metals that won't hold a solder joint, bridges that are so badly aligned that intonation is a joke...on and on and on.
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